Finally; the build begins...

[TipsE-Z]

Got some more work going on it... Man, this is proving to be alot more than I had originally expected... I'm also thinking that maybe my springs were 6" instead of 4.5" as this thing looks like it's going to be a beast.

Here's the springs


Got them put on, but having some pinion angle issues now.


This is with the axle only about 6" off the ground, so add about another 4 or 5 inches to the height here. We've decided that the 31s are going to have to stay on it to give us the clearance to get out of the garage, then put the 35s on.


And now the jewel of this build (in my mind). I'd like to get others opinion on this so please feel free to give it! I had originally bought the 6 degree shims that you see in the photo for the rear, now those are going to be located up front and these will reside in the rear.


We used the old springs for new life. The welder took a dump on us mid project so please excuse some of the looks but what does everyone think? Going this route we will attain the roughly 14 degree angle at max drop...

Comments? Concerns??

[6spdYJ]

Make sure youget your angles set with the weight on the axles. With that much lift, I hope an SYE is in your plans.

[dirtman13]

Wow. That is a thick spring pack. Make sure you check you driveshaft angles with the Jeep on the ground. Also, is the spring on correctly? That tire looks like it's not center in your wheel well.

[6spdYJ]

With that much arch, the center of the pack gets pulled forward. To arch that high, the mainspring has to be pretty long. Look at your rear "crossmember" (it's really not). Make sure when you flex that the shackles don't swing out so far that they hit this and limit your travel. You can boomerang, notch, or mount the rear eye past the end of the frame and use a set of boomerangs flipped around.

[TipsE-Z]

Sounds good guys, thanks for the input! We are going to check the pinion angle this weekend (assuming I get a day off) and figure it out from there. The tire was just rolled over in front of the fender chuck, and given that I'd had a couple beverages I'm sure it probably wasn't too centered. The packs are indeed pretty thick, 9 leafs in the pack, which I've read and been told that this will actually make it ride great and give me some awesome flex.

[TipsE-Z]

Well.... We finally got busy on the Jeep again last night. It's back to rolling status again, still waiting on the rear drive shaft to get ordered (bills first ya know) but the lift is basically on. We only have the 4" drop pitman to put on, as well as the shocks. Oh ya... I screwed up when I had my U-Bolts made and have to get the two inside ones re arched; But! It rolls again

We stacked the 6 degree shims I had to make a total of 12 to check the rear pinion angle. It's only to roll it around and get ready for the driveshaft, it looks like 12 is the magic number, 14 would have been too high so once we have a good welder we'll be modding the spring pack shims to meet the proper angle.


We did have to shave a bit off of the poly bushing to be able to make them fit the springs, a wire wheel on the grinder worked well.


We finally got the front end done. only one U-Bolt on each side but with the driveshafts removed and us just needing to be able to roll it we figured it would be okay for a week.


I don't think any of us could believe how tall my little Jeep was now, not to mention that it's been on jack stands for 3 weeks; was good to see wheels on it.


Being as we'd consumed a few beverages during the making of this, we just had to push it out and measure (ya'll know how us men can be). The black YJ is my buddy's who loaned out his garage for the month, he's on 4" of spring lift, 1" of shackle and 37" Swampers. Mine is on 4.5" of spring lift, 2" of shackle, and my little 31s. We suspect I will have an inch on him with the 35s on, 2" if they were new tires.


Looks like I'll have good clearance in the front, and the rear should be good once I cut it for the TJ flares Curtis has kindly donated. Two more days of work and I suppose I'll have to change my signature.


More to come folks! We're pushing hard for Hump N Bump, lets hope we get it done in time!

[dirtman13]

Looking good Chris. I will be cutting it close with my upgrades as well.

[TipsE-Z]

Thanks Chuck; What all are you doing to yours right now?

[aw12345]

Why is building it so frustrating!?! To me it's not frustrating but challenging, I get a kick out of resolving the issues that come up when changing and altering things on the Jeep

[TipsE-Z]

I do love the 'hillbilly engineering' as I like to call it. But I guess the frustration comes from how incredibly much I want to get it back on the road, but yet sometimes think I should just leave it in the garage until I have it locked and loaded. But... I must say, I think that it would be wise of me to run it Open Open with the lift for a bit so I can get a feel for the new tipping points, then lock it sometime in 2012. It's been months since I went camping, and the misses and I need to get out. I guess we could always take the XTerra... but I don't think it will be able to get us as far out there as we like to be.

Anyone else feel this way? "I work to build my Jeep stronger so that I can get farther away from work on my days off"

[6spdYJ]

You cash in all the frustration for satisfaction when you go where you thought you wouldn't be able to. One thing you may consider since you're going 35's is to mount the rear flares backwards. If you look at them in normal configuration, the front drops about an inch lower than the back. Look at the wheelwelll. The back is about an inch higher than the rocker panel. If you cut the body accordingly you should be able to grab almost two inches of uptravel clearance. Also, consider doing a slight highline on the front. Nothing says you have to raise the fenders a full 3". It will be fun to see where you go with your design.

[dirtman13]

Thanks Chuck; What all are you doing to yours right now?

The Jeep went on a diet. I shaved over 200 lbs off the beast. Also got a new set of shoes for H&B. Finally got my 40's. Still need to dial in the spring weights.

[TipsE-Z]

Awesome, I imagine I'll be doing the same when I finally get done with armor and such. Hopefully we'll see you there! It looks like I'll be putting the driveshaft in on the 1st, doing a shake out on the 2nd, then driving it up to h&B on the 3rd.

Here is a pic of it out in the day light, can't wait to get it all shined up and clean for this trip!

[6spdYJ]

Looks like the front sits a little lower. One cool thing about the YJ is that the springs are the same length and have the same centers. If you swap springs front to rear you'll level out and probably have a bit more spring rate to carry a winch.

[TipsE-Z]

Well... I swore to myself I wouldn't post anything until the driveshaft was in and the Heep all shined up but... I'm freaking stoked right now! SYE is in, and I'm getting it towed to the shop tomorrow to get it installed as well as the driveshaft made; should be out on a shakedown by Saturday morning.



The only concern right now is that the shocks (since I rushed) aren't going to allow me full travel. If we decide they won't we'll pull them off anytime we're going to wheel it hard (Hump N Bump). Gotta love the plug n play aspect of a YJ!