work party, escondido

got one quarter pannel trim finished, and the other one about 70% finished (ran out of gas for the welder). i didnt really want to use body filler around the welds on the body since it will just crack off, so i used some seam sealer and sanded it down. it isnt perfect, but who cares...
i painted and undercoated the filler pannel i welded in underneath.
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also, my johnny joints came in, but of course the thread was different than the original poly bushing joints, so i had to bore out the old threaded inserts and weld in new ones into the end of the rear lower control arms.

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tomorrow i hope to finish the quarter pannels and get the rear lower control arms bolted to the body and axle. then i can figure out where i need to put the upper wishbone brackets. if i get those welded in it's very possible to get it on the ground and maybe for a test ride on the street this weekend.
 
Last edited:
thanks!
so i got the control arms and rear axle installed and put the coilovers in temporarily to see how everything fit.
the lower control arms hit the frame before it hits where the bumps would be, kind of as expected. not a huge deal, i was considering putting a slight bend in them anyways. it's not off by much.
the top of the truss/upper wishbone bracket hits the body about the same point as when the lower control arms hit the frame. this isnt as big of a deal as i cant imagine both wheels will be bottomed out all that often.
lastly, the spring rates are a mile off. kinda pissed about this. it's got like 7 inches of lift instead of 3. how do you mess up that bad? i told them i thought 300lbs was way too stiff for an xj but they said it would be fine. now i have to wait till monday to even get ahold of them to HOPE that they have the right springs, which i'm going to assume will be a guessing game since they probably pulled these numbers out of their ass.
pics to come....
 
i took one coilover out and jacked up that end of the axle to check for binding, travel, etc. everything looked good. the angle of the axle is 22.5 degrees, so it looks like the shock travel is usable since that puts it at about 16" difference between the 2 shock mounting points.
unfortunately i still think tire clearance might be the biggest issue. i do not think 33's will fit, even with the hogging out i did on the rear quarter pannels. i might be stuck with lifting it even more. POOPOO! i was really hoping to keep it at 3-4" of lift.
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so i already knew this but i will have to change my driveshaft. i guess i'll just do the SYE while i'm at it. I have a couple driveshafts from my parts jeep so i will probably just shorten one of those. also, after checking tire to shock and shock to body clearance, i think i want to reposition the axle side shock tabs a little. the exhaust is also going to be a challenge as i expected but i think it's doable.
 
got the SYE in and shortened the driveshaft about 2 inches. came out ok, i would be suprised it the balance is off. didnt get much else done. tomorrow i will try and get the brakes and exhaust done so i can wrap up the rear end other than respringing the coilovers. thats easy though.

cutting the driveshaft off the splined section and facing it off so i have a clean surface to mate against.
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after inserting the splined section into the driveshaft tube. pretty light press fit, a rubber mallet is good enough.
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i mounted the driveshaft in the jeep and put an indicator on it to check for runout. i got it running true then tack welded it in 4 places, checking for runout each time. then i ran a bead while it was still on the jeep and painted it up. hopefully it's balanced still.
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naw m8 im off already back at home i do work tomorrow from 830-4 ish. yeah we are opening at 830 or 9 for a easter egg hunt. but the buffet will be bomb mang!
 
your rear looks awesome :D

I dig those C/O shock towers. want to do that to mine? :)

just for your reference, I have 4" of lift in the rear, and I only get 5" of uptravel before my 33"s rub in the wheel well. they will hit the pinch weld seam of the unibody before that, but a BFH took care of that.
 
rockclimber said:
your rear looks awesome :D

I dig those C/O shock towers. want to do that to mine? :)

just for your reference, I have 4" of lift in the rear, and I only get 5" of uptravel before my 33"s rub in the wheel well. they will hit the pinch weld seam of the unibody before that, but a BFH took care of that.
Click to expand...
thanks man! and no i never want to do this again haha im happy to lend out my templates though :)
my pinch seam no longer exists, but i do have some ideas to make a little more room in the wheel well. i'm just totally over sheetmetal work at this point though :D too much work done in a short period of time. getting a little burned out, but i cant wait to wheel again so that's my modivation.
 
got my 96+ brake booster and master cyl in as well as the zj prop valve for the disk brakes. got the brakes bled, cant wait to try them out.
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also replaced the shock tabs to slightly longer ones so the coilovers will clear the body and frame a little better when flexed out. dont mind the big welds, i had a bit of a gap to fill since i left the existing side plates from the other tabs. yea, i'm cheap.
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now i just need to make some upper shock bushings and i can bolt in the coilovers. i also need to get the ebrake cables connected. shouldnt be much longer to get it on the ground. quick test drive, then time to deal with the exhaust, which will be interesting.
 
anyone know what to do with the winshield washer fluid tank after doing the booster swap? doesnt fit too well anymore.
 
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