Any advice to simplify/speed an OME/ARB swap?

Gypsy62 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2016 2:45 pm

Sorry to swamp the board, but I'm doing ALL this stuff right now and really appreciate the input.

What's the most efficient way to approach swapping-out the 2" OME lift* and ARB'd front/rear axles** between my gasser and CRD, both '05's?

Should I swap ONLY the lift-specific components? I've never installed or removed a lift before, so It's tough to judge how much of the attached ancillary stuff could/should be swapped with it to SIMPLIFY the entire procedure. I'm very surprised how much of the running-gear appears identical. It looks like the (front) lift consists of only a horizontally-mounted fabricated 'box-tubing' component (to which the stabilizer/sway bar is bolted), and then just longer springs and shocks (I'm guessing that the rear is no more complex).
If that's close to correct, does it maybe make more sense to just leave other non-lift components attached and swap as larger assemblies?

Or, should I recruit a small army and swap everything all at once, keeping all the OME-components and ARB'd axles together as beastly front/rear assemblies???

It's more important to me to hasten the running-gear swap than it is to retain the identical non lift-related components native to either Jeep (wrong thinking?).

Re the axles-swap, anybody know the approximate complete-axle weight***, wheels-off? I'd guess somewhere under 250#, but an experienced guesstimate would be helpful in planning the required labor.

Should I expect this swap to be seriously time consuming? If so, I will focus solely on getting the gasser rolling with the swapped CRD-gear and worry about the CRD-installation later. I've gotta' drive the gasser back to Vegas the first week of November, and then I'm selling it**** stateside before returning to Baja (and my CRD).

*I have the original documentation for the OME kit. Although it was originally installed in a gasser, the lift components seem abundantly capable; it had an ARB front bumper (also swapping) and when a friend stood on the bumper the front end barely dropped, so I think this is "CRD-rated".

**I've made peace with the ARBs' diff ratios coupled with the CRD's AT final-drive (I'm running 245/75/16 Duratracs). Hopefully, it won't ding my economy tooo bad.
That said, I will sorely miss turning 2950rpm's cruising at 95mph and 24.5mpg (no tune yet). With a lift, those speeds will be far less advisable anyway.

***Actually, it would be kinda' cool to have a "Weight of Components" thread listing separate "parts" weights. With the head etc currently off, I'm very curious about the block weight. My two-bits: I'd say the valve-cover/intake/cams unit is about 45#, Cylinder Head 40#, exh man 20#, turbo 15#, ARB (no-winch) 85#.

****On that note, if anybody knows anyone west of Denver who may be interested in a 2005 gasser rigged as an RV-toad... I'll list it in the classified section with details.
(Basically, all of the gasser's cool serious 4x4 gear has been swapped for all of the CRD's cool serious RV-toad gear. Those RV-toad goodies ain't cheap, either, but I've decided to leave the RV in Ensenada while dive-touring Baja in the "finished" CRD. Hence, Lift and Lockers win over toad-gear.)
BTW, ARB=badass. The factory Blue Ox RV-toad baseplate is secured to the frame by 4 hefty grade-8's; the ARB front-bumper has 10 !!! And the Jeep-baseplate is designed to constantly bear the entire vehicle-weight while under tow! It looks like ARB engineered these bumpers to rip the jeep in two before even thinking about bumper-separation.

More advice from the "If only I had..." column:
Prior to this tear-down to perform all these improvements and preventative major-maintenance procedures, the only actual problem my CRD had was a stubborn #4 injector-base air-leak. It may not be a bad idea to add the following to the "routine maintenance" sticky:
"Every 6-months, use compressed-air to thoroughly blow-clean the top of the engine, very especially the fuel-injector wells. This should help extend the longevity of the injector o-rings, help prevent fouling of the injector retainer-bolts, and help reduce the overall probability of an air-leak at the injectors' bases."

Thanks

flash7210 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:10 pm

I dont know what a arp axle is, but...

I would install new ome springs on the crd front. The crd need heavier springs than the 3.7.

The crd front cv axles are different lengths than the 3.7. Although the front diff housings should be the same, I believe the mounts are different.

Rear axles are all the same. The only difference is that some have two wheel speed sensors while others only have one on the rear diff.

Gypsy62 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2016 8:47 pm

Thanks, Flash.

Whoops. "ARB'd axles". I'm also currently doing the A R P studs and I had a brain-fart. It happens. Yes, I meant ARB-loaded air-locking F/R diffs.
I'll Correct my first post. Thanks

Instead of swapping the diff-guts, I figure it would be less hassle to just swap the entire F/R diff assemblies incl. half-shafts, hubs and brake gear. I gather from your post that the swap necessarily requires swapping all half-shafts. Or are you saying that the half-shaft issue is not due to the lift itself, but instead due to a model-difference in the running-gear geometry and mount locations between an '05 gasser vs an '05 crd; that the assemblies simply cannot be swapped?
The F/R driveshafts appeared identical, but that was a quick visual observation, not a thorough comparison.

Re lift, I'll review the original OME documentation, but like I said the gasser is level and stiff, as witnessed when loaded with an 85# ARB bumper and 200# guy playing 'hood ornament' on top of the ARB: I doubt the front-end dropped 1/2". I've reviewed enough LJ "Lift" threads to know that normally gasser lifts aren't robust enough for a CRD. Dude standing on bumper was my highly calibrated lab-grade load-rating test method. Given only 1/2" drop with 200# load at the bumper, do you still really think this OME kit is underrated for the CRD? I find that hard to fathom, but then again I'm not "lift-competent".

Thanks!

Gypsy62 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 28, 2016 7:09 pm

Update:
I called Frankenlift to confirm which lift-kit was installed on the gasser: CRD. The top-plate is "OEM-dull", not "Gasser-shiny", etc. Presumably, the PO planned for the weight of the ARB front bumper by opting for the CRD-rated kit. Given how stiff the front-end currently feels in this gasser, it makes sense.
Apparently, the gasser also has the "Jeepin' by Al" kit; I'm hoping that isn't another "no-swap" from gas to CRD (cuz it's currently going with...).

To perform the swap, I've decided to leave the wheels on and just jack both vehicles up high enough to ROLL the entire F/R LIFT/ARB assemblies out from under each Lib.
Three of us grunting... haven't established the "separation-points" yet, but swapping this Sunday.

Looks like I'll be answering these questions myself during swap:
-Brake component interchangeability.
-F/R driveshaft interchangeability.
-F/R half-shaft interchangeability.
-Unknown, huge, hellish walls of non-interchangeability.

flash7210 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 28, 2016 8:12 pm

If you plan to drop the cradle on both, you will need to find a way to support the engines.
The motor mounts bolt to the cradle.

Any advice to simplify/speed an OME/ARB swap?

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