Project "Mud Bandit" dedicated mud bogger

There's a good possibility of him buying these. Only thing that sucks is he put moser shafts and an arb in his 20 not too long ago so maybe he should just stick to a scout 44 or narrowed waggy. He doesn't really wheel the thing hard...he likes going out in the woods shooting guns and cruising around. He just wants it's street manners better...don't wanna hijack your thread here but i'll get ahold of you about these rears!

if that is all he needs then the 30 should work just fine, same with the 20. I ran the D30 for a few years before finally busting it up trying the harder stuff. If all he does is green trails then going through the aggrevation of an axle swap is wasted energy. Not to talk you out of a sale but I want to make sure that it is going to do what you want it to without bringing about new issues.

Yah i understand that's where i'm 50/50 on what to do. I think half of him wants to come out and be able to run with me again without headaches and worries and a very healthy V8 on those rears doesn't give much peace of mind.

well they are here if you want them. Special deal for you $100 for both axles. but you gotta get em soon.

Did some front end work today

rear spring hangers for front axle.


Front spring hangers for front axle.



New BTF bumper welded on with mounts.


Finally have it back on it's wheels. Oh yeah I put the iroks on the H2's and I think I really like that look.

damn bill that thing is really starting to come together now.

Couple of problems discovered after finally getting it back on all 4 wheels.

1. Rear suspension is too low. back of jeep is about 3" lower than the front. (front has waggy front springs and rear has stock YJ springs) Rear shackles are super short, about 3" long. I will put longer shackles on there and see where it sits and then may add a leaf to the pack.

2. Tie rod hits pitman arm at rest, actually pitman sits directly on tie rod and is past it by about 2". Cause is the front axle was moved forward 2" with the waggy springs. Solution is to move steering box forward or go full hydro. Unless someone else has another solution.

3. Front axle pinion angle is pointing down about 3-5 degrees. I will need to put in some leaf wedges to bring it back up to flat.

4. Front axle u bolts are too long. I haven't torqued them down yet and have just 1/2 inch of thread left. This might not be a problem once the wedge it put into the leaf pack.

actual height difference is 3 1/2" front to rear. guess the waggy springs give about 2" lift with 4" (between bolt holes) shackles and the rear are flat YJ springs with 3" shackle.

I think a longer shackle will not be enough and I may need some 2" lift springs combined with a longer shackle in the rear. Any suggestions?
I'm thinking about taking apart the XJ springs I have in the basement and taking a leaf or two out to provide more lift to the YJ springs.

Did some shopping yesterday online. Ordered wedges for the front axle to bring the pinion angle up. ordered add a leafs for the rear YJ springs and hopefully they will give 1.5" of lift. Also ordered lug nuts to fit the Hummer wheels properly and a box of grade 8 9/16 x 5" bolts. I also ordered some bump stops for the YJ.

just searched for tires and found that TSL boggers only have 2 tires in the 17 inch rim size. 37" or 54" that kinda sucks since I wanted 39" tires on my H2 rims.

ok I need to organize my thoughts on this build since there is so much to do.
1. need to level suspension, raise rear by 3". waiting for 1-2" add a leaf from 4wd hardware and lift shackles from Nester.
2. Box of 9/16 bolts x 5" long have been ordered for all the suspension connections.
3. Lug nuts, acorn bulge nuts have been ordered to fit the large holes in the H2 rims.
4. I need longer center pins for the front waggy springs for the 4 deg wedges that have been ordered. (I'll check the size and order).
5. may need new u bolts depending on how much thread is showing after the add a leaf and new wedges.
6. need to install hard brake lines front and rear, brake proportioning valve in the front fron Joes xj.
7. need banjo bolts for the front calipers, going to check thread count and length and order.
8. need to build a drag link. already have components.
9. need to build a fuel tank support and skid since it is held on by chicken wire.
10. need to install a front and rear axle vent (impossible to find them).
11. need to build better engine mounts.
12. need to build a belly pan/tranny mount and skid plate.
13. create and adjust a transmission linkage.
14. install new windshield, need new windshield mounts.
15. need to measure for and order driveshafts.
16. install speedometer sending unit.
17. need new battery since old one is too weak in cca
18. build antiwrap bar for rear axle.
19. build custom exhaust from headers on back.
20. install new fuel filler one way valve and new cap. (so when I accelerate the gas doesn't leave a pool of gas behind me.)
21. install bell housing cover.
22. Fill tcase, tranny and both diffs wiht fluid.
23. install YJ cage with windshield mounts.
24. Install seats into jeep with grade 5 hardware.
25. do I really need a parking brake?
26. install mechanical transmission and engine temperature guage.
27. get jeep painted.
28. test drive and hopefully smoke the piss out of the old IROCs I put on there. If it doesn't work then order/install new heads, intake and camshaft for 550 hp edlebrock setup.
29. smoke the piss out of the tires.
30. install soft top and hardware.
31. dump it into the pit at big dogs and plan upgrades as needed.

After seeing your list I feel a little better about mine now.

That is a long list, and its the "little things" that take the most time

agreed, try to find "banjo bolts" they aren't even listed on the napaonline original parts catalog. thats ok, it will happen if I keep making progress. probably be next year before it is done(sorta).

the banjo bolts are in the "HELP" section of the auto parts store I think the chevy calipers use the 7/16. I know it wasn't the 10mm.

He has a ford front and I would think that the kit for the rear came with the bango bolts in the calipers. I would think that you don't really need a parking brake but a line lock could be used as one and help with those burn outs. Yeah your list looks like the one I have for the Toyota.

wow, thats a list

they are ford axles and the rear kit came with the banjo bolts. I'm going to see if they fit the front and then get the size/thread count from there.

oh yeah, what was I thinking

Ok so Nester has finally kicked it up a notch with the Dark side project so I did some work on the CJ today. I took a pair of rear lift shackles and drilled it out to fit the rear springs. That brought the rear up a couple inches but it was still too low compared to the front. Also took apart the YJ rear leaf springs and installed an add a leaf on both sides. Now the CJ sits level and I can finally start work on the drivetrain....when I get time.

Found some axles I'm going to look at this weekend. 5.13 gears, 35 spline lockers, yukon shafts etc. that will save some time and $. If I buy them I will have a freshly rebuilt set of D60 axles for sale.

Just to push some more last night Ryan got TDP running. I wish I had the money for a set of 60's for my project.

Time for some more side work huh?

yeah I would buy yours but Toy axles are passenger side pumpkin. But yeah thats why I said Ryan got the propane setup running last night cause I was doing side work. I can't wait to see the CJ running.

Pulled the front fenders, hood and windshield off the CJ today. Next is to install new motor mounts. The ones pictured are not going to work.