[Sierra Drifter]

I've been running the Rubicon Express 5.5" extreme duty short arm lift for a few years now, and the front settled more than the rear and my XJ never sat level. So since I need to go a little higher to clear 37's and since I already had everything out of the way, I decided to install JKS Adjustable Coil Over Spacers, ACOS, before installing the D44. The install is very simple.

Remove the upper rubber bumpstop, measure the hollow section of tube, and then cut it off.


Next slide the ACOS on, tap a threaded hole in the bottom, then install the new rubber bumpstop, position the two threaded rings, and slide on the rubber isolator.



The ACOS provides adjustable lift hieght from 1.5" to 3.25", this will solve any leveling issues.

Yeah, I sanded the rusty spots and painted the fenderwell areas too.

[wil badger]

Hey did you happen to weld the tube the center section on the drivers side after you cut back the spring perch? You shouldn't have to since you didn't cut past the plug welds.I did just to make extra sure i could spin the tube.Oh and when i did my axle i had the axle turned on a lathe to cut back that area.you might be asking how in the hell do you put an entire axle on a lathe.It was a very big lathe,lol.

other then that its looking god so far.

[Sierra Drifter]

Originally Posted by wil badger

Hey did you happen to weld the tube the center section on the drivers side after you cut back the spring perch? You shouldn't have to since you didn't cut past the plug welds.I did just to make extra sure i could spin the tube.Oh and when i did my axle i had the axle turned on a lathe to cut back that area.you might be asking how in the hell do you put an entire axle on a lathe.It was a very big lathe,lol.

No I didn't weld the tubes to the center section, that's not a bad idea though. I could still do that, at least on the bottom side. I'm also considering a adding some reinforcing plate between the passenger side upper control arm bracket and the RE bridge, and then over to the drivers side coil bracket, to form an axle truss. But if I do that it will be latter after the swap is finished.

Originally Posted by wil badger

other then that its looking god so far.

Thanks! Your XJ was one of the inspirations for this swap.
So how's your new project coming along?

[wil badger]

it hasn't budged .were i was living was only a 1 car garage and i had no real room to work on it.i just moved to a new house with a 2 car garage so some time this summer it will start to get rolling again.

the real cool thing is that the trailer and jeep both fit in the garage.the uncool thing is i had to take the axles off we i moved so i'm one step back

[Sierra Drifter]

Ever since I installed my Rubicon Express lift a few years back I've had an issue with the track bar. The RE track bar frame bracket gets lose. When this happens it makes very annoying creaks and popping sounds during slow turns. I have tightened the bolts many times, I've tried thread locker, I even tried welding the bracket to the unibody, only to have the noises return after a few weeks.

I have endured countless disparaging remarks from friends and family, even my wife, about how my Jeep sound like it was coming apart. So a while back I noticed on RE's web site that they sell a brace for their track bar bracket. Seen here: http://www.rubiconexpress.com/Products.aspx?pn=1800&Vid=7CD43E1285353

So I bought one, it's been sitting in the garage for a couple months. Since I had everything out of the way while doing the axle swap, I figured I would install the brace. So....

Here is the brace from Rubicon Express, it is very beefy, looks promising...



One end of the brace attaches to the inside of the track bar bracket, the other end attaches to the oposite side of the unibody's "frame rails".

Here's a pic of it installed:


I have high hopes that this brace will prevent the track bar bracket from flexing on the unibody and working its way lose... and hopefully the noises will be a thing of the past, along with all the comments from my friends.

now back to the axle swap......

[Sierra Drifter]

Ok, with the ACOS and trackbar brace out of the way, it's time to bolt in the axle... but....
over the years my lower control arms have taken a beating on the rocks and become rusty so ofcourse while I was at it I sanded the control arms and painted them:



I also disassembled the joints, cleaned them out, and put in some new grease.


And finally I bolted in the axle.



So it's finally in



So now I only have the trackbar, shocks, brakes, high-steer, air line, drive shaft,
diff vent, steering stabilzer, sway bar, and bumpstops left.
Damn, I'll never be done with this thing.

[wil badger]

so you are going to go high steer ,ehhhhh?

I see you welded in the RE track bar mount on.you will have to cut that right back off again.if you go high steer you will have to match the track bar to the new drag link.as for the truss idea for the 44 its not really needed.that axle has the thickest tubes of all the 44's .i'd suggest just making up some gussets for each side of the passenger upper mount.



have you decided on what steering you want to go with? inverted "T",true cross over,hydro assist?

remember i ran both

inverted "T" on high steer arms


then there was the hydro assited crossover steering with a high steer arm on the passenger side with spacers on the tie rod bar


the one thing i would suggest is moving the track bar slightly out enough to clear the front of the passenger spring and make my style mount as far over toward the passenger knuckle as possible.even the way i had it i didn't get any bump steer but because of it being a bit shorter then the drag link the possibilty is there.


oh and last question

what size back spacing and rim do you plan to run ? I ran a 17" rim with 5" of back spacing and it was a tight fit for the heims to even fit



sorry for cluttering up your thread with my crap but i just don't want to see you get stuck later when it comes to these choices.

Keep up the good work

[wil badger]

man i hate it when i remember stuff to late.

don't forget if you haven't already had it done.you will need the passenger side knuckle top trued to except a high steer arm as well as drilled and tapped.i would also have the drivers side top cleaned up and trued at the same time to be assured a nice tight fit as well as matching height of the passenger side

never mind looking back at the pics it has already been done

[Sierra Drifter]

Originally Posted by wil badger

so you are going to go high steer ,ehhhhh?

I see you welded in the RE track bar mount on.you will have to cut that right back off again.if you go high steer you will have to match the track bar to the new drag link.

I had the RE track bar axle mount welded on only so I could put my track bar on just to move the rig around.
I know I have to make a new higher track bar mount on the axle. But until I get the steering in place, I don't know exactly how high the track bar needs to be to match the drag link. And I couldn't measure for the draglink until I got the axle bolted in.

Originally Posted by wil badger

have you decided on what steering you want to go with? inverted "T",true cross over,hydro assist?

Yeah, I'm going with cross-over. I wouldn't mind going hydro assist, but my budget won't allow for that right now.

Originally Posted by wil badger

the one thing i would suggest is moving the track bar slightly out enough to clear the front of the passenger spring and make my style mount as far over toward the passenger knuckle as possible.

That is exactly what I plan to do.

Originally Posted by wil badger

what size back spacing and rim do you plan to run ? I ran a 17" rim with 5" of back spacing and it was a tight fit for the heims to even fit

I am running Cragar 17"x9" with 5" back spacing wheels.

I am going to use these arms:


They are offset to the inside, which should provide clearance around the tire/wheel. I'm also going with 1 ton chevy TRE's.

Originally Posted by wil badger

sorry for cluttering up your thread with my crap but i just don't want to see you get stuck later when it comes to these choices.

Keep up the good work

I really appreciate your imput. Mistakes can be expensive, so feel free to comment.

[wil badger]

cool on all counts

and i hear you on the measurement thing and finding the correct height.

[EricsXJ]

Just a quick note to say what an awesome write-up you've got going.

Also I wanted to comment on the RE track bar brace. I've been using one for a couple of years and I've had ZERO problems with my track bar mount coming loose.... ever. I'm sure that it will help solve that problem for you, and as a side benefit it really helps to stiffen up the front end. Also it looks like RE changed the design of the bar slightly, and hopefully it helped eliminate the fitment issues they had with the old design.

[Sierra Drifter]

Originally Posted by EricsXJ

Just a quick note to say what an awesome write-up you've got going.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by EricsXJ

Also I wanted to comment on the RE track bar brace. I've been using one for a couple of years and I've had ZERO problems with my track bar mount coming loose.... ever. I'm sure that it will help solve that problem for you...

That's very encouraging, I wish I had known about the brace sooner

[Sierra Drifter]

I've been waiting on parts, only got a few misc. things done lately.

I added 2 hockey pucks to my front bumpstops, and painted my coil springs and upper control arms.



High steer arms showed up finally.



I can start on my high steer now.

[Sierra Drifter]

The ford dual piston calipers are huge, the ones that came with my axle were painted a weird metalic gold color for some reason.



I thought they would look better red. So I shot them with red caliper paint and installed them with new pads.

[Sierra Drifter]

The Rubicon Express brackets did not come with a coil spring retainer, so I tapped a threaded hole and used the retainer from the Dana 30.





I'll have to trim the bracket.

So now I'm waiting for the rest of my steering to be delivered.