dukie564

holy hell. Stole that ****

bpas328xi

I know! Hahahaha

KingKush

what is this?

bpas328xi

OEM under hood light from a older Cherokee. I have a couple of them, just never got around to messing with them more.

bpas328xi

New ramz and tars. Finally. Lol. No more death wobble. Need to BB balance the rear ones. Should be enough to get me through winter and until the axle swap happens. Still need to install the Notch flares to clear them.... They might be a little wide and might be getting into the sheet metal a little... Oops.

33x12.5 Federal Couragia M/T mounted on 15x10 D windows. My buddy that does body work for a living is going to help me install the flares. Woot.

bpas328xi

Since Thor is still kinda down at the moment (still need to do brakes and clearance fenders), took my dad's XJ (Loki) out in the snow and gave my dad the camera.

Would've had more footage, but I goofed and left the focus on manual so that footage is unusable. Oh well, live and learn.

RRXJeeper71

very cool snow run!
What are the mods done to your dad's XJ(LOKI)?
I actually miss the snow since leaving Chicago for warmer temps in Tx

bpas328xi

TnT long arms, Rubicon Express 5.5" coils, Rubicon Express 4.5" leafs, RE 1" shackles. RE double shear trackbar. Comanche D44 rear with 4.56 gears, Ten Factory chromoly shafts, Detroit TruTrac LSD, and ZJ disc brake conversion. Front is bone stock d30 with 4.56 gears and Detroit TruTrac LSD.

315 70 r16 1st generation MTRs (33s). 1.25" wheel spacers.

PO made the bumpers and rock sliders. He's a member on NAXJA and I believe he has a build thread but I'm forgetting what his user name is. He pretty much built Loki as it sits. I only changed out the rear locker for the LSD, put in the chromoly shafts, did the brake conversion, added the spacers, and put a winch on it.

Scott'sXJ

When you do get around to taking that retractable light apart, I like to ask you a favor, and take some pics please. Mine retracts, but not all the way, and before I screw it up completely, I'd like to know what I'll be dealing with.

bpas328xi

Look through this thread. I remember posting pics of it taken apart.

*edit* my post was made on 3/15/2013 at 9:11pm. Can't get the post number because I'm on the mobile app

bpas328xi

Still collecting parts for the rebuild... Have a few more months to wait before the shop is built. Running out of stuff to buy. Eventually going to have a forged mini stroker built to replace my almost 200,000 mile super reliable engine. Engine isn't tired, but I want to upgrade to the S5-335 blower and run a bit more boost. Goal is probably going to be about 13-16psi (maybe 18 psi) and about 450-500hp at the crank. Remember way back when I installed a catch can for the blow-by I had after I installed the SC kit and how it stopped having blow-by a couple weeks later? My buddy seems to think that catastrophic engine failure is imminent because of that. He thinks that the rings are spinning or the wrist pins are doing something funky. Idk. Drove it 35,000 miles since installing the SC kit and it hasn't had said catastrophic failure yet. When is it going to happen? In another 35k miles? Sooner? I'm sure something else will break before the engine has it's mythical failure. LOL. It doesn't consume any oil or coolant at all. I am overdue for my 10,000 mile oil change interval though.... Switching over to Rotella T6 and a larger NAPA filter. Loki has already been switched and seems to be very happy with it. I have no doubt that Thor will like it too.

I think all that is left is ordering custom axles from Currie, but I can't do that until I decide what WMS I want (63" WMS is the number I have in my head). Time for 8 lug axles!!! Axle specs will be fabricated HP 9" front and rear with 4.56 gears, 35 spline TruTracs front and rear, D60 inner C's, F350 knuckles and balljoints, D60 u-joints, F350 32 spline unit bearings front and rear (makes rear axle full float), and F350 disc brakes and calipers front and rear. Gunna have cheap/DIY hydro assist. Also need to order some stuff from Profender (a pair of 2.0 coilovers for the front, 4 2.0 air bumps, and a pair of remote resi shocks for the rear), but can't order those either until I get the custom axles installed and can cycle the suspension on the 35s so I can figure out what length coilovers and shocks I need. Shooting for 14" travel minimum for the front and whatever the leaf springs end up doing in the rear. Want to use longer leaf springs and stretch the rear 1-4". Amount of stretch depends on if I feel like getting a custom gas tank made. I refuse to put it inside of the Jeep for safety and legality reasons. Could modify a Genright 30 gallon XJ tank instead of having a custom one made. Chevy 63" springs would be ideal, but also looking at Durango springs. Need to do more research. Would like to use Synergy's front spring mount though because it's way beefier than the stock mount.

Anywho... This post is worthless without pics, so here are some.

Couple boxes from Rough Country


In the boxes were....

Another rear driveshaft (planning on using it on the front) to replace my completely haggard Tatton's front shaft. Doing this because the RC shaft I have in the rear has required minimal maintenance over the 40,000 miles that I've had it (only been greased maybe twice) and it is still as tight as it was when it was brand new. I've rebuilt the Tatton shaft once and the u-joints and centering yoke are already worn out again and the slip joint has a ton of play in it.

A new front trackbar to replace my Rubicon Express one. Got it because the RC frame bracket is dropped more than the RE one. This should hopefully reduce or eliminate my bump steer by making the trackbar and draglink more parallel (steering linkage is the Rugged Ridge HD one with a drop pitman arm). This is RC's forged trackbar. It's surprisingly beefy and feels like it's good quality.

And finally, shackle relocation brackets.

Trackbar and front shaft need to be installed ASAP. They're fairly easy for me to do in the driveway on my back, so I should be able to get those installed soon. Just gotta wait for some of the snow/ice to melt.


Amount of drop in frame bracket. I will post the drop differences of the RC bracket vs. the RE bracket vs. a stock bracket when I take those measurements.


Love these kinds of warning stickers. Also explains why I'm the only person that can drive my Jeep. Lol


Skyjacker RockLock sway bar for a TJ. I'm going to make it fit on my XJ because it's a cool idea and makes it easier for me to disconnect my sway bar when I go offroad. I keep forgetting to and rip my end link brackets off of my axle as a result.


Obligatory cat picture because he was curious about the Rough Country boxes and wanted to look all the parts.


Love that pic of him because he looks like an ewok from Star Wars... Hahahahaha

bpas328xi

Loki update.

Broke the swaybar mount off of the axle a long time ago. Finally fixed it with some Synergy brackets. So nice to have a swaybar on that Jeep again.

Helped my buddy with his frame stiffeners and wonton soup swap, so he helped me weld those brackets on (meaning he welded them on for me).

Now I just need it do the same thing to Thor. Might end up welding that myself

bpas328xi

Finally got around to fixing the gouges in the pad slides on my knuckles. Brakes can't stick on anymore. Also put new Duralast Severe Duty pads in. After breaking them in, they're a big improvement over the PepBoys Severe Duty pads.

Gouges after hitting them with the wizzer wheel and smoothing the edges.


Who says you can't lay a decent bead with a HF 90amp flux core? Not bad for basically my first time welding anything.


As good as I cared to get it. Ended up using an angle grinder with a flap disc. Way faster than an air wizzer wheel powered by a small compressor.


First time I've ever had to do this step....


All done. Yay.



Bought a steering wheel off of a 2015 Chrysler 200 to play with. Wasn't lucky enough for the splines to match. Hole in the wheel is probably 1/2 a millimeter too small. Gunna have to try and figure out a solution. Still not bad since the wheel was only 35bux and is in mint condition. I want to use the buttons to eventually control all my lights and work in conjunction with that tablet controlled relay thing I've been working on.



Bought this light bar for 60bux. Like it better than the Vector style bar that I've been restoring. Has a bunch if room inside to add stuff. Gunna pull out the red lenses and make everything amber.







Aaaannnddddd.... 1310 u-joint sitting on top of a 1480 u-joint. So excited for these new axles. Only a few more months left to wait.

bpas328xi

F350 brakes. Massive yet still fit in a 17" wheel. Sweet.


13.2" front rotor. Rears are 12.8".

Front rotor and front caliper.


Fits with some room to spare.

XxXJ99xX

Hey, So did I ever mention I hate you? Great work as always with even better parts. I remember when this XJ was stock on Ebay...