Author: Mike

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ZJ Dana 35 rear

Today I sold the rear axle form the ZJ parts car I have had for a while . I bought this burned out ZJ just to get the rear brakes to put on Scuffy.

Many parts have already been scavenged off it and there is not much left. I have been planning to haul the rest to the scrap yard and with steel prices up now may be the time to take it.

However, last week I got a call from someone needing a rear axle. I asked for their axle in return so that I would have a way to load it on the trailer when I haul it off.

As I was getting ready to load their old axle, I wiped off the tag and noticed that the ratio was different form the one I had just delivered.

I left it with them any way. I showed them places to buy the right gears.

I also had to help them pull the backing plates off the axle for the brakes. They seemed surprised that someone had pulled the axles out just to remove the backing plates. They did not seem familiar with how to pull the c clips so I helped them install the backing plates on the axle I sold them.

To pull the axles, you have to remove the center pin form the diff. On the ZJ Dana 35 this involves removing a 6mm 12 point screw. He did not have the right tool so we hammered on a cheap 6mm six point that got enough bit to pull the screw. With the screw out, simply slide the pin out. Be careful not to spin the carrier as the spider gears will fall out of place.

With the center pin out, the axle shaft can be slid in enough to drop off the C clip. The the axle simply slides out. To reinstall the axle, you have to lift up a bit on the shaft to get it to pass through the bearing. Then slide it in and slip on the clip. Then pull back to seat the clip in the spider gear. Reinstall the pin and the screw to put it all back together.

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White Christmas in Tennessee

Driving in Snow

Christmas morning we woke up to 4 inches of fresh snow. White Christmases are rare in Tennessee. So when we heard the prediction of snow, we expected maybe a dusting. We were quite surprised by 4 inches and more still falling when were set out to for our family gathering at my Mother’s house across the county.

On a normal “snow day” in Tennessee, everything shuts down. Schools are closed, businesses close and most folks stay home. So, normally, driving around in my Jeep, I have the roads to myself. At least that is what I expected when I headed out our long driveway.

I was really shocked at the number of tracks in the fresh snow. I was even more surprised by the number of vehicles out driving in the snow. And not just Jeeps and 4×4 trucks but mini vans and Lexus cars as well. The worst part of the drive was the other cars who seemed to have no idea where the center line was under the snow and tended to use my lane and theirs too as they slid toward me. Those little bumps in the snow in the middle of the road are caused by reflectors folks. It is a good guideline as to where your side ends and my side begins even if you can’t see the stripes.

We managed to make the trip that normally takes 20 minutes in just under an hour. The country scenery was beautiful.

As we ate and opened presents, the snow continued to softly fall. By the time we left there were a good seven inches accumulated. My two grown boys built a snow fort and had a snowball fight.

Back home, we played with the sled on some of hills in the front yard and even made a few runs down one of our steep Jeep trails. The Jeeps enjoyed slinging snow much the same as mud.

The next morning, the snow had crusted over with some ice. This made the sled run even faster down the hills. Some of the snow had melted off the roads. In fact most of the main roads were clear even though our driveway was still covered in snow. We made several runs down the hill on the sled.

On Monday, we were scheduled to travel to Mississippi for a family reunion. The Suburban was still covered in snow and I damaged a windshield wiper scraping snow and ice off the glass.

Dad’s driveway was still covered with ice making it hazardous to back his car out of the garage so we changed our plans and picked them up in the Suburban. The 4×4 does not get much use in the big truck but it sure made driving on the snow much safer feeling.

There was one long patch of ice on the road leading to their house but the Geolander tires and 4×4 made it feel fine as we drove across. We made it up the hill to their house and even up their steep driveway as easily as we had in the Jeep.

We saw traces of snow as far south as Pontotoc, Ms, where we stopped for the night.

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Tire Rack Review

Tire Rack Review

I buy almost all my tires online. The latest exception being my Maxxis Buckshots that I bought through a local wholesaler. I have my own tire mounting machine and a balancer so I just order them and install them myself.

Tire Rack has given me by far the best service. They have always delivered the tires on time and in good condition. They usually arrive via UPS and my driver knows to stack them by the door of the shop. He still gets confused when I get five tires instead of four.

The latest set of tires delivered to me from Tire Rack was Jenny’s Dick Cepek Crushers. She is an internet bargain hunter but also shops by reputation. She was able to get the Dick Cepeks for just a few dollars more than bargain tires and they were delivered in time for a very important off roading trip.

I have also purchased tire and wheel combos from Tire Rack. I bought a set of OZ wheels and Yokohama tires for my Eagle Talon. They arrived nicely packaged to protect the wheels from scratches. The lugs and centering rings were included. Since I purchased the set, they mounted and balanced the tires for free.

I have bought several sets of Michelin tires from Tire Rack as well as the Yokohama Geolanders that I just put on my Suburban. They always have very competitive pricing and excellent shipping rates. In fact, when comparing prices, I noticed that some places quoted a lower price for the tires but the shipping and handling charges were outrageous.

I ma not sure how they do it but Tire Rack ships faster and cheaper than any other tire store I have tried. The only way to get tires faster would be to drive to the distributor and pick them up myself. And that is only if there is a local distributor.

I have become a big fan of Kumho tires ever since I got a set of their Rally Racing tires. I have run these on my Cherokees and my son has a set now on his Cherokee. Tire Rack has much lower prices on the Kumho tires than the local tire stores and they carry a larger selection of sizes.

If you are in the market for tires for your Off Road Jeep, your street SUV, your sports car or autocross car, I highly recommend Tire Rack. Please share your experience in dealing with Tire Rack in the comments.

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Transfer case replacement – Jeep Cherokee

Replacing a Jeep Cherokee Transfer case

Yesterday a friend called saying her transfer case was leaking. I was expecting a seal leak but it turned out that there was a hole in the case itself.

I had also planned to drive it to the shop but with the fluid rapidly exiting the case, I decided to trailer it. When I got there with the trailer, the ramps were frozen to the trailer bed. It took some banging to get them loose.

With her Jeep in the shop, I picked it up and inspected further. There was indeed a hole in the transfer case. It looked like it was punched from the inside. Although, it made no strange noises when I drove it on the trailer.

I began by draining the rest of the fluid. Then I supported the transmission. Next I removed the front and rear drive shafts. An 8MM hex wrench was all that was needed.

I then unbolted the transmission mount using a 13MM socket. Then I dropped the cross member by removing the 15MM bolts and nuts that hold it up. That gave me access to the transmission mount that is held to the transmission by two 18MM bolts. These bolts have thread locking compound on them and are hard to turn all the way out. I inspected the mount which is often broken in high mileage vehicles like this one but it was fine. Next I slipped the exhaust mount off the tab.

Rather than mess with the shift linkage bushing in the cold, I unbolted the shift lever from the transfer case. I selected 2wd and used a 9/16 wrench to remove the nut and washer. I carefully lowered the linkage out of the way.

Next I removed the speedometer drive by unbolting the 13MM retaining bolt and removing the clip. I left the sender attached to the wiring harness. I pulled the harness away from the mounting tab on top of the case. I unplugged the mode light switch and moved the wiring out of the way.

Next I unbolted the six 9/16 nuts that hold the case to the transmission. Five are accessed using a box end wrench. The last one is behind the transfers case shift linkage bracket and has to be accessed using a 9/16 socket and a long extension. The two near the exhaust pipe take some patience to get off unless you remove the exhaust pipe. Since this one was in good shape and welded in place, I left it alone. Lowering the case down helps get access to these two nuts.

With the six nuts off, the transfer case slides easily off the transmission. I then prepared the replacement case to go back in by putting it in 4wd. This allowed me to rotate the front yoke and make the input splines turn to line them up. With the replacement case in place I started a nut to hold in there.

Next I tightened all six nuts. I then reinstalled the shift linkage, wiring harness and speedometer drive. I then reinstalled the front drive shaft as it is easier to access with the cross member out of the way. I filled the transfer case with fluid before putting up the rear drive shaft as it is easier to get the bottle in place with out the drive shaft in the way. The 231 holds a little more than a quart of ATF.

I then put up the exhaust bracket and transmission mount. Again, these bolts are hard to turn due to the thread locking compound on them. I then put up the cross member and bolted it to the body before lowering the weight of the transmission onto the cross member. I then reinstalled the four nuts that hold the transmission mount to the cross member.

Then, I reinstalled the rear drive shaft. I checked for leaks and loose bolts and then lowered the Jeep for a test drive. The replacement transfer case worked fine and shifted to all gears with out adjusting the linkage.

I plan to pull the broken transfer case apart to see what caused the hole. I will post an update when I do that.
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Ball Joint Replacement Jeep Cherokee XJ

This weekend I replaced the driver’s side ball joints in Jenny’s Jeep Cherokee. Ever since our last trip to Harlan, she has had a very loud and very annoying creak in her Jeep when she turned the wheel.

At first I thought it was the track bar because there was some slop at the frame end joint. Also the track bar bracket was loose where it mounts to the body. However with both of these problems corrected, she still had a creak.

It took so me time but we eventually tracked it tot eh ball joints. Most likely the lower joint because that one does not have a grease fitting. To find the squeak, I had her turn the wheel back and forth while I listened underneath. I could tell it was coming from the knuckle. I put my hand on the knuckle and could feel a vibration when it made the noise.

Using the procedure I wrote in the Ball Joint Replacement article, we replaced the drivers side ball joints. I used the hammer more this time and managed not to bend my Harbor Freight Ball Joint press.

With the wheel back on the Jeep is much quieter. There are still some noises but these are more in the normal range for a lifted Jeep XJ with well over 200,000 miles.
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