Jeep Just another boring TJ build

[Greg]

Finally, some decent progress!! I spend a few hours in the shop tonight after work.

First off, I picked up a winch for this thing after selling the 8274 (that wouldn't fit). I found a Warn Zeon 12 with steel cable for a decent deal. I'll upgrade to synthetic rope later on down the road. I really wanted a Zeon 10, as the 12 is sheer overkill for my needs.... but I guarentee it'll drag the TJ anywhere I need to go!

The high & tight Motobilt frame really puts the winch up high, compared to the grill! It fits perfectly in the winch mount and looks great on the front of the Wrangler.

I've been fitting up where right where the track bar needs to live and as mentioned, it was going to be tight. I tweaked the track bar mounts on the axle and cut up the frame end, to raise the track bar to clear the front diff cover and PSC DE steering cylinder.

After a LOT of fitting, I decided I was happy with the placement and tacked the track bar brackets in place, cut the bar to length and welded in the threaded bungs.

Everything clears by at least a 1/2", including the balancer! (That's a truck balancer though, I'm planning to run a Camaro balancer & accy drive, so it'll have even more clearance.)

Since the track bar was in, I kept the momentum going and started working on the TRE's for the PSC DE steering cylinder. Measure, cut, tack weld.... in case I need to readjust for proper toe measurements.

 

[Greg]

Oh, I bought the diff covers from Undercover Fabworks.... they are DIY Weld Up covers. Honestly, I'm not sure the price savings over a fully welded cover is worth it. But, they're beefy and look good. I just hope they don't leak...

 

[xjtony]

Looking good. Your shop is WAY cleaner than mine!

 

[Greg]

Looking good. Your shop is WAY cleaner than mine!

Thanks Tony! It's a constant battle, I have to force myself to clean up my mess or it gets worse and worse. I actually asked a friend to come over this Summer and help me clean & organize my shop.

 

[glockman]

Looking great Greg. I'm sure the progress feels good.

 

[Greg]

Looking great Greg. I'm sure the progress feels good.

Thanks Chad! It was nice to get back to working on this thing, way too much going on the last few months.

 

[mbryson]

Thanks Tony! It's a constant battle, I have to force myself to clean up my mess or it gets worse and worse. I actually asked a friend to come over this Summer and help me clean & organize my shop.

What does he charge?

 

[Hickey]

Your diff cover welds look better than my motobilt cover welds. On the diff covers I built for my Dana 44's I had a couple spots that weeped oil after some time. I ended up putting some JB weld inside on the bottom of each cover and it stopped the weeping. I wonder if just powdercoating them would do the trick.

 

[RockChucker]

Looking good! 1/2” clearances? That’s like throwing a tic tac down a hallway 😆

 

[mbryson]

Your diff cover welds look better than my motobilt cover welds. On the diff covers I built for my Dana 44's I had a couple spots that weeped oil after some time. I ended up putting some JB weld inside on the bottom of each cover and it stopped the weeping. I wonder if just powdercoating them would do the trick.

I have the “weld yourself “ covers on my 14 bolt and Dana 60. The 14 bolt is a “Great Lakes Fab” or something like that and the D60 is a RuffStuff unit, I believe. Both have been surprisingly liquid tight. I do get a weep from the Dana 60 unit but I attribute that more to the steering ram than anything else.

I’m far from an awesome welder but these have held up quite well. Even my welds

 

[Bart]

OMG Greg, that thing is downright sexy. Great work. Can't wait to see it on the trail.

 

[Greg]

OMG Greg, that thing is downright sexy. Great work. Can't wait to see it on the trail.

Thanks Bart! 😁

I can't wait either, I have a ton of work ahead of me, I'm trying to do it all right, the first time. Hopefully it'll be ready for the trail next Spring.

 

[N-Smooth]

That winch looks great in there! And I agree with Dave- 1/2" of clearance? Stop showing off how much room you have

 

[STAG]

Those are some nice steering arms you got there! 😍

 

[Herzog]

A bead of silicon on the inside of the cover would do the trick. Looking great! Excited to see more progress on this beast.

 

[1969honda]

If you're worried about those welds I'll make sure to hide any pictures of mine once I can get caught up enough to work on the K5....

 

[Greg]

I decided to raise the TJ up to around ride height, it's about 5" above full bump in these pics. ORI's work better in mid-stroke, but that (7") would be taller than I'd like. I had to disconnect the ORI's from the lower shock mount, as I still don't have a way to charge them and you do NOT want to jack them up without using nitrogen. Plus, I want to keep them at full compression for the time being.

I wanted to check the track bar angle, suspension link angle, frame height, etc. I think this height will be about the normal suspension height. The track bar looks pretty good, IMO. The rear links are damn near parallel to the ground and front links don't have much angle on them either.

The windshield frame is 6' 4" tall and the frame is 22" off the ground at the t-case. It seems just about right.

Damn this thing is looking good! 😍

 

[Gravy]

That's a better height. I think mine is bellied at 19" and it's too low for some stuff. 21 road for example.

 

[Greg]

That's a better height. I think mine is bellied at 19" and it's too low for some stuff. 21 road for example.

Yep, it's a good all around compromise, I think. I'll experiment more once I have my nitrogen tank, regulator and hoses. It'll be interesting to see how it does on big climbs with that 114" wheelbase and this height.

 

[Gravy]

That feels ok to me. Mine is 107.5".

When I get back into it (when my kids are a bit older I think) I'd like to do a mini boat side. The sliders get me stuck most when I'm climbing stuff at an angle (like Eagle's Nest). (Like bellying out at an angled break over).