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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.
Image uploading. Refresh page to view


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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#853 ·
Danno, I had the Genright sport cage added to my LJ stock cage and it's pretty stout. Tied I the frame, im pretty damn sure its not going anywhere if i flop. I think it looks pretty sweet too.

Motor vehicle Vehicle Automotive tire Bicycle frame Truck


Window Automotive design Motor vehicle Vehicle Mode of transport


Vehicle Hood Motor vehicle Automotive tire Automotive lighting


I would agree that a long wheelbase isn't always better. I actually got pinned at the top of a steep climb (on red trail I think) because I could fit between a tree and a big root sticking out.
 
#855 ·
Danno, I had the Genright sport cage added to my LJ stock cage and it's pretty stout. Tied I the frame, im pretty damn sure its not going anywhere if i flop. I think it looks pretty sweet too.

I would agree that a long wheelbase isn't always better. I actually got pinned at the top of a steep climb (on red trail I think) because I could fit between a tree and a big root sticking out.
Need to see more of this LJ... :thumbsup:
 
#854 ·
New front bumper/winch plate is underway. Should have the initial bent profile sometime next week. They're going to burn me some 1" D ring mounts too. I'm tossing around a couple different ideas for the D ring mounts to keep them out of the way. It's good to know the right people. :)
 
#857 ·
I mall crawl my junk this weekend. had a sales event at our local 4WP & played on their rock garden a little. Made it farther than I ever have unassisted, but still didn't make it all the way. The flat belly is niiiice! Ended up bending the Currie drag link. Slid off a large rock & landed right on it. No other major carnage except for that & some more rock rash on the sliders & rims. I had the GoPro on the windshield, but the first hard hit threw it up to the sky & the next pointed it at the hood, so the entire video pretty much sucks.

I'm almost embarrassed to post these videos after watching the clips from the boys trip out west. :(

The first half.


The second half after I backed all the way off the large rock & got a new line. :20 in is where I smoke the drag link. Kind of boring after the 4:00 mark...
 
#865 ·
Thanks. It's the exact axle I was looking to put in it eventually. A guy in our club (4WTF) had it & has been sitting on it for some time. I finally talked him into selling it to me.

It'll be a slow build. The plan is to get the lug pattern to 5x5.5 through the combination of some F150 & Dodge parts, while still being able to run the larger F250 dual caliper brakes. Then narrow it down to about 63". Once it's built, it'll get a 3 link when installed. I also will need to save up for some new rims & seeing as how I need larger rims to clear the brakes & also the new lug pattern, I might as well get some 37's for it.
 
#867 ·
You got somethin' to say?? :club:

Still mulling over this 8 lug versus 5 lug deal. Things may get more interesting & more expensive, but the rig will be set for life. I can't really see the point in getting an F250 axle & basically downgrading it to an F150. Plus, I am wanting to run 5.38 gears when this is all done, the ford 8.8 goes from 5.13 to 5.71, no 5.38 that I could find easily. So, I am seriously looking into the possibility of ditching the Ford 8.8 & replacing it with a narrowed Dana 60. Looks to be relatively cheap to build. Would eliminate some headaches & would be one stout rig for 37's.

This will all happen VERY slowly & I'll be looking for some deals on a lot of stuff to make it happen quicker. It might take me a couple years to get it all ready to sling under the rig.

Back to the D44. Thoughts on the Jana 54 kit? I read over the install directions yesterday & not sure I'm a fan. The custom turned bearing races & you have to epoxy in the pinion race sort of turned me off.
 
#869 ·
The only real added cost will be new shafts, which I'm replacing with chromos anyway. Huck is doing all the shortening work for me. It'll be shortened to a standard shaft length so they'll be off the shelf & not anything custom.

The rear Dana 60 will be "custom" shafts, but ECGS sells Yukon "cut to length" 35 spline chromoly shafts. So I don't see that as a huge deal either. I could also have Branik turn the stock 30 splines down for minimal cost if I stick with the stock splines.

Unless I'm missing something. I will be the first to admit I am a total newb on all this axle stuff. Not sure what other costs would be associated with narrowing. I'm just not a big fan of the full width look, too wide, & I like being a little narrower to fit between trees etc, but also want a little more width than stock TJ for stability. I need to do some measuring of the hub to see what sort of backspacing I want to run to keep the hubs tucked in the rim, but 63" or 65" WMS is what I'm thinking. Huck is running 65" with 5" backspacing. That puts his overall width at ~80".
 
#871 ·
More than likely sticking with springs & shocks. This whole build up is going to be expensive enough without adding $2,000 in Kings or ORI's.

That's another benefit of scrapping the 8.8. With spacers the widest I could really go with it would be 62.5".
 
#873 ·
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't the fact that I need to weld on new spring pads to this front D44 axle allow me to push it forward slightly. Which would give me a small front stretch, but also allow me to pass the track bar past the coil spring for better steering geometry? Any recommendations on who to look at for coil buckets to achieve this?
 
#877 ·
Ok, need to tap into some axle expertise. It was mentioned by someone that I can upsize the spline count, & I assume stub diameter, of the outers on this 1979 F250 D44. I've been researching for days & the only thing I come up with is swapping everything from the Inner C out, to D60 crap & running a 35 spline carrier. That's just nonsense.


~65" WMS is what I'm going to go with. Actual stock shaft length available drives the exact width.

Stock 1979 F250 D44 inner axle lengths are 34.75" & 18.63".

To leave the pinion about where it is, I can run axles 33.19" & 17.1", which should give me a wms of 64.91".


The centerline of the pinion is 1/4" farther off center than the D30, but seeing as how the housing is larger, I'd like to push it further driver by maybe a 1/2" or so.

To do this I can run axles 33.91" & 16.5", which should give me a wms of 65.03".

I've started disassembly, so we're starting head down this very long road. :thumbsup:


An update on the bumper. I've got the main bumper wrap piece bent & it fits over the frame rails great. I need to do minimal notching to get it on around the steering gear & my gear skid. All holes are marked. Waiting on them to burn me some new D ring mounts & fairlead plate so I can mock those up & then it's time to drill & burn everything in. Going to add a bull bar similar to the one Jay put on the Mallcrawler to protect the winch.
 
#878 ·
Here are some teaser shots. Still working on the end profile, but will be something like this. the D-ring mounts will be recessed through the bumper & burned in on both sides. The fairlead plate will "T" into the small bull bar winch guard on the sides to help give the plate more rigidity.



 
#882 ·
Did some more brain storming on the front axle this weekend.

Talking with my axle guru. The 30 spline stub shafts will need to be custom turned from Chromoly inners. :thumbsup:

We also talked about brakes a bit. With the dual piston ford calipers that are stock on this axle, I'd likely need to upgrade the master cylinder to push enough fluid. These guys, Blackbird Custom Trucks, make caliper brackets to run Chevy brakes on the Ford 3/4 ton D44 axle & others. The chevy calipers are single piston & should work with the Jeep master cylinder nicely.

I've been messing around with disassembly of the axle when I get a spare couple minutes. Can't for the life of me figure out how to get that damned lock washer off that goes between the two spindle nuts. I'm going to try this next :gunfight:.
 
#883 ·
Quick update on things.

Bumper: I have all the pieces in my possession, but haven't touched it. I'll be pretty busy for the next three week working on finishing the upstairs of my house. One man, drywall, prime, custom trim, & paint three large bedrooms after working 8 hours at my full time job. This sucks, but it's all an integral part of finishing my house, which gets me an appraisal, which will hopefully get me lots of $$$$$ to build a new 40'x40' shop. :thumbsup:

Axle: I finally got the lock rings off the spindles & the hubs removed. From the looks of the rust on the spindle bolts & nuts, I thought they would have put up a bit more of a fight, but they came of pretty easy with a 1/2" breaker bar. So spindles were removed as well as the axle shafts. Tried to slide the spindle over the inner shafts & it's a no go. It stops at the bearing race surface. I'll have to get the spindles bored slightly larger to be able to run the custom 30 splined outers. Next is going to be tackling getting the ball joints out. Then I can get the passenger knuckle to Branik & have that machined for high steer & get the axle housing to Huck so he can start working on narrowing it.
 
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