Boulderguy

^^ that could be arranged

You say that like it's some kind of compromise...? Am I misunderstanding?

The hatch button becomes 'open,' meaning unassigned. The output still functions on the wire harness under the dash but it's not connected to anything.

Yes. Only if running the same distance, which you aren't, you're only going a few feet. Nothing wrong with using OEM ground points.

The Sooby electrical system isn't bad out of the gate so this isn't crucial IMO until you cross the 1000+ watt line with your system. Even then, debatable. Still it's a good idea and I believe it takes some strain off the system. If you're at or under 1000 watts I'd just tack some 8g on top of the alt to B+, another 8g from B- to the strut top hat stud & a third from B- to the alt engine mount bolt. With connectors & looming you're probably around $25. You can use bigger wires but there's no benefit til you get some serious amps(like 1500+ watts). Plus they're harder to work with & $$ more. Fusing the B+ to Alt is a waste of a fuse since current could travel in either direction.

That's exactly what it was too, the shield above the driveshaft. Imagine getting that racket right after replacing the axle - I was freaking out. Why is it you can't use the same axle I did?

OK, back from shop, it was a freakin' heat shield rattle that just suddenly "developed" by itself almost immediately after the axle job. Good news is the axle & diff are 100%. I was really worried I'd screwed something up there.

Great, have her swing by & fix this damn thing for me.

No no, nothing like that. It's an open diff - not locking - so it's supposed to do that if one wheel's harder to turn than the other. Which it was since I had one brake riding a bit tight. But I've still got a weird sound coming from the front end, will finally take the car in tomorrow & have someone else figure it out - I'm over it.

What not to do... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtTte6lCbps]Don't end up with these results...[/ame] (EDIT - everything is normal here, just one brake a little tight)

I used a 3' extension on the socket & was able to get about a quarter-turn tighter, so we're not talking about a lot of play. Rattle's gone, but now I have a new sound, kind of a metallic clinking, random, & mechanical sounding, almost like a baseball card in the spokes. I'm wondering if something got loose in the diff. At this point I'm out of patience & will be taking it to a shop for them to check.

Hey, just a note, mine developed a bit of a rattle this afternoon. I went in & checked, turns out the axle nut wasn't quite tight enough. I've now torqued it to the point that I worried the breaker bar would snap.

And this is a problem how? Kidding. That sucks.

Laramie - I used a 12" nail-remover pry bar on the green cup, once it popped out an inch I was home free. VTown - you've hosed that ball joint now, add it to the pile of broken stuff in the corner of the garage - screwdrivers, ratchets, skin from fingers... Now you HAVE to remove the LCA completely & hammer out the joint to replace it. Those things are pressed in with a hydraulic compressor I think, but you can probably bang a new one in by hand.

Did you remove the horizontal bolt in the knuckle completely? I mean not just loosen it, remove it altogether? Because it has to be completely out for the BJ to drop down. I used a big prybar. Or try just removing the other two attachment points & leave the BJ intact. Once those two are out you can swing the knuckle assembly free, you'll just have the lower arm hanging in space.