Brian's Log: 1998 XJ, 6.5" 33's, 3 link on the way:)

[FlexdXJ]

good choice on the red RTV. a buddy of mine used grey when he did his SYE install. lets just say that he did it twice.

Dammit, wish I had seen this 3 days ago! :doh: The gray said it was good up to 650 degrees though!

 

[brianglawson]

Will do!

 

[MoparManiac]

I would RATHER use the gray over the red.

I've had leaks with red, but never with gray.

 

[brianglawson]

Dammit, wish I had seen this 3 days ago! :doh: The gray said it was good up to 650 degrees though!

I think you should be good

 

[brianglawson]

I would RATHER use the gray over the red.

I've had leaks with red, but never with gray.

My red is holding up great, but im pretty positive there different reds, grays, blacks, ultras, etc....

If it is good to 650* im sure he'll be fine!

 

[XGarfX]

Napa joints are garbage.... mine lasted less then 20k miles and the needle bearings were shot again. Order up some spicer 760s their like 25 bucks a piece

 

[brianglawson]

poser pics, no extra hands to get any action shots!!

 

[kndrewa]

I really like that wheel/tire combo!

 

[brianglawson]

And they wife's new FZJ80

 

[brianglawson]

Ordered some H.D. Offroad Shackle Brackets, Some Rusty's 6.5" Coils and I just finished Installing some WeatherTech Floor Liners!

 

[brianglawson]

Oh yea, forgot to add.... I reinstalled my old hitch too, except this time i flipped the main body upside down and cut out the bumper, No ground clearnence loss!!

 

[brianglawson]

Rusty's 6.5" Coils have arrived! H.D. Offroad brackets will be in by the time I get home.

A TJM 2" lift also arrived for the wife's Land Cruiser!

 

[KTMqdracer]

Whats your thoughts on the 3-link? Overall fit/finish, quality, and performance etc.

Thanks
Matt

 

[brianglawson]

I love the 3 link, i had some problems with the track bar fit, but Kris has sent me a new track bar bracket and axle bracket that hopefully will fix the problem. I also had to trim my lowers down a smidge, but I dont think everyone has had to....

Recent Trail Ride

 

[NCCherokee]

How are they not fitting?

The frame stiffeners, and depending on how the mount for the three link is designed is going to alter how the sliders fit. If that's your case your best bet on the sliders would be to just trim the legs to fit and weld them to your stiffeners. You could also knock the pinch seam mount off, and reposition it to line up correctly.

That is exactly what I had to do when I put on TNT stiffeners and rock krawler 3-link

 

[brianglawson]

I had to knock off the pinch seam mount, and shorten all the legs, and change the angle upon which they were wanting to mount.... TOTALLY didnt fit, and would not have even without the 3 link...... BUT, as i said, JCR definitely made it right and I would not hesitate to order from them again

 

[brianglawson]

New Lower Mounts, Trackbar, and Mount... Still a few kinks to work out, but this was an over the summer project....

 

[brianglawson]

Here are some OLDER pics, in no particular order that I have dug up

 

[brianglawson]

 

[brianglawson]

Been a long time.. had an FZJ80 for a bit, that I lifted... etc... Now we have bought a Forester(with an LSD ) I will be tossing a small lift and 28" Geolanders on it.

The Jeep got brought back down to NC, it had been sitting for about 6 months at my pops place in VA. I'm Bringing Sexy Back...

1. FIND this stupid VACUUM LEAK..... my HVAC blend door operates off of Vacuum, and I barely have heat/air conditioning because under throttle, vacuum diminishes and my blend door opens up to allow fresh air in... and not to mention, the door controlling where the air is directed closes up too.....

2. Im about to order a new Exhaust Manifold, FINALLY.. was going to order an aftermarket header, but people seem to have a lot of problems with fitment(on Jeep 4.0 Inline 6, the Intake and the Exhaust manifold are on the same side..) SOO.. it seems that people have had Good luck with Dorman OE replacement headers. Im going to give it a shot, especially because everything I have read suggests that OEM Exhaust manifolds perform as well, if not better, than most aftermarket. I can order one on Amazon for about $145.00, which is a screaming deal.

3. New Motor Mounts... yea, ive been through three sets of these...... This time, I will not be using OEM mounts..... Brown Dog mounts will be used, check them out... they are SUPER BEEF... they use control arm bushings instead of the flimsy motor mount style used in OEM applications. http://browndogindustries.com/

4. I need a WELDER!!! I need someone to weld some Sway bar mounts on my front axle, and I need someone to weld some New shock mounts on to the rear axle. Lastly, with the welding right now... I need to have someone weld up my new door hinges(so my doors are removable).

5. Tires... I will be ordering 315/75R16 tires. Im looking at Firestone Destination M/T's, Goodyear Duratracs, and BF-Goodrich KM2's..... I have destinations now, and they have lasted 6 years and 75,000+ miles, hard, grueling miles, full of rocks, mud, etc... to boot, they are much cheaper than the BFG. The Goodyear Duratrac is the cheapest, and I had them on my land cruiser and loved them.

6. Shocks.... this is simple, Bilstein 5100's will be going on it......I can measure for them until I get the 35"s mounted because I have to flex it out and get all my clearances taken care of, but it will be simple.....

7. New Carpet, stockinteriors.com most likely

8. Headliner with a soundbar added right behind driver/passenger for when the doors are off

9. I NEED A HEATSHIELD for under the rear seat... mine has melted...

10. I need a rear seat... LOL

I have had this Jeep for nearly ten years now... Looking back. it's been a labor of love