Nick's CJ build part 1

[RAT]

Mythbusters proved that you can get 10 lbs of s??t in a 5 lb bag, so you should have no problem.

I totally saw that episode. Mythbusters ROCK!

[USMC 0369]

[COLOR="#800000"]Tight? TIGHT? Tight is an understatement.[/COLOR]

[RAT]

Stuffed it all in with room to spare. Everything is tacked in and ready for a flex test. Should be good to go.


20140322_121754 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


20140322_121740 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

No drop pitman arms around here...

20140322_121703 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


20140322_121653 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Flex pics tomorrow...

[6spdYJ]

Looks good Kurt, the upper link brackets appear to be parallel to the frame rails on both ends. Would there be any advantage to aligning them to the upper link, or would it be more effort than it's worth?

[dirtman13]

[COLOR="#800000"]Tight? TIGHT? Tight is an understatement.[/COLOR]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1303[/ATTACH]

We like it tight.

[RAT]

More parts are starting to arrive so the build will continue soon. My office looks like a offroad parts warehouse. And this is not a bad thing...

[USMC 0369]

[COLOR="#800000"]At least my parts won't interchange with yours so keeping things straight shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Can't wait to get going again!![/COLOR]

[RAT]

Well,
Not a whole lot to report after the weekend in the garage but we got some much needed wrench time on the CJ. Built both the axles. Installed new 4.88 ring and pinions on shiny new ARB lockers and capped them with ARB diff covers. Installed new axle shafts, hubs, rebuilt the brakes front and rear, finalized the steering set up with new grade 8 bolts and hardware, rebuilt two of the FOA shocks but ran out of parts to do the others. Also replaced some castors on my engine stand. Gonna need those cuz the drive line goes back in next weekend. Plans are to load the driveline and ount the tub so I can start building the roll cage.

Installing new bearings on the 8.8 locker

20140628_102009 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

8.8 Locker. I like this set up better than the Dana arrangement as far as the air valve is concerned. Here, the air valve, bearing and master spacer are pre-set at the factory and come assembled. Much easier to handle when installing the carrier.
20140628_160057 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Pretty marks
20140628_183441 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Shiny parts all over.
20140628_190117 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Knocking out seals in D44 front
20140628_110206 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

And new ones installed
20140705_134348 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Building his own axle.
20140705_134332 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Puttin the paint
20140705_154843 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Survey says...
20140705_154954 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

I've done lots of gear installs. Both of these axles should have been more involved because we started with blown up or worn out parts and not starting clearances. The 8.8 just about built itself, and we nailed the clearances in two tries. The D44 was a little bit tougher because we had to figure out pinion depth and main bearing preload without anything to go on, but the 44 fell together and first try nailed the back lash and depth. Sometimes a guy gets lucky.

Ballistic high offset spacers for steering.
20140705_185216 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

At full bump it is T.I.G.H.T. but everything clears. I'll double sheer the tie rod/drag link end for strength.
20140705_185229 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Da low riderrr
20140704_144319 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

[dirtman13]

Making some progress. :thumbs_up

[USMC 0369]

Making some progress. :thumbs_up

[COLOR="#800000"]Not a TON of progress, but I'll take it. I still have some small parts showing up for the front axle, want to have it completely finished and move on to next piece.

FYI, frame is certainly not low riding at the moment. Need to get some weight on it.[/COLOR]

[dirtman13]

Did FOA work with you?

[RAT]

Did FOA work with you?

Short answer... NO. Nick has the details.

[USMC 0369]

[COLOR="#800000"]I am unfortunately not having the same great customer service experience you have had with FOA Chuck. I've gotten a few responses I didn't find helpful. Apparently nobody (I've spoken with) knows anything about any improvements to their original 2.0 coilovers. I've been referenced to "Just get the shock rebuild kit." a few times so that's what I did. At $36/per it should have everything I need or so I'm told.[/COLOR]

[RAT]

Today was a hump buster. I really wasn't expecting to get a lot done but we went way past that and then some.
This is what we started with this morning...
20140704_144319 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Started by replacing all the old ball joints
20140712_112837 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

20140712_113247 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Old vs New
20140712_121618 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Finished all the welding on the front axle
20140712_121642 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Shiny new ARB cover for the front
20140712_124008 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

All back together and ready for the trail
20140712_142118 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Gonna put some axle seals in later
20140712_142136 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Still need to space the drag link and tie rod a little more. Just a hair
20140712_142145 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

The new to me welder is getting it's legs
20140712_142155 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Time for the drive line to return
20140712_170110 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

We thought it was going to be a bitch to get back in but it took all of 30 minutes and that included rolling it out from the back yard.
20140712_180042 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Now that the weight of the drive line is on I can adjust the front shock hoops for ride height.
20140712_180049 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

We were on a roll so we dragged the tubosaurus out of the back as well.
20140712_181150 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

20140712_181158 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Steering column, dash, pedal tree and hydroboost all found their way into the shop today
20140712_190507 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

And, since we're at it...
20140712_192033 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Finally startin to look like sumpin. Not sure what but...
20140712_192056 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

20140712_192106 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Herman Munster...
20140712_181158 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

More tomorrow.

[daniel_buck]

oh man, nice progress HAH, he can't wait to drive that thing!