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Lo2aY's Chinook TJ

63K views 266 replies 54 participants last post by  autotrader 
#1 ·
Welcome to yet another build thread!

This Jeep is the first I have owned. Bought new in August of 2001. it was the Jeep I wanted since I was a little boy. I love this thing more than anything with gears in it. I'm being really carful with what i'm doing as I plan on using it in a lot of places and also be able to go back words to stock which will probably happen later. My little brother used the TJ for sometime and really abused the Jeep. so a lot of parts need to be replaced.

Here's what she looked like 2 years in to her life





aftermath after playing with a Nissan Patrol in the mud



Here's what Chinook looked like when I saw her this Feb. ( I haven't seen her in over a year before this picture).

The night I got there



I did not like how it drove. it had a really bad death wobble, so I pulled the rear axle apart and found that my spider gears where toast!! also rear bearings needed to be replaced. all the bushings for the arms and all the steering parts. and finally front ball joints were so bad I don't have to put any pressure on it and it would just fall.

Not too bad for a 10 year old TJ with 250K+ miles



Here's a shot of the interior



Rust free


Here's a shot of what was a (year old) set of tires. the Jeep was parked for over a year. and well,, summer decided that the tires should not be used again :( at 130F+ I don't blame any tire going bad! :mad:



I got a new set of sand tires for it. those Shaheen tires are good sand tires. their very light.

parts acquired for drivetrain rebuild





teardown begins





basically replaced spider gears and bearings in the rear.. the ring and pinion also need to be replaced but I want to put 4:10s in it. so I decided to live with that until my parts show up. a stupid mistake I had to learn the hard way was that I miss installed the rear axles. I thought they were the same size for both sides. as I was tightening the retaining plate. I noticed that one side was a lot harder to bolt up vs the other side.. checked the other side, and I noticed it had some play in the shaft (in-out) pulled both sides out.

Hard to see here but I actually stressed the steal and couldn't find a replacement part for it anywhere. (Jeeps are not popular vehicles in the Gulf region). so I had to flatten it back and just wait until I get a new one from my lovely US of A.



Moving to the front.

I had no issues with installing stuff except for ball joints. I had to work with what I had since I couldn't access any tool stores at 11pm and had work the next day. this was my solution to popping balljoints out.



no pictures to the new ones in.. but I basically had to make sure the were level and used a flat wood on top and then hammered them down or up. checked my "Cs" and play. and found no issues! I do need to get proper tools for this.

went out with some friends and played in the desert!











Next to a friend's Scout. there's only two in the country and both were with us lol.. we did roll the Scout in this run so this picture was after the rollover.. no real damage was done.. it rolled on soft sand.. so the sand basically formed to the truck lol



Saw this guy and had to take a picture with it the next day



After that I drove off to Dubai which was 1000+KM

Leaving my house (replaced the trailer to a single setup)



Half way there



Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics of the Jeep while I was there. I was to busy catching up with friends for a few days. here we are on our way back, dad decided to load the bike. he got tired from all the wind and sand flying at him.



To be Continued...
 
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#199 ·
305/70/17 maxxis buckshot
 
#200 ·
Anyone install the rear poisonspyder tire carrier?

It's rattles bad. and it will not open or close easy.
 
#207 ·
I have the PSC carrier on my LJ Rubi with no issues at all. have you tried adjusting the latch? As far as open / close, I ensured I packed the bearings really well and it's smooth.
 
#202 ·
haha.. yea she's a big truck. eye catching in this side of the world. fun all around
 
#205 ·
#212 ·
platinum5.9 said:
What's the bolt pattern on the magnum wheels?
There's a thread on here about them somewhere. I believe they're a 5x4.5 bolt pattern but I think the hub bore is slightly different.

Edit: whoops... I'm on mobile and didn't realize Lo had already replied. My bad.
 
#213 ·
Took the J8 out this weekend. Was good. But surprised to see my front axle shifted to the driver's side a good inch. It only has 2" of lift. Time for an adjustable trackbar.
 

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#215 ·
It came with a softop. I designed this top for it
 
#217 ·
That top looks nice. From where you got the glass ?

Did you do the fiberglass work in Saudi ? Did you start with a factory unlimited top ?
The rear section of the glass belongs to a 2dr the small ones were made for it.

the top shell is out of a 4dr jk. everything else is custom made one of.
 
#219 ·
Haven't been on in some time. Mostly doing tech work on my Jeeps/friend's Jeeps and building and planning trails here.

Here are some pics from our most recent outing. Doing tons of research on installing gears and ARB lockers. seems pretty straight forward. that's next on the list.

and no, this is not MOAB

My rockstar :thumbsup:






Scout II



 
#221 ·
Too busy unveiling things you and Ryan. So I had to go and do business :D
 
#225 ·
TJ Dana 30 ARB locker install

So i'm trying to install a front RD 104 locker on a Dana 30. the ARB manual wants to drill holes in the housing for drainage holes!

http://store.arbusa.com/Assets/PDF/RD104_i.pdf

It's on page (12) Figure 6.

I'm having second thoughts about this, as this D30 does not have any of the holes that were illustrated in Figure 6 :confused:

Thoughts?
 
#226 ·
It won't necessarily be a hole, it just that there needs to be some space between the ends of the pressed in axle tubes and the carrier (inside, not draining out). Most Dana 30's I've done are fine without it. Do you want me to see if I can get a picture of mine? If I can see it without pulling the carrier or bearing caps
 
#227 ·
I think i get what you're saying. I would definitely appreciate some pics.

Thanks budd
 
#228 ·
Cool. I won't be able to open the axle up until after Christmas. Wanna shoot me a PM in a few days? I don't want to ruin your build thread.
 
#229 ·
No worries, I think someone could benefit from this info, as I came back with no search results.

I kinda guessed where it needs to be and what would make sense. I gambled and here is where I drilled the holes.

passenger side



Driver side

 
#230 ·
So, I'm in the middle of reassembling the front axle with new gears. This dana 30 uses a crush sleeve on the pinion. Anyone know whats the best way to crush the sleeve. Is there a specific tool to hold the Yoke in place? I broke a bracket that held the Yoke just to try get the damn crush sleeve to compress. still need to go a little further.

Tried google. we both started scratching our heads :confused:

The axle is getting setup on Jack stands, I now understand why it's better to leave it under the vehicle. I just don't have enough space :thumbdown:
 
#231 ·
Sorry I haven't gotten you the picture of a drain hole in a Dana 30 yet. Crush sleeve isn't needed, that's more for race cars. You can shim the pinion and torque to spec.
 
#232 ·
No worries,

check out the pics I posted. is that what you were referring to?


also, I can't shim the pinion. it doesn't have a seat for the shims. I think the factory Jeep Sleeve would probably be easier to crush. I'm hitting the dealer tomorrow to see if I can get one. I tried to crush the Yukon one, and reached 400ft/lb I stripped the nut and probably will need to fix the teeth on the pinion. So much for straight forward installation :rolleyes:
 
#233 ·
Your picture looks like what I was talking about. What brand of gears are you putting in? Can you post a picture of the pinion? What about master install kit, brand?
 
#234 ·
I'm using Yukon gears and their master kit. I'll try to get a picture up of the new pinion. If the teeth on the pinion got a little damaged, is it ok to fix them? worried after putting that much torque on the mock-up nut
 
#237 ·
I've heard of people start to crush the sleeve in a vice to get the process started so the big initial crush isn't as much pressure, then install it and finish it in the axle.
 
#238 ·
That's an interesting thought. I'm actually going to try that since i have an extra spare. Thanks budd

Now the hunt starts for a new pinion nut. Not easy to find one in my neck of the woods.
 
#239 ·
J8

The J8 has been seeing some attention.

I'm taking care of some small issues. and upgraded to the following:

Gobi stealth rack double ladder system
Rigid 50" E-combo
ARB Tent (moved from Spider LJ)
ARB awning (not installed yet)
Race radio
CB radio













 
#241 ·
that's awesome! love the expedition feel of that thing. Really cool.

Were you stuck in the sand or pushing through? I'm getting ready to buy a Gobi Rack, can't decide if I want a stealth rack or the other one.
Thanks!

good eye, yes I was stuck. but only because I was driving in 2WD :D

went back in to 4WD and it drove right out. then left it back in 2WD for the rest of the trip.

When we get rain on the dunes, the sand hardens and the vehicle floats and grips much better. You will see a lot of small cars driving over dunes too.

It's a lot of fun. but I still prefer the rocks :thumbsup:
 
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