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150K views 1K replies 59 participants last post by  brokenyoujoint 
#1 ·
Going to start in Index here, so if anyone is looking for anything it'll be easier to find.

Index:

Outboard Rear Shocks = Post #16
Start of the Ford 8.8 Swap = Post #32
LED Tail light wiring info = Post #204
Ford Windstar Cowl Intake Mod = Post #230
Ford front shock towers = Post #282
Removing the Charcoal Canister = Post #308
Trimming Rear Flares = Post #574
Start of Cage Design & Install = Post #1081
RCI 2162 Install in a Late Model TJ = Post #1292

I started this build thread over on IndyORV, but things have been slow & boring here at work & I'm always lurking the build threads here, so I figure I'd start one here to, what the hell right?

I bought this '03 Sport Easter weekend 2011. It was bone stock except for a 4" RC suspension lift. Here she is in the dealer parking lot the day I got it.


It came with the hardtop obviously & one of those half top tonneau cover thingys that I dislike & could not use because of kids & needing the back seat, so first purchase was a Supertop NX. Then some misc stuff like a new passenger door seal & the correct speedo gear.

Here's a list of upgrades so far in chronological order:

Supertop NX
Smitty SRC Classic Front bumper, plan to turn this into a stubby someday
XRC-8 Winch
CB Radio Uniden Pro510XL with 4' Firestik
Skid Row Engine Skid & Steering Box skid
B&M Tranny Cooler
Poison spider Hood Louver
Savvy/Currie Front Lower & Rear Upper Control Arms
Fumoto Oil Drain Valve
Riddler Cover for the D30
Aussie Locker for the D30
Rugged Ridge Mirrors
ZJ tie rod upgrade & replaced drag link because it was bent
Currie 4" progressives in the front with a 3/4" spacer
Currie Adjustable front track bar (CE-9120TJJ)
Installed a stock pitman arm. PO had a drop on it. :nono:
JB Conversions SYE with cut down XJ shaft
RE Adjustable rear track bar with JKS CV bracket
T&T Custom rear cross member with 2" receiver. Still need to get this one on, my welder is busy with some **** called a "pumpkinator" :dunno:
Novak shifter cable
Rokmen Mercenary sliders with no tube, I think I'm the only one...

That's what's done so far & this is how she sat a month ago. The Novak & Rokmen's are going ont his weekend.


One of my better wheeling picks. Red trail at The Badlands. My passenger mirror fell victim to that tree that day.
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I've also removed the rear tire carrier & DD without a spare. It gets loaded into the tub when we hit the trail. I'm working on a rack to go above it to mount tools & spares. Something that will resemble this.


Next big project on the list is a Ford 8.8. I picked up one from a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer with 3.73 gears to match the front, & limited slip, but I just got a good deal on a set of 4.88 for the D30, so it will get re-geared to match before it goes in. I was also going to 4-link it, but am putting that on hold due to cash flow & I also want to challenge myself a little so I can learn more about line selection, how the Jeep handles, etc. So, we're going with stock bracket kit & I will move the upper frame coil buckets back when we install the 8.8 to get rid of a the arch.

I also have plans to tummy tuck a little. Originally was going to go with UCF UHC skid, but just picked up a 2'x4' piece of 1/4" plate from work, for free. :thumbsup: I probably won't go completely flat, but plan on getting the UCF Lo-pro & going as flat as easily possible for now & go from there.

There you have it. I'll try to update with Novak & Slider install this weekend.
 
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#4 ·
Last nights work.

Novak
Tire Bicycle tire Automotive tire Wheel Bicycle part


Bedlined behind the sliders. They will get mounted today.
Tire Wheel Motor vehicle Automotive tire Hood


Someone missed the Target when they installed this shock.

We'll hopefully get those broken bolts out & finish up the Currie shock extenders & get the rokmen slides mounted today.
 

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#11 ·
Ok, going to order some Bilstein 5125's from Shockwarehouse tomorrow & need some help figuring out what shock length I need to get. Don't have access to a garage tonight & it's too damn cold & windy to go do this in the driveway or I would just go flex out the axle, but I think I can get close just want some opinions. I need to order them tomorrow so they are here before Friday so I can get these in this weekend.

Sitting at ride height I have 8" to bump. When I jack up the back of the jeep until the wheels come off the ground (springs are loose but still seated) it extends another 3", so that says to me 11" of total travel right? So should I order the 11" travel or get some cushion & get the 11.94 travel? What would be the down side to ordering too long of a shock? As long as I locate the top mount point on the ford towers at full bump I should have an extra .94" of travel "wasted" at full droop.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
#12 ·
Well, the rack is in redesign mode. I cut the base plywood to size & tried to get it in the Jeep with the top up last night & couldn't even get it in. It's cut at 56" wide to set on the fender wells. Not going to happen. I'd like to be able to cut it down to 46" wide so it will fit easily between the B pillars to get it in. Might figure up some mounting method to attach it to the B & C pillars. I thought about just setting it on the spare & strapping it & the spare to the floor, but don't really want to remove this rack just to get the spare out, so I would like it suspended 1" or so above the spare so I could just slide it out.

Might get a piece of angle iron & U bolt it to both the B & C pillars & then bolt the rack to the top of the angle. Might need to tack weld some tiny pieces to the pillars so the U bolts don't slide down from the weight.

Stay tuned...

In other news, shocks have been ordered, 12" travel, ford towers ordered & brackets from Poly have been ordered. Hopefully all will be here by friday.
 
#16 ·
Rear outboard done & I have rear shocks again!

Marked the frame & notched it friday night. I didn't go exactly 90° to my lower control arms because I was planning ahead for when I 4 link. The shocks are tilted back about 17° from vertical. 90° to my current control arms would have been closer to 23°.



Seeing as how Poly sucks getting things shipped lately, I had to make my own lower tabs. They will get a phone call today espescially seeing as how I paid for expedited shipping to have them by Friday. Not bad for a grinder & a cuttoff wheel.


My brother in law came over saturday night & welded everything up for me. It's all tig'd. It's funny watching a fat man try to contort himself around axles, gas tanks, frame rails & jack stands to make all the welds.

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I made one big boo boo. Just a big brain fart actually. Once I made the flare cut on the front of the frame rail I took that point straight back rather than taper it back to 4" on the inside of the frame rail. So once I hammered the tower sides out, there was a hug gap in the back. I just cut some small pieces to lay over the hole & he welded them up.


All done & mounted. I left the boots on, we'll see how long they last.




Here is a pic of the sweet low clearance welding helmet. Made of cardboard & duct tape. It's smaller & the cardboard is more flexible to weasel your head into things like race car chassis etc.



All in all the only thing I had trouble with was figuring out what to do with my travel. I currently have 7.5" up until my rear track bar hits the tank/crossmember & 3" of droop. After talking with Connor, we decided that even though I only get 3" of droop now & my current 4" RC coils would unseat at around 4" of droop, when I upgrade to Currie Progressives I should get another couple inches before they unseat. So I set it up for 6" up & 6" down. I will also need to get on some bump stop work quickly. Next wheeling trip is the 18th in Attica. I also need to get some new lower control arms by then also. Drivers side bushing is toast. Might be hard to see int he pic but that bolt is WAY off center. It's causing the axle to be about 1/8" out of square & giving me my pull to the right.
 
#18 ·
To layout, cut the frame & make the lower shock tabs took me about 6 hours on friday. 2 of those hours was layout, mainly because measurements weren't jiving on both sides of the jeep, so it took me a while scratching my head to come to the conclusion the frame was screwing with the angle finder on my cell phone.

Saturday was weld day & it took a loooooong *** time for him to weld everything up. Mig probably would have went a hell of a lot faster. We started welding about 6pm & I was final mounting shocks at midnight.

One final note. Make sure your shock bolts fit into the ford towers BEFORE you weld them on the frame. Caught one in time, but had to dremel the one side a little to get the bolt in because the drill couldn't get to it.
 
#21 ·
LOL! Will probably loss the boots. They don't stay on anyway at full droop. Stupid boots.

However, as big a goof as I am, the stock mounts will stay. The 35 will be replaced with the 8.8 hopefully before too long. I figure it'd be easier to unload on Craigslist with the stock mounts still there. Unless they get ripped to shreads before it comes out, then I'll chop em.

Damn it! Just noticed I should have turned my track bar bolt around. Well, looks like that one will get cut out when the time comes.
 
#22 ·
Picking up some 2" x 1/4" wall DOM tonight.

Just ordered (4) 2 1/2" x 1 1/4"-12 Johnny Joints, tube adapters & lock nuts & the Currie Rear Bump stop setup.

Control arms are going to look funny as ****. ~16" long made out of 2" DOM with 2 1/2" JJ! :laugh:

At least I'll have the joints when I get ready to 4 link it.
 
#23 ·
Got a whole lot of Currie in my closet! :thumbsup:

All the Link material is here. JJ's, tube adapters, nuts. Will get them made up this weekend. Funny thing is, because I am sticking with close to stock arm length for the immediate time being, I only need an 8" piece of DOM between the joints. I also need to make some new rear uppers. I pretty sure my Savvy arms are way past the min thread engagement of those JJ. Pic of the beefy joint & good beer. 12oz. bottle makes them look small.:dunno:


Currie rear bump stops are here will try to get those on this weekend as well.
 
#25 ·
Just placed an order with Iron Rock Offroad for some 8.8 brackets.

Also with Mr. Blaine for some thingys called caliper flip brackets. :dunno:

Pics of the new control arms in a couple days after paint dries & I get a chance to get them mounted up.
 
#28 ·
Got the new lower control arms all mounted up last night. Man were my RC arms SHOT! The sleeve in the bushings on the frame end would just fall right through the bushing. Needless to say the ride is much tighter. Only arms I have left to replace are the stock front uppers. I'll work out a plan for those before too long. Anyway, on to the eye candy.

We cut them to length 8 1/4" & squared the end in the lathe.


My bro-in-law laid down some sweet ****ing beads!


Total length of the arm. He's just a little guy.


All dressed up & waiting on grade 8 hardware!


Installed!


Rear axle is now perfectly square. No thrust angle that I can measure. Jeep still pulls ever so slightly to the right, which is good because if I fall asleep at the wheel I go into the ditch instead of head on traffic.:thumbsup:

Currie poly bump goodness!


IRO 8.8 brackets will be here tomorrow. We'll get that moved into the garage & start surgery on it this weekend. Picking up bearings & new brake crap Friday. Goal is to have it in the Jeep by the 12th so I can debug it during that week before we hit up Dirty Turtle on the club run on the 17th.
 
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