The Plumbus

[jrmyers]

Today on How They Do It: Plumbuses

Everyone has a plumbus in their home. First you get a 99 XJ with a NP231, HPD30, and a D35.



Then you add:
New headlight harnesses, IPF housings, 90/100w bulbs
30x9.50 General Grabber AT2
Hella Aux lamps
Head unit and 10" sub in a sealed box
Bilstein 4600

And drive it all over the country for a few years until the suspension and driveline bearings are screaming for mercy.



I need new pinion bearings and seals. My springs are sagging and hitting a bump at most speeds slams the bumpstops. It would be wise to replace the springs and rebuild the diffs

But I came home from the junkyard with an 8.25 and a front driveshaft for $250



Both axles will get a full rebuild and 4.56 r&p. Disc brakes for the 8.25 :yelclap:

 

[Evan03]

Very nice.

Shave the lip off the 8.25.

If I had it to do over I'd get axles out grand Cherokee d44 and build it.
My 8.25 I shaved trussed and disced been sitting in the garage on jack stands for a year since.

 

[trippled]

Very nice.

Shave the lip off the 8.25.

If I had it to do over I'd get axles out grand Cherokee d44 and build it.
My 8.25 I shaved trussed and disced been sitting in the garage on jack stands for a year since.

The zj d44a is junk and most are low pinion 30. 8.25 and hp30 are better.

Got a good start. Nice Rick and Morty reference haha

 

[Black1990jeep]

What is a plumbus?

 

[Mcmadman]

You forgot to rub it and spit on it

 

[lazyxj]

What is a plumbus?

Guess if you spend a lot of time watching cable TV, you would know.
I don't and didn't.
https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/plumbus-rick-morty/

 

[RCP Phx]

Wow, that's more than I ever wanted to know!

 

[dktool]

I now how what my next dog's name will be.

 

[smokeyyank]

Well that went over like a lead balloon.......

 

[jrmyers]

Tires came in the mail. K02 33x10.50r15



Further plans are:
3.5" springs
Bilstein or OME shocks
SYE. Haven't decided which one to use
Front DS for my rear DS
3-link
Bumpers
SS brake lines

I will begin the r&p for the 8.25 today and get the disc brakes and new hard brake lines on it. After my last trip I realized my front left caliper is sticking a bit yet I completely overhauled these brakes less than two years ago. Never rebuilt a caliper before but it seems straight forward, so I'll just do that.

 

[smokeyyank]

Nice! What 3 link you looking at or you going to DIY?

 

[jrmyers]

Nice! What 3 link you looking at or you going to DIY?

I ordered the DBO 3-link. I considered making my own long arms but I am a few hours away from my bigger welder and only have the little Hobart to work with. It's doing fine with the 3/16" bumpers right now but I wouldn't want to weld any control arms with it.

I'm second guessing my choice to do long arms considering it will only have 3.5" springs. Uptravel may have to be limited too much but we'll see what happens. If it's terrible I can add a spacer on the coils

Got the 8.25 torn down and ready to begin the rebuild until the bumper kits from Dirtbound arrived... got a little distracted. Bumpers should be done by the weekend. With the amount of work that comes with putting together the DIY bumper kits, I'm not sure it's worth it. Depends on how much you value your time of course. My welding skills are very novice so It's good to have an excuse to practice on something. Welds on the rear bumper showed a real improvement throughout the day from the first bead

 

[smokeyyank]

I ordered the DBO 3-link. I considered making my own long arms but I am a few hours away from my bigger welder and only have the little Hobart to work with. It's doing fine with the 3/16" bumpers right now but I wouldn't want to weld any control arms with it.

I'm second guessing my choice to do long arms considering it will only have 3.5" springs. Uptravel may have to be limited too much but we'll see what happens. If it's terrible I can add a spacer on the coils

Got the 8.25 torn down and ready to begin the rebuild until the bumper kits from Dirtbound arrived... got a little distracted. Bumpers should be done by the weekend. With the amount of work that comes with putting together the DIY bumper kits, I'm not sure it's worth it. Depends on how much you value your time of course. My welding skills are very novice so It's good to have an excuse to practice on something. Welds on the rear bumper showed a real improvement throughout the day from the first bead

It will be fine. You don't need to have 6" of lift to run LA. Really by the time you figure the cost difference between SA and LA it's negligible and LA will perform and ride better IMHO for a lifted XJ. You could always get ACOS to help level out the front if you're putting a winch and bumper on.

I agree about the DIY kits. I need to get a winch bumper for my WJ. they are stupid expensive to start with so it's either DIY at 500 or welded at 900. And lately my DIY projects have turned out to be more of a headache then anything.

 

[RCP Phx]

I bought front/rear Dirtbound diy kits and think they are great. I usually build my own and that's a major material and time consumer.

 

[jrmyers]

Finished the rear bumper today. Really glad that I got the diy kits instead of the nice JCR bumpers I wanted... sort of. I have a lot to keep in mind for when I do the front bumper after finishing this one. Far less than perfect but I didn't expect much more. Learning

The welds around the hitch receiver are done with solid core .030 and 75/25. Welds on the outside corner joints are .030 flux core (can't remember the code number). It took me a while to get dialed in with the gas and right when I did, I ran out of gas. I have a small bottle but I really expected it to last more than a few feet of welding..replaced my hose right before I used it so I know there were no leaks. Must have had the gas turned way up? Regulator was reading 30psi but after I realized how much I was using I necked down to about 12 psi and welds improved from there.. :doh: The flux core seems to penetrate more at the cost of spatter and an incredible amount of heat. Even with completely bare metal and beveled joints I still get plenty of splatter flying. Not to mention the fumes. Might have a fan trained around me for the next calm day like today.

Top is gas bottom is flux core. Cut and reused the hitch receiver from the PO installed hitch. I like that the end has double thick square tube.

Too many spots on the outside welds were porous/maybe just gaps between them so I ran more beads inside the bumper. Its solid. The hitch receiver is welded front&back on every connecting joint. You can see in this pic how much the bottom of the bumper drew up from welding the hitch bracket in. This flux core gets really really hot.

JB conversions 1310 SYE kit and Metalcloak dual rate coils arrived today:

I have not found somewhere locally that sells a bearing puller for these. I'm considering taking a torch to them tomorrow

 

[CastorTroy]

i've wanted to get those metalcloak springs, interested to see how you like them

 

[dktool]

I have not found somewhere locally that sells a bearing puller for these. I'm considering taking a torch to them

Run 3 or 4 weld beads equally spaced on the top to bottom and they will come off easily.

 

[dktool]

on THEM top to bottom

 

[jrmyers]

Run 3 or 4 weld beads equally spaced on the top to bottom and they will come off easily.

I cut down a groove perpendicular carefully with a cutoff wheel then broke through with a punch. Seemed to work fine with no damage to the carrier. I'll try your technique next time

 

[jrmyers]

Been busy on the Jeep for a few weeks now.

Stripped the interior to install sound deadening. Found some light rust in both driver and passenger floor boards. Didn't get pictures of the finished product, but I put sound deadening (butyl) on the roof, all doors and trunk, and the entire floor to help with noise/vibration and insulation... it has made a HUGE difference. Product used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QW2TY9W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Installed the lift, Hood Chicken, all new hard brake lines, new master cylinder, non abs proportioning valve, JB Conversions SYE, front ds in the rear, IRO double shear track bar, and Napier V2 flares. Still need to cycle the suspension and measure for bump stops and rebuild the front axle.

Ready for KOH :

Booty:
fullsizeoutput_171d by Jacob Myers, on Flickr

fullsizeoutput_171c by Jacob Myers, on Flickr

Is the lack of clearance behind the rear tires typical with Napier flares or did I just mount them carelessly?
fullsizeoutput_171f by Jacob Myers, on Flickr

fullsizeoutput_171b by Jacob Myers, on Flickr

After lifting it I'm hearing mild grinding noises from the front (I think) when coasting downhill with a slight amount of throttle applied. Going to remove the front DS and see if it persists. I suspect the old u-joints aren't liking the new angles.

Planning on making a tire carrier primarily out of 2x3 rectangular steel, mocking the Dirtbound setup.