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OrangeSkidPlates 98 Cherokee Build

OrangeSkidPlate

OrangeSkidPlate

Active Member
Location
Pocatello
Well I was able to get out a few times with new locker. One trip we ran up Providence canyon and up to Logan peak. It was pretty uneventful and I ended up getting high centered on a log because I am dumb or something.





The next trip was to save a buddy who posted a "cry for help" on our clubs facebook page. Apparently he had lost power to his front axle and had gotten stuck in 2 feet of snow on the Idaho side of Bear Lake. So I drove up to Bear Lake and he showed me where his truck was. Turns out it was a Toyota truggy on 1 tons and 37's. So I aired down and the first pull on the strap and it broke. Pulled out the extra strap and finally got the truck moving. I was able to get him back to his cabin after a few hours in below zero temperatures. I didn't take any pictures because I was too frozen.

The final trip was with the club again, we had a Cherokee with open diffs, a 4Runner with open diffs, a locked CJ7 and TJ and my rig. We were going to run the short loop up Swan Flats in Logan canyon. It was snowing and there was a foot of snow. Had a smile on my face the whole time busting drifts and cutting trail. I made it a little further than everyone else and it ended up getting pretty dark so we headed down. Probably the most fun I have had on a snow wheeling trip.







 
OrangeSkidPlate

OrangeSkidPlate

Active Member
Location
Pocatello
Thanks man, I've been really fortunate in finding good deals on used or new parts. I've still invested a lot more than I ultimately would have thought.

Has anyone had a problem with lock right lockers unbinding under power? I wonder if the springs need to be replaced or something.

I have also decided that it is time for a brake upgrade. I was hoping to wait until I went to bigger axles but to be honest I would feel a lot better about being able to stop sooner....much sooner. So its time for a WJ swap, hopefully I can get it done over my winter break. Also, I want to run longer shocks, I really like my Fox shocks in the front but they are almost 30 dollars more than bilsteins. Opinions?
 
OrangeSkidPlate

OrangeSkidPlate

Active Member
Location
Pocatello
Went and played around with the some of the new goodies. 12" Bilsteins ride pretty similar to the shorter Fox smooth bodies that I had before, but ride much better on the road.

With the longer shocks my coils are completely unseated, so that is cool I guess. I need to work on the rear travel next.
Another picture for kicks.
 
OrangeSkidPlate

OrangeSkidPlate

Active Member
Location
Pocatello
Well there has been a little bit of progress made, I bought a full width Dana 44 to start building. Will probably take awhile but should be a fun project. I can't decide on a rear though, I'd like a 60 or 9" but I'm not in too much of a hurry to get all of this done.
 
thenag

thenag

Registered User
Location
Kearns
OrangeSkidPlate said:
Well there has been a little bit of progress made, I bought a full width Dana 44 to start building. Will probably take awhile but should be a fun project. I can't decide on a rear though, I'd like a 60 or 9" but I'm not in too much of a hurry to get all of this done.
Click to expand...

I don't like the STOCK dana 60's I have seen plenty break shafts. They usually have 30 spline shafts. There are good JY find rear d60's but for the same money you can score much stronger axles with just as much aftermarket parts available. (Altough heavy and huge, I am a fan of the old school GM 14 bolt) D70's can be found, and newer GM axles with discs and drum in hat style parking break can be found too.

Also remember that if your front d44 is a ford 5 lug you can swap out the knuckles with gm to get 8 lug.

Nathan
 
OrangeSkidPlate

OrangeSkidPlate

Active Member
Location
Pocatello
So I ended up giving the 44 back so I am not sure on what I am going to do now. I kind of want to do the WJ swap since I the majority of the parts that I need, I am just having a hard time motivating myself to get tons or something stronger than stock because I basically have to start over with my axles. I know mine definitely will not hold up to 37's and I definitely thinking these 35's are getting small. Also I broke the lever on my winch and found out that it slips into freespool when ever it wants, so that is nice.

I was up Millville today, I think I was up there a few weeks ago, I was with a fairly big group and there was a ton of ice. Had a few rigs run into each other, it was pretty ugly.

Here are a few poser pictures because I don't wheel hard.....








 
OrangeSkidPlate

OrangeSkidPlate

Active Member
Location
Pocatello
The more I think about it, I really need to get frame stiffeners. I have heard that welding to the unibody can be pretty rough, so are there any tips that might make the process any easier? I am going to try and get at least the mid section plated before EJS.
Picture because I have never lifted a tire on purpose.
 
Bart

Bart

Registered User
Location
Arm Utah
I think frame stiffeners are a wise investment for you. It will keep the body from cracking and being destroyed. Thanks for all the pics you're sharing.
 
Gravy

Gravy

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
Location
The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
I've used everything to remove the undercoating to attach frame rail reinforcement. The best thing is an abrasive zip disc on an angle grinder. Just get it to clean metal and it should weld ok. Fair warning though... the factory unibody is very thin and it doesn't take much heat to blow through.
 
skippy

skippy

Pretend Fabricator
Location
Tooele
torches work the best you just get the undercoating hot and it flakes off and doesnt gum up your grinding discs anymore
 
thenag

thenag

Registered User
Location
Kearns
OrangeSkidPlate said:
The more I think about it, I really need to get frame stiffeners. I have heard that welding to the unibody can be pretty rough, so are there any tips that might make the process any easier? I am going to try and get at least the mid section plated before EJS.
Click to expand...

There are theories all over the place, I like what RuffStuff says "with a unibody you have to spread the load" I used the Ruff Stuff stiffeners. They extend onto the floor, but on my "snowflake" they didn't really contact the floor so I cut that part off the stiffener. Since the metal is so thin most agree that you don't want to weld the length of the stiffener, just tack along the length, don't totally fill the holes while welding. (although it is impossible for me to not fill in the holes while I weld)

I had the advantage of tying the Clayton lift kit into the frame stiffeners while I was building it so really I have a pretty solid frame that the "body" is welded onto...

I also have the worlds heaviest xj

Nathan
 
OrangeSkidPlate

OrangeSkidPlate

Active Member
Location
Pocatello
So I picked up some Rubicon Express 5.5 leaf packs. The OME heavy duty packs are just not handling all the weight I seem to be adding. Even with the add a leafs in them. I hope the RE packs do a better job. So if someone needs a set of OMEs that run probably 3.5-4" of lift and doesn't have a metric ton of crap in the back of their xj, I have a set.
 
OrangeSkidPlate

OrangeSkidPlate

Active Member
Location
Pocatello
I installed the RE leaf packs and the rear sits quite a bit higher now, but I seem to be limited on down travel. I am going to weld my lower shock mounts up higher on the axle so I will get some more length out of them. I went and found a big rock and took one shock off and tried to flex it until the tire came off the ground and I was definitely disappointed. I had maybe 4 inches of droop. I have shackle relocaters so I have a 45 degree shackle angle. Am I binding up somewhere? I have seen Xj's with great flex from leaf springs but I seem to be quite short in that department.
Also ordered a synthetic winch line from olympus offroad today and a poly roller for my fairlead.
Went out to 5 mile last weekend to see if I could make it up Wayne's world and ended up just crawling right up it, never slipped. So needless to say, I am getting excited for EJS.
 
OrangeSkidPlate

OrangeSkidPlate

Active Member
Location
Pocatello
So i took a picture of my shackles, would flipping them around help at all? I wasn't sure what was the right way to put them on.



I guess I did take a picture at 5 mile. Nothing exciting.
 
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