liftin' got me way down

[katuah]

that title is another way of saying i'm pissed at this stupid build and about ready to part out the whole thing. or set it on fire. or something.

i've been trying to accomplish the first parts of a build since mid-summer. doing it alone in my driveway didnt get me very far. then I couldn't ever catch up with those locals who were willing to help. finally found a neighbor with a shop out back who was willing. and then the hell really began.

- inner sleeves of the front leaf spring bushings were rusted onto the bolts.
- all four rear shock bolts broke off, then couldn't get the nutserts out, just wedged :-( .
- went to put on t-case drop, all four bolts broke.

cut the rear springs & bushings off, salvaged the bolts, welded on BPE's. Got 3 of the 4 t-case bolts drilled & tapped, but the 4th is not wanting to cooperate. You guys ever run on 3 bolts?

Oh, and the bolt heads on the JY quick discos I got were stripped, had to drill 'em and put in new bolts.

And last but not least the 15" steelies I bought from some guy on NC4x4 are the wrong bolt spacing. I didn't have a chance to check that day, just eyeballed it & trusted he wouldn't be ripping me off. Never take somebody's word, apparently. I will be looking to sell these or trade, that'll go up in SEC for sale soon.

If I didn't love this Jeep so much I'd beat it with a crowbar.

Where would y'all recommend to put in a SYE? 'cos I don't even want to try that, after as much hell as we've already gone thru. Would ECGS do that?

 

[shaggybob]

The SYE really isn't that bad, especially if you don't go with a Hack N Tap, but digging in to the t-case can be a bit un-nerving.

Not really familiar with the services at ECGS, but I would think about any transmission shop should be able to do that for you as well.

If you were closer to Chattanooga I'd help you out on it, I've done a few and it's getting to be a fairly quick job now.

I feel your pain on the rust issues, and understand wanting to beat the Jeep with a crowbar as well. I had rust problems with lower control arms that ended up being cut off, upper shackle bolts, rear upper shock mounts, and cross member studs as well. I would try to get that 4th bolt in if it were me.

Hang in there! it will be worth it when you finally get to just drive it.

 

[Jamescad04]

We've all been down that road before but when things finally come together you feel so good about it. Trust me it has crossed my mind before but I just take a break on it then go back to it a week or two later.

 

[katuah]

Yeah, I know when I can get it out on the dirt I will feel a lot better, but dang it is frustrating. We gotta get it out of my neighbor's shop this week, so we gotta get it to drive-able condition, otherwise I'd just let it sit until my steam level dropped.

I was gonna put on my Brown Dog motor mounts next week, but now I'm scared those bolts are all just gonna break, too.

plus I just orderd a track bar from Andy @ Iron Man.

tell me again why we like these mony pits so much. :looney::dunce:

 

[jeepgeek2002]

tell me again why we like these mony pits so much. :looney::dunce:

I ask that question all the time.. then i go offroad and the week after im forking out some money again!:gee:

 

[UNCC_99XJ]

Hack n Tap SYE is actually quite simple...a little nerve racking, but simple.

Hope you have plenty of cans of PB Blast. Sounds like things are a tad rusty on your Jeep. Just did my motor mounts this weekend with Brown Dog. The through bolts came off pretty easy. The nuts and bolts holding them to the body were tight and a bit rusty, but with the help of some PB Blast came right off.

Take the crow bar and smack the guy from NC4x4 who lied to you...I'll bet you'll feel a lot better after that!

 

[katuah]

Hope you have plenty of cans of PB Blast. Sounds like things are a tad rusty on your Jeep.

Yeah, I have gone thru several cans already. Surprising, given that its lived in NC since 15K miles/1999. But I did buy it in Chicago. I wonder if one crappy winter would be enough to trigger all of this?

Take the crow bar and smack the guy from NC4x4 who lied to you...I'll bet you'll feel a lot better after that!

Doubt I'll ever see him again, but if I do, I'd be sorely tempted!

 

[katuah]

Well, it's gettin' there. We have it rolling now.

Gonna drill a new 4th hole for the broken bolt, tap went sideways and its a mess.

So, dumb question, but how far down should the top disco link at the sway bar be pivoted? Right now its way up and the bolt/nut is banging on the trackbar bracket. I think thats too far up but I cant remember after all this, brain cells gone.

 

[shaggybob]

I constantly had the sway bar links hitting crap, so I just quit using the sway bar all together.

 

[UNCC_99XJ]

Agreed. My RE sway bar links hit the track bar bracket and i'm at 4-4.5" of lift.

 

[wingnutooa]

i'm with you on all the rusty bolts. my jeep is originally from minnesota and my rear bumper literally fell half way off.

i broke through the other mount in about 10 minutes just by moving the bumper up and down.

when i went to pull the remainder of the brackers off 75% of those bolts broke.

had to cut my lower control arm bolts to get them out because they were rusted to the sleeve.

rear wasnt so bad but i've already busted off all of my upper shock bolts in the rear and tapped them to a larger size.

my front bumper is still hanging in there but i only have about 75% of those bolts too. the others are busted off.

already had to put a sheild over my muffler and replace some sheet metal under the rear seat. caught the carpet on fire because of a rust hole.

and now i look under and i have rust holes in my driver and passenger floor pans and down each side of the sub frame.

but atleast it looks bitchin!

and i haven't been stuck yet.

its all about necessities in this business.

unless you KNOW without a doubt that you need something, i say if it aint broke dont fix it.

 

[themauler]

where in nc are you?

 

[XJfreakHO]

where in nc are you?

Right there with mauler, where you at?

As far as ECGS goes, Chase at ECGS does good work, buddy just got his Rubicon back from there, got a 4:1 kit put in.

 

[katuah]

Im in Durham, just down the road from ECGS I think. Aren't they out toward Falls Lake?

 

[XJfreakHO]

You should join 4x4 Everyone on NC4x4, they currently accept everyone, and most of them are in the raliegh area, good group of guys, definately help you out.

Never been to ECGS, have a few friends who have had work done there often, and speak highly though. This is the Address though, check it out.

5015c Wake Forest Hwy Durham , NC 27703

Definately check out 4x4Everyone though, great group of folks, atleast one of whom has opened his shop up to the club for projects in the past, and I know he will be doing it again soon for a gear swap party.

 

[Cnickgo]

Chase is a great guy, but be willing to pay shop prices. His techs can be lazy though, they left some little things out on a friends Tundra that should have been completed. He had no problem taking the truck back and correcting the issues though.

 

[katuah]

You should join 4x4 Everyone on NC4x4, they currently accept everyone, and most of them are in the raliegh area, good group of guys, definately help you out.... atleast one of whom has opened his shop up to the club for projects in the past, and I know he will be doing it again soon for a gear swap party.

Gear swap party, hm! I'm on NC4x4 but I've seen some weird cr4p on there. I don't get on their forums much. I just joined up 4x4 Everyone, guess it can't hurt.

 

[XJfreakHO]

Gear swap party, hm! I'm on NC4x4 but I've seen some weird cr4p on there. I don't get on their forums much. I just joined up 4x4 Everyone, guess it can't hurt.

I am a member, I stay fairly active in forums, check atleast once a day, whether it be on my phone or from the laptop at the house.

You will have to post up, and come out to get to know the group. Ive met a few of the 4x4 Everyone members, but actually only joined because the kid I sponsor wanted to join, kind of forced me to, but since joining Im glad I did because its a good group.
In the 4x4 Everyone forums, the thread is called Gearing. Just check it out, I recently posted, Im not sure if they canceled it or not as there hasn't been any talk of it for the last few days.
What kind of weird crap do you mean? PM me if you would rather.

 

[Ian Christiansen]

If you plan on running a decent transfer case skid, like a JCR or DPG, that bolts to the crossmember and then to the jeep in 10 locations, I wouldn't worry about running only 3 crossmember bolts. I only have three crossmember bolts with my JCR transfer case skid bolted on over it.

 

[Ghost]

When I had an issue with the crossmember bolts in my 84 I drilled it out and replaced it from the top with a bolt. I had to drill 2 1" holes above the frame to drop it in and then to tack it in place. It was a beater so I left them open but they have plugs at harware stores you could cover them with. Chase seems like a straight up guy. I bought all my recent gears from him but had them installed localy.