Project: Out with the old, in with the new.

05/23/05

Well it was not that old but it has been sold. My green Unlimited was bought by Park Jeep and now I brought back a brand spankin' new Sahara Rubicon. Buildup will start in a week or so. Just to give you an idea, we will be installing Teraflex's 6" LCG lift in this one. The LCG is a triangulated long arm lift that eliminates front and rear track bars. Should be interesting. Stay tuned ----

Dan

I kept the Dana 44 axles from my old Unlimited so I could keep the 4.88 gears. I am changing the bolt pattern to 5 on 5.5 using a Warn hub conversion in the front and using a set of Alloy USA axles in the rear. I redrilled the stock rotors for the new bolt pattern. The procedure for that is not complicated. I put the new axle on top of the rotor and marked the holes using the new axle as a guide. I then centerpunched the holes and then took the rotors over to the drill press and drilled them out to 5/8 of an inch. They were a perfect fit when done. Next I pressed on the new bearings and retainers and bolted them on.

Here is a shot of the new tires and wheels. I am using Eagle type 137 wheels and 37" Krawlers on 17" wheels. I will also be installing Staun internal beadlocks. The internal beadlocks are not hard to install but you do need to pay attention to what you are doing. It works like this; a nylon casing is inserted into the tire and inside of the casing a new innertube is installed. Another hole is drilled in the rim for the valve stem .Once the beadlock is installed the innertube is inflated and it pushes both inner beads up tight against the rim. Staun says you can even drive on these with the tire flat! I have since tried these out and they do the job perfectly.

On this Rubicon Unlimited I decided to go with Teraflex's full LCG longarm lift. This is a 5" suspension and 1" body lift. The bumpstops are configured so that you can run 37" tires without any rubbing. And work it does. The upper control arms are triangulated so that both front and rear track bars are eliminated. Teraflex's high steer knuckle and aluminum drag link and tie rod are also included. A flat drag link is necessary when the front upper arms are triangulated in order to eliminate bump steer. Teraflex's belly up skid plate is also installed which will gain several inches of clearance in the center. The factory skidplates are removed and neither will be reinstalled. All of the factory control arm mounts need to be removed with the exception of the rear upper mounts. New mounts are bolted and welded on to the frame for the new longarms. I removed some of the factory axle mounts as well. The rear axle is outfitted with a weld on cradle to attach the rear upper control arm mounts to. Pay attention to your brakeline attaching point on the axle as I had to clearance the bracket slightly in order to insure that the line canbe reinstalled after welding. Teraflex has great instructions so as long as you follow those you will have no problems. I did find out that on the unlimiteds the factory has welded on a frame brace on the drivers side front that interferes with installation of the front upper control arm frame mount. I cut that mount in half and fully welded it on in place. One thing I just loved about this kit is the ease of adjustment after install. Teraflex sets up their control arms with right and left hand threaded joints. You can adjust every arm just by twisting it. You do not need to drop one end in order to adjust. I was able to set my driveline angles and center both axles in 5 minutes. After that you tighten all your jam nuts and you are ready. I have wheeled the jeep 3 times now and the kit performs great. No tire rubbing and lots of flex even with the 37's. Highway ride is phenomenal. This is my new favorite longarm kit. At about $3400.00 it is more expensive than some but the benefits sure make it worthwhile.

Well after driving the new Sahara for a couple weeks, and after 3 weekends on the trail, I can say I am quite pleased. The Teraflex LCG system works wonderfully. Offroad it is much more stable than the taller Fabtech lift. The 37" tires do not rub thanks to the correct size of extended bump stops. On road driving is rock solid and stable with no bump steer feel at all. You can see on the photo the amount of clearance the belly up skid plate gives you. I also included a shot of the bodyarmor rear swing away bumper. This bumper has styling almost identical to the Bulletproof line of bumpers. The bumper can carry two gas cans as well as a high lift jack. I am still working on installing a Liberty diesel engine in the Rubicon and if that does not pan out I will be putting in a Hemi.

Dan