ZMotorSports 2011 JKUR Build Thread

I am new here but thought I would throw up some pictures of my latest Jeep build. It is not real time as I have owned it now for almost two years.

I bought the Jeep with only 3208 miles on the odometer and commenced building my "Dream Jeep". This is my daily driver and weekend wheeler.

On lift just before sitting it down with the 4" BDS Suspension Lift and 35" KM2 tires/ATX Crawl wheels.

Backed outside the shop after just barely sitting her on the ground with new lift and tires/wheels.

More to come as I dig through the pictures. Also pictured here is the Warn Rockcrawler bumper/Powerplant combination that I purchased used just to get me by until I could fabricated my own bumpers.

Mike.

 

[TJDukit]

Pics don't do this rig justice. Your welded bumper joints are amazing. It was nice to meet you and your son at NPLD. I checked both builds out on forbidden jeeps. Your attention to detail is crazy. Love both jeeps. You should post your sons LJ so I have some more motivation


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X2 on all of that. Mike is also a great source of mechanical info for those in need since he does it for a living

 

[zmotorsports]

Pics don't do this rig justice. Your welded bumper joints are amazing. It was nice to meet you and your son at NPLD. I checked both builds out on forbidden jeeps. Your attention to detail is crazy. Love both jeeps. You should post your sons LJ so I have some more motivation


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Thank you very much for the compliments. I think I have talked my son into joining so hopefully he will put his build thread on here as well. It was great to meet everyone at the clean-up. Everyone seems so friendly.

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

X2 on all of that. Mike is also a great source of mechanical info for those in need since he does it for a living

Thanks Brian, I appreciate that.

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

Well after my little incident of kissing a rock with my tie rod on the Snakes a couple of weeks ago, I decided to take that out of the equation before this weeks trip to Moab. I did some research and ended up taking Brian's (TJDukit) advice on purchasing the Rock Krawler HD Tie Rod. It is made of heat treated 7075 aluminum which is 1.625" in diameter, compared to the hollow 1.5" OEM tie rod. First impression is great, looks like a good solid product. Rather than use OE tie rods you actually use rod ends from the drag link that are located at the Pitman arm. These are much stronger than the OEM/OE JK tie rod ends.

Mike.

Here is the tie rod upon opening the package and inspecting. I also installed Mopar OEM drag link ends. Part # 52060079AE (2 required).

Remove the OEM steering stabalizer bracket. On the 2007-2010 1/2 model JK's you can re-use the OEM bracket you just have to use the new U-bolts in the Rock Krawler kit. On 2010 1/2-newer JK's the instructions say to purchase the earlier model steering stabalizer bracket. However, I thought the newer bracket looked nicer/beefier so I merely modified it.

Here it is removed from the OEM tie rod.

I had to open the bracket up a bit as the OEM tie rod is 1.5" and the RK one is 1.625". I simply put it in the vice and used a large crescent wrench to open it slightly. Once opened up I used a die grinder/cutoff disc to trim the edges a little.

I then found a piece of pipe that measured the 1.625" diameter to form the bracket around. I simply put it in the hydraulic press and formed it right around the pipe. With the edges trimmed it worked perfectly. Afterwards I bead blasted it and repainted it gloss black.

Completed and ready for action.

 

[TJDukit]

Nice. You won't regret going with the RK tie rod it will withstand some serious abuse.

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice. You won't regret going with the RK tie rod it will withstand some serious abuse.

Thanks Brian, have you heard of anyone having any issues long-term with their RK tie rod. I read on one forum while I was researching that someone had the tie rod end pull out of one end taking the threads with it. My guess would be that the jam nut came loose and had been loose for a while. This would severly weaken/destroy the internal threads in the aluminum tie rod, then the end pulled out once the threads lost their ability to hold. However, I could not get an answer on whether the jam nut was checked periodically or what caused the threads to fail. The person was just complaining about the RK tie rod itself.

Mike.

 

[TJDukit]

I think I've read that same thread at some point. Other than that one time I've never heard anything bad and I've had mine on since April of last year. I've never had to adjust it, I've checked my torque on the jam nuts enough to make me feel comfortable and never had them come loose. I think as long as the jam nuts remain tight keeping the proper pre-load everything will last a long time. My toe has remained perfect even after numerous hard hits as well.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks Brian, that is good to hear. I generally pull mine in the shop and check my toe once a month or so (usually after an off-road excursion) but up until two weeks ago and bending my tie rod I have not had to make any adjustments either. Hopefully this tie rod will last a long, long time.

Mike.

 

[ZPower]

Oh don't worry, I'll post up my LJ build thread when it first gets done on Forbidden. Looks good dad!

 

[sLcREX]

Hadn't checked this out, this is an awesome build and really impressive fab work.

 

[zmotorsports]

Hadn't checked this out, this is an awesome build and really impressive fab work.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

A little update.

While servicing my Jeep on Friday night, I noticed how exposed the EVAP canister is under the Jeep to damage from rocks. I know there are many, many companies out there building protection/skids for these canisters but I simply cannot bring myself to buy one, I have to fabricate one of my own.
Here is where I started. I bent a piece of 4" wide by .250" plate and drilled a mounting hole that will fit directly under the EVAP canister mounting bracket using the same bolt.

I drilled a 1.250" diameter hole to create a large radius where one of the lines need to clear.

The hole opened and radiused for clearance as well as the other two pieces ready for welding that will complete the rear mounting bracket.

Rear mounting bracket welded.

Rear bracket completed and ready for paint.

Rear bracket painted.

Start of the front mounting bracket. This will sit on top of the EVAP canister mount and use the two bolts that secure the canister to the crossmember.

Front bracket tacked together and ready to remove for welding.

I decided to angle this front piece upward slightly.

Completely welded and ready for a quick coat of paint.

Installed and ready for the trail.

 

[TJDukit]

Very nice Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

A few weeks back I picked up some "play" in my links. I found that I had a bushing that had forced the snap-ring out of its' groove on the right rear lower link. These are BDS links and they were great to send me new Delrin bushings for the links but once I got into them I found that the snap-ring groove was damaged. BDS will not replace the link but hey, they did offer to sell me a new one. That was great of them.

Anyway, I am still waiting for my new lathe to show up so I was unable to machine a new link end so I temporarily assembled and tack welded the snap ring into place. Once I get my new lathe up and running I will machine a completely new link end with the snap-ring groove and then cut the old one off the link and weld the newly machined one on.

I thought I would document the removing, cleaning and reassembling of the links just in case anyone else has any questions of how to perform the task. It is pretty easy and straightforward but I know pictures are worth a 1000 words.

Pretty much ALL of the link ends exhibited some play so I rebuilt all eight links.

Here is the amount of play in the worst bushing.

And at the other end/extreme. Total play equated to approx. 1/8"

The end disassembled and the parts laid out. Steel ball/sleeve, side plates and snap-rings along with the worn Delron bushings. They had grease in them as I was adamant about greasing them, but they also had dirt and grit in them which is what caused the wear.

Parts after being cleaned in the solvent tank and ready for reassembly.

One half of the new Delron bushing installed up against a side washer and snap-ring.

I brushed some Lithium grease into the new bushing half.

I greased the steel sleeve/ball up and inserted it into the joint.

I then brushed some Lithium grease into the other half of the Delron bushing and pressed it into place, followed by the remaining side washer and snap-ring.

Prior to resecuring the link into the bracket I brushed some anti-seize into the steel sleeve and on the bolt. Then torqued the fastener and moved onto the next link. I ended up replacing the Delron bushings in all eight links at the frame connection. I have about 40 miles on the Jeep since rebuilding my links and it feels like new again.

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

Well, I haven't updated my build thread in a while as I have been so busy, but I thoought I would throw a few pictures up. I haven't done any upgrades but I did have a repair that I had to make on one of my rear suspension links. I had a snap ring blow the groove out of the end a few months back. I temporarily pushed it back in and threw a small TIG weld on it merely to hold the snap ring and poly bushing in place until I could either convince BDS so to send me a new link or repair it in house. Basically BDS told me to pound sand as it was not a manufacturer's defect but they would sell me a new link which I thought was rather big of them. I just decided to repair it myself.

Here is the lower rear link after removal. You can see the small TIG welds that fused the snap-ring to the end link. This lasted a few months until I could do the actual repair. It probably would have lasted a bit longer but it was driving me crazy and I wanted it repaired as soon as possible.

Here is the old/damaged link end cut off.

Here I am machining a new link end.

I wanted a pretty snug fit so I shot for the exact measurement of the bushing. Once I got close I broke out the snap gauges and micrometer.

Ground the HSS tool to a few thousandths over the thickness.

I like to hone or stone the cutting edges a little.

Completed tool and ready to go to work.

Turn the part around in the chuck and face off to the proper length.

Knock the edge off and chamfer the outside.

Chamfer the inside by running the lathe in reverse.

Machined link end completed with new snap-ring groove. While I was machining a new link end I decided to move the snap-ring groove inboard a few thousandths more so hopefully this wouldn't occur again.

Here I am fitting up the link to the newly machined end. Proper fitment is paramount in getting a good solid weld.

Weld completed.

Bead blasted, painted and assembled, ready for installation.

So far this repair has been done for several months now and no issues, other than I wish I would have had all of the links re-powder coated while I was at it.

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

Another update, not really build related but our RV group went to Moab over Halloween and here are some pictures from our last Moab trip of 2014.

Overlooking Hwy191 just near the start of Seven Mile Rim trail.

Climbing up a series of steps heading towards Monitor and Merrimac buttes.

Down a slight dropoff looking for Uranium Arch.

Group shot as we arrived at Merrimac before heading around the south side to Wipe Out hill.

Dropping down into the Wipe Out Hill obstacle. This is an optional obstacle but it didn't look too bad so I just had to try it. Even if it was against my wife's will.

Coming back up Wipe Out Hill. Tire placement is everything. If you can keep the Jeep level it is no big deal. I can see how it could get a little spooky if you miss a tire placement and the Jeep gets off camber though. Evidence by some ugly scrapes in the rock from previous vehicles.

Sitting at the top of an overview on Hell's Revenge. Personally, I am getting a little bored with running Hell's Revenge, however, we had some members of our group who have never been to Moab before and they wanted to go on Hell's Revenge so I volunteered to lead the group.

A group of us airing down to run Strike Ravine on the last day of the rally.

Poser shot.

Climbing up out of a sandy wash/river bed.

Turned out to be a great trip and fantastic weather.

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

I pulled her in the shop after Moab to give her a bath and detail job. Had to get rid of the Moab red dirt all throughout the Jeep.

Then added a couple more trail stickers to my list.

Still some room for more. Looks like I have some more trails I have to hit.

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

I pulled the wife's car in the shop the other night to service it and rotate tires. After lowering her car off the lift, I decided to take a few minutes and vacuum my Jeep out. As I closed the spare tire carrier I noticed that the DeStaCo toggle clamp was not taking that final "snap" to close like maybe the rubber backing on the bracket was shrinking/conforming. I decided to just tighten the toggle clamp a little bit and wouldn't you know it, the damn U-bolt snapped off. Talk about a two minute-task turning into an hour of crap.

Broken toggle clamp/U-bolt.

Anyway I removed it, knowing I didn't have a new toggle clamp U-bolt nor could I buy just the U-bolt so I decided to devise a plan. I dug through my stash of stainless steel fasteners and found a 5/8" diameter bolt that I could machine down. My plan was to machine two coupling nuts and use them to join the broken part as well as give larger area to tighten the clamp down against.

I turned it down to 1/2".

After turning two coupling nuts down to .500" diameter each and tapping them internally for 6MMx1.0 thread pitch, I decided to go one step further and machine two small flats on one end of each one to put a 10MM wrench on when adjusting. I chucked the small parts up one at a time in the mill and machined a flat, turned the collet block over and machined another flat 180 degrees apart.

Coupling nuts completed.

Coupling nuts installed on U-bolt.

Installed and adjusted.

There it is, an hour repair to a two minute "OH crap".

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

I found a couple of pictures of mine and my wife's Jeep next to our son's 2004 LJ from last fall's trip to Moab so I thought I would throw them in the mix.

My son's 2004 Wrangler Unlimited's build thread can be found here.
http://www.rme4x4.com/showthread.php?104494-Project-Un-quot-Limited-quot-Funds


Here is Jared's LJ and our JKUR at a pullout on Dome Plateau trail.

Here is one of both our Jeeps on Sevenmile Rim trail.

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

Pulled the Jeep in the shop last night and serviced it along with rotated tires. Getting her ready to head to Moab.

My son was bugging me for the lift so he could poke around under his and give it a good once over.

Also pulled our ForbiddenJeeps windshield banners last night. That place is dead lately, no activitiy going on at all.

Mike.