High School TJ build

This little Tj is coming along, that big dent in the side is gone due to a friend in town, repainted the hood and part of side panel where the dent was, the paint didn't match to what I thought it would, but that's ok, it gives it character. Repainted the the fender flares black, looks so much better than it did. Put on some Rugged Ridge rockers on it, took the old front bumper off, working on building a new one. It has a cute 2" coil spacer lift, I swapped the tires I had on the XJ and put them on the TJ. I've put some quick disconnect sway bar links on her as well. The heater wasn't working very well, turns out the heater core was clogged inside the pipe and as well as the fins, cleaned it up just enough to get a welcome breeze of nice warm air. As of plans on this daily high school driver, the floppy mirrors need to go, every time I close the door they move out of position, I have a hp d30 and a Ford 8.8 that need a little work before I throw them under. I also plan on putting 4.10 gearing and a lunchbox locker in the front, the 8.8 came with a limited slip that I'm going to keep in there for "High School Budget" reasons. Hoping that I can get 35" tires on there after my axles. I want to do high-line fenders just to get me that extra tire clearance that I may or may not need. This little Tj has been a good little Jeep for me so far, has done what I've wanted it to do for me so far, haven't taken it wheeling yet, but I can tell you it climbs curbs no problem.

 

[glockman]

What Pile of Parts said. You can find a ford HP dana 44 and a 9 inch rear or a JK dana 44 rear for way less than JK Rubi 44 Front.
You can run the Jana 54 ring gear in both and make them much stronger. This is likely the route I'll go with my LJ.

I fully support the 5.3/4l60E swap and can help you out if you need any info.

 

[kmboren]

Otherwise my advice is determine what goals you have for the vehicle currently (what trails you want to run, tire size, overall functionality etc) and also what you need from it (street driving, reliability etc) and figure out where those two intersect.

This is what I was going to say. What is a long term goal. Head towards that.

 

[ebryson]

Here is quick update and a little bit of what I'm planning on doing with this little Jeep. Since I've put that cool tailgate support in I've beefed up steering adjusting sleeve and put in some LED tail lights because TJ wiring and connections can be kinda iffy. My goal is to increase ride comfort and improve articulation (specifically in the rear).

First thing I plan on doing is those highline fenders. They've been apart of the build idea from the beginning and I think I'm finally to the point where I actually "need" them.

Second I plan on getting some new seats. These ones were a whole lot better than what came with the Jeep but looking for something a bit more comfortable. I'm looking to get some PRP Daily Driver seats.

Third I'm finally going to trianglulate the rear end. I'm going to have to do some exhaust work but I might just straight pipe it for a minute while I can get someone to get the exhaust dump back where it should be. While I'm doing this I'm also going to do the coil correction. Is there any objections to just putting the frame side brackets an inch or so from the skid plate and using that?

Forth and fifth are shocks and hydraulic bump stops. I've been wondering if it's a smart idea to have the bump stop barely resting on the lower control arm at ride height giving more of a progressive stop. Has anyone done this? Do you like it? Any reasons to not do that?

 

[RockChucker]

Here is quick update and a little bit of what I'm planning on doing with this little Jeep. Since I've put that cool tailgate support in I've beefed up steering adjusting sleeve and put in some LED tail lights because TJ wiring and connections can be kinda iffy. My goal is to increase ride comfort and improve articulation (specifically in the rear).

First thing I plan on doing is those highline fenders. They've been apart of the build idea from the beginning and I think I'm finally to the point where I actually "need" them.

Second I plan on getting some new seats. These ones were a whole lot better than what came with the Jeep but looking for something a bit more comfortable. I'm looking to get some PRP Daily Driver seats.

Third I'm finally going to trianglulate the rear end. I'm going to have to do some exhaust work but I might just straight pipe it for a minute while I can get someone to get the exhaust dump back where it should be. While I'm doing this I'm also going to do the coil correction. Is there any objections to just putting the frame side brackets an inch or so from the skid plate and using that?

Ricks muffler in Orem is great at snaking tail pipes through a triangulated rear suspension. Not cheap, but good work.

Forth and fifth are shocks and hydraulic bump stops. I've been wondering if it's a smart idea to have the bump stop barely resting on the lower control arm at ride height giving more of a progressive stop. Has anyone done this? Do you like it? Any reasons to not do that?

I’m a fan of hydraulic bumps. I have them. But I would not want them to be in contact for the whole range of travel. They are there for when you have an “oh crap” and need additional damping on top of your shocks. Uptravel is the key. If you can get into the range of 5-6” of uptravel, you’ll be amazed at how much more enjoyable your ride is. I’ve had 2” of uptravel in the past. Sucks on the road and sucks Offroad. 5-6” uptravel with a good damper will do wonders. You can still do hydraulic bumps but I wouldn’t have them engage until the last 2”-2 1/2” of travel or so. Uptravel and shorter lift heights are more work, but worth it. Sounds like you’re heading that way with high fenders.

 

[glockman]

I second what RockChucker says. Ricks is awesome. Jesse (at Ricks) did a fantastic job on the exhaust on my LJ.

I am running Falcons on my LJ with Teraflex Speed Bumps. They are 4 inch bumps. I have about an inch of free up travel on the front and 1.5 inches on the back. I really like them and this setup works pretty good. I did go with Rubber bump stop pads on the axle side to keep the plastic on plastic noise down.
I also had to sink the rears into the frame and if I were to do same setup again, I'd use the TF front mounting brackets on both front and rear.

 

[Hickey]

I'm also a fan of the Tera Speedbumps. I haven't had hydraulic bumps before, so I don't know what I'm missing but I know j can haul ass over whoops with them.
Skippy had some for sale recently, not sure if they're gone yet. They were a great price.

 

[ebryson]

For triangulating the rear end I'm thinking of getting the tj & lj truss from Barnes 4wd. Does anyone happen to know the angle that those uppers mounts would be already cut out for? Also is there some "bible" on do's and don'ts for triangulating axles?
https://barnes4wd.com/products/jeep...ss-dana-35-and-dana-44?variant=42414304690392
Then getting their adjustable upper control arm combination bracket kit. https://barnes4wd.com/products/adju...link-frame-bracket-kit?variant=42414275231960
I'm also likely going to use their Enduro joints (basicly a Johny Joint) and get my tubing from there as well.
I want to practice welding so I'm going to buy a highline fender kit from a company called CCfabs (if there's somewhere cooler let me know). From my understanding I just need to cut the hood. Weld the fenders together and lift the fender to the proper location and relocate a few things.

 

[skippy]

I'm also a fan of the Tera Speedbumps. I haven't had hydraulic bumps before, so I don't know what I'm missing but I know j can haul ass over whoops with them.
Skippy had some for sale recently, not sure if they're gone yet. They were a great price.

I have one pair of the speed bumps still so if someone if is interested hit me up

 

[ebryson]

Fenders and paint all there.
....... Now if only the weather could cooperate for just a day or 2....

 

[1969honda]

😎 Out of curiosity which fenders did you go with? I'm patiently waiting on my Motobilt order to ship that was originally scheduled for the week of the 12th.

Are you painting the fenders or lining them with an undercoat/bedliner product?

 

[ebryson]

😎 Out of curiosity which fenders did you go with? I'm patiently waiting on my Motobilt order to ship that was originally scheduled for the week of the 12th.

I went with Motobilt. The fenders just looked like they were a better build quality.

Are you painting the fenders or lining them with an undercoat/bedliner product?

I painting the fenders then I'm thinking I'll just clear the inner fenders.

 

[ebryson]

With the weather being more forgiving today I got to work on the Jeep a bit! Got most of the things unbolted from the fenders. The only thing I need to really take off is those rock lights I put on a while ago. I was able to get most of the fender on the passenger side undone. I just need those 2 fender bolts on the body side that are tucked between the inner fender and the body which have proven to be annoying.

This will also give me a chance to figure out my battery woes I have been having recently.

 

[ebryson]

Working on the TJ today!
Here is some progress so far. Wish some of my cut lines were a bit better but it works.

For those that are curious about the stock to highline difference.

And here's with more trimming to make hood flat.

 

[1969honda]

Nice! I actually picked up some 1/4" solid rod today that over the next week or so I'm going to weld on the lip of my boy's hood.

 

[ebryson]

Here we are at full test fit.

I pooched the drivers side line. Hoping to find a way to fix that.

 

[1969honda]

I've seen a few done that have what looks like 3/4" tall edge trim that would poetically hide that just fine.

 

[UPNO4]

Trim it just a little higher so you have a gap between the fenders and hood or you will get rub marks from the front end flexing ask me how I know. and yeah I used some door edge trim to finish it, plus it keeps it from being a sharp edge

 

[ebryson]

Here is the progress update/ photo dump.
Got everything all mounted to the inner fenders and fenders painted. Trying to figure out how to mount the radio antennas now... allll 3 of them..... what's winning is 2 mounted to the hood and one mount to the spare tire carrier.

 

[mbryson]

Those fenders look like you painted them in 30* weather

 

[ebryson]

Those fenders look like you painted them in 30* weather

..... Only a painter could tell....