I've heard from other people as well that RC leaves are on the soft side. Another reason for them is to get rid of some of the axle wrap I get, broken a couple yokes on me already since they tilt and bind.

 

while they are out take a moderate weight ball ping hammer and hit the CENTER of the leaf spring and they will arch back into place. (you get better results if you have an anvil to hit them again)

if you hit them on the sides to much it will start to twist the spring.

THis meathod is called soft arching.

but if you know the guys who the spring company have them arch it for ya the right way.


i added 3 additional leafs and subtracted one RC leaf from mine (Craigslist pair) and they seem to be fine

 

Awsome xj! by far one of the best!

 

this is an awesome build...so you went only 3 inch? i have a 3 inch layin around that i have to get on soon... great build! i love your paint! you have lots of skill. i love it, i cant wait to see whats next...i want to start doing rocks...get away from the sand/clay im doing now

 

Great job Ian, you have been doing a lot since Rausch Creek. I haven't done much to mine since then. I just got a 2 row metal radiator that I plan to install this weekend and hopefully that will fix my overheating issues. Keep up the great work.

 

Good luck with it, hope to see you down there again. I'm heading down next weekend for my second trip there.


And...
Ok gears are done and everything is back together, not even any funny noises. It doesnt seem to drive too too much different besides it's way better off the line, I havent gotten it over 35 or gassed the crap out of it yet though.



Gotta hurry up and break these in before the 5 hour drive to Rausch next weekend. With breaking them in, you can drive up to what, like a half hour and no going over 50?

And what about breaking in the front, in my mental simulation only the coast side would get broken in under normal driving.

 

So yeah. Jeep drives nice with 4.56's.

Not too noticeable around town except off the line but definitely a HUGE improvement pulling hills and on the highway. No more jumping to like 4k rpm when it see's a hill yet still not have any power.

 

Great look man. It is nice when you know other young people like us are doing it all ourselves. Its the only way to learn. Watched my dad build cars since I was old enough to get in the way. LOL. I do all my work on my own.

 

Got some more stuff.


8" Bilstein 5150's and to compensate for the extra like 1.5" the shock stud adapter gives me I did a simple brakeline lengthening too. Just drilled and tapped a new hole and pulled the hard line down, works great. Luckily I didnt have to screw with the bumpstop, was already perfect.





Got a used T&T belly skid that im gonna mount as soon as I put my frame stiffeners on.




Cut the tube guards off the side too, I thought they were just a pain in the ***, they kept bending up after they took a good hit




So basically once I weld my stiffeners on, my Jeep should be just about done besides like messing with little stuff here and there.

 

Yeah this is actually the reason i decided to take automotive in school. Helped me find out what I want to do I guess.

 

man i wish i had the time and money you've got YOUR XJ IS SWEET!

 

So I jumped my Jeep quite a few times today, got all 4 confirmed 2 feet off the ground. And I did a bunch of other high speed stuff too, I think that's what i'm gonna do with my Jeep, as far as fun it beat's crawling over the head with a stick.

Only blew a front upper bumpstop (the stock one) and considering how hard I was landing I'm surprised that's all that broke. I think i'm gonna replace it and ditch the hockey pucks for prothanes.

I'm happy with my new custom leaf pack in the rear, the suspension didnt bottom out that hard when I landed but it's soft enough to soak up bumps.

Bilsteins make a world of difference, rides so much nicer over rough stuff. I did Old Florida Road today too and it even feels alot smoother going slow through rock gardens and stuff.

 

Jumped some more today, not as much as last time, but I think im gonna take it easy till I get some unibody reinforcement in there. I just had to buy a new STT since I slashed a sidewall a couple days ago, have to run my goofy bald BFG for a week or two.




I definately want prothanes, cause this happens alot, and it hits kinda hard. Anyone know about what length i'm gonna want? I know i'm gonna have to trim them down to get them just right though.


I did some more high speed too. I think i might get bilsteins out back actually to smooth the ride out a little.


I'm also gonna get new bushings all round, my leaf bushings and my LCA bushings are all shot, RC and Rusty's bushings SUCK, leafs are only like a year old and the LCA's are only like a month old. I can get a full poly kit for like 130 bucks. Gonna run that and put a Krawler Joint in the acontrol arms to get rid of some binding.

 

i have that same bumper but my rings are bigger lol

 

Nice, hope you get it just the way you want, it looks like you've got a lot of it done already You'll love Moab it is the best place for wheeling I've ever been. All kinds of trails, easy to OMG, and one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. You may want to skip Moab in the middle of summer. The spring and early summer are the best or in the fall unless you really like it hot. I rode through there in the first part of July once on my motorcycle on my way to Cortez, Colorado and it was 105 at 2 in the afternoon.
Check out my album, the green Cherokee on Poison Spider Mesa is the one that made me decide to get into a Cherokee in the first place. He was amazing some guys running really cool rigs they just couldn't believe it was possible to do the things he was doing with only 31 inch tires. ( course he has ARBs f&r and now he has lifted more and is running 35s.