The Nail Salon

[SPECFab]

Looks good

 

[Jbh97009]

Curious to see what you go with for shocks!

Nice work as always!

 

[ruger81]

Curious to see what you go with for shocks!

Nice work as always!

I know I know!!

 

[TORX]

Curious to see what you go with for shocks!

They're being built as type.


Got over to the shop last week, and spent some time installing everything for hopefully the last time. Temporarily mounted up my former rear Fox's up front while I wait for the new ones. The Bilstein 5165's are going to be ran in the rear. Their 11" of travel should be more than enough.

I mounted up the front calipers, and found these two "things" left over. Since I removed the calipers about a year ago, I naturally couldn't remember where these actually went for the life of me.

After staring at them for a few minutes and debating if they were really necessary (meh, what's a few extra parts) I decided to shoot a text to Crazymoose1990, asking if he had any guesses. Jason called me back, and instructed me that the "caliper shims" sit on top of the "sliding guide plate". Thanks man! Ford calipers are new territory for me.

She's mobile! While I really wanted to take a test drive, I decided against it. The last task will be tackling the upper rear shock mounts, which I hope to complete in the next few days. Then I can start getting some miles on it, and working out any bugs.

 

[the_weirdo]

How much lift did you get from the front PAC coil springs?

 

[TORX]

How much lift did you get from the front PAC coil springs?

I took a bunch of measurements before teardown, but still need to record the post build measurements. I'll have a more accurate answer then. However, I believe they run pretty true to their advertised 6". There wasn't that big of change from my estimated ride height, and actual ride height.

 

[Jbh97009]

Lookin good! No better feeling than lowering it down on its own weight and rolling it out of the shop for the first time!

I need to get new shocks soon..... Problem is I don't know enough about valving to get a good shock (and get it valved right). I think I'll just get some white body's until I learn some more!

 

[jonesinxj]

Dustin, your fab work is bar none... I cannot wait to see a daylight pic and of coarse seeing it in its natural surroundings

 

[NW99XJ]

TIME FOR SOME POSER FLEX SHOTS DUSTIN!

 

[TORX]

Decided to make some headway on the last big project for this phase, shock mounts...

Start by gutting the cargo area to see what you have to work with. I went into this project with a general idea of what I wanted to do.

I marked where the shocks sat plumb in the lower mounts, and then drilled a pilot hole through the floor in between the wheel well and frame.

Drill some big holes.

Chucked up some 1.75x.120" DOM in the bender (thank you, BPB).

After some time spent notching the ends, I had my hoops made.

Rough test fit. I collapsed the shock to approximate ride height with a strap. I'm setting them up for 5.5" up and 5.5" down. My leafs will only give around 10" of travel, so I should be safe from not over extending/compressing.

Made some frame tie-ins for the hoops. .188" plate, hole sawed for the DOM to sit in, and then I used the hole saw cut out to cap the end. These will get welded to the frame.

I ran out of DOM to make the stand offs for the other side, so I'll have to wait until I pick some more up to continue. Also bouncing around some ideas for the upper mount on the hoop.

Really looking forward to having some decent up-travel in the rear.

 

[northwestxj]

Wow man, been a long time since I've been on the boards much. This thing is looking great. I didn't see anything as I was reading, but plans for a cage as well?

 

[TORX]

Wow man, been a long time since I've been on the boards much. This thing is looking great. I didn't see anything as I was reading, but plans for a cage as well?

It's been on the list for awhile (for the safety factor), but it needs to become a priority now. I was planning on just going internal out of 1.5", but lately I've been leaning toward the more popular hybrid style (like yours). That way I'll at least have a chance of saving the Jeep if it goes tires up.


Moving on with the rear shocks mounts I needed to make the upper mounting tabs. Rough cut four pieces out of some .134" plate, welded them together, and drilled a .500" hole.

After some fine tuning I had them all trimmed and smoothed out. Used some of my old hole saw remnants to reinforce the mounting hole.

I then tacked the hoops into position above the floor, and tacked on the mounting tabs. I don't have a solid reason on mounting the upper bushing the way I did. I mostly went with this orientation for ease of getting the bolt in and out. We'll see how the bushings last over time.

With the hoop in position I then was able to position the stand off tubes into place. Double checked all my angles, and tacked them in place.

Cut a few tack welds, and was able to lower the hoop assembly to final weld the hoop to the frame tie-ins.

Glued to the frame.

Welded the top mounting tab, and welded the hoop itself to the floor as much as I could get. I didn't get all the way around the tubes because filling a large gap in sheet metal is beyond my patience level.

The hoops themselves really don't take up much cargo room. I made the executive decision to permanently ditch the back seat. I haven't ran one since my Rubicon trip last summer. The "temporary" cargo platform I made has worked out so well it's pretty much become a permanent addition. So I took the time to yank all the rear seatbelts as well. Carpet may go back in after the hoops get painted, haven't decided.

Painted the underside, in sub thirty degree weather with less than desirable results. Installed the shocks, this is almost near full droop.

Shock installed. I think I'm going to flip the bodies 180 degrees and mount the resi's on the rear tube vertically. I still need to paint the hoops, but it was just too cold today. Maybe I'll WD40 them, and get to that next summer.

I don't have any immediate plans of bracing the hoops. They are just shock hoops. If they were supporting the weight of the vehicle then I would do a lateral cross bar. However, the force is in compression/tension so there shouldn't be a lot of rotation going on. When the day comes when I add a cage I'll probably tie them into that.

Thanksgiving is in 12 days.

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

7100s up front?

 

[mtbxj87]

What are you going to do to seal up the gap around the shock body? Maybe a CV joint boot?

 

[northwestxj]

It's been on the list for awhile (for the safety factor), but it needs to become a priority now. I was planning on just going internal out of 1.5", but lately I've been leaning toward the more popular hybrid style (like yours). That way I'll at least have a chance of saving the Jeep if it goes tires up.

I'd say that's a good plan and worth the extra work. Mine has been on it's side and also on it's roof, and it still works. Haha

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

http://home.comcast.net/~thoseguys/offroad/
:rtm:

 

[TORX]

What are you going to do to seal up the gap around the shock body? Maybe a CV joint boot?

Thinking rubber pipe adapter. Weld some thin wall tubing around the hole, and clamp down. Sealing them up isn't a priority right now though. We'll see how bad the noise and incoming debris is.

 

[TORX]

Spent some time today tying up some loose ends. Ran new vent lines on both axles, torqued the suspension and steering (had to go buy a big ass wrench), bleed the brakes again, and tossed my old "stubby" bumper back on until I can build a new winch bumper.

Taken the day of tear down. (~4.5" lift, 33's, 30/8.8)

Six weeks later. (~6", 35's, 44/60)

Took it out for a test drive, and racked up about twenty miles. Initial impressions...

• The front suspension feels way more solid with all hard joints. No regrets on going all heim.
• Brakes are soft. I remember when I installed my 8.8 with rear discs the pedal felt soft after, and now with rear discs and the larger front Ford calipers, the pedal is even more soft. The Jeep stops great though, but it seems like I'm using the end of the throw verses the beginning. With the larger brakes, I'm thinking a larger master may be needed to get the firmer pedal back. Research time.
• It wanders. I did a quick tape measure alignment after, and found it to be toed out by a 1/4". However, I have a feeling this is likely a caster issue. I never checked where it ended up after install, so I'll be starting there.
• The 5.13's and 35's drive great! It was able to hold gears well on hills. I need to see if I have the right speedo gear for the combo.
• While I didn't blast through any whoops, the new suspension soaks up speed bumps quite well, and seems to handle corners similar to before (which was awesome). Can't wait to really put it through it's paces.

I took some measurements pre and post build for comparison. Interesting to look at...

Old / New
Front Grill Height: 32" / 36"
Rear Bumper Height: 29.5" / 33.5"
Frame @ LCA Mount: 18.5" / 23"
Frame @ Leaf Hanger: 21" / 25"
Front Diff: 10" / 10.75"
Rear Diff: 9.5" / 10.75"
Leaf Spring Plate to Floor: 13" / 15.5"
Shackle Angle: 43 deg / 53 deg
Rear Driveline Angle: 16 deg / 16 deg

Comparing the numbers it seems like I gained a little over 2" of lift with the new springs/shackle setup, assuming I also gained 1.5" for tire size. While I increased lift height my rear driveline angle remained the same with the new high pinion rear axle. Also, even with the larger axles I still gained ground clearance.

Overall, I'm very pleased. I have to say when I went into this project I honestly didn't know if it would ever drive again. With a little fine tuning, I think this setup is going to work very well for what I'll be using it for (or until I get bored with it).

It felt pretty good to drive the rig again, and kind of put an end to the major fab work on this project. I was starting to get burned out this last week after a month and a half of working on the rig at every available opportunity.

I have just over a week left to get this thing trail ready. My next major priority is going to be getting the ARB's plumbed. I really have no motivation to wheel without lockers. :laugh:

 

[Jbh97009]

Looks sexy! Came out great, nice that you gained ground clearance even with the 44/60!

Ass sits a little high, but I'm assuming its empty, so all loaded up it will probably sit pretty level, and once the leafs settle a little....

 

[knucklehead 61]

looks really good Torx!
you are a great fabricator as well as a great writer.