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List of updates. First went up to XJWonder's and we swapped Tom Woods SYEs from a '98 np242 I had into my '88 np242. Had to drill and tap the SYE housing to thread the Renix shift indicator into, don't know why Tom Woods doesn't tap all their housings and cap them when not in use, old style (correct) for Renix looks like a normal HNT instead. Swapped the 33s for the 35s on my steel soft 8s. Trimmed the fenders to extend to the front bumper, went up just about 1" in the middle. Cut and folded the inner fender pinch seam, hammered the front well under the battery/airbox to smooth the corner out. Installed Ruffstuff's 8.25 cover, good thing I got the bolts with it, the stock bolts don't even go past the mounting plate! Painted inside and out the gas tank skid so that's waiting to be put back in.
No pictures, rushed today. Got the gas tank back in all wired up, gas tank skid on, painted the 8.25 cover hammered gray to match the front Solid cover, reinstalled the NP242 all hooked up, and cut up the tcase skid to start mocking it up to raise it up and out the way. Ordered the wrong seal for the Tom Woods rear output, so I emailed them for the right seal number, until then at least it's back in the Jeep. Decided I'm going to cover the gas tank skid in stickers, adds HP so I'll slide over rocks faster. Send me any stickers you want me to put on there lol. I'll get some pictures soon.
Today went longer than expected but got a good amount done. Finished modifying the Rusty's Tcase skid to sit higher. From the factory the np242 skid plate with their crossmember sat 15.25"s off the ground, with the work I did it now sits at 18.50", 3.25"s taller which is a significant gain in clearance. Shimmed the rear 4 degrees for the SYE, finally got a rubber pinion washer for the front output yoke of the case that I was able to put the front driveshaft back in. Tomorrow the rear output seal to the case should arrive and it should be driveable. Oldmanblue#2 welded up the sides of the towers to finalized the tower job. Just need to flex it out to measure for shocks. Big summit racing order arrived with goodies that I will be installing soon.
Jeep is ready to go! Couple things left that would be nice to attack but it's driveable. Switched the RE 3.5" coils out for Superlift 550 4" coils. They're 160lb spring rate compared to the stiff RE 3.5"s being 240lbs. No flex in the coil also equals more stress on parts like the tower and retainer clips offroad, I've dropped my coils twice since longer shocks. The TNT brackets come with coil cups that are half the height of stock, so bought some exhaust tube the same size as a hockey puck 3" ID and made taller cups that I welded to the top of the TNT cups. Now they're more than 2 coils tall with a solid 1/8" plate on top. Looking forward to driving it, didn't have time to move vehicles and clean up before having to call it quits. But it sits ready to go.
I did not realize the RE's are that stiff! I had those on my last rig before swapping out for 4" PAC 250lb coils. There was a noticeable difference in handling, but now that I know how stiff the REs are, that difference was clearly made up by the swap from RE twin-tubes to 5100s.
Those superlift coils look interesting. I'm curious to hear your feedback on how they work offroad. When are you hitting some trails?
Going to Rausch on the 29th for Built to Heal hosted by Seven Slot Society. Flexed it out today to get some rear shock measurements. Found a near by ditch to go down, at it's peak the rear still had about an inch of up travel to spare so I just accounted that in the measurements. Jeep ran great down the road no vibes and everything seems solid. In the picture the RE coils without the extended cups would of surely fell out and onto the grass, the 550s kept the wheels planted and I could just turn them by hand if I really forced them. Seems good so far. Rear shocks measurements are looking like 16.5" compressed-25" extended. A nice 10" shock travel shock will be right at home. Short arm flexing good
New shocks came, what a pain charged shocks are to install compared to non charge. The Bilsteins came 3/4 extended so I had to wrestle them in place. The Jeep seems really nice around turns in the backyard and not too stiff. I'll have to take it for a long ride and the trails will be the judge. No pictures, was sort of a calm and boring day.
New shocks came, what a pain charged shocks are to install compared to non charge. The Bilsteins came 3/4 extended so I had to wrestle them in place. The Jeep seems really nice around turns in the backyard and not too stiff. I'll have to take it for a long ride and the trails will be the judge. No pictures, was sort of a calm and boring day.
Look like tires are going to clear the shocks when stuffed? Where do you have the shocks mounted on the axle?
Edit: Saw a couple pictures back that you have them on the spring plates
Last edited by SatiricalHen; Sep 14, 2018 at 02:23 PM.
Look like tires are going to clear the shocks when stuffed? Where do you have the shocks mounted on the axle?
Edit: Saw a couple pictures back that you have them on the spring plates
With the spacers they clear just fine. Looking forward to taking it on a nice drive and see how it handles the road.
Jeep is just about ready to go beside the little things like putting the subwoofer back into the cubby hole. Cleaned and lubed both front and rear brakes, drums were coated in old silt and dirt grime not allowing much grip. Front caliper brackets were indented from age, welded the notches flush and lubed everything. Rebuilt newer shafts that have 760x u joints in them, tacked the caps to the ears, painted them with some nice rustoleum high performance gloss black paint. I must say that around corners the rear shock placement has made a big ride impact, feels solid and much more responsive.
