Abu Dhabi Off-Road Club Forums

Update: I decided to keep all updates in one post.

So, it is time to start project RB (Rust Bucket). I divided the project into different stages which will take at least a year (or two) to finish. So, First let me take you through a brief description of each stage:

Stage 1: Newbie
This milestone is about getting the car ready for for Newbie Trips. Basically, I need to get the car into an "operational state" and make it comply with the rules and regulations of AD4x4. No fancy stuff here, just mainly general maintenance work.

Stage 2: Intermediate
Yep, you guessed it! Joining a more advanced trips will require more preparation of the car. This stage is also about getting the car ready for stage 3. I will be installing new Suspension System, extra lights, Storage management, Rear tire carrier, integrated air compressor, twin Battery, ... etc.

Stage3: Advanced
This stage is about getting the car ready to host the stronger engine. This includes stronger Axles, Lockers, Bigger tires, bigger brakes, a bigger gas tank ... etc.

Stage4: Explorer
Finally, this stage will include upgrading the engine. Who knows? Maybe by the time I reach this stage Muroor will always me to add a hemi Engine!

To Be Continued with Stage 1 updates...

Edit: Added Stage 4

Congrats and look forward to witness the transformation.

Ossme
The your need mid stage to get your car and you ready for Wadi & Camping trips

... and we all will watch over you ... so you do not start with stage 3 (oops ... or stage 4) first

Thanks for the support guys !

oh, and I'm already working on Stage 3 !!

So, Back to Stage 1...


I opened the gearbox on Thursday and found that the 4th gear was damaged. I went to WM and they quote me AED5500 only for the 4th gear! So I decided to change the whole gearbox with a newer v3550 gearbox that comes in 2000-2004 models. I looked for it in Abu Dhabi but I couldn't find anything.

So, a trip to the scrap yards in Sharjah last Saturday got me a very clean gearbox for AED3400. I also "accidently" found a front Dana 44 axle! So, I immediately bought it despite not needing it for now. That axle cost me an unplanned AED2000.
I need the car to be ready before next Friday. So, I took it to a friend of mine. This way he can work on it during the morning and I visit his shop to help after working hours. The Gearbox have already been installed and is working perfectly. If you want to do this then make sure that you also buy the shifter since there old one didn't fit. since no one have a Dual force clutch in stock I ended up using a OEM clutch. It will work until I replace the engine.

So Other things done Yesterday were:
1- Changed the spark plugs. The old spark plugs were not changed for a long time. 2- Fixed the oil PAN engine leak by installing new gasket.
3- checked the head which looked fine with no leak.
2- Changed engine oil and oil filter. (The old engine oil was so old it started turning to coil dust!! ).
3- Installed new A/C switch since the old one was broken. I had to order it from the states since WM didn't stock them. Now I can start fixing the actual A/C! So, After finishing all of this, I took the car for a ride and found some good news and bad news.

The good news are that the small engine maintenance have done it lots of good, The new gearbox and clutch are much better than the old ones, and the oil temperature sensor have managed to "fix it self"!

The bad news is a very loud sound coming from the rear axle. My friend suggested that this is a diff problem. But after investigation we found that the right rear axle needs replacement. I'm not planning to spend much in the axles since I'm going to replace them anyway. So I'm waiting for a price quotation on fixing the axle.

Things that are pending before Friday:
1- fix the rear upper frame control arm mount.
2- Replace the k&N air filter.
3- replace the front tube bumper with Warn bumper.
4- Install a high lift Jack mount.
5- Install a flag mount.
6- fix the A/C sensor problem.
7- Fix the H4/L4 Dash light (it broke when we fixed the new gearbox)
8- Take the car into a test drive and recheck it before the trip.

sounds good...
You found a Front Dana44 on a scapyard ? Now i'm getting jealous ...
Where .... maybe ... there's one more ?

For the rest : looks very good ... i'm eager to see what your rost bucket will look like in the end

front D44 for the TJ are narrower than for the JK ... and you know they come with 4.10 ratio ...
so ... earliest usage is when regearing (stage 3?)

But really congrats on the good finds!

AND cu friday !

good work

i love your avatar picture too!

if you need a vehicle to test your mechanical skills on you can always borrow my Landrover,

MalteJK wrote:sounds good...
You found a Front Dana44 on a scapyard ? Now i'm getting jealous ...
Where .... maybe ... there's one more ?

For the rest : looks very good ... i'm eager to see what your rost bucket will look like in the end

Sharjah Scrapyard. I can give you the coordinations if you want. But good luck finding one!

I will tell you something, I found that Diff under a TJ. But I still have some suspicion that it is actually a JK one. If that turned out to be the case then I'm going to sell it to you !

SSS wrote:front D44 for the TJ are narrower than for the JK ... and you know they come with 4.10 ratio ...
so ... earliest usage is when regearing (stage 3?)

But really congrats on the good finds!

AND cu friday !

Thank you. Yep, the diff won't be used until stage 3 ! I just coudn't miss the chance. You know, you always find things when you are not looking for them !

Friday ? I don't think so, not with RB anyway. Read the updates below.

Xof wrote:good work

i love your avatar picture too!

Thank you ! The avatar is basically stolen with some photo shop !

Doc wrote:if you need a vehicle to test your mechanical skills on you can always borrow my Landrover,

Do you really want to get rid of it that bad ??!! Anything that I touch goes straight to the Scrapyard !

So, here is today's update...

We opened the rear diff to have a look inside and sure enough, the right rear axle shaft is bent (by a small degree). two bearings also need to be replaced. So, it should of been a simple fix.

I went to search for an axle and yep ... I couldn't find any. no body stocks them! same goes for bearing kit! I searched everywhere including scrapyards and found nothing !

So we went back to the shop and started assembling the diff back. After that I started scratching my head on what to do next.

I could buy an axle and a overhaul kit. T hat will cost me AED1000 But I could also pay an extra AED1000 and get my self a rear Dana 44 and call it a day.

Now, there are few problems with getting a rear Dana 44. For a start, Jeeps come with different Gearing ratios. Finding the "correct" one to match the front (either the dana 30 or 44) will be difficult. Especially that I don't know what gear ratio the car currently have.

The work around of this is to change the gear ratio to match. This means many things, which includes but not limited to Buying a new Ring and Pinion set, and axle overhaul kit. aside from the cost, I'm 99% sure that I'm only going to find 4.56+ ring sizes which is too much for 31" tires. Buying smaller rings will mean importing them from US (time issue) and replacing them later (Money issue). So, this option will either wast my time, money, or both !

But this is not the only issue. Installing the Dana 44s now will prevent me from building them outside the car during stage 3 !

So my best option is buying an axle shaft for now ... which I cannot find ..

Anyway, I'm heading to Sharjah tomorrow to try and find an axle or Dana 44 shaft. while the car is going to a frame specialist to get the CA Mount fixed. that will take a day or two. Add the time to fix the diff, and all the other stuff and I don't think that I will be able to finish RB before Friday!

Today was full of oil and grease but it was also a total wast of time. But I really had fun!

I hope that tomorrow will be a better day. see you guys until then !

good luck & still hope to see you in the sand on friday

... and if you step over 2 dana 44 with 4,56 or even 4,88 ... (front & rear) let me know

MalteJK wrote:good luck & still hope to see you in the sand on friday

... and if you step over 2 dana 44 with 4,56 or even 4,88 ... (front & rear) let me know

Just send me your mobile # and I will call you if I found any !

Just a quick update for today as I just came back from Sharjah.

You already know that I was able to source a front Dana 44 which had 4:10 gear ratio. Well, I'm happy to say that the I was also able to source a rear Dana 44 with the same gear ratio!

It is not as good as the one in front. but it should do the trick with little maintenance.

Here are some "teaser" pics !

See you guys Tomorrow !

woooow ... congraaaats ...

This is truly a TJ D44 front !
probably with a factory rubicon air locker which is coooool .... 4.10 with 31" and the bigger diameter ring gear will be amazing!
and if you got a D44 rear with 4.10 as well it has the airlocker as well !!!!
Commonly known as Tru Lok:
The front is part number "AirLoc", and the cost is $529.95. The rear is part number "AirLocr" and costs $679.95. Those are the Daimler-Chrysler parts, you will also need a pair of air pumps, part number 7938693926, price $159.00. (and two electrical switches and some air locker air hoses)

I never thought sharjah is importing TJ rubicon stuff or so many US rubicons on the streets ... **** mussaffah, especially our particular Jeep Junker there who is even more expensive than the dealership and is grabbing anything Jeep related in AD

Now get inner sleeves and C-gussets and 30 spline chromoly axle shafts with stronger u-joints and your front end is bomb proof!