2005 LJ Rubicon Revival

[duck454ss]

considering this is my first post i might as well say hi with substance.

I moved to Calgary back in September and spotted this gem sitting in a neighbors driveway and thought "wonder if he'd ever sell it". Well a couple months ago i sold off my over powered dodge 2500 and after leaving a post it on my neighbors front door i bought it.


2005 LJ Rubicon with a rough country 5.5" long arm on 35's and stock 4.1 gears. I'm pretty sure every heim/flex joint it shot.

I did a walk around when i bought it but didn't take it to a mechanic to lift off the ground. i knew it was rough but apparently it was rougher than i thought. i had to rebuild the entire front end because the previous owner didn't do any maintenance and every bearing was shot. when i got it there were a few engine codes but they all went away once i changed the plugs, but the down side is that it had been running rich for too long and washed out a couple cylinders. she now burns more oil than an old ford flathead with 60,000 miles.

Let the games begin.

Goals:

Jeep:

Swapping out all the heims for Evolution Machine heims (Ordered)
taking 2" out of the lift with Currie springs (eventual coil overs)
Highline tube fenders
37" rubber
4.55's with Jantz JK gear kit in the rear
35 spline rear axles
chromo shafts up front
Eaton lockers front and back (when the stock air lockers die)
truss both axles and sleeve the front
PSC Hyd Assist



Engine (already being built)

rebuilding the 4.0 to a blown 4.6.
Scat rotating assembly with race tech pistons (31cc dish)
Edelbrock aluminum head (ported with big valves)
ARP studs all around
Flowkooler water pump
High Volume oil pump
viper coil pack
8.6:1 CR
03' SVT mustang Eaton M112 blower
Water Meth injection





only anticipating 350ish HP but with gobs of bottom end grunt

[WillJeep]

Nice looking jeep to start with and sounds like you know your way around jeeps.
Looking foreword the seeing you and your LJ out on the trails. The last few years JKUs are starting to out number us.
Just curious with your budget why not CVRs  over chromo shafts up front?

[Immortal]

Or RCVs even.

[hps4evr]

Looks like a good project. A good jeep to start with for sure. Like the others mentioned, check out RCV axles, their parts are top notch. Keep the updates coming and if you have any questions feel free to ask. A lot of experienced jeepers around here.

[Vinman]

Sounds like a solid build plan, be sure to keep us posted with the progress.

[WillJeep]

Oooops my bad.
 I should preview be for posting .

[Bnine]

It already has JK diffs, or you are swapping some in?

[Vinman]

It already has JK diffs, or you are swapping some in?

I think he means using the Jantz kit to put JK gears in the TJ housing

[Bnine]

Oh I see........

Yeah, I found them.

That's different.

[duck454ss]

Ups side to using the Jantz kit is I can run 35 spline axles and have the strength of a D60 equivalent pinion shaft. The weak point will be the ring gear or the differential itself. I have considered RCV shafts but they come with a crazy price tag that I can't justify right now. But they are sweet..... It's slow and steady for now as I can't afford to break or bend anything...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bnine]

35 spline rears? How would that work? Do you have to install an aftermarket external wheel bearing housing or they bore out standard set 10's, or do you have to settle with a smaller bearing?

30 spline chomo's in the back of a 44 will suffer a lot of crap. 35 spline weakens carrier internals quite a bit and is overkill, ever for those JK gears. Also makes spares a bitch. I wouldn't spend the extra. You aren't really gaining there.

The front weak point would be the stubs as long as you used CTMs. I don't trust RCV's. A birf is a birf is a birf. Birfs belong in yota's....lol

Good chromo's with CTM's in the front will still outlast those low pinion gears. Even JK's.

Clayton should have D30 balljoints ready soon. Hope you run them and do a review. I want to start putting them in peoples 30's  and rubi 44's as soon as they come out.

Are you going to get rid of the Mercedes box and swap a Saginaw in for your assist?

[Bnine]

Oh, how much boost and how much power are you guestimating out of that motor setup? Factory programing? 26lb injectors, or more? I have a Unichip set up from Hesco that is custom programmable if you are interested. It fits your application, but you may want to re-tune it. It was set up for 10.75:1,  4.6L long rod stroker with a Hesco Aluminum head.

[duck454ss]

the 35 spline shafts with my intentions is like going after a fly with an elephant gun..... would/will only do it if i ever start grenading parts. I never really got as far as figuring out the external wheel bearing issue...... to even start addressing this portion of the project custom shafts would be made and if i'm doing that i'd probably just machine one off bearings (and make spares). To address the stub shaft issue in the front there are ball joint knuckles (http://www.reidracing.biz/off-road-products/dana-30-44-jeep-knuckles/chevy-heavy-duty-flat-top-dana-44-knuckles-2) that can use cheve D44 outer components. this will eliminate unit bearings and allow me to beef up the stubs. all extreme axle upgrades will be the last step unless i start breaking things left right and center.....

When i do my assist i'll probably  be running a PSC kit. Hyd assist isn't my strong point so i'm still learning as i go.

all a work in progress i suppose.... might only get as far as doing chromo shafts and upgrading lockers.... or might just swap out axles for G2's....... all depends on budget at the time but right now i'm focusing on the engine swap.

[duck454ss]

Oh, how much boost and how much power are you guestimating out of that motor setup? Factory programing? 26lb injectors, or more? I have a Unichip set up from Hesco that is custom programmable if you are interested. It fits your application, but you may want to re-tune it. It was set up for 10.75:1,  4.6L long rod stroker with a Hesco Aluminum head.

i have a tuner in the states that will be customizing a tune for me. my guess is that i'll be floating around the 350-400hp mark. anticipated boost is around the 10 mark.

[Bnine]

Nice, sounds like a fun motor.

I've been down the knuckle swap and hub kit road with a few clients, and you have to really want them to be worth it. They require so much maintenance out here in the mud, and its very difficult to get a selectable that isn't a piece of crap, good chromo stubs and cheap disposable unit bearings seem to be the win. I've converted, and re-converted back a few people over the years.

The deal with the hydro assist is that after 02 jeep went to a Mercedes box that uses a necked down sector shaft. Prone to breaking. Assist helps a bit, but it really is a weaker box.

Simple solution is to order your assist kit for an 02 or earlier TJ. Comes with a traditional Saginaw box. The swap requires you to cut out and relocate 1 mounting sleeve in the frame. Simple simple, and gets you stronger box that can readily be sourced for parts and service.

Where are you boring your block? Do you have access to a boring plate? We've been considering building one for the club and renting it out, as the only shop we know that has one is in GP. Did you find one locally?