The build up is finally on!!!!!

[Weekender1969]

Well I have been lurking around this board and a few others for about 7 months now. I have finally got a garage full of **** that has to be put somewhere, so here it goes...
Right now I have an 8.8 out of a 95 Exploder. It has been cleaned up and painted so far.
Tomorrow morning I am gonna be installing 2.5" Old Man Emu spirngs, Old Man Emu nitro shocks, and Daystar greaseable shackles and bushings. On Sunday if I get the lift done, I have a set of 7" TJ flares to go on. Next weekend I should have the rebuild kit and gears to get the 8.8 up to speed. The next weekend I would like to get the 8.8 installed and the D30 regeared. Then I will probably drive my junk around as a front wheel drive for a week and install the SYE and CV shaft that is sitting in the garage the next weekend. After this, who knows? I got a 2" body lift and 2" Brown Dog MML that will eventually go on, not sure when though???
I have most parts on hand and a few tracking numbers that say I get the rest of the **** over the next few days. The only thing I am unsure of is the brake line extensions and whether I will go through with the master cylinder upgrade? I am gonna use the M.O.R.E. 8.8 install kit with new spring perches, shock mounts, u bolts, and plates. I also have a master overhaul kit for the 8.8 that should be here Tuesday. I am going with 4.10 gears for now. I am only runnnig 31's so 4.10's with a 4.0 liter should be fine. I plan on having plenty of pics and updating you fine folks as I go. I guess it all depends on how it goes???

Headache supplies on hand!!!
1/2 gallon of black label Jim Beam
case of Michelob Amber Bock
liter of Smirnoff
12 pack of V8 juice with all the essentials
12 pack of diet coke

Yep, think that about covers it:loopyeye:
If anyone sees any holes in my plan just let me know. I may or may not have it covered. Hell I can't remember all the **** in the garage right now, it is a lot of **** though...
Thanks for any input or advice.
Here she is the way I bought her...
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep014.jpg
Let's see what happens???
Dale

[Joe Dillard]

Hi Dale, :) Sounds like you have your hands full for a while (and your adult beverages covered too ;) :beerchug: ).

I do have some items that I'd like to talk about & I think you'll want to take consideration of too.

Anyway, I would probably do the body lift & motor mount lift first. This way, your driveline angles can be dialed in along the road of your build-up with a greater chance of ease/success.

Next, I'd do the shackles, OME suspension lift leaf install (leaving the shocks till later), SYE, and then the 8.8 & CV install. You will be better served most of the time to do the 8.8 (including the perches & lower shock mounts) & CV last.

In other words, install the "fixed" things first, leaving the adjustable things for later.

I'm not saying it won't work well if done in another fashion. Just that this is a way I would do it if I have the time, all the moons of Jupiter were aligned, and I wasn't pressed with other issues. Just making suggestions. :)

[Weekender1969]

Hi Dale, :) Sounds like you have your hands full for a while (and your adult beverages covered too ;) :beerchug: ).

I do have some items that I'd like to talk about & I think you'll want to take consideration of too.

Anyway, I would probably do the body lift & motor mount lift first. This way, your driveline angles can be dialed in along the road of your build-up with a greater chance of ease/success.

Next, I'd do the shackles, OME suspension lift leaf install (leaving the shocks till later), SYE, and then the 8.8 & CV install. You will be better served most of the time to do the 8.8 (including the perches & lower shock mounts) & CV last.

In other words, install the "fixed" things first, leaving the adjustable things for later.

I'm not saying it won't work well if done in another fashion. Just that this is a way I would do it if I have the time, all the moons of Jupiter were aligned, and I wasn't pressed with other issues. Just making suggestions. :)

I do intend to do the MML and BL before the 8.8 install, if I do it now, probably the same weekend I get the 8.8 built and ready to go. I do have some reservations about the BL & MML as I am thinking I may get too much clearance for the 31's on her right now. So I was gonna put the springs in and the TJ flares, then see how it looks. After that if it can handle another 2 inches of lift it will get the BL and MML, if not I'll just save them for when I get bigger tires. I think if I do all the lifting at the same time I will end up with a rig built for 35's and I just bought the 31's so they got a lot of life in them.
I really don't want to make any more major purchases until I get the ARB's in it in a few months.
Thanks for the info...
I am headed to the heep now.
Dale

[Rock WoRM]

Sounds like a plan. :pirate:

I hope you've got some buddys coming over to help with the said adult beverages... otherwise U may never get done. :winky:

I am currious though... if your only gona run 31's, why are U going with a 2" MM and BL?

btw... I just finished my MORE 1"MM last night. Quite the biatch, IMHO. I know Joe did a write up a while back, but I did'nt pull it up and just jumped in feet first. :dunce: :witstupid
The pass side frame mount gets in the way of the engine mount, so some trimming/modding is required. What a pain!
Thanks to RockThrasher for coming over and helping with that last bolt going in... amazing what 2 sets of hands and eyes can do. LOL. :brows:



WoRM :bsod:

[Weekender1969]

Well I got it done, started about 9 this morning and finished about 8:30 this evening,:beerchug: .

Here is a pic...
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/LiftKitInstall014.jpg

Here is a reference pic I took the other day...

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep043.jpg

As you can see I got a bit more than 2.5" out of this, I think those Aussie's may have a little trouble with the metric to standard conversion:laugh: .
I do expect a little settling and that should make it a little more reasonable.
I'll take some daylight photos tomorrow and post them up as well. With any luck I'll get the flares installed tomorrow.
Dale

[Weekender1969]

Sounds like a plan. :pirate:

I hope you've got some buddys coming over to help with the said adult beverages... otherwise U may never get done. :winky:

I am currious though... if your only gona run 31's, why are U going with a 2" MM and BL?

btw... I just finished my MORE 1"MM last night. Quite the biatch, IMHO. I know Joe did a write up a while back, but I did'nt pull it up and just jumped in feet first. :dunce: :witstupid
The pass side frame mount gets in the way of the engine mount, so some trimming/modding is required. What a pain!
Thanks to RockThrasher for coming over and helping with that last bolt going in... amazing what 2 sets of hands and eyes can do. LOL. :brows:



WoRM :bsod:

Well Worm, if those springs don't settle down some the BL and MML will be stored until I go to 35's. I got way more than 2.5" of lift out of this setup so the other is on hold until I find out how it looks with the flares on it. I will heed your advice on the MML and hopefully I will not be solo when I do it, thanks :thup2:
Dale

[Weekender1969]

Well here is a pic of it in the daylight.
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/LiftKitInstall.jpg

I'll see how to mount those flares today.

[Weekender1969]

I didn't get a lot done today, just the front flares...
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep075.jpg

Took it for a short trip and the pinion angle is out of wack now.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep077.jpg

Pretty sure if I try to reset the angle I would just loose the shaft as it looks like I need more than an inch of shaft right now.

I guess it is time for this...
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep079.jpg

I may yank the tcase out next weekend and install the SYE and run it in front wheel drive for a few days, just short trips to get things loosened up.
Dale

[cliffslocal]

Looks good. Similar to my plans so I will be following closely.
I dont have a SYE/DS in the garage though:teary:

Im going to do the T/C drop :thumbdown: until i can afford the SYE I hope it tames the vibes if not ill go 1" mml and see how that does. However, I havent seen any encouragement for 4" of lift and no SYE in the search. Just dont have another $400 right now.

Did the leafs and shackles come off/bolt up pretty easy? Any tips?

Thanks

[LeadFoot]

Looks good....now you just need to get rid of the front bumper. :D

[Weekender1969]

Looks good....now you just need to get rid of the front bumper. :D

That front bumber is the least of my worries,:naw: . It is solid if nothing else, and it kinda hides dem der gold buck teeth:jump: .

Dale

[Weekender1969]

Looks good. Similar to my plans so I will be following closely.
I dont have a SYE/DS in the garage though:teary:

Im going to do the T/C drop :thumbdown: until i can afford the SYE I hope it tames the vibes if not ill go 1" mml and see how that does. However, I havent seen any encouragement for 4" of lift and no SYE in the search. Just dont have another $400 right now.

Did the leafs and shackles come off/bolt up pretty easy? Any tips?

Thanks

Mine was not to big of a pain, I used some PB blaster on it the day before I did the tear down. A good 1/2 drive socket set is a must, you'll just ruin a 3/8 drive on those ubolts. Make sure you have breaker handle and get 3 foot cheater pipe that can go on it.
I think my vibes cam from the shackles, I am gonna go back to stock and see if that clears it up. The shackles were a freebie after thought and are only supposed to be 1/2" so I thought they would be ok. If they don't solve the problem I am going to do a tcase drop to solve the problem then I will just wheel it lightly to get everything flexing good and use these shackles to level the suspension up and then when I put the SYE, CV Shaft, and 8.8 in I'll be setting level and I can loose the tcase drop at that time and just set the pinion angle to what it needs to be.

[wildtyphoon]

just curoius as to if you did anything with the side marker lights being different, i think i bought those same flares to hide my tires that stick out so far. and they are countersunk for tj markers.

[Weekender1969]

just curoius as to if you did anything with the side marker lights being different, i think i bought those same flares to hide my tires that stick out so far. and they are countersunk for tj markers.

I ordered a set of Tj side markers last night from 4wd.com I am hoping that they will be pretty much stick in and connect to my existing wiring. If not I can make them work.

I still gotta get the rears on, I am not fooling wiht the rocker guard things. I am considering reversing the rears. When I held them up it looked like it would be less work to get them on that way.
Dale

[cliffslocal]

Weekender, i found a 4" cutoff wheel on the hand grinder works really well
to trim the front flares even with the fender.

[partsphil]

Weekender, i found a 4" cutoff wheel on the hand grinder works really well
to trim the front flares even with the fender.


I just used a hacksaw blade (no saw, just the blade) and a metal file to smooth out the cut.

[drgonzo]

Looking good so far. I had a similar setup to yours when I had my YJ. I went with the OME lift, TJ Flares, 1" BL, and 1/2" Shackle Lift, and I was running 33" Swampers with no problems whatsoever. Flexed great and tires tucked right up in. Was running 33's with 4:10's and I liked it alot.

[Weekender1969]

Weekender, i found a 4" cutoff wheel on the hand grinder works really well
to trim the front flares even with the fender.

Thanks for that tip, I'll be honest, I had no intention on doing anything cosmetic to it for now. I may do it in the future but right now I got a lot of work ahead of me and I am looking purely at functionality.
Thanks again for the tip.
Dale

[Weekender1969]

Looking good so far. I had a similar setup to yours when I had my YJ. I went with the OME lift, TJ Flares, 1" BL, and 1/2" Shackle Lift, and I was running 33" Swampers with no problems whatsoever. Flexed great and tires tucked right up in. Was running 33's with 4:10's and I liked it alot.


I can't wait to get it all worked out and get it rolling down a few trails. I am waiting on brake line extensions, and the time to yank the shackles to try and straighten out the pinion angle. Then I can go flex it out some and try to get it all settled in to where when I set the pinion anlge on the 8.8 for the CV shaft, it wont need to be shimmed later.
I'll definitely let ya'll know how it does, maybe a mild Superlift ORV Park run this weekend if I am lucky.:ugh2:
Dale

[Weekender1969]

Well I got a little time to piddle around on it yesterday and today. I did a little dental work on those gold buck teeth and put the stock shackles back on. It did help the pinion angle out and right now I can't tell if the vibes are the tires or the pinion angle. I did get out the Islander Top and test fit it today, can't wait till summer:obsess:

Here's how the pinion angle ended up today, I'll be dropping the tcase by about 3/4" tomorrow to get it a little closer.
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep085.jpg

Here's the required flex posers.
First the front up...
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep089.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep088.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep090.jpg

And now the rear up...

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep092.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep091.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep093.jpg

I know the rock is a bit on the small side but it was close by. I definitely have some improvement and when I get the brake line extensions on I'll see how far it will go. It is supposed to rain tomorrow but maybe Sunday I can get it out for a little while and play.
Dale

[lilgreenjeepyj]

Looks good...

The TJ side markers should work just fine. I think you might have to cut of two of four tabs on the light sockets. Mine hooked up just fine.

[Weekender1969]

I got the rear flares on, I reversed them (left rear on right, etc...) and it worked great!!!:shadey:

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep097.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Jeep096.jpg

I got the stock shackles back on and dropped the tcase about 1/2- 3/4 " as well. Seems to drive just fine, a little softer in the steering but easily manageable.

If the weather cooperates, I will be heading up the road to a hill I have yet to climb. I just can't pick a line that keeps 3 feet on the ground :banghead: .

Maybe the extra flex will do it:gangster: .

I put about 50 miles on her tonight, sure was nice driving it again,:knokwood: .

I'll take some pics tomorrow and let you see the hill I am referring to above...
Dale

[Weekender1969]

Well I have been away a few days and not much intresting has happened.
I did get the brake line extensions on and took it wheeling at the Superlift park here in Hot Springs, I'll post a link to the video when it is available.
Today I got a chance to flex it out some, I had to move a rock around in the yard to get it done. Here's the flex I got and I haven't hit the limit yet, gotta love the Old Man Emu springs!!!!:coolsun:

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Picture001.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Picture002.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Picture003.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Weekender1969/Picture004.jpg
Not to bad when you consider that is 31" tires sitting 27" up on a rock!!!!

Dale

[toates89]

where those decals i thought they looked sick

[Weekender1969]

where those decals i thought they looked sick
Yep! Everything but the black is decals....And I plan on hercing or durabaking the paint so as not to not have to deal with scratches....

[Weekender1969]

where those decals i thought they looked sick
Hey man, I just realized who you were, did those flares work for ya????

[Weekender1969]

Well it has been a while and I thought I would revive this old thread and let folks see the next few weeks of growth for my "little jeep that could".

I had a good friend talk some sense into me as to where I was at and where I wanted to be. The result was a delay of about 4 months in my build.
Right now I am sitting on 31's with a 2.5 inch OME lift.
I have wheeled the piss out of it at the Superlift ORV park here in Arkansas and learned a lot about driving off road in this time, as well as meeting some great folks. Both axles are still stock and I have added a few things but it is pretty much the same thing as before.

I have built a front bumper with a winch plate and a rear bumper with a tire carrier, they are both on the heep now.

Next Wednesday, I will be flat towing the YJ up to Missouri where all these parts laying in various places in my house will be getting installed.

Here is the parts list...
Ford 8.8 with 4.10 gears and Aussie Locker
SYE kit
CV Drive shaft.
Aussie Locker and 4.10 gears for the Dana 30 up front (currently being setup).
Skid plates from in front of the motor to the rear spring hangers.
Rock Crusher diff covers front and rear, provided the front ever arrives:ugh2: .
A slew of M.O.R.E. parts; traction bar, front and rear shock extenders, 8.8 intall kit, spring perches, shock mounts, tube ends, jam nuts, steering brace, etc...
JB 4X4 steering bracket.

BFG MT's 35X12.50X15

The plan:

Go to MO bone stock with 2.5 inch OME lift on 31's: come back; spring over, on 35's skid plated front to rear.

Oh yeah, and somewhere in all this I bought an XJ to get the groceries in.

Keep an eye out for the pics, I will get plenty of before and after.

Dale