Suspension redesign etc

Are you going to notch the frame. I have heard a lot of people having issue with clearing the shocks at full flex. even with full width axles. Did you see the polyperformance shock towers, not sure what size your shocks are so not sure it will work.

All I can say is DAMN!!! If I want to do something similar I'm going to have to relocate the tank all together.

rockdw72 wrote:

Are you going to notch the frame. I have heard a lot of people having issue with clearing the shocks at full flex. even with full width axles. Did you see the polyperformance shock towers, not sure what size your shocks are so not sure it will work.

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I have no plans to notch the frame. the coilovers are just 8" travel shocks so There isn't a lot of flex(4" down and up) and with them moved in toward the pumpkin a little (about 3") with the upper end triangulated inward I don't forsee that as a problem. I could be wrong though. Triangulating the upper end in and moving the coilover in will give the body more flex sideways (body roll) and I am a little worried about that. If it becomes a problem I'll install a rear axle winch as well. I also plan on suring up the mount I cut by welding the new cross member to it. Only other option for the shock location was to go through the body and into the area where the rear seat is. I want to keep my rear seat so that wasn't an option.

Got some more work done this weekend. Old coilover mounts to the frame needed to come off.

Grider made quick work of those tabs.

Wasn't too certain these upper mounts would hold up.

The new upper shock mounts need to be as high as possible. I'm putting a new crossmember in between the frame rails in the rear over the axle. This was my first though for mountint the coilovers.

My second though was to recess the bracket into the 2x4 crossmember to gain an additional inch or so of height.

Final decision in favor of increased strength and clearance included building new tabs to tie the sides together.

Chop saw came in handy cutting these new brackets from some scrap metal I had laying around.

Crossmember was completed and welded but not drilled until I determine where i will mount the coilovers. not much room behind the axle at all so I may have to mount them in front of the axle next to the lower control arm mounts. Fuel tank was finished as well. Had to install and uninstall it about 20 times to get all the brackets to fit right for the most clearance without smashing the fuel lines or the tank straps. Gained another inch of length and another 2 inches of clearance with the modifications.

I am finished what I can do until the rest of the DOM tubing comes in on Monday and the remaining joints come in on Thursday. I would have everything in on Monday but I decided to get rid of the remaining Rock Krawler style joints and replace them all with Johnny Joints from Currie. I have some 3/8 steel to build some new frame brackets which will be needed due to the large joint size of the Johnny Joints. Couln't see fixing everything else and leaving those junk joints on. (kinda like a hot chick with a giant zit on her nose). It was a major headache getting the fuel tank to fit the way I wanted and after the 10th time taking it down I was tempted to just convert to propane and be done with it but I hung in there.

oh ok you are mounting inside the frame. I get it now. looking good

Correct, rear inside the frame, front outside the frame.

My last 2 1.5"ID threaded inserts arrived last night. I now have everything I need to finish the project over the 4 day weekend I have. I have to finish it this weekend to allow time for a shakedown run and fix any problems that arise.

Do the Johnny Joints fit in like the Rockcrawler joints or do you have to redo the fitting and all? I still like what you did with the gas tanks thats sweet.

the rock krawer joints are way smaller and mount tighter to the frame so teh Johnny joint will not twist due to contact with the frame. SO, long story short new brackets need to me made. I bought a set of mounts for the axle but I'm going to fabricate my own mounts to the frame out of a 3/8" piece of steel I found in my mother in laws driveway. It was a lid for a manhole of some sort that they discarded in a ditch.

Free stuff is always fun

Final Krawler joint to be replaced by Johnny joint.

New mounts need to be made

New mount assembled and welded in place

Old coilover axle mounts were salvaged and cut to mount in front of the axle instead of under it.

Upper links were fabricated

Lower links assembled and installed. Much better control arm angle.

Crossmember drilled out to accept upper end of coilover.

Clearance between differential and fuel tank is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch

Final resting position of axle with new links built.

Driveshaft is too short, exhaust doesn't fit, emergency brake line on drivers side is too short and will all need fixed. Rear is close to being done. Tomorrow I'll install the crossmember and the coilover shocks and pray that they fit like I want them to. Still need to finish welding everything if the suspension cycles without interference. Then I can start the front.

How much up travel in the springs are there? Any chance of the lower control arms hitting the frame? Its looking good.

Only 3.75" of up travel. the picture above is without coils installed and with the rear axle on jackstands about 1.5" higher than resting position. No chance of the lower control arms hitting the frame.

Coils were installed today, pain in the butt but finally found a position I can be happy with. the drop was only about 1 to 1.5 inches though. thats all the drop I could get out of it. Doesn't break my heart because I was able to adjust the front coilovers by adjusting the threaded body so all the shocks now have the same up travel and the vehicle is level. No major surger to the front of the vehicle. Now I have a lot of cleanup work to do from the stretch to include replace or adjust drivers side emergency brake cable, bleed brakes, scrub and paint all hardware, build rear fenders etc. By the way the pinion angle is much better now and hopefully will be good enough to allow adequate lubrication of the pinion bearings.

Coils installed in front of the axle on new crossmember. In the picture above compare the clearance under the axle compared to earlier pictures.

looks good Bill. I would make some skids or guards for the lower mount on the coil overs. They look like something could hit them. the stretched wheel base should help with the height of the jeep and the winch line will give it more stability. Looks great I like it

Good call about the skids for the coilover mounts. I'll have to put that on my list. Got a lot of miscelaneous stuff done today. Connected the fuel lines, torqued all the bolts down on fuel tank and link hardware, shaved a little from the upper coilover mount to prevent the shock from contacting the edge of the crossmember at full flex of just one side, welded the brake line retaining tabs to the top of the axle behind the lower control arm and fastened the brake lines down. Also replaced the emergency brake cable on the drivers side as it was way too short (had a spare one laying around just in case). Also routed and secured the fuel lines, brake lines on the frame, ARB line to the rear diff, rear axle vent line etc. All the joints received a fresh coat of grease. Also the exhaust had to be removed from over the axle. the catylitic converter is welded straight to the muffler and the muffler is under the belly pan. I just installed a down pipe on the end and it dumps the exhaust a few inches behind the belly pan. I had to create a new mount for it to support the weight of the muffler. I scrubbed all areas that were welded on in preparation for paint. I sprayed about 25% of what I wanted to and ran out of black paint. I had some white and some forest green but thought better of it, the rest can wait for tomorrow. So just a couple things remaining to be ready to roll:
1. finish painting the bare metal.
2. Cut the quarter panels to allow tire clearance.
3. Build tube fenders that implement 6" of coverage for the tires.
4. Have driveshaft rebuilt 5" longer and install.
5. Bleed the brakes.
6. Test run to make sure everything works the way it should.
I may have time to install a front axle winch before Big Dogs depending on how things work out.

Yeah looking at the lower mounts on the coilovers just made me think of the stock shock mounts that the dana turdy 5 comes with. anyone who has had a yj with the stock rear has beat the snot out of the shock mounts. I really like the turn out on your rig its gone thru alot of change in the last two years. hopefully I will be able to catch up a little on my build this winter. If I ever find this damn dana 44 I'm looking for. Keep up the good work you motivating me to keep going with mine.

Dropped the driveshafts off at an auto and machine shop in Frederick today and will pick them up at closing time. I'll be working on the tube fenders today once I resolve the design issues on paper.

Bill do you sleep ever or just work. Looks good it taken you two weeks to do somthing that took me 3 months and I had help. Keep up the great work.

I had a nice 4 day weekend and I took a couple tues/thursdays off to get this done in time. I got the driveshaft in, dumped a can of gas in, removed the sway bar, bled the brakes, adjusted the emergency brakes, painted everything, cut the fenders a little and installed the old flares so I could take it for a test drive. Drove it up the street a couple miles to shake out the cob webs and then drove it halfway up a rock face to test the articulation. It worked well but I have to trim a lot more off the rear fenders. I went through a couple pieces of tubing and decided to rework my plan for the tube fenders. new design will implement a piece of steel to mount to the body panel, the sheet metal will be welded to it and the DOM tubing will weld onto the end of it. I've got a lot more cutting to do.

Did some more cutting and still not enough. Time to cut some more. steering is centered, e-brake is adjusted. Also moved the axle back as far as I can and still clear the fuel tank. 97" wheelbase is what I end up with. The axle started out forward of stock wheelbase due to the amount of lift and the configuration of the Rock Krawler kit (really short control arms).

hey bill, you told me a while ago, but I don't remember. What size dom is your drag link.

I it was 1/8" DOM with 1" inside diameter. To sure it up Full Circle crammed a smaller rod inside it.

That a good idea. I have to redo mine because the drag link and tie rod are hitting. need something a little smaller but I tought 1/8 would be to thin. So did they run plug welds down it