My XJ Rough Country 6.5" Long Arm install w/other stuff as well... The long way...
17 Attachment(s)
Hi All,
I am finally getting around to starting my XJ rebuild thread. lol What will go on here: Install RC 6.5" Long Arm kit (minus there shocks) Relocate rear lower shock mounts using ZONE shock tabs. Relocate rear axle breather. Installing Ford 8.8 4:10's with locker and rear disks. (probably next year. lol 2011. I have axle with 4:10's just no money for everything else at the moment.) and so on... Here is a lost of specs/Mods before installing the lift. 2001 Cherokee XJ 4.0 I6 Auto, just turned 110,000 Dana 30 / Chrysler 8.25 Mods: Bushwacker Fender Flares Rock Lizard Front bumper Olympic 4x4 Rear Rock Bumper Olympic Tire Swing out Rock Lizard Light mounts Rock Lizard - Gila Monster Lower Quarter Guards (3/16" Plate steel) Rock Lizard - Gila Monster Door guards WARN Front D30 Diff Guard Ruff stuff Chrysler 8.25 cover with drain and countersunk holes. WARN T-case Skid Plate Powertank Gas tank skid plate Big Daddy Off road tire-rod Rubicon Express SYE Rubicon Express Rear CV Drive shaft Hidden Hitch trailer hitch Welded on Front Lower Control Arm skid plates Rubicon Express Extended rear brake lines JKS Rear BPE's Cragar Soft 8 wheels 33x12.5x15 BFGoodrich Mud Terrain Flex-a-lite Trimline electric cooling fan Hood Vents (with custom covers I made) Extended rear bump stops Adjustable bump stop lower purch (rear) CB Radio/4' Firestick Hi-Lift Jack IPF H-4 Headlight conversion Remote Starter Alpine CD/MP3/iPOD player Infinity Door speakers w/separate tweeter 600w Amp 10" sub Optima Yellow Top Battery Roof Rack Tow straps and a lot of gear/tools Old Lift probably sitting around 4" (FRONT: dual rate coil springs/ 3" coil spacers/OME shocks, REAR: bastard pack leafs with 2.5" Drop shackle) New lift Rough Country 6.5" Long Arm. Bilstein 5150's going on in place of RC 2.2 shocks. anyway this project is going to be slow going mostly. I want it done, but I do not want to rush. but I still want to go wheelin this year. lol Today I hoped to spend most of the day working on the XJ but it didn't happen like that. Still I managed to get started and a few hours of work into it. There are lots of rusted seized bolts and some surprises. I will show you in the pictures and tell you. a few before shots. Attachment 389370 Attachment 389371 Attachment 389372 Attachment 389373 Attachment 389374 OK So I went out last night and picked up these jack stands. they worked good on the back so far, along with my smaller craftsman ones. Attachment 389375 Attachment 389376 Attachment 389377 Well after removing the wheels I broke a bolt on the lower shock mount 1st thing I touch. :ack this is great start I said.! but luckily I planned on cutting them off anyway. Attachment 389378 Attachment 389379 Next thing we moved onto was the upper shock mounts, where I didnt even know there was a set of BPS there already,. but they where badly rusted. We could not get the bolts off and figured we would peel the rug back and cut holes to get to the back of the bolts. well that was already done! kinda sloppy but done. I plan on fixing this area back up better than the previous owner did. Like using some sheet metal and welding it in there. Possibly with a few rubber caps to still leave access to the bolts I put it. check this out! Silicon in Plexiglas, Also noticed lots of foam from Bushwacker install and water pool... :ack We found where that leak was coming from and my friend Matt said he can get me some seam sealer to use as well. Attachment 389380 Attachment 389381 Attachment 389382 Attachment 389383 Attachment 389384 you never know what you will find I guess. :sm_laughing: Attachment 389385 here you can see how rusted the BPE's are I could not get these apart.! Junk!! glad I bought new ones! Attachment 389386 |
more slow progress
7 Attachment(s)
I plan on applying the rust bullet I picked up under here as well as other places.
Attachment 389387 tried to get this off... Failed! Attachment 389388 I should have just cut bolts and reused my old shackles but didnt and went onto removing the upper mount. man o man, that bolt was seized to the bushing sleeve. note to self use lots of anti-seize when installing new ones.! bent metal, melted toxic bushing, heated sleeve, used vise grips to hold glowing sleeve, then used beaker bar to break bolt free from sleeve. :ack stunk royally! here is the bolt removed finally. Attachment 389389 Attachment 389390 tool that I found in my garage when I moved into this house last year. glad I have it! it works great to assist me in bolt removal! my breaker bar. :smile: Attachment 389391 tried to remove leaf bolts, would not budge. Decided to cut them, when i was almost through it broke and made a loud bang! Matt said it was under a lot of pressure. it scared the crap out of me! :sm_laughing: Attachment 389392 called it a night after this pretty much. looked at what I will start in the morning. the other end of the leaf. this looks like it is going to be NO fun as well I tried to see if it would budge and I broke a socket side wall! lol so since then I have sprayed it 3 times in hopes thats all it takes for tomorrow. but sadly my buddy Matt thinks I will need to use more heat because the same issue is probably there that the sleeve is seized to the bolt. man this stinks. Attachment 389393 I am using MAPP gas so its better than propane, but not much. :sm_laughing: Anyway tomorrow Morning Matt is coming back over and we are going to get those leafs out of there some how.... then I can start cutting off the shock mounts probably. let you all in on whats next once I get more progress. its going to be slow btw. I want to take care of a lot of stuff while under here. Everything takes me twice as long as it would take any one else I swear. thanks for reading. |
Looks like your jeep is fighting you the whole way..Talk to it and tell it you are only trying to make it better and stronger then stock, and if that don't work get a big hammer and the torch..........LOL
|
Originally Posted by SGT ABN XJ
(Post 509978)
Looks like your jeep is fighting you the whole way..Talk to it and tell it you are only trying to make it better and stronger then stock, and if that don't work get a big hammer and the torch..........LOL
I talked to her late last night while I sprayed more PB Blaster on her parts. |
Day 2 pics
14 Attachment(s)
So Today we hit more rust and seized bolts as expected.
Had to heat the crap out of everything before we where able to remove anything. :ack It definitely went a little faster on the right side, just because we knew which way to go about it. I removed one rock slider and Matt removed the other. We did this to be able to use the impact wrench on the front bolt holding the leaf springs on. Also I had to remove them anyway because I think I may need to mod the front of them a little. Attachment 389394 After using the breaker bar, then heating the uni-body, then the sleeve, Managed to get this one out. :sm_laughing: Attachment 389395 I Saluted this leaf because it was such a pain to remove! :eek6: Attachment 389396 Comparing it to new leafs. (at least I know if these sag in future I should be ok replacing them myself again. lol) Attachment 389397 Me cutting the u-bolts on the last leaf. (those things snap when the metal gets thin and scare the do-do out of me! :sm_laughing:) Attachment 389398 Matt spraying and removing drive shaft. I was working on brake lines, had to use some heat on these as well. The brake lines in the rear where Rubicon Express but the new ones where like 4 inches longer.! Attachment 389399 Attachment 389400 Attachment 389401 Attachment 389402 Using the cut-off wheel to cut the welds on the lower shock mounts was fun. :sm_excited: Attachment 389403 Attachment 389404 Hitting them and breaking them off with my hammer/axe was fun as well! :willy_nilly: (really though it was.) Attachment 389405 easy peazy here Attachment 389406 Attachment 389407 |
Day 2 more pics
11 Attachment(s)
whats that shadow? MATT
Attachment 389408 Lookin...... hmmm rusty.! Attachment 389409 right side Attachment 389410 used grinder. Attachment 389411 Attachment 389412 Attachment 389413 said to reuse front bolts for leafs, so Matt used my wire wheel and cleaned them up a bit.. Attachment 389414 had to unbolt custom bump stops to get new bolts on, but figured I would add another plate because of the leafs being shorter. Attachment 389415 Attachment 389416 did this to every bolt that we put in so far.... We called it butter.. Butter it up!!!! Attachment 389417 leafs in!! tada!. Just have to cut the bolts shorter & lower truck down and torque bolts tight! Attachment 389418 Well after this we ran out of time for our day. Matt had to go eat and I promised my wife I would grill chicken..... So next I am going to be taking my time and making everything all purdy. then after its back on its wheels I will attempt to weld on the new lower brakets, flex out rear then get those Bilsteins on order! this is fun stuff.:sm_excited: what you think? |
looking good so far.
|
Originally Posted by 89eliminator
(Post 510345)
looking good so far.
Not sure if I told you but I picked up a Ford 8.8 with 4:10 gears for 150 bucks. Thinking I could just pick up a High Pinion D30 w/4:10's as well (since mine is a low pinion 3:55). But then realized it was going to take more than that to do the swap so I am puttin it on hold so I can actually do some wheelin this year. lol It needs a few new seals, and I need to buy the MORE kit for the weld on stuff and there is also a MORE kit for the parking brake. and I want to get a locker for it as well. so yeah definitely not this year. I still am welding the 8.25 shock mounts up on the axle so when I flex and get the right length shocks I can do the same thing on the 8.8 and I wont need new shocks then as well. good practice to, after all this is my 1st major operation on any vehicle I have ever owned. lol BTW the kid who I bought the XJ off of, his parents bought it for him a few years before that off of EBAY from a guy in Wisconsin for like $10k. You may have wheeled with it before or knew the guy who owned it? haha Imagine that! I have his name and everything its all over all the receipts. he was awesome to save all them for the next owner. I need to continue the same just incase I sell someday. (never!!!) |
looks good. i think it will turn out good for you.
|
Looks great man! Looks like you're having the same amount of trouble I did when I installed my lift. lol fun fun.
|
Do you live in Maine or New Hampshire? I want to say i saw your build on ENHForums?
|
definately looks like it's fighting you!!! good luck
|
Originally Posted by Burns207
(Post 511204)
Do you live in Maine or New Hampshire? I want to say i saw your build on ENHForums?
|
Looking good can't wait to see the end product.
|
appears ur just having a dandy ol time lol
|
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:38 PM. |
© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands