Project Downward Spiral

Well I just went out and picked up a roll of cork rubber gasket material. It is 1/16" thick, I think that combined with the normal gasket (~1/32" thick) might give me enough space.
I'll find out in a few moments. If it doesn't, I'll have to machine up a ring which I'd rather not do.
 
use a really big washer. :gee:
 
5spd_xj said:
use a really big washer. :gee:
Click to expand...
Thankfully I don't need them.

I'll admit when I'm wrong. I was partially in this case. My issue was a combination of both my fault and Yukon's.

First, my fault. I didn't taper the inside edge of the spindle and that was most of my problem. A few minutes with a mounted point on the die grinder and I was all set. When I opened up the the spindle I only did it for the diameter of the shaft, I forgot about the leading edge inside the spindle to accommodate the radius of the flange. :o
Second, Yukon's. Not as big of a deal as mine, but one of the shafts no matter which side I put it in after tapering the spindle still caused it to bind. (Colin, this one the one we fought with last night) I wasn't about to open the spindle up any further as I am already ~5thou larger radius opening than a D70 spindle. What I ended up doing was removing about 30-35 thou of material from around the area the shaft meets the flange. Not a huge deal, but still a wee bit annoying that I had to do this in the first place.

So, like I said, I was equally if not more at fault than Yukon, but they still didn't get one of my shafts quite right.

Problem solved now that it took 3 hours to figure out the dumb issue. Good news is I don't need any spacers. But hey this is part of the fun of a 'custom' project, right? :)

Back to work for me!
 
Ok, so some updates without pictures. (Sorry Ross)

Rear end is complete and back underneath for the last time! :guitar: I still am waiting for the flange seal to come in (hopefully today) so I can seal up the driver's side. That's only a 5 minute job. I've also got to fill her with fluid.

Front axle is back out from underneath for hopefully the last time as well. I've got some finish welding on the LCA braces and the coil buckets. Then I'll clean her up, gear, paint, and assemble her.

I spent two nights this week laying underneath trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to do about exhaust and a belly pan. I really really want a flat bottom which posed some issues with exhaust.
What I'm going to end up doing is running a SpinTech Cruiser Series #7331 muffler. This muffler is only 2 1/4" thick so according to the cardboard mockup I made, should just fit. It'll be very close to the floor (roughly 1/2") so I'm going to use some of this Thermo-Tec Adhesive Backed Heat Barrier above and below the muffler (on the floor and belly pan).

As for the UHMW part of it, thats not looking good. The normal stuff has a "max recommended operating range" 180° F. After some looking I found some High Heat Dry Slide (HHDS) which is a modifed version of UHMW. This has a much higher operating temp and should work well. It also has about a 45% higher impact rating.

On top of that I also placed a rather large orders with RockAuto and Bronco Graveyard so pretty much everything for the front end and brakes is on its way. Belts, hoses, brake lines, new spindles, spindle nuts, clamps, gaskets, t-stat parts, etc.
 
Some exhaust hints....

Here's how mine runs from the front back:

DSC01617.JPG


The flexible coupler is a lifesaver - I basically have the rest of the exhaust rigid mounted to the truck. Definitely consider that to avoid rattles in tight clearance areas.

After it curves around the 3-link mount it goes straight back under the passenger compartment, separated from the UHWM skid by no more than about 2" of space with no barriers or insulation. 3 years almost to the day and I haven't had any issues with heat affecting the UHMW (and the portion of exhaust there is pre-cat so it hasn't really cooled down much, makes wearing sandals a bit of a challenge).

Getting it over the 4-link was a pain too, kind of like a retarded rubix cube.

DSC01442.JPG


The thing on the left is a universal hi-flow cat, hidden behind the upper links is a Dynomax Race Bullet which is really not a lot more than an expensive 2-1/4" coupler, but it smooths out the tone somewhat so it's not too bad. Don't do something silly like dump it under the cab and you'd likely be OK with it (sounds good rev'd with the stroker especially :evil: ).

It's a little bit larger (4" OD) but a much smaller footprint, might be a viable option somewhere in the system.

So...NACfest? :)
 
RCman said:
Ok, so some updates without pictures. (Sorry Ross)

Rear end is complete and back underneath for the last time! :guitar: I still am waiting for the flange seal to come in (hopefully today) so I can seal up the driver's side. That's only a 5 minute job. I've also got to fill her with fluid.

Front axle is back out from underneath for hopefully the last time as well. I've got some finish welding on the LCA braces and the coil buckets. Then I'll clean her up, gear, paint, and assemble her.

I spent two nights this week laying underneath trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to do about exhaust and a belly pan. I really really want a flat bottom which posed some issues with exhaust.
What I'm going to end up doing is running a SpinTech Cruiser Series #7331 muffler. This muffler is only 2 1/4" thick so according to the cardboard mockup I made, should just fit. It'll be very close to the floor (roughly 1/2") so I'm going to use some of this Thermo-Tec Adhesive Backed Heat Barrier above and below the muffler (on the floor and belly pan).

As for the UHMW part of it, thats not looking good. The normal stuff has a "max recommended operating range" 180° F. After some looking I found some High Heat Dry Slide (HHDS) which is a modifed version of UHMW. This has a much higher operating temp and should work well. It also has about a 45% higher impact rating.

On top of that I also placed a rather large orders with RockAuto and Bronco Graveyard so pretty much everything for the front end and brakes is on its way. Belts, hoses, brake lines, new spindles, spindle nuts, clamps, gaskets, t-stat parts, etc.
Click to expand...

:party:

Sweetness.
 
vetteboy said:
Some exhaust hints....

Here's how mine runs from the front back:

[pic delete]

The flexible coupler is a lifesaver - I basically have the rest of the exhaust rigid mounted to the truck. Definitely consider that to avoid rattles in tight clearance areas.

After it curves around the 3-link mount it goes straight back under the passenger compartment, separated from the UHWM skid by no more than about 2" of space with no barriers or insulation. 3 years almost to the day and I haven't had any issues with heat affecting the UHMW (and the portion of exhaust there is pre-cat so it hasn't really cooled down much, makes wearing sandals a bit of a challenge).

Getting it over the 4-link was a pain too, kind of like a retarded rubix cube.

[pic delete]

The thing on the left is a universal hi-flow cat, hidden behind the upper links is a Dynomax Race Bullet which is really not a lot more than an expensive 2-1/4" coupler, but it smooths out the tone somewhat so it's not too bad. Don't do something silly like dump it under the cab and you'd likely be OK with it (sounds good rev'd with the stroker especially :evil: ).

It's a little bit larger (4" OD) but a much smaller footprint, might be a viable option somewhere in the system.
Click to expand...

I've got one of those flex couplers. That was one of those things after talking to you at NACFest last year I wanted to make sure I had. I'm going to put the flex coupler pretty much right in line with the front crossmember. Then use a flange after it and hard mount the rest.

I really wanted to get behind the rear axle. My issue is I was dumb when I did my rear LCA mounts so I can't go above them.

MaskedforBlack2.jpg


The picture above doesn't really give you a good idea (I'll shoot another tonight with the links and the cardboard tube drive shaft in place) but you can see that I have no room to go above them. Going below would be stupid after having a flat belly to that point. I even tried seeing if there was a way for me to use the trans/drive shaft tunnel, but I just can't get there with the drive shaft in the way at full bump in the rear. I'd have to step down to 1-3/4" exhaust and I don't think that is a good idea.

So unfortunately and to my great dismay, I'm going to have to "do something silly like dump it under the cab". It will dump right before the pass side LCA mount. :(
Trust me, I've been kicking myself the last few days about how I did a few things with the suspension. It better handle/ride good.

vetteboy said:
So...NACfest? :)
Click to expand...
You'd better believe it. I'm getting very close now.
 
There's no way you can BFH-massage the floor up a bit over those link mounts and make it fit? Looks like it'd be a BFH+prybar job to open enough space right between the edge of the tranny tunnel and the link mount, but then again I forget what's on the other side of those floorboards.
 
kastein said:
There's no way you can BFH-massage the floor up a bit over those link mounts and make it fit? Looks like it'd be a BFH+prybar job to open enough space right between the edge of the tranny tunnel and the link mount, but then again I forget what's on the other side of those floorboards.
Click to expand...
Its an idea, but a BFH isn't going to move that enough to solve my problem.
I was actually just talking on the phone about this with Colin. There isn't a way I can get back there unless I was to cut out that section of floor and replace it. It would be a lot of work that I'd rather not get into. When I get home tonight I'll look and see how much would really have to come out and go from there.
 
Bill can make a rear driveshaft from a disco 30 setup, then bam ability to do frt digs, why didnt i think of this before i orderd my atlas
 
whitneyj said:
Why not clock your NP231 for a flat belly?
Click to expand...
Not going to put any work into that. It is just above even with my crossmember so I will be able to be "flat" from there back. The plan is to swap out the case at a later time. The skid will be sloped upward toward the back the every so slightest bit. The ~1/2" I would gain in that small area isn't worth my time now. I want to get this moving and the NP231 isn't staying forever.
Phil said:
Like "XJ" was the factory code for "Cherokee", "NP-231" is the factory code for "never going to do a front dig".
Click to expand...
Haha! Excellent.
ROBZ95Xj said:
Bill can make a rear driveshaft from a disco 30 setup, then bam ability to do frt digs, why didnt i think of this before i orderd my atlas
Click to expand...
Yeah... No. :)
billyjp2 said:
he could take out the rear driveshaft...?
Click to expand...
Are you volunteering to lay in the dirt every time this needs to happen? ;)
 
RCman said:
MaskedforBlack2.jpg





You'd better believe it. I'm getting very close now.
Click to expand...

3 years
63 pages
939 replies
149,700 views
and still on jack stands.....
pricelss :cheers:
 
Phil said:
Like "XJ" was the factory code for "Cherokee", "NP-231" is the factory code for "never going to do a front dig".
Click to expand...

It might be my mood this morning, but I actually laughed at that. :laugh3:

And now that I have broken my silence on this thread, very nice build! I'll be borrowing some ideas when I put mine on jackstands here soon.
 
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