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Taming the BEAST! 5.3L V8 Powered TJ-6

91K views 562 replies 62 participants last post by  clintrivera 
#1 ·
The Beast

On a trail ride this year a member nicknamed my Jeep "The Beast". It's a fitting name, unfortunately, and the reason I recently tried to sell it. It's loud, it's big, it's ugly, and it's all around not very enjoyable to drive any distance.

Since giving it away isn't an option I needed to focus on this winter's build and set clear objectives. This has to be a vehicle I want to drive, and drive on a regular basis. It has to be much quieter. Ride nice. Drive nice. Good storage. Nice sound system. Lastly, it needs to look good too.

Most of the trails I like to run here in the Northwest aren't exactly Johnson Valley. It's mostly dirt, mud, roots, tight trees, and moderate climbs. Not much in the way of rocks. The way my Jeep is setup now almost makes it boring it's so easy. I think we all have been there. Build the rig, can't make an obstacle, build the rig bigger... Eventually the rig is basically too big on the street and is only fun on extreme "either I make it, or I total the rig" sort of challenges.

To know where we are going, we first need to know where we are.

 
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#2 ·
The PLAN (Rough Draft 1.3)​

  • TJ-6 (15" frame stretch to unlimited length) entire stretch to be in front of rear tires. Completed
  • Ditch Rubicon Express Long arm - build mid arm 3 link front, triangulated 4 link rear, keep 3" Currie / Savvy springs Completed. switching to 4" Currie springs
  • Swap the axles to: Front: JK HPD30, 4.10 gears, alloy alxes, ARB Rear: JK D44, alloy alxes, ARB Completed. (purchaced ARB rear and Nitro 35 spline rear axles)
  • 35" Aggressive A/T or Mild M/T tires (purchased Falken Wild Peaks)
  • Sell soft doors and buy full hard doors Purchased.
  • Add cat converter and large muffler, reduce exhaust diameter Went with Dynomax VT. No cat for now. Kept 3" exhaust
  • Add armor, raise skid as far as practical with no body lift Purchased Barnes 2" skid. Removed body lift
  • Locking storage?
  • Nice sound system Planning on 7" tablet for audio and Nav. Purchased Polk 5.25 speakers.
  • Lighting
  • Possible spare tire carrier in tub
  • Pull factory gauges, PCM, and associated wiring and replace with Autometer gauges
  • Paint
  • Add on to factory roll cage

I'm sure there's more to come, but that's the "short" list. The speed of the build will be financially limited and depend quite a bit on how much I can sell the old stuff, and the deals I find on new.
 
#3 ·
I'm going to try to build everything I can, and buy parts where practical. So, with that thinking, I decided to spend a little on more fabrication tools.



This will be nice for cutting out brackets, skid plate, removing axle brackets, etc. I'm working in a standard 2 car garage, so space is limited. I decided I would mount the cutter below my welder.



My girlfriend bought me a harbor freight 20 ton press for my birthday (she calls it the big red "H"- I told her it's actually orange, but it's more red in the coupon I gave her...) Anyway, I wanted one mainly to put Swag's press brake into.



And used it to make this



Some scrap angle iron, some wiring, and ....

 
#8 ·
I'm going to try to find an unlimited tub and use the back half of it, then cut 15" of frame rail off a junked TJ for the frame extensions.
What's your reasoning on ditching the D44s for the HPD30 and 8.8?
I thought I would loose a few of you with that one. The D44's I have now are stuffed with 5.13 gears. Too high on the freeway for long trips. I figured I could sell the axles with every thing (pumps, cables, etc) and build a 8.8 (comes stock with 4.10's) and HP30 for less money than regearing my D44's, putting vanco brakes on the front, rear ARB with alloy shafts, etc.
I was wondering the same thing as well, they shouldn't get in the way of achieving any of the goals and criteria you set for the build. But i like the idea of TJ-6 stretch and making it more daily driver friendly.
See above

I'm on board for this build. Very much my kind of thinking and very similar to where I'd like to go with my build.

I'm a bit lost on the rear 8.8 as well. I would just replace the factory locker in the rear 44, personally, if that. The HP30 I understand. Substantial improvement in pinion angle and little to no decrease in strength.

Interested to see how the chinese plasma works out as well.

I highly recommend the Goodyear Duratrac and the Kelly Safari TSR for perfect "inbetween" tires.
The HPD30 should protect my drive shaft better - that's the main goal. The Everlast plasma cutters have a 5 year warranty - so better than most in that regard. If I was going to use it a ton, or for a plasma table - Hypertherm all the way - but I see no need to spend 3 times as much for my use.

I didn't think the Duratrac came in a 35? I'm trying to switch to 17" rims (if I can find the backspacing I need). I was thinking somewhere along the lines of the Pro-comp extreme A/T or Falken Wild Peaks.
 
#7 ·
I'm on board for this build. Very much my kind of thinking and very similar to where I'd like to go with my build.

I'm a bit lost on the rear 8.8 as well. I would just replace the factory locker in the rear 44, personally, if that. The HP30 I understand. Substantial improvement in pinion angle and little to no decrease in strength.

Interested to see how the chinese plasma works out as well.

I highly recommend the Goodyear Duratrac and the Kelly Safari TSR for perfect "inbetween" tires.
 
#10 ·
Duratrac comes in 315/70/17 in load range D. 34.4" tall. Which is about the same as most 35s.

Cherokee or Comanche 44 for the rear could be an option as well. Even a used S35. Isuzu 44 can be had with 4.10s also. And they're dirt cheap. Toyota 8". Food for thought. :laugh: Offset pinion and poor clearance don't make the 8.8 overly appealing to me, but it is a solid option.
 
#11 ·
Duratrac comes in 315/70/17 in load range D. 34.4" tall. Which is about the same as most 35s.

Cherokee or Comanche 44 for the rear could be an option as well. Even a used S35. Isuzu 44 can be had with 4.10s also. And they're dirt cheap. Toyota 8". Food for thought. :laugh: Offset pinion and poor clearance don't make the 8.8 overly appealing to me, but it is a solid option.
That 315/70/17 Duratrac might fit the bill nicely.

In my neck of the woods, the Cherokee D44 is rare and expensive, and not available from the factory in a 4.10. I researched the Isuzu D44 -wrong bolt pattern, different bearings, and conflicting information on the net. If by S35, you mean a super Dana 35 - there is no way I'm running that behind a 300+hp V8 and 35 inch tires.

The 8.8 with the superior 8.8 kit would be perfect for me. The 15" stretch would negate the offset pinion issue and I've never had an issue dragging my rear D44 over things, so I think I'll be ok with the 8.8.
 
#14 ·
subscribed, i really hope you do this
 
#16 ·
I've been making some progress. Got the top off, roll bar out (the security torx bolts were a nice touch, thanks Jeep), seats out, gas tank out...

Then I had the displeasure of cutting out spot welds. The harbor freight spot weld cutter is like a lot of their tools - oh sure, it will work - you just might want to kill yourself after you are done.



The bed liner the PO sprayed in the tub came off pretty easy with a wire brush in a grinder. I think I'm going to remove the rest of it and re-do it with a higher quality product, since whatever he used looks like crap and is damaged easily.

I also had a chance to call some yards looking for a LJ tub. No luck. It looks like I'm going to have to make patch panels myself. No big deal - should actually save me some money.

More fun pulling the belt rails off.



With any luck I should have the rear of the tub cut off tomorrow.
 
#18 ·
I really like this, you have a solid jeep but I guess you could say it could be cleaned up in some ways. Super 88 is what I plan to run with my future V8, can't decide on a D44 or HP30 though. I believe the Falkens will suit you well, have really good road manners, but when aired down, they do really well offroad. Subscribed :thumbsup:
 
#19 ·
I'm not sure the Falkens will be aggressive enough but they are still on my short list.

I've been sick the last week so I haven't gotten much done. I have, however managed to do this.



Uh oh... Looks like I'm past the point of no return now! I also had a chance to pick my axles up. I found a HPD30 and D44 out of a JK that have been regeared to 4.10. Perfect! Nice and wide, better brakes, no inverted Y steering.

Here's the front.



This is what it looked like after a few minutes with the plasma.



Here's a look at the rear D44 in front of my old Rubicon D44.



Thicker tubes, bigger brakes, and the center section is defiantly more stout with thicker ribs and overall wider.

Tonight I'm hoping to pick up 5 JK Moab wheels, and tomorrow I am going to try to cut the back of the frame off if all goes well.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Like the build so far, will be checkin in!
 
#26 ·
Ran them on my old TJ and loved them. Never couldn't get over rocks or any other obstacle.

As for the falkens, sorry I should have said all-terrain which are not my preferred tire but personal preference dictates.
 
#29 ·
Nice to see you kept it. This looks entertaining. If you ever need a helping hand or two, don't hesitate to send me a PM.

Do you plan on moving the axle back so the rear tires are flush to the rear bumper?
 
#31 ·
Nice to see you kept it. This looks entertaining. If you ever need a helping hand or two, don't hesitate to send me a PM.

Do you plan on moving the axle back so the rear tires are flush to the rear bumper?
Thanks for the offer, but I think I have enough slave labor! :D
I'm glad I kept it too. I think I would have kicked myself if I sold it.

I'm going to keep the standard TJ axle location so I should end up with a 108" wheelbase. I don't want to go too much more than that because I'm "only" going to be running 35's.

Check out Nitto Trail Grappler's, I am really happy with mine.
I looked at those too. A little more expensive than the STT's. Defiantly on the list though.
 
#30 ·
Check out Nitto Trail Grappler's, I am really happy with mine.
 
#32 ·
So the gas tank will be external.
 
#35 ·
It will be in the stock TJ location.
Have you ever gotten a 0-60 or 1/4 miles time?
Never have, but I'll have to fire up torque on my phone and see what I get when I'm done.
I have a 5.3l/AX15 with 4.10 gears and Im about a 5 second 0-60. Havent checked my 1/4 mile.
Nice. Mine is defiantly faster than the 4 cylinder by a LONG way!
 
#37 ·
You have a programmer you can use with your cell phone? How do you like it?
 
#39 ·
It's not a programmer. It's a program that can read sensors, error codes, and do some performance measurements.

Picked up some of these last night.



JK moabs in case you didn't know. They have some pretty crazy backspacing, but should keep my tires inside the fenders so I don't get hassled by the fuzz. The only issue is they are only 7.5" wide, so a little on the skinny side for a 12.5" wide tire. I'm considering going with a 285-75-17. It's 34" tall and a little over 11" wide. I think this might be a good way to go, since thinner tires tend to work better in my area.
 
#41 ·
Thanks!

I made some progress... Welded some pipe to the frame to keep it from spreading and marked my cut.



Made sure everything was level....



Put on my brave face and cut my Jeep's butt off!



I also sold my rubicon axles so I had some cash to go on a shopping spree.

Went to discount tire since they are having their buy 4 tires and get a $100 gift card. After much deliberation I settled on 5 315/70/17 Falken Rocky Mountains. I bought the "you destroy it, we will give you another tire" warranty, had them price match discounttiredirect.com and ended up at $1544 installed and before the rebate. Not bad I don't think.

I also ordered 14 Metalcloak Duroflex joints, square tube inserts and Jam nuts from Ballistic Fab, Polly Performance ball joints, Polly Performance axle sleeves and inner "C" gussets, and finally Savvy LJ corner blanks.

I made a spreadsheet to keep track of spending and who / when / where I ordered from.... It's a little more spendy than I had estimated. Oh well, such is owning a Jeep, right?
 
#43 ·
I spent a long time pondering tire choice. One of the big factors that was influencing my decision was how the tire looks. Then I thought about the title of the build thread, and how old I am... I'm trying to make a comfortable DD that I can drive for hundreds of miles, go exploring, go to the store, and do some decent trails with. The Falkens seem to be a good choice for me and my build goals.

The MC joints just seemed like a natural fit for the build. Good ride quality and flex when I need it.
 
#44 ·
clintrivera said:
Thanks!

I made some progress... Welded some pipe to the frame to keep it from spreading and marked my cut.

Made sure everything was level....

Put on my brave face and cut my Jeep's butt off!
Scary.
 
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