gvns8

Bingo. Those are the reasons why I did it. Honestly it doesn't do much, but the front tires used to rub just a tiny bit at the corner at full stuff so this should help, and it gives a slightly improved approach angle.

I got the jeep back from the shop last night and it drives like a dream. No more creaking joints, and when I go over bumps it feels like I am driving a stock truck. I don't know why I ever got those drop brackets, they don't compare at all to having properly set up long arms.

It's raining here, but once it stops I will go get some pictures. The guys at w. tex offroad did a a good job welding everything up.

I also bought a klune underdrive crawlbox, and will be putting a cableshifted flipped d300 behind it. Full writeup on that to follow.

gvns8

I finished intalling my Clayton 3-Link kit and here are the pictures of everything installed. I couldn't find anyone with detailed install pictures on this forum or any other forum, so I figure these picture of my install might be helpful for someone. Top quality kit. Can't wait to trail test it.

Underside View:



Driver Side:





Passenger Side:



Front Control Arm Axle Bridge to hold upper control arm johnny joint mount cut to fit my truss:







View From Back:



Front view of driver side rear UCA mount:



Back view of driver side rear UCA mount and brace welded to unibody rail:



Passenger Side LCA mount:



Finally Both sides of the crossmember welded to the frame:

Captain_America

I have been looking for detail pics like these! Good shots. I want to build my own!

fritzthekatt

Great looking truck and build thread. I have a 01 in the same color i picked up back in Nov. You given me many upgrades to consider as well as many solutions to problems that I might see. Thanks for the insight.

gvns8

No problem bud. It would definately not be too hard to build, but I got it at 25% off so it would have costed me nearly as much to fab myself and a ton more time.

Thanks man. Glad I could help out.

ullbsorry

Good looking Jeep build man. I grew up in Colo Spgs and lived a few miles south of the Air Force Academy right up against the mountains. Trying to move back out there within the next year to be on the popo force. After looking through your whole build Im thinkin that Im ditchin my 2000 XJ 2 door 4x4 and lookin for a 4 door for when i move out there. Keep up the awesome work.

gvns8

Ya I definitely miss colorado great place to live with some amazing trails to check out. 2 door xjs can look good too I just wanted 4 doors to make it easier on passengers.

ullbsorry

Yeah I thought about keeping the 2 door but I have a daughter still in a car seat and then like you said...theres passengers. Let thme open their own door and get in. lol

gvns8

So now that I have my long arm install done, I'll post an update on my next big project I have started working on.

Here are some videos of what my transfer case sounds like:

Four wheel drive:

2wd:


Rather than fix my 231 case again, I am going to replace it with a different type of case. During the last month or so I have been doing a ton of research and have decided to do a Klune V/D300 setup. This will give me twin sticks (ability to do front digs)plus underdrive, it is fully gear driven and much stronger.

I will have the following gears to choose from: 1:1, 2.62:1, 2.7:1, and 7.1:1, so basically I will have a four speed case with the two stock ranges plus super low range and a slightly higher than stock range. With just a 231 box and 4.56 gears, my crawl ratio is 35 (calculator here). For perspective, if I were to put in 4.88 gears I would only be at 37. My low crawl ratio with my new Klune V/d300 will be a much more respectable 90.

So here is a breakdown of the parts I am using to do this:

-Klune V Underdrive with direct shifter and 2.72 gears.
(Bought it used at half price in great shape- I have it sitting around waiting to be installed)



-Dana 300 transfercase out of a 1984 CJ flipped and clocked up
(Bought the one shown in this picture- just waiting for it to arrive in the mail )



-To make everything easier and give a stock look, I will be using Northwest Fab Reverse Cable shifters. The base is 4"x8" allowing it to fit in place of the stock shifter.
(Will buy once they are restocked in a week)

It comes with the twin shifter in this picture, but not the cable bracket:


It comes with this bracket:


-I may rebuild the case or just put new seals in the case depending on how it looks when I open it up

-I will either add another cross member to add support between the crawlbox and the d300, or add a support plate off the clayton crossmember. I also plan to do a full bell skid to protect my new stuff.

Other considerations:

-My speedo sensor/vss is supposed to fit right into the d300 and be calibrated by swapping in the correct tooth speedo gear.

-The klune direct shifter will come through the floor about 3-4 inches behind the centerpoint on the stock t/c shifter so it will be easy to modify the center console to allow the shifter to come through the floor right in front of/next to the parking brake.

-I can use two np231 rear yokes in place of the d300 yokes to use the stock CV style driveshafts.

-I measured out the length of the Klune V plus adapter plus support ring plate to be 7.5". The length of my 231 from transmission face to flat half of rear yoke is 16.25". Supposedly the length of a standard d300 is 11.5", meaning my setup will be 19" (2.75" longer than stock). Previously the rear driveline distance was 33" flat face to flat face of the yokes. With the new setup, I should be at about 30", so the stock front driveline which is 29-34" (collapsed/extended) should work in the rear. Hopefully I can just use my custom rear driveshaft in the front.

-I will have to retap/plug holes for the d300 drain plug and breather and install an oil sight tube.

Timeline-Ideally I would like have the Klune V and D300 case installed by the 18th to go wheeling

Let me know what you guys think and if I am missing anything. Thanks!

Unleashed

That seams like a lot of work, wouldn't it be easier to just fix the problem in your 231 and put 4-1 ratio?

gvns8

Here are the other choices I considered:

241 rubicon case: $1550 total
-people want like $1200 for these used
-add in $150 for a rebuild kit
-add $200 for the speedometer signal converter

Teralow 4:1 kit: $1500 total
(go for $1350 now) and rebuild kit ($150)

231 crawlbox mated to flipped 300: $1300 total
-$550 crawlbox kit +new planetary gears $70+ $325 sticks+ $80 clockring+$75 aluminum welding at shop+$300 Dana 300 w/rebuild kit - reselling my sye ($100)

Klune v with flipped 300: $1525 total
$1000 klune v + $300 d300 w/rebuild kit+ $325 twin sticks-reselling my sye ($100)

There are way too many people I know personally who have had major problems with teralow 4:1 kits so I don't want the teralow. So amongst the other options I considered, the 241 was not as functional as the crawlbox or klune and cost about the same. I would like to keep 2.72 gearing for some wheelspin on some of the trails out here in texas and have a deep gear to do more technical rocks. So for about the same price as the teralow or 241or I could do the 231 crawlbox with dana 300. However I have had to fix my 231 case probably 6 times and replaced nearly everything in the case so I would prefer to not use any parts from a 231. That's why I jumped on the Klune V option when I found mine used for half price.

gvns8

As far as the work it takes, I would rather do this once and not have to worry about things again like breaking a teralow kit. Work involved was also a consideration when buying the klune instead of building a crawlbox. Really the hardest part was doing all the research which is why i gave all the detailed info above to help others in the future know what is involved in this setup. Now I just need to bolt everything in there and cut two minor holes in the floor for the shifter and shifter cables and I will be good to go. okay I'll admit I might be doing a little bit of this during the install

gvns8

I finally finished installing my hood vents today. They turned out great.

Here is me getting the corners started Saturday:



My dremel wasn't working too quickly so took the day off and when wheeling:



Then I went to the base auto shop and cut the hood out Sunday with a cutoff wheel:



And I finished drilling/riveting the vents in today. They look sweet:









I also have a couple other pictures I never posted:

-Here is my Klune V waiting to be installed:



-I also never mentioned that when I had the long arm brackets welded on, I also had them weld on the the track bar mount. No more loose bolts for me :



And here's one last picture just for the heck of it:

Gorillaxj

Looking good man!

martyinco

Nice vents! What are they off of?