blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
couldnt run much more backspacing unless I went under the high steer arm for the darg link at that point.
...sorry...another build thread...
- Thread starter blondejoncherokee
- Start date
couldnt run much more backspacing unless I went under the high steer arm for the darg link at that point.
blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
i just realized that I have a ton of hours into this swap, probably 32 hours in the last 5 days, and in the last 5 weekends another 60 hours or something like that. frame plating, crossmember, building mounts, re doing stuff. Its crazy.
still have to fix a hub and wire up the ARB also.
still have to fix a hub and wire up the ARB also.
Forceful Llama
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- MOdesto
How much time do you think you could have saved keeping it under the knuckle for now instead of running high steer? Curious for future swaps down the road if I ever have a reason to swap in a bigger front.
blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
I doubt I wouldnt have saved any time since the 44 already had the high steer arm on the pass side for the drag link. Either way I had to drill out the high steer arm and either way I had to make a drag/link/tie rod/trackbar and track bar mount anyway, just would have taken different measurements and probably mounted trackbar higher or lower. I am sure once I add in the waggy arm Ill have to raise frame side trackbar mount, but for me its a learning process for these kinds of swaps since this is my first time for doing a full front end swap/3 link/ cross member/bracketry/steering all from the get go. with what Ive learned from this one it would be alot faster next time around.
Forceful Llama
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- MOdesto
Makes sense. I had forgotten that it came with a lot of the steering already done too. First lift I did was last year, took longer then I had thought to finish up. Could do it way faster now. Yay for learning skills!
Looks great btw. :clap:
Looks great btw. :clap:
blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
thanks for the good words Llama. Mine had nothing done. I actually spent i dont know how many hours cutting nad grinding off all of the old mounts.
Then I had to do all the mounts and make the steering links. the only thing that was "done" was the fact that it had a high steer arm on the pass side knuckle.
Im not gonna lie I have at least 40 hours more than planned and at least 800$ over budget.
the only justification I can see if that im getting the beef of the HP44, the massive thunderbird brakes, and got to make my own xmember as I wanted and links and steering as I Wanted, well not really the trackbar yet.
it would have been way cheaper and way faster to just fix my 30 and throw new gears in it. But this is more of a long term solution that should also work better for other axle swaps down the road. and its stronger in every way over the 30 except the U joints. which is nice. PLus a selectable locker and locking hubs are going to be great.
Then I had to do all the mounts and make the steering links. the only thing that was "done" was the fact that it had a high steer arm on the pass side knuckle.
Im not gonna lie I have at least 40 hours more than planned and at least 800$ over budget.
the only justification I can see if that im getting the beef of the HP44, the massive thunderbird brakes, and got to make my own xmember as I wanted and links and steering as I Wanted, well not really the trackbar yet.
it would have been way cheaper and way faster to just fix my 30 and throw new gears in it. But this is more of a long term solution that should also work better for other axle swaps down the road. and its stronger in every way over the 30 except the U joints. which is nice. PLus a selectable locker and locking hubs are going to be great.
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blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
got alot done last night.
made the tie rod after figuring out toe in real quick:
the pass side banjo bolt is shoved into the high steer arm just at normal ride height. just awesome. so stoked. I dont know why I would have ever expected the brake line banjo bolts to clear the knuckle. that would just be too easy wouldnt it. lucky me.
so i need to grind into that to clearance it for turning as well.
If I cant grind it enough, I guess Ill be going on top of the tie rod. man that would suck to redo the trackbar again.
got the cool custom brake lines on:
BUT THE damn driver side caliper is pouring brake fluid out through the piston. So I couldnt bleed the brakes. So I went on a wild goose chase to find a 70s driver side ford thunder bird caliper this morning.
Tonight (the easiest list of crap ive had in months):
grind knuckle to clear pass side caliper.
slap new driver side caliper on
crank down XJ pitman arm for now
re check torque on all jam nuts
double check toe
center steering wheel
build some sort of steering stabilizer brackets real fast and slap it on there
bleed brakes
maybe , if im lucky, I will test drive it tonight.
have a softball game at 830, home by 10. start wrenching by 1030pm. Done by 1-2am?
brake lines use 7/16-24 banjo fittings. totally rare.
these came:
cheap home depot cut off wheels litterally where ripping into pieces before one cut. it was literally rediculous. I mean the cheapos from lehigh last foreever in comparrison at a 1/3 of the cost. at 3$ each i was getting murdered ever since I ran out of my last lehigh abrasives order.
this time i did 20 Sait cut off wheels, their good ones, like 1.80$ intead of 3$ each at barnes.
got the 10 metabo ones for like 0.90$ each.
the 7/8 threaded arbor super jumbo flap wheels for 2.50$ each.
such a beautiful thing. I love jumbo 40 grit thread flap discs for around 2$ each. amazing
found out about lehigh from some random thread on pirate4x4 one day.
this should last me a long time mostly since im basically done with this swap. but I plan on doing a shaved and linked 14bff c&C before the end of the year sometime in the rear.
on a last note. the 1.75" .250 steering is totally awesome. so freaking strong seemingly. everything except the upper arm is 3/4" fine thread grade. upper is 5/8" grade 8 fine thread for frame side fitment reasons.
made the tie rod after figuring out toe in real quick:
the pass side banjo bolt is shoved into the high steer arm just at normal ride height. just awesome. so stoked. I dont know why I would have ever expected the brake line banjo bolts to clear the knuckle. that would just be too easy wouldnt it. lucky me.
so i need to grind into that to clearance it for turning as well.
If I cant grind it enough, I guess Ill be going on top of the tie rod. man that would suck to redo the trackbar again.
got the cool custom brake lines on:
BUT THE damn driver side caliper is pouring brake fluid out through the piston. So I couldnt bleed the brakes. So I went on a wild goose chase to find a 70s driver side ford thunder bird caliper this morning.
Tonight (the easiest list of crap ive had in months):
grind knuckle to clear pass side caliper.
slap new driver side caliper on
crank down XJ pitman arm for now
re check torque on all jam nuts
double check toe
center steering wheel
build some sort of steering stabilizer brackets real fast and slap it on there
bleed brakes
maybe , if im lucky, I will test drive it tonight.
have a softball game at 830, home by 10. start wrenching by 1030pm. Done by 1-2am?
brake lines use 7/16-24 banjo fittings. totally rare.
these came:
cheap home depot cut off wheels litterally where ripping into pieces before one cut. it was literally rediculous. I mean the cheapos from lehigh last foreever in comparrison at a 1/3 of the cost. at 3$ each i was getting murdered ever since I ran out of my last lehigh abrasives order.
this time i did 20 Sait cut off wheels, their good ones, like 1.80$ intead of 3$ each at barnes.
got the 10 metabo ones for like 0.90$ each.
the 7/8 threaded arbor super jumbo flap wheels for 2.50$ each.
such a beautiful thing. I love jumbo 40 grit thread flap discs for around 2$ each. amazing
found out about lehigh from some random thread on pirate4x4 one day.
this should last me a long time mostly since im basically done with this swap. but I plan on doing a shaved and linked 14bff c&C before the end of the year sometime in the rear.
on a last note. the 1.75" .250 steering is totally awesome. so freaking strong seemingly. everything except the upper arm is 3/4" fine thread grade. upper is 5/8" grade 8 fine thread for frame side fitment reasons.
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- Location
- Patterson, Ca
You shouldn't have to grind much for the brakes, they turn with the knuckle and high steer arm, or am I missing something?
blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
wow youre right. I am so just tired i didnt even realize that. then its only a little grinding, since I already have to install the lines with the caliper off on that side anyway . SO many nights in the garage until 1am ro 2am, all day long on weekends i guess im missing something.... its all starting to blur together. thanks for pointing that out. that actually takes alot of anxiety out of my day. I plan on really getting into it. whew. Man I need sleep tongiht but instead ill be in the garage until 2am. I wish softball was an early game...
blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
got just about everything done tonight. slapped a new driver side caliper on and bled the brakes.
brakes are still full of air and go to the floor. Might have gotten air in the master. going to bleed them a ton more tomorrow night and see how that goes. it stops though.
steering seems pretty good. got it up probably 45mph on some streets by my house around 1am tonight. with the sucky air filled brake system I didnt want to go faster. drove fine. no brake dive so far, steering seemed ok .
alleyway pic:
"finished" for the next 12 hours or so until i mess with again:
list of pending modifications:
bleed brakes. bleed em. they suck terribly right now. maybe have to bleed the master too.
grind down pass side high steer arm a little bit as zach pointed out earlier. left it alone tonight.
consider putting a steering stabilizer on it somewhere.
slap waggy pitman arm sometime soon.
wire up ARB locker and compressor.
diff breather tube.
mess with driver side hub.
continue to pray that R&P are ok.
seems to be a little faster, like more power. probably because of the locking hubs.
this whole dana 44 cost about the same as a warn dana 30 hub locking kit, food for thought . but it has chromos, ARB, hi steer arm on pass side and stronger in every aspect over the 30, expect the U joints. At least this 44 is worth putting RCVs in at some point...
I am also considering cutting the coils down or buying some 3.5" coils. the front is definitely taller than before. I am sure the Ruffstuff coil mounts are taller than XJ coil mounts, but not sure by how much. the 44 tube is larger in diameter than the XJ dana 30, so i wouldnt be surprised if the front got lifted an extra inch. I also welded a 1/4" spacer on top of the coil buckets that was larger in diameter so they sit easier.
Im definitely considering dropping the coils down to 3.5" coils or cutting these.
also, it fits in and out of the garage just fine. thank god. I was worried about that.
also , the 4" back spacing is about as deep as you can go before the hubs stick out past the 36x13.5's
so far I am very pleased except for the crappy brakes. I hope it is air in the system and not the fact that maybe these calipers have pistons that are too big for my WJ booster and master.
nice thing about this 44, brake upgrade is cheap. T bird calipers are 20$ each. 95$ for custom brake lines and banjo bolts (probably need custom lines for alot of 44 swaps anyway) and 26$ for some durmast Gold brake pads. about 1000$ cheaper than the WJ swap on an XJ dana 30. if you did WJ brakes and dana 30 hub conversion youd be into way more money and have a way less stronger axle. wow.
brakes are still full of air and go to the floor. Might have gotten air in the master. going to bleed them a ton more tomorrow night and see how that goes. it stops though.
steering seems pretty good. got it up probably 45mph on some streets by my house around 1am tonight. with the sucky air filled brake system I didnt want to go faster. drove fine. no brake dive so far, steering seemed ok .
alleyway pic:
"finished" for the next 12 hours or so until i mess with again:
list of pending modifications:
bleed brakes. bleed em. they suck terribly right now. maybe have to bleed the master too.
grind down pass side high steer arm a little bit as zach pointed out earlier. left it alone tonight.
consider putting a steering stabilizer on it somewhere.
slap waggy pitman arm sometime soon.
wire up ARB locker and compressor.
diff breather tube.
mess with driver side hub.
continue to pray that R&P are ok.
seems to be a little faster, like more power. probably because of the locking hubs.
this whole dana 44 cost about the same as a warn dana 30 hub locking kit, food for thought . but it has chromos, ARB, hi steer arm on pass side and stronger in every aspect over the 30, expect the U joints. At least this 44 is worth putting RCVs in at some point...
I am also considering cutting the coils down or buying some 3.5" coils. the front is definitely taller than before. I am sure the Ruffstuff coil mounts are taller than XJ coil mounts, but not sure by how much. the 44 tube is larger in diameter than the XJ dana 30, so i wouldnt be surprised if the front got lifted an extra inch. I also welded a 1/4" spacer on top of the coil buckets that was larger in diameter so they sit easier.
Im definitely considering dropping the coils down to 3.5" coils or cutting these.
also, it fits in and out of the garage just fine. thank god. I was worried about that.
also , the 4" back spacing is about as deep as you can go before the hubs stick out past the 36x13.5's
so far I am very pleased except for the crappy brakes. I hope it is air in the system and not the fact that maybe these calipers have pistons that are too big for my WJ booster and master.
nice thing about this 44, brake upgrade is cheap. T bird calipers are 20$ each. 95$ for custom brake lines and banjo bolts (probably need custom lines for alot of 44 swaps anyway) and 26$ for some durmast Gold brake pads. about 1000$ cheaper than the WJ swap on an XJ dana 30. if you did WJ brakes and dana 30 hub conversion youd be into way more money and have a way less stronger axle. wow.
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blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
The Jeep Drives!
Huge thanks to Don for coming over and helping me troubleshoot the various brake and steering issues. I drove it on the freeway to jackson today and it did great. very pleased.
Grad link was getting into the tires while turning(ok weird) relocated the drag link under the High steer knuckle. Now a great side effect is that the trackbar and drag link and totally parrallel.
got the waggy arm in the mail on thurs from parts mike. stoked.
had tons of brake issues. ended up grinding the pass side knuckle to clear the banjo bolt. bled system like crazy. had to add some rattle clips into the brakes. had to grind down the caliper retaining bolt to clear rims, and some more random stuff.
I am very stoked.
I still need to wire up the ARB and work on the driver side Hub , but its solid for now. at least I can drive it on road. need to re evaluate toe in and caster and thats about it. do some welding here and there. so far so good. seems like MPG got better with unlocked hubs and an open ARB versus d30 unit bearings with a grizzly.
i know some guys will hate this, but I plan to put a steering stabilizer on as well.
I am also considering cutting down the RE 5.5 coils. the coil mounts netted more lift, plus a welded on 1/4" spring plate, plus thicker taller tubes. I could probably cut down the front coils to a 4" lift and be solid. I probably gained at least an 1" to 1.5" of lift up front.
just not in a huge hurry to chop em up.
the 1.75" steering barely clears the diff cover, stock with the welded gusseting. I cant go RS so oh well. Ill probably plate the cover some more and grind the tie rod down a bit to clear by a little more in case the waggy arm makes the tie rod get into the cover then.
Huge thanks to Don for coming over and helping me troubleshoot the various brake and steering issues. I drove it on the freeway to jackson today and it did great. very pleased.
Grad link was getting into the tires while turning(ok weird) relocated the drag link under the High steer knuckle. Now a great side effect is that the trackbar and drag link and totally parrallel.
got the waggy arm in the mail on thurs from parts mike. stoked.
had tons of brake issues. ended up grinding the pass side knuckle to clear the banjo bolt. bled system like crazy. had to add some rattle clips into the brakes. had to grind down the caliper retaining bolt to clear rims, and some more random stuff.
I am very stoked.
I still need to wire up the ARB and work on the driver side Hub , but its solid for now. at least I can drive it on road. need to re evaluate toe in and caster and thats about it. do some welding here and there. so far so good. seems like MPG got better with unlocked hubs and an open ARB versus d30 unit bearings with a grizzly.
i know some guys will hate this, but I plan to put a steering stabilizer on as well.
I am also considering cutting down the RE 5.5 coils. the coil mounts netted more lift, plus a welded on 1/4" spring plate, plus thicker taller tubes. I could probably cut down the front coils to a 4" lift and be solid. I probably gained at least an 1" to 1.5" of lift up front.
just not in a huge hurry to chop em up.
the 1.75" steering barely clears the diff cover, stock with the welded gusseting. I cant go RS so oh well. Ill probably plate the cover some more and grind the tie rod down a bit to clear by a little more in case the waggy arm makes the tie rod get into the cover then.
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- Location
- Virginia City, NV
Nice work John. Looking forward to seeing it in person
REVROK
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Spring Creek, NV
went with my uncle to get this thing last night. it was a blast to drive to his place from stockton to jackson.
360 rebuilt, bored .030 over, RV cam, carter 4bbl.
dana 60 rear, 5.13s, lp44 front with discs, 5.13s open
rebult th400 with BM shift kit
dana 20 custom twin sticked
38.5 swampers almost new
hooker headers
thing runs great.
warn 8274 winch, bumper, and rear tire bumper,
way too much lift , like 12", like 12 leaves in each pack, kinda crazy, but it drove pretty straight for needing steering work and ball joints. Actually drove really straight.
brakes are amazing, stops on a dime. starts right up every time.
quite a pleasure to drive.
just really loud and the Bias ply 38s like to make the whole jeep get baby DW at like 65 mph, but you can just drive through it.
going to be swapping some new ball joints, tie rod ends, and a steering stabilizer on it soon to keep it cheap. it also has some tie rod roll due to tie rod mounted OTK, and it has a "Z" drag link that im going to gusset and plate for now with some 1/4" plate until we figure out a better steering solution.
my only concern is the LP44 up front on 38s with a built V8. at least its not locked. I plan on getting the steering in better shape, then trying to convince him to do a front 60 eventually. but I wouldnt be surprised if he just goes with some alloy ball joints, chromos, and fix up steering and call it done.
Nice!! Nothing looks as good in camo as a FSJ. I love it!!
arty:
blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
lowers were around 23.5" and upper was around, shoot I forget, like 20.5" I believe.
it got kinda squirrely on the way home. I need to go through and recheck all jamb nuts, check toe in , check caster,tire pressure, all of that good stuff, as well as any potential loose bolts or mounts.
I also want to order ball joints and new rotors for the thing. maybe new wheel bearings too if they need it.
blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
Nice!! Nothing looks as good in camo as a FSJ. I love it!!
the waggy is very cool. we spent yesterday and saturday night working on the steering and electrical. And then cleaning the interior yesterday like crazy.
- Location
- South San Francisco, CA
Looks great Jon, nice work. Make sure you check the wheel bearing for tightness, sometimes they come loose. Check to make sure the wheel hubs are in good condition, I had a problem one on my Chevy K10 where the bearing race was loose inside the hub, couldnt ever get it tight. Had to get a new hub.
blondejoncherokee
NAXJA Member
- Location
- sacramento
Thanks good idea. I am thinking of doing new hubs and bearings so I know I am starting fresh and use the rest for trail spares.
- Location
- WA state
Looking good, Jon.
Do you really feel like you need a stabilizer? Especially with crossover steering I do not believe it is a necessity.
