2007 JK Unlimited Saharicon... (aka Julia)

[Livin4Today]

Thanks for all the tips, opinions etc... I got it wired with a relay, and they'll do just fine for me... You can see for yerselves at the meeting tonight, along with how much it hurt to follow Ed...

And if someone would be so kind to bring up my vote for membership, I've exceeded the candidacy requirements, and would like to become a full fledged member...

[Livin4Today]

Well I've been having some fun buying new goodies for my rig, some are installed some still on the way...

First I got a stinger for my front bumper, and a vented hood panel. Next I drove to Portland and bought a Trektop NX on the cheap off Craigslist (might have a hard top for sale in the future). All of these are installed.

Still on the way, is my rear bumper & tire carrier of the Olympic variety, and a Rancho oil pan skid, the latter is on back order.

That's all for now.

[Livin4Today]

So it's been awhile since my last update... And having recently killed my nearly new front R & P, it seemed like a good time to add the recently acquired Eaton locker to my front...

So we go to tearing into the job, and it all comes apart ok, however, the donor cap we stuffed onto the short side u-joint was once again absent, even with all the gorilla tape we had it wrapped with...

The ear, as expected was mangled, so I set out in search of a donor short shaft. This turned out to be a trip to Benton City in the dark wrestling and older D-30 out from under some stored stuff and with mini flashlight in my mouth I wrenched, pryed and hammered until I had what (i thought) i needed. So we wheel back to my buddy's house in Richland at like 8 pm, only to find that the acquired donor isn't going to work... Story of my life!

After discussing wasting a u-joint by scabbing it back together, until I can get the actual outer shaft needed, we had on last "trail Tech" idea to get me back on the road and not waiting for the inevitable. So we tack welded that bum cap, reassemble everything a drove her home. Still need to wire up the Eaton, but it'll wait until the ARB switches arrive.

Next piece to my puzzle that rear winch! Had I had either the locker or the rear winch, I might have avoided the bite taken out of my Ring gear...






So Toby please educate me on the JK shafts, are they the same outers on both D-30 & 44?

[Livin4Today]

PS....

I have a "spare" Dana 30 carrier laying in my garage now, should somebody need one. Just sayin'

[OldGreen]

What gears were on said D30 Carrier? If they were 3.73+, I can take it off of your hands. I have a set of 4.10s that may go into O at some point.

They were 5.13s no?

As a point of interest, everyone is always so worried about the tiny pinion on 4.88+ gear sets. . .in reality, it is nearly always the ring gear that gives up first.

[Livin4Today]

What gears were on said D30 Carrier? If they were 3.73+, I can take it off of your hands. I have a set of 4.10s that may go into O at some point.

They were 5.13s no?

As a point of interest, everyone is always so worried about the tiny pinion on 4.88+ gear sets. . .in reality, it is nearly always the ring gear that gives up first.

Yes, I also have the stock 4.10s sitting on the shelf as well...

[OldGreen]

Yours are short pinion though. . .you should ebay them or put them on a JK forum. . .somebody probably needs them.

[Livin4Today]

Yours are short pinion though. . .you should ebay them or put them on a JK forum. . .somebody probably needs them.

Hmmm good idea!

[tobyw]

So Toby please educate me on the JK shafts, are they the same outers on both D-30 & 44?

Negative... The knuckles/brakes are the same, but the shafts themselves are not interchangeable between the 30 and the 44 to my knowledge. When I destroyed my JK 30, it took out the carrier and the long-side axle shaft, and as you have apparently found the JK 30 is unique to the JK in terms of axleshaft lengths. I ended up using a carrier from a junkyard ZJ and got a set of RCV axle shafts to put mine all back together.

[Livin4Today]

Negative... The knuckles/brakes are the same, but the shafts themselves are not interchangeable between the 30 and the 44 to my knowledge. When I destroyed my JK 30, it took out the carrier and the long-side axle shaft, and as you have apparently found the JK 30 is unique to the JK in terms of axleshaft lengths. I ended up using a carrier from a junkyard ZJ and got a set of RCV axle shafts to put mine all back together.

Yeah, RCVs would be the ticket, however I don't want to invest in this 30, I'd rather find a 44, or as you said earlier go Pro Rock, if I were uncommonly wealthy I'd jump up to a PR 60, but thats another dream...

[Ace_Cherokee]

Lance, did I see a gps on your dash? I was curious because I would like one that tracks my progress off of roads not on maps. Does that make sense lol?

[Livin4Today]

Lance, did I see a gps on your dash? I was curious because I would like one that tracks my progress off of roads not on maps. Does that make sense lol?

Yes it's a Garmin, I have it hard wired in. It does a pretty good job of tracking known roads, and has helped me get back to the "known road" when out playing in the snow, etc.

[Livin4Today]

So my Eaton is in the front, now I must tackle the wiring, any suggestions on a good 2 conductor waterproof plug that can be acquired locally for a reasonable price?

[tobyw]

It's tough to beat Weatherpack style connectors... They take some specialized plier-type tools to assemble properly, but you can't argue with the results. They are available at just about any parts store, and I think Ranch & Home may have some in their automotive aisle as well?

My favorite trick though is to scavange factory wiring connections from the salvage yard and just solder on wiring lead to make your own harness. Factory fog lights are easy to snip a few inches on either side of the connectors and give you a great weather tight starting point

[Livin4Today]

It's tough to beat Weatherpack style connectors... They take some specialized plier-type tools to assemble properly, but you can't argue with the results. They are available at just about any parts store, and I think Ranch & Home may have some in their automotive aisle as well?

My favorite trick though is to scavange factory wiring connections from the salvage yard and just solder on wiring lead to make your own harness. Factory fog lights are easy to snip a few inches on either side of the connectors and give you a great weather tight starting point

Too Late I just bought some Deutsch connectors with boots and watertight seal, the shipping ($10) cost more than the parts ($9)...

[OldGreen]

It's tough to beat Weatherpack style connectors... They take some specialized plier-type tools to assemble properly, but you can't argue with the results. They are available at just about any parts store, and I think Ranch & Home may have some in their automotive aisle as well?

My favorite trick though is to scavange factory wiring connections from the salvage yard and just solder on wiring lead to make your own harness. Factory fog lights are easy to snip a few inches on either side of the connectors and give you a great weather tight starting point

Too Late I just bought some Deutsch connectors with boots and watertight seal, the shipping ($10) cost more than the parts ($9)...

Those work too. . .

[iaccocca]

For future reference, I have the GM style weather-pak connectors and the special pliers thingie.

[Roman]

What gears were on said D30 Carrier? If they were 3.73+, I can take it off of your hands. I have a set of 4.10s that may go into O at some point.

They were 5.13s no?

As a point of interest, everyone is always so worried about the tiny pinion on 4.88+ gear sets. . .in reality, it is nearly always the ring gear that gives up first.

Hey Jimmy, before you toss that carrier on a shelf to collect dust there is a Scrambler over here that has been waiting for just that part . . .

[OldGreen]

You are closer. . .go get it. I don't "need" it at this point and you sure as heck do. . .

[Livin4Today]

What gears were on said D30 Carrier? If they were 3.73+, I can take it off of your hands. I have a set of 4.10s that may go into O at some point. They were 5.13s no?

As a point of interest, everyone is always so worried about the tiny pinion on 4.88+ gear sets. . .in reality, it is nearly always the ring gear that gives up first.

Hey Jimmy, before you toss that carrier on a shelf to collect dust there is a Scrambler over here that has been waiting for just that part . . .

I'm gonna be in Pasco tomorrow, it seems I'll be visiting TJ Dave, maybe I can drop it off... Lemme know, laste morning, but before 1 pm. Otherwise you can get it anytime after that if you wanna come by mine, except for tuesday (I work)...

[Livin4Today]

Brown Santa came by the other day and dropped off a new toy to fill the void in the rear bumper... A 9500 lb Tuff Stuff winch! If I had had this in a couple weeks ago I might have saved the R&P dilemna...

Now I looked all around to find a winch that fit the void (only had 6.5 inches of height to clear my tire carrier), and fit my budget ($300 to the house - ebay).

So Friday I got it mounted, and Saturday, while waiting for a buddy to get home so I could borrow a welding tank, to help my other friend Bryan out (my gear guy), I got the wiring done.

Since the standard control box wasn't going to work, I looked for alternatives and decided on a stealthy mount. I'm pretty happy with how it came out and think I might tackle something similar for the front winch and lose the control box up there also.




I decided to 86 the OEM Jack, and use the cavity to store my solenoid, then using the grommets that came with the original wiring and went thru the mounting plate to seal the 3/4 inch holes I drilled into the rear tub area. Although I had to round out the fourth hole to accomodate the large gauge cable I'm powering the winch with that enters in the opposite side.




I also extended the 'wired remote' plug to have it mounted externally in a place that was easy to get to. I also added a couple pieces of 1/8 inch +/- rubber to the cavity to avoid any unwanted arching.

I'm hopeful that my wireless remotes will arrive this coming week so I can get that wired in before I power it up. If it all works, both wireless remotes (keychain and the goofy blue box like I have on the front, I may redo my front to have the tri-remotes front and rear...

[tobyw]

Nice work on the clean install. Have you thought about a hawse-style fairlead to try and reclaim some departure angle?

[TJDave]

I like it. Looks like you're the guy to follow on the next snow run.

You can test out the new rear winch, while I stay warm and dry!

[Livin4Today]

Nice work on the clean install. Have you thought about a hawse-style fairlead to try and reclaim some departure angle?

Only after I figure out where to put my license plate all over again...

[Livin4Today]

:super I like it. Looks like you're the guy to follow on the next snow run.

You can test out the new rear winch, while I stay warm and dry!

Hmmm, maybe I should have held off on sharing...LOL