XJ "Budget Build"

[raptor314]

Years actually. Just getting around to posting it since I'm actually getting close to being done.

 

[clean4drxj]

i would still build a lp Dana 44 over an hp30, Lp Dana 44 still has a larger Ring&pinion, carrier, diff housing, 30 spline axles.

 

[raptor314]

i would still build a lp Dana 44 over an hp30, Lp Dana 44 still has a larger Ring&pinion, carrier, diff housing, 30 spline axles.

Actually if I'd known my "budget build" was gonna become this involved, I would have done a balljoint 60 and 10.5 from a Superduty. I went back and forth in my head about the TJ D44 and HP D30, I weighed the pros and cons, but in the end this is what I decided. I hear you though on the R&P...When I break it, I'll try something else. Time will tell. Thanks for your input.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

I hear you. You'll see a steering and track bar upgrade in the very near future. And as far as the RC parts, the track bar bracket is actually pretty nice, but I would agree that the hardware on the track bar is jenky. I can't comment on the springs yet.

I was mostly referring to the track bar, itself.

 

[raptor314]

I was mostly referring to the track bar, itself.

K. Got it. The heim joint that came with it was pretty jenky. I had actually replaced it with a QA1 heim I had in the drawer. The solid platic bushing on the top was lame too.

 

[raptor314]

Here is the parts list I used for the WJ knuckle swap. I know these work.

Knuckle Swap:
1999-2004 WJ knuckles (Pick N Pull)
1. 1999-2004 Calipers, make sure you get Akebono and make sure you get the mounting bolts (Pick N Pull)
2. WJ Rotors dual drilled for 5 on 5 and 5 on 4.5, dimpled and slotted- (Iron Rock Offroad) These rotors are badass.
3. JKS Spacers (JKS)
4. Hubs, TJ (I ordered for a 2001, not sure if it matters)
5. Ball joints for WJ (WJ and XJ uppers are the same, but the WJ lowers have a different taper, so at minimum get the WJ lowers.)

Steering: I got all my steering from ruffstuff.
1. Offset tie rod kit, comes with tube adaper, jam nuts, and 54" of 1.5" X .25 DOM. The offset rod ends are a must to clear diff armor and the passenger side lower spring mount (which you will have to trim) I have the a tapered reamer so I didn't by the tapered inserts, if you don't have the reamer get the inserts.
2. High angle rod end kit for the draglink. Includes enough DOM for drag link and track bar.
3. Inserts for high angle rod ends. These have a different taper than the rod ends for the tie rod.
4. Track bar hardware, Left and right heim joint + adapter + jam nuts, 7/8", you pick the bore and spacers for whatever size bolt you want to run. You need spacers, but you do not need high misalignment spacers. I got spacers to make the joint 1.5" wide.

Additional Beef:
1. JKS lower control arm skids
2. Inner C gussett kit (Iron Rock Offroad )
3. Inner C gussett kit (Synergy)

That's right, 2 sets of inner C gussetts. The IRO kit welds to the inside of the C and the Synergy kit welds on the outside, top and bottom. The Synergy kit needs to be modified to fit the XJ. It took me about an hour to grind them for a good fit.

If anything bends on this D30, I don't think it will be the C's.

 

[raptor314]

The first step is welding the JKS spacer to the knuckle. The knuckle is cast steel, you can weld to it. You should heat it up prior to welding it, I didn't, but I did put it in a toaster oven to allow it to cool slowly.

 

[raptor314]

I tapered the holes for the tie rod using the reamer then drilled the hole in the knuckle to 1" for the drag link insert.

I also drilled out the pitman arm to 1" and welded in the insert.

 

[raptor314]

I replaced the ball joints with Dana Spicer joints for a WJ.

You can also see in this pic that I cut off the track bar, steering stabilizer, and sway bar brackets. I did plate the front of the of the bracket for the passenger side coil.

You can also see the new mounts for the steering stabilizer.

 

[raptor314]

For the track bar I was planning on doing something like this.

The goal was to get the track bar and drag link to near equal length with the same angle of drop. The closer you get, the better steering you will have (ie absence of bumpsteer) A lofty goal with this swap. Using a bracket like the one offered by JKS leaves the track bar several inches shorter than the tie rod.

 

[raptor314]

So in the picture above, you can see the guy came off of the C to mount the track bar, but what you can' see is that he cheated the coil spring back a few inches. With the coil spring in the stock location you have to come forward off the C several inches to make that left turn past the coil and then up to the track bar bracket.

I tried but I couldn't make it work. Here's what I did and why it didn't work for me. Sorry I didn't take pics.

I took some 1.25" solid round bar and tapped it for a 5/8" bolt. I tacked it to the top of the C leaving me about 1/4" between the track bar and coil spring. I factored in some extra material to double sheer the track bar and then installed a tire and wheel with the axle hanging over the end of my work bench to check tire clearance with the track bar at full lock to the left.

I was initially stoked to see that it cleared, but it only by about 1/2". I decided that it wouldn't work because with the tire aired down it would eat up that minimal clearance and shred the sidewall. No bueno.

Or I could get a fat wheel spacer...I decided to rethink it.

 

[raptor314]

So by my choice to do a Y link at the beginning of the build, left me room on the back of the axle because I no longer had an upper link bracket on the passenger side.

I simply flipped the solid bar over so the threaded end was toward the rear of the C and found that I would have a straight shot to the upper track bar bracket if I moved the shocks back a couple of inches.

I welded in some new shock tabs and bent/drilled/welded a piece if 3/16" to double sheer the lower track bar mount.

 

[raptor314]

The rest of the assembly was pretty straight forward so here are some more pics of the front end assembly.

The mount I made for the steering stabilizer is just barely long enough.

So the track bar ended up 1" longer that the drag link, and the angles aren't identical, but close enough for me.

 

[raptor314]

I baked the tire rod, drang link, track bar, and ruffstuff steering stabilizer bracket in the EZ Bake oven and put it all back together.

At full lock the track bar bolt barely rubs a little nub on the brake line. No issue with it.

I did a quicky alignment with a tape measure, bled the brakes, and mounted up some Wrangler MTR's I decided to run on pavement. I then took it out to break in the brakes. While out, I found a field and confirmed that 4wd worked (the electrical for the E locker isn't connected).

I found that the tie rods rubbed the wheels at full lock. I fixed this with some 5/16 wheel spacers.

I also relearned that it's super sketchy to drive this rig without the sway bar connectef.

 

[raptor314]

This post gets me current to where I'm at today with the build.

I made a bracket for the sway bar link and burned it in into the axle. I then modified the RC sway bar link.

It works, but it looks jenky, so I'm going to change it at my next work session.

The link looks bent, so I'm going to space the pin to the right so I can make the link straight.

It handles so much better with the sway bar connected. Way more manageable.

The brakes work a little better than the stock XJ brakes. It locks up pretty hard in the front with 35" MTR's.

 

[raptor314]

Something I forgot to post awhile back is that I added 1 3/4" spacers in the front and replaced my cut rear coils with stock height dual rate springs.

 

[DeftwillP]

That's an interesting idea for the trackbar. I'm curious to see how that works out.

 

[raptor314]

That's an interesting idea for the trackbar. I'm curious to see how that works out.

It works fine in the driveway and on the road. No binding. At this point my shock length is what limits my up and down (need to do some hockey pucks still in the front). With my last steering/track bar setup (Rusty's/RC) the track bar limited my droop on the passenger side by a couple of inches Time will tell on the trails though.

 

[ftwelder]

That track bar mount is a cool solution.

 

[DIRTCREW3]

Looking good so far. Keep us posted on the trackbar operation. Im curious to see how it works. Im putting WJ brakes on my 94 and space is an issue. I hadn't thought about running it on the rear. The only thing that has me concerned about your setup is having the normal side to side pressure put on the trackbar mount during movement, it appears to me now you are also introducing a front to rear push pull load on the body mounted trackbar bracket because the bar is no longer parallel with the mount. Go beat it up and please report back to us. :thumbup: