Considered that too. That's a last resort deal. I would really like it in front so the sway bar arms follow the control arms on drop out. 8" of droop makes for some extreme angle changes even with how flat my control arms are at ride height.

 

IM SO JELLY!!!!!!

 

So we took the XJ over to Rimrock Labor Day weekend. Engine and everything ran great except some slight dripping from the radiator and 14 miles per gallon fuel mileage. Coilover valving was a little stiff. Beat on the rig throughout a few of the trails. Ended up torqueing the rear axle truss forward when dragging a busted 4 door Wrangler off of Pucker Ridge. This lead to 2 bent coilover shafts. The cage and halo were put to a decent test running some of the tighter trails and trees. Protected the body great until I was in a hurry leaving camp and backed into a tree. Without my rear tire carrier done the hatch doesnt have much protection and I put a big dent in it.

On the way back we stopped in Yakima to drop off my brothers and the radiator blew right as we got into town. I replaced the radiator and bought a quart of Lucas Oil Treatment while I was at it. The oil was only 1/4 quart low but I figured it could use it as the oil had been sitting in that engine outside uncovered for over a year. The most frustrating thing is that on the way from Yakima to Lynden I only averaged 8 miles to the gallon! Same tire pressure and slightly less weight so where did the mileage go? My only thought was that now my oil was 3/4 quart over full. Is it possible that the extra drag on the crank dropped the mileage that much?

 

Oh. Also forgot to add that I punctured the drivers side of the windshield with a fallen tree. Ill be posting some pics of everything later.

 

Here she is all done and ready to leave for Rimrock.



Little wear and tear. A Pillar saved us from a rollover going down a steep sidehill. Passenger front tire cleared a loose boulder but the back drove over it, the rock rolled and then the tire slid off luckily tipping us into a tree. Drivers side tires were about a foot off the ground.



Fallen tree caught under the halo and was pushed into the windshield.



Torqued rear axle truss when haulin a busted JK off of Pucker Ridge Trail. Gonna add some ribs to the 1/4" plate.



Because the axle was rotated both rear coilover shafts were bent.





After a long day of getting the JK off the trail we were in a hury to head home. Backed right into a freakin tree.

 

Take that long to build it, spend a day beating it.

 

Hey it was a fun day and a half though. lol Thats what a shake down run is for, find the weak links. Im more mad about the hatch and winshield than the coilovers and truss. lol Its gonna cost me less than 50 bucks to fix the truss and coilovers.

 

That's one beastly lookin XJ. Great fab work on that cage.

 

Did u remember to in lock the front hubs when done? When I forget I lose a few Mpg's. could it also be cause by a bad pinion angle now with the rear axle rotated that I caused the u joint to bind more then normal and cause drag... Just my thoughts..

 

Yep, unlocked both hubs. Pinion angle was a little too far down when I left, a little too far up on the way back. Driveline vibes were about equal. Good thinkin though.

 

For anyone interested, a stock XJ has a curb weight of just under 3400lbs. With me out of it, a half tank of gas, and 100 pounds worth of tools in the back my jeep weighs about 4550lbs.

 

That's interesting, just a bit of metal on there.

 

Damn. Before the front 44. With gear, doors, me and my girl I was 4320. I'm guessing around 4600 after the 37s go on

 

So I finally got around to installing my homemade sway bar today. SOOO much better road manners and now the suspension actually works equally like it should. Before the fuselage would follow the front end and get tippy on off-camber climbs. Now it is balanced pretty well front to back.

 

modified torsion bar?