Vanilla Gorrilla blog

[Goose_XJ88]

I'm currious if the smittybilt will fit. I know he originally designed the mount around a specific winch and it is super tight in there.

 

[GordoSmasho]

I'm currious if the smittybilt will fit. I know he originally designed the mount around a specific winch and it is super tight in there.

Dimensions seem to be pretty close the the superwinch i have in there. So we will see.

 

[SlowXj]

Do you think swapping your rear shocks back to having one in front and one behind the rear axle could help your leaf spring situation? I know your doing a antiwrap but I was just curious if that's when the spring problem began.

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[techno1154]

A few pics from the week. It was epic

You are running a JK D44 up front. I did not see truss on it in the picture. Are you using one?

I have one of those D44 front from a 2017 Rubicon to put under my XJ. It is complete end to end minus the brakes and 3.73 gears. I know I have to move the brackets so it would fit under the XJ. I am exploring putting on an Artec truss complete with all the brackets. That truss need/should be welded to the center section. I will have to outsource it to have that done. Simply moving the brackets I could do myself.

I have heard a lot about the tubed bending and am a bit leery. How important is a truss in your opinion?

All tips are welcome.

 

[GordoSmasho]

A few pics from the week. It was epic

You are running a JK D44 up front. I did not see truss on it in the picture. Are you using one?



I have one of those D44 front from a 2017 Rubicon to put under my XJ. It is complete end to end minus the brakes and 3.73 gears. I know I have to move the brackets so it would fit under the XJ. I am exploring putting on an Artec truss complete with all the brackets. That truss need/should be welded to the center section. I will have to outsource it to have that done. Simply moving the brackets I could do myself.



I have heard a lot about the tubed bending and am a bit leery. How important is a truss in your opinion?



All tips are welcome.

Hey bud

So yes that is a jk44 rubicon front. No i dont have a truss and it is not needed. I sleeved the tubes with a very simple kit. And gusseted the inner C’s. Our xjs are not heavy like the jks are and i dont plan on jumping my rig so im good. As far as mounts. The only things i moved to make things simpler was the coil/shock mounts and the trac bar mount. The jk coil mounts are centered. They need to be forward of the tube for the xj. And I lowered my shock mounts so I could swing a 12” shock on 3” of lift. Then i got a rustys factory xj axle trackbar bracket and placed it in the factory xj location on the jk axle. So the only thing that needed modding was my draglink length to get it to work. Xj under axle track bar works for me. Btw. All of my link mounts are stock jk mounts. They are in the same locations about as the xj. Hope that helps. Any other questions let me know.

 

[techno1154]

Hey bud

So yes that is a jk44 rubicon front. No i dont have a truss and it is not needed. I sleeved the tubes with a very simple kit. And gusseted the inner C’s. Our xjs are not heavy like the jks are and i dont plan on jumping my rig so im good. As far as mounts. The only things i moved to make things simpler was the coil/shock mounts and the trac bar mount. The jk coil mounts are centered. They need to be forward of the tube for the xj. And I lowered my shock mounts so I could swing a 12” shock on 3” of lift. Then i got a rustys factory xj axle trackbar bracket and placed it in the factory xj location on the jk axle. So the only thing that needed modding was my draglink length to get it to work. Xj under axle track bar works for me. Btw. All of my link mounts are stock jk mounts. They are in the same locations about as the xj. Hope that helps. Any other questions let me know.

That is of great help to me. No more agonizing over welding a truss. I will just spring for an axle bracket kit and the tubes then I will be good to go.

I saw online a wire harness kit for the locker that I need to get unless I can get connectors then make my own harness.

Great info my friend.

 

[GordoSmasho]

That is of great help to me. No more agonizing over welding a truss. I will just spring for an axle bracket kit and the tubes then I will be good to go.



I saw online a wire harness kit for the locker that I need to get unless I can get connectors then make my own harness.



Great info my friend.

Definitely still do a sleeve and gusset kit.

This is a good kit
https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/2017-...MI2avMuZut5AIVlrfsCh2aNQcXEAQYBSABEgLo4fD_BwE

And these coil mounts from rustys have the track bar bracket as a part of the mount. Wish i would have gotten these. Would have made it easier
https://www.rustysoffroad.com/build...ustys-front-axle-coil-spring-shock-mount.html

And i used these to mount my shock lower on the axle tube.
https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.co...MIqPK515yt5AIVg9dkCh08Sgc2EAQYASABEgJ-zPD_BwE

Again the control arm mounts dont need to be changed.

 

[GordoSmasho]

Went out with some battle born xj guys sat night and ran a local trail. Bud Canyon. Here are a few pics. The 37s are tucking quite nicely.

 

[GordoSmasho]

 

[blondejoncherokee]

I dig it man!

 

[SlowXj]

Your approach angle is insane. That would almost crawl a vehicle wall..

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[GordoSmasho]

Your approach angle is insane. That would almost crawl a vehicle wall..

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Thx man. Not sure a vertical wall. Its still about 80degrees or so. I have seen many well built rigs get denied the proper line because of a big bumper. Or broken tire carriers dropping off an obstacle. Good angles are key.

 

[Alboy97XJ]

Omg is that a 4runner?!

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[GordoSmasho]

Omg is that a 4runner?!

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Yeah two of them followed us up this trail randomly.

 

[GordoSmasho]

Well........

I now have four jeeps. Parted out one and started working on the replacement chassis for the gorrilla. The plan is to do all the stiffening and cage i should have done before i started wheeling the current chassis. First things first ill probably start a new build thread because this is a new build. Also picked up a new 4door for a more family camping over-landing rig. Will be starting another thread for that rig. It will be dubbed white girl as it is also white. Haha. I somehow ended up with 4 white jeeps.

However i have been on a few adventures recently.
Did some exploring near my house with steph

 

[GordoSmasho]

Then did some scouting for a new trail. Ended up finding dead horse trail but the off shoot is a new trail. Never run before. Going to schedule a run soon to christen it.

 

[GordoSmasho]

Then went out and ran dead horse with alan and a few other sick rigs. Was a total blast and easily the hardest trail i have run. Super long and super technical.
Didnt take hardly any pics. Definitely not a large group friendly trail but we finished it in 8 or so hours. 3 miles long though.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

Looks awesome!

 

[GordoSmasho]

Steph was complaining about my shift when she was driving so i got a new one. Haha. It glows in the dark. Its pretty bright actually if i charge it with my flashlight it lights up the whole cabin. Haha

 

[89Mock]

Nice pants.
Canyon looks sick. Motivates me to keep working on my axles.

If all those photos are dead horse I can see why it might not be the best trail for 20 people unless everyone is ready to start at 7 am and spend 12-14 hours wheeling before they get home.