ORGS SBS installed

I hadn't had any problems with frame cracks thus far but when a package arrived at my door with this kit I decided it couldn't hurt to strengthen this area of the ol' XJ. The kit includes all of this...

...it includes sleeves with built in spacers for the steering box, inner and outer plates to strengthen the "frame" with provisions for bumper mounting and tow hook mounts. The tow hook mounting tabs are nice because they're up high and out of the way.
I basically installed this kit as to the instructions here...http://www.orgsmfg.com/product/sbs2.htm
...except I didn't feel like unwireing my winch and lights so I did the install with the bumper still attached(plus some of the bolts were welded on for security).
I started by removing everything that would get in the way of the plates and welding and sanded all the paint and undercoating off.

Here's the weld in sleeves next to the lame little aluminum spacer that's behind your steering box...

...that aluminum spacer was really a bad design decision. Why didn't they(Jeep) make it out of steel?
Uppon further inspection my "frame" had a little crack just behind the anti roll bar mount. It wasn't there before my trip to the Rubicon last weekend because I always check that area for problems.
Here's the plates installed and ready for welding.

And the illustrious metal bitch at work using his new Hobart 220 MIG, note the interesting head gear.

This is what the finnished product looks like...

...the passenger side looks the same. I sleeved that side as well although I'm not sure that it's necessary. My '93 was drilled for a right hand drive steering box but CRASH's '88 was not.
Note the sideways tow hook, much better than the factory mounting. I didn't reinstall my steering box brace as I don't see that it would do any good. The "frame" area around the steering box has really been strengthened a lot by this mod and I shouldn't have to worry about cracking issues anymore.
Thanks goes to CRASH for the welding and to Mark Hinkley for the time and effort in designing this system. It is definately an elaborate and well thought out kit.

Jes

Looks great, I prefer a welding hood to a multi colored beach towel though.

Very nice setup....impressive brackets/plates

That new welding burka is going to be all the rage this summer, you just wait.

Mark, I'll be on the horn with you soon for an SBS for the new rig. Damn, all those rosette welds gave the new glue a gun a real good workout!

CRASH

Very nice!! Mark, where do we sign up?

What's the cost on those plates? I guess i'd really only be interested in the drivers side. couldn't find the $$ on ORGS's site.

the site says $86

Ted,

That is LIST price, should be able to get for less $$$

Dave,

JKS, Sun Perf, ORGStore, and KevinsJP.com, the list of numbers and sites are on the Distributor page.

XJ4rocks,

Make sure your at my site www.orgsmfg.com, you should be able to find all the info there. There are doulbe kits and single kits.

Crash,

You know you have done some welding when your done installing it, that is for sure. BTW Nice Hood, you know that make nice welding hats for that. I got some plasma slag on my head last month while NOT wearing my hat, talk about big time hurt, I thought my whole head was on fire.

Thanks guys, it's a great way to add some real strength or to fix an existing cracked area.

mark
orgs mfg

That towel kills me, LOL.

jes for crying out loud!

that looks like a lot of metal and laser time for 86 bucks, nice.

any plans on making anything similar to reinforce the trackbar mount area? I think that area needs help.

Jes, that looks super beefy and well worth the investment. How long did it take yall from start to finish? I guess it'd be kinda pointless not to do the pass. side as well, seeing as you'll gain the tow hook mount and strengthening. What about the underside of the "frame" rail - is there any need to add any beef to that?

I like the idea of the SBS system but it, along with the C-ROK kit, won't work with my home built bumper. My bumper mounts are welded to the bumper and they fit snuggly along side the "frame" on either side. In othe words, I have no bumper brackets, just the bumper with mounting "wings" coming off the back. The mounts run back far enough that they pick up the three stock bumper mounting bolts as well as the huge 1" ~oval hole seen at the end of the second picture posted by Jes. I wonder if this mounting arrangement provides enough support for the steering box? I wheel fairly hard, fairly regularly and I haven't found any cracking in the unibody to date. I do run a much debated steering box brace though.

Mark Hinkley said:

XJ4rocks,

Make sure your at my site www.orgsmfg.com, you should be able to find all the info there. There are doulbe kits and single kits.

mark
orgs mfg

Click to expand...

Linky no worky.

Just remove the trailing comma, a common error, I've done it myself.

or www.orgsmfg.com will work too

Sorry about the ",".

Thanks Tucker.

Carpenter,

With some reworking of the bumper wings or the SBS itself most everyones bumper mounting will work. The big key is it isn't a finished product in the sense that it can be changed to work with many different situations. Welding and cutting to make it work, but the basic strength of it is there to get the job done of reinforcing the frame around the steering box. Take a look at the pictures of the install, you'll find it is quite strong enough for any type situation.

mark
orgs mfg

Economos said:

Jes, that looks super beefy and well worth the investment. How long did it take yall from start to finish? I guess it'd be kinda pointless not to do the pass. side as well, seeing as you'll gain the tow hook mount and strengthening. What about the underside of the "frame" rail - is there any need to add any beef to that?

Click to expand...

It took me about 3 hours of disassembly and sanding to get it ready and Andy about 45minutes to 1 hour to weld everything up.
The little angle brackets in the first pic go under the "frame" and tie into the tow hook mounts. The real gain in strength is the weld in sleeves, they spread the load of the steering to the inner and outer plates. One thing's for sure, no more creaking noises.

Jes

BTW, the pictures I posted might disapear soon as I'm about to exceed my bandwidth allotment for this month.

Mark, re: an aftermarket bumper ... would you recommend installing a bumper first and fitting the SBS to that or the other way around? Or something else, like a compromise between the two? Right now I have that option, I haven't decided on which bumper to install but with all of the problems I hear about weak steering (sheesh, most runs require spares on board) this SBS product is just what we need. TIA

Hmmm... I wonder how long it would take to drive out to Andy's house to have him install one on my Jeep?

Handlebars said:

Hmmm... I wonder how long it would take to drive out to Andy's house to have him install one on my Jeep?

Click to expand...

If you do please stop by the welding supply store and buy him a real welder's hat!

mark
orgs mfg

Tucker,

The bumper thing is something that will need some work depending on exactly how it mounts. I think if possible modifying the bumper bracket is the best, but like you said a combo of both would work also. Don't forget with ANY bumper mounting after the SBS is installed, all you have to do is attach the bumper to atleast the front two holes on each side, maybe add a third one, at the front of the Jeep and let the SBS transfer the LOAD to the rear winch mounting hole. No need to add any extra brackets to the side of the SBS. It does all the work of a Tow hook / winch bumper mount bracket. This is the reason why being able to install it on either side of the jeep is so cool.

mark
orgs mfg

Mark Hinkley said:

If you do please stop by the welding supply store and buy him a real welder's hat!

mark
orgs mfg

Click to expand...

Like your midevil leather one?


Jes