Yoda? Build Thread

[AVGeek99]

Today was a long day, but it ended well, at least on paper. I got off to a bit of a late start again. My wife's been cleaning out a LOT of junk in the house so we rented a dumpster. They were coming to take that away today so I had to help finish getting rid of everything.

I got started back on the Jeep at about 11:30. In the rear end I just had the UCAs, coils, shocks, swaybar and bump stops. I figured out one pointer that's not in the instructions. You should wait to install the (rear) bump stops until after you have torqued everything down. There's no room to get a torque wrench on the UCA at the axel when the bump stops are installed. Like when I was working on the YETI, the only thing that gave me any sort of trouble in the rear end was getting the bolt started on the nut on the passenger UCA at the frame. Here's a shot of the rear end before I put the tires back on.

With the rear tires back on and off the jack stands I measured the drive shaft and pinion angles to see if I needed to adjust the contol arms. Thankfully they were within .4 degrees so I called it good, at least for now. All that was left in the rear was torquing everything down and insalling the the bump stops.

I then moved back to the front to check the castor. Unfortunately that wasn't so good. The MC instructions provide starting point lengths for the contol arms that target 6 degrees of caster. Since my lift is 3.5" and I have no FAD I wanted to get more in the 4 degree range for caster. So I thought I would be smart and come up with my own lengths. BIG mistake.

I didn't get a before picture, but when I measured the caster in front, my angle finder read 84.1 degrees, which equates to .1 degrees of caster. I wasn't even going test drive at that caster. I'm sure it would have been a shit show.

Normally you can make caster adjustments with the Jeep sitting on the ground. Mine was so out of wack I had to put it back on the jack stands to make the adjustment. I ended up setting all the front CAs at MCs recommended length. I figured that would get me close enough that I could then make final adjustments with the Jeep on all 4 wheels. When I got it back on the ground I meaured and got a reading of 88.1 degrees, or 4.1 degrees of caster, .1 degrees more than I was shooting for in the first place. I celebrated a bit when I saw that reading.

Since I had both front wheels off again I checked the toe, perfect. This didn't surprize me too much, since my SS Yeti TR came off the YETI and it had a good alignement. Then I got the front tires back on my wife got in to help me adjust the DL to get the steering wheel situated correctly.
With the late start I called it a night. Tomorrow all that remains before the test drive is to torque everything down. I'm hoping with no FAD that 4 degrees of caster will be little enough to mitigate any DS vibrations.

Here's how Yoda is looking now. Just like when I got the YETI back when it was lifted, the 315/70s look almost cartoonishly small. In desparate need of getting the 37s swapped over to Yoda.

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[AVGeek99]

With the lift all but finished, here's what I have left to do.

• Soft Top
• Full MC 3.5 GC lift
• Fox 2.5 DSC Shocks - Shipped off to Accu Tune to get rebuilt and revalved.
• Front Drive Shaft
• Steer Smarts Yeti DL and TR
• Fox 2.0 ATS Steering Stabilizer
• Rock Hard 4x4 aluminum bumpers, front and rear
• Superwinch 10k winch
• Teraflex Alpha HD hinged tire carrier and mount
• ARB Diff Covers
• Mopar HD Rock Sliders w step assist
• Mopar Trail Rail system
• Mopar All Weather Floor Mats
• Mopar Stainless Door sill Guards, or I may just buy new ones
• Light Bar

Next weekend I'll likely do the bumpers, winch, and light bar. I still need to drill out that one bolt to get the front bumper off the YETI. I may also get the drive shaft or diff covers done depending on time.

I also ordered new front drop brackets from MC. Depending how it rides and handles with out them I may return them.

 

[AVGeek99]

This evening I torqued everything down and took it for a test drive. Immediately I noticed the steering wheel wasn't close to being aligned correctly. Abut the time I realized that I got some warning lights, that of cours were all related to the steering wheel not being aligned.

The funny thing is I adjusted the length of the DL with my wife in the driver's seat. She told me to stop when it was straight. This time I got my daughter to help and we got it all straightened out pretty quickly.

The Jeep drove GREAT!! I was worried the drive shaft might vibrate a little since there's no FAD; my caster is 4 degrees. I think there is an ever so slight vibration. You can't feel it, but if you listen real close you can hear it, or I may have been hearing things. I will leave it as is until I install my after market DS this weekend and see how that is.

With the caster at 4 degrees, the steering did seem a little loose and wanderous, but after I aligned the steering wheel I increased the firmness in my Fox ATS 2.0 SS by 4 clicks. I am now on setting 20 of 24. That tightened up the steering very nicely! Some may say the adjustable SSs are overkill, but they are a godsend when you're forced to run a lower caster setting.

I was a bit worried how Yoda was going to ride. I don't have any drop brackets, and I'm just on my cheapo temporary shocks while my Fox 2.5 DSCs are being rebuilt. It was noticeably rougher riding than the cushy stock ride, but it's not terrible. I did order the 2024+ Prolignment drop brackets from MC, when I realized there was an update for 2024+ MYs, but I think I'm going to see how it rides once I get my Fox shocks back before I install them. I may return them.

This weekend I think I'll tackle the driveshaft.

 

[AVGeek99]

How did I miss this???!!!

I got to work Tuesday morning and tried to turn sharp left in the parking ramp, and then a terrible rubbing. Turning sharp right was fine. I thought how am I rubbing turning left but not right. Track bar is perfect length. Then I notice a black mark on the LCA, and I'm like 'wait a minute'???

I fricking put the LCA in up side down. Luckily just a 10 minute fix. I flipped it over when I got home, now all is good. Super happy with how it is riding, even with my cheapo temp shocks and no drop brackets. I'm all but certain I'll be returning the drop brackets.

 

[AVGeek99]

Not many pictures to share from this weekend. When I get focused on the work I forget to take pictures.

Not as much progress as I hoped this weekend, but it did end well. I got the driveshafts swapped between the YETI and Yoda. When I got the drive shaft (I got it from MC, so I believe it's an Adams?) installed on Yoda, I took it for a test drive and immediately I got vibration starting ast 50-55mph.

This morning I set out to reduce my caster a bit. I lengthened both UCAs four full turns, which reduced my caster about 1.8 degrees to 2.7 degrees. I was hoping that would be enough to eliminate the vibration in the drive shaft, but was worried what it would drive like. Good news on both fronts. The vibration is gone, and it didn't impact the steering one bit. I have my Fox ATS 2.0 set on 20 (out of 24) and it does an excellent job keeping control with the low caster setting.

I'm not exactly sure what my final caster measurement is now. When I measured it after lengthening the UCAs it was 2.7 degrees. But after driving it a bit the caster seems to incease a little. When I measured it after the test drive I want to say it was about 3.5 degrees. That seemed like a big increase, so I want to measure it again once I get it parked back in my third stall, which is where I normally take all my measurements. I zeroed the angle finder, so it shouldn't make a difference, but I will measure and get a picture when I'm back in the third stall.

With the DS swap complete and Yoda driving with no issues I focused back on the YETI. I wanted to get the bolt drilled out on the bumper so I could finally take it off and get it ready for install next week. The bolt prooved to be a PITA. The battery went dead on my drill twice and I went through several drill bits. Then I found a YouTube video that showed how to drill out a bolt. It said to drill at low speed, enabling the bit to bite more and not dull so quickly. Once I tried that I seemed to make better progress, and then the battery died again.

With nothing else to do while the batter was charging I went to the store to get a second battery and more drill bits. The I got home and put the new battery on the charger. The bit I had been using was still doing a decent job so I just kept using that. No more than 30 seconds after I started drilling again it finally broke through. Seriously the battery died the last time 30 seconds before completion!! But I'm not gonig to complain. SUCCESS!!

It was getting later in the day today, but with the bumper removed I wanted to see if I could get the drag link removed. When I originally installed the Steer Smarts Yeti DL the stock drag link was a B!tch to remove from the pitman arm. When I was in Lowes the other day buying some ratcheting wrenches they had a set of Craftsman pickle forks. It had three different forks for various tasks including a nice thick one for pitman arms. It did the trick, it only took 5 or 6 minutes of pounding to get the DL disconnected. Though as I thought I would I tore up the rubber boot so I have to replace that.

Next week the plan is to compelte the DL transfer and Install the bumpers on Yoda. If I can do that then Yoda will be complete. At least until the next upgrade.

 

[AVGeek99]

It's been a busy couple weeks. In my last update I had just gotten the front bumper finally removed from the YETI. The following night I went to touching up all the rock rash. I started by sanding everything down. Then to try to match the powder coating as close as possible on the RH 4x4 I used Rustoleum Black Hammered spray paint. I got a picture of it sanded down but of course forgot to get a final shot after I painted it. I can say It turned out great. The Hammered paint is is a cross between satin and semi gloss finish with a smooth texture. Very similar to the powder coating on the RH. If you put direct bright light on it you can see a little difference, but at the angle of where it is you'll never notice it.

 

[AVGeek99]

Last week the plan was to swap the drag links between the YETI and Yoda and then install the RX 4x4 Bumpers on Yoda.

When I removed the Steer Smarts Yeti DL from the YETI I tore the grease boot. In prep for the drag link swaps I got a new DL end from Steer Smarts. I also got an OEM DL end assuming I'd tear the grease boot removing the DL from Yoda, which I did. But just like the week before, having a pitman arm pickle fork makes all the difference in the world. It only took 5 or 6 good wacks to separate the OEM DL from the pitman arm.

Here's a shot of the front end of Yoda with the Steer Smarts DL installed. Of course there's no need to remove the bumper to replace the DL, but since I was replacing the bumper anyway, I removed the OEM bumper first just to give me more room to work on the DL.

Installing the front bumper was pretty uneventful. Installing the rear bumper was a bit more of a pain just because of how much you have to contort your hands to get the bolts installed on the side of the frame rails.

I wish I got a picutre of it but it was getting late and I was pissed when I realized it. But right as I finished tightening the last bolt on the rear bumper I saw the wiring harness for the towing electrical dangling down. DOH!!! I had to remove the entire bumper, connect the electrical and then reinstall the bumper. Thankfully I learned a little the first time around and installing it a second time only took about 60% as long as the first time.

 

[AVGeek99]

At the end of last weekend here is were I stand with my list of stuff to move to Yoda.

• Soft Top
• Full MC 3.5 GC lift
• Fox 2.5 DSC Shocks - Shipped off to Accu Tune to get rebuilt and revalved.
• Front Drive Shaft
• Steer Smarts Yeti DL and TR
• Fox 2.0 ATS Steering Stabilizer
• Rock Hard 4x4 aluminum bumpers, front and rear
• Superwinch 10k winch
• Teraflex Alpha HD hinged tire carrier and mount
• ARB Diff Covers
• Mopar HD Rock Sliders w step assist
• Mopar Trail Rail system
• Mopar All Weather Floor Mats
• Mopar Stainless Door sill Guards, or I may just buy new ones
• Light Bar

I am all but finished. My FOX DSCs arrived yesterday but I was busy back working on the YETI; I installed the XR suspension I took off Yoda. I'll probaboy to the shocks next week end and will do the ARB diff covers the first time I change my oil, which may be next weekend as well.

It's amazing how much quicker things go when you done something once or twice already. This weekend I installed the full XR suspension on the YETI, as well as the OEM bumpers I took of Yoda. Once I finished everything I took the YETI out for a test drive and it drove great, no issues at all.

Here's what they both look like now:

Yoda (and Oshie):

The YETI:

 

[AVGeek99]

Yoda is all but finished after this past weekend. On Friday I had Discount Tire swap my tires. STT Pro 37s to the OEM XR rims and 315/70 KO2s to the rims I had on the YETI. Then on Saturday I installed the Fox 2.5 DSCs.

And after about 5 weekends straight, Yoda is pretty much complete. All that remains are the ARB diff covers. I'll probably install those when I change the oil in a couple weeks.

I'm super happy with how everything has turned out, both with how it looks and how it drives. Before I bought Yoda, I was a little worried about how it would drive having a 3.5" lift, that again netted me about 5.25", would work without an FAD. After installing the aftermarket DS I did have to reduce caster to keep it from vibrating. I measured the caster this weekend and it is low @2.9 degrees, but it drives perfectly. It doesn't wander and it isn't jerky on uneven pavement. Perhaps becuase I have my ATS steering stabilizer set at 20 (out of 24), but if that's what it takes, that thing was worth every penny!!

 

[AVGeek99]

A couple small updates to Yoda today.

After a post from @Zandcwhite that had a great explanation on how to measure for appropriate bump stop I realized I needed to add a 1" puck to Yoda in front. When I initially installed the lift on Yoda I didn't add any bump stop pucks because it is an XR with the crazy tall bump stop towers. But my shocks are longer than normal.

When I bought them I double checked with MetalCloak on the max compressed and extended lengths they recommended for the 3.5" GC. For the front I ended up going with the longest Fox 2.5 DSCs for 4.5-6" lifts. They were right at the max length recommended by MC. After taking measurements and verifying the compressed length of my shocks I determined I needed to add one puck. The one part of the job I was dreading was drilling out the hole in the center of the spring pad to a 1/2". Thankfully I had a step bit, which made super easy work of it. Each one only took about 30 seconds.

While I had the front end torn apart I figured it would be a good time to rerout the brake and ABS sensor lines with the Teraflex front brakeline anchor. I had intended to install these when I did the lift but I forgot to order them so I just left the brake lines in their OEM position. I knew they would be ok in that spot because they were fine on my 2021 with the same lift. But they did get pretty taut at full droop so I did want rerout them.

Istallation of the Teraflex anchors should be pretty simple, but the MC outboard shock mount complicated things a bit. I ended up installing them on the inside edge of the outside shock mount right next to the OEM shock mount spacer. On the passenger side I had to grind the spacer down a little to get the anchor to fit, but thankfully on the driver side there was enough clearance without the need to grind. Overall I'm happy with out it turned out. Now I don't have to worry about the brake and ABS sensor lines stretching or breaking while out on the trail.

 

[Zandcwhite]

A couple small updates to Yoda today.

After a post from @Zandcwhite that had a great explanation on how to measure for appropriate bump stop I realized I needed to add a 1" puck to Yoda in front. When I initially installed the lift on Yoda I didn't add any bump stop pucks because it is an XR with the crazy tall bump stop towers. But my shocks are longer than normal.

When I bought them I double checked with MetalCloak on the max compressed and extended lengths they recommended for the 3.5" GC. For the front I ended up going with the longest Fox 2.5 DSCs for 4.5-6" lifts. They were right at the max length recommended by MC. After taking measurements and verifying the compressed length of my shocks I determined I needed to add one puck. The one part of the job I was dreading was drilling out the hole in the center of the spring pad to a 1/2". Thankfully I had a step bit, which made super easy work of it. Each one only took about 30 seconds.

While I had the front end torn apart I figured it would be a good time to rerout the brake and ABS sensor lines with the Teraflex front brakeline anchor. I had intended to install these when I did the lift but I forgot to order them so I just left the brake lines in their OEM position. I knew they would be ok in that spot because they were fine on my 2021 with the same lift. But they did get pretty taut at full droop so I did want rerout them.

Istallation of the Teraflex anchors should be pretty simple, but the MC outboard shock mount complicated things a bit. I ended up installing them on the inside edge of the outside shock mount right next to the OEM shock mount spacer. On the passenger side I had to grind the spacer down a little to get the anchor to fit, but thankfully on the driver side there was enough clearance without the need to grind. Overall I'm happy with out it turned out. Now I don't have to worry about the brake and ABS sensor lines stretching or breaking while out on the trail.

Have you checked clearance with the tire turned and stuffed with the brake lines outside the shocks like that? Not saying it will be a problem but I've never seen them routed like that and I wouldn't want a tire lug trying to grab the brake lines. Probably not an issue but it looks different so it fit me thinking.

 

[AVGeek99]

Have you checked clearance with the tire turned and stuffed with the brake lines outside the shocks like that? Not saying it will be a problem but I've never seen them routed like that and I wouldn't want a tire lug trying to grab the brake lines. Probably not an issue but it looks different so it fit me thinking.

I don't think it should be a problem, but I'll take a look at that. Will play with my new floor jack this weekend and check it out.

 

[Roky]

I don't think it should be a problem, but I'll take a look at that. Will play with my new floor jack this weekend and check it out.

Here’s mine full lock driver, and it’s not a good angle but there’s about 3/8” between the line and tire, I’ll try and get better pic when I get home…..

I have it hooked here…so far no issues….

 

[AVGeek99]

I finally installed the last remaining parts I took off The Yeti today. We are unexpectedly at home for Christmas becuase my wife got the flu so we had to cancel our travel plans. I decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm temps and install my ARB Diff Covers.

Now I gotta think of the next upgrade. Thinking some belly skids, but not sure exactly when that will happen.

• Soft Top
• Full MC 3.5 GC lift
• Fox 2.5 DSC Shocks - Shipped off to Accu Tune to get rebuilt and revalved.
• Front Drive Shaft
• Steer Smarts Yeti DL and TR
• Fox 2.0 ATS Steering Stabilizer
• Rock Hard 4x4 aluminum bumpers, front and rear
• Superwinch 10k winch
• Teraflex Alpha HD hinged tire carrier and mount
• ARB Diff Covers
• Mopar HD Rock Sliders w step assist
• Mopar Trail Rail system
• Mopar All Weather Floor Mats
• Mopar Stainless Door sill Guards, or I may just buy new ones
• Light Bar

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