The work continues, I pulled more some parts off and decided to address the interior. The seats were fine, but worn. My PRP's were begging to get installed, so I yanked out the Corbeaus, cleaned up the dirt & pine cones (Chad
) , decided to delete the amp & associated wiring, etc.
The new PRP's bolted right in, but the rear bolts were a PITA to put a nut on... so I welded the nut to a washer, then the washer to the inside of the seat bracket. I also added new Crow harnesses I've had sitting around for awhile.... just looks a little cleaner.
I decided to add some roll cage padding, I have nothing against helmets but I'd prefer not to wear one while running trails. I ordered some
Longacre high density mini padding on Amazon, cut it into 12" lengths and installed it around the most likely places to bash one's head, I probably need one more, for the outer bar.
Decided to take care of some maintenance, changing the
fluid in the Atlas and both diffs. The rear output shaft seal leaks on the Atlas, I ordered one but don't have it. Dropping the skidplates in one piece was fun, it's HEAVY. I measured the t-case skidplate, it's a 4" drop and I think I could easily swap in a 2" drop skidplate and raise the breakover point. If I cut the floor & rotate the Atlas, I think I could pull off a 1" drop. I'd also raise the engine/trans skidplate, either way.
I mentioned the broken welds in the rear diff, so after cleaning out the rear really good, I hit it with the torch preheating the spider gears, the old welds, burning out the gear oil, etc. The center pin was glowing red at one point, then I cranked the welder all the way up and began burning it all back together. I decided to add a piece of 3/8" plate to tie the spider gears.
The starter was still acting up after installing the new battery, so I swapped in a new
high torque LS starter. Chad mentioned the exhaust heat had killed starters in the past, so I added some heat shielding around the starter... hopefully it makes a difference.
I had these fancy, aftermarket windshield frame hinges for the old TJ and decided to swap them on... just because.
I tweaked the rear Currie AntiRock swaybar links further in, to increase the stability... after a test drive, it still feels like it needs more. I may pull the arms and redrill them... we'll see. Also found a slight coolant leak from the radiator and took care of that. Bleed the brakes after installing the new calipers, took it for a quick test drive around the neighborhood to bed the new pads in.
Hoping to get out on the trail tomorrow!