Time for a build thread... 2001 XJ

Take the shackle off, and then the whole leaf spring will come off, then replace the shackle. Either that, or use a sawzall/cut off wheel and cut the bolt on both sides of the bushing, in between the bushing and inner part of the shackle.

Thanks guys... I managed to remove the upper shackle bolt without heat (to preserve the bushing, my main concern) and then pressed the stuck bolt out with my ball joint press. It's amazing how going a little further can reduce a 2 hour ordeal to a 3 minute task :-/

Rear leaf packs are FINALLY installed... All that remains is to lube all points on the front suspension and steering, bolt the tops of the rear shocks (gotta fish the nuts in with a magnet, too tired to do so now), bleed the brakes, and perform a basic alignment... I'll post pics and share a bulleted list of what I've learned in the next day or two to help others in the future.

Once again, you guys have spared me a lot of pain and agony. It's times like these I really love

Well, the lift is finally installed (finished a few days ago but went back home to San Antonio for a 4-day weekend)... Pics!

(click for larger images)







I'm definitely loving it, however, I have a few issues:

• These springs are STIFF. The valving on the 5100s is able to keep it under control, but at this point I'm reluctant to drink from an open container while driving on many of the highways around here... Dips in the highway are very pronounced with these springs, and have already led to a bit of coffee in my crotch.
• The lift sits higher than 3.5" (much higher), but I'm hoping some of that will go away... The rear really irks me, as I get some pretty bad driveline vibrations between 15 and 35 mph. Looks like a HD SYE and drive shaft are coming next (going with Tom Woods and Advance Adapters). I'd like to get the 242 in there, but given the complications that might arise with the SYE I'll be holding off on installing it until later in the project (it'll go in with the HP30 and all corresponding axle upgrades).

For those who own the Rubicon Express 3.5" lift (coils and full leaf packs) - does the ride soften at all over time? I know I can expect the rear to sag a bit, but at this point I feel like I'm driving a leaf-sprung lightweight F350.

Looks good, but definitely taller than 3.5". Are you planning on running taller tires eventually?

Yeah, without a doubt. I was hoping that the RE 3.5" lift would be a true 3.5", but unfortunately (as I was warned over and over and over), it is not... Thus, my 30x9.5's look a little small.

The largest tire I want to run is 31x10.5. Only marginally larger, but they'd fill out those gaping wheel wells considerably better and most likely avoid any rubbing.

them tires are teeny

austinaubinoe said:

dang the front looks high! might want to had a shackle to the rear, the coils dont settle that much.

Click to expand...

ive found the opposite... even after towing many times (21ft chris craft... 4k lb boat, trailer tongue weight is somewhere around 800lbs.) my rear still sits higher than the front.

4.5" super flex kit. with 31s. i think itll be more of the look you want when you go to 31s. i trimmed my fenders and now 31s look small.

before the trim.

Thanks for the input VAhasnoWAVES - I agree that 31's will look much more appropriate under it once done.

For now, I managed to level it out:







All thanks to a $26 leveling kit picked up from Lowe's:



...Also known as 400 lbs of concrete (with the $5 keep-the-dog-out-of-the-crap tarp option). The moment it begins to sag lower than its current height, I'll go ahead and remove the concrete and let the break-in process continue on its own. The rear shocks (5100s) seem to be much more appropriately valved for the added weight, but we'll see if after softening the springs it'll ride a little more nicely.

Oh, and this has taken care of most of the driveline vibration issues I've run into... Should be an adequate temporary solution until I order my HD SYE and Tom Woods shaft.

For now, I'm not fond of having 400 lbs of loosely-bound projectiles in the back of the car (due to the inherent safety issues), but it's the best short-term solution I could come up with. I'm also planning on ordering a Raingler cargo net to get ready for turning the folded-down back seat into a permanent dog area (already found a friend with lots of extra ~4" thick memory foam from which I'll be sewing a heavy-duty canvas bed for him). That, and an ice chest spot for longer trips... Maybe one day I can train him to fetch things from it on the road.

Should look good with a set of 265/75R16 on those rims.

Yeah, I agree... Only thing is, the more I see it with the 245/75R16s on there at its "loaded" height (as above), the more I think I have no reason to go any larger. At this size, rubbing is non-existent, the 3.55 gearing is adequate (though 4.10s are coming), rubber is a tad cheaper, and they fit nicely under the stock flares. More wheeling trips will reveal whether or not I need to go larger, but for now, I'm definitely digging the balance.

In the coming weeks, I'll be knocking out the following (and then going full-steam on building the other axles):

• Detours USA Slimline (smoothie) rear bumper with tire carrier and tow points
• Detours USA Backbone or Rigid FbG (jury is still out)
• Tom Woods rear driveshaft, likely AA HD SYE
• New tirmmed front bumper caps (did a piss-poor job on the current ones)
• New wheel well trim/flares (stock style)
• Rhinolining on the new rear bumper, bumper caps, flares, existing plastic door trim, and the bottom 1" of the doors and downward through the rockers

After much consideration for the front, the Detours Backbone seems ideal as I can retain the plastic bumper caps and stock bumper as sacrificial pieces... That is, upon dragging or a hard hit, they are pieces that can be replaced at minimal cost with minimal risk to the integrity of the rest of the vehicle (and can absorb impacts to some extent).

However, I really don't want a fixed front winch as I don't always want to have to pull myself through a questionable decision... I'd like to have a 2" receiver on the front of the vehicle in order to have a receiver-mounted winch that can be moved to the rear if I need to back out of a sticky situation. It's disappointing that Detours cannot make a one-off Backbone-type system with a 2" receiver centered in the stock bumper, however, it might be possible with some custom fabrication (provided it can be made strong enough). Front-mounted hidden hitches hang too low (below the bumper) for my taste, however, I may not have seen all available options.

I have those same tires on my 2001 with 2" of lift and it just barely rubs the plastic in the back with the 4" bumpstop. I put the Duplicolor spray-on bedliner on my rockers in July of 2009 and it's holding up great.

I used a d30 (and later, an 8.8, and after that an aw4 and np231) in the cargo area as my leveling kit. Slightly more expensive, but more use... unless you do construction.

The OME 2" HD springs I got, hoping for 0-1" lift after they broke in a bit, started at 3.5" and ended up at MAYBE 3" after the break-in and some mild wheeling I've done. The leafs couldn't flex very well, so I ended up putting 1.5" boomerang shackles in as well... so I accidentally ended up at ~4.5" in the rear. Oh well, it works, not gonna complain.

Ask him. I've talked to him before about that. He said he could do it but with a added cost of course. Email him, he doesn't have much time to get on here.

anthrax323 said:

However, I really don't want a fixed front winch as I don't always want to have to pull myself through a questionable decision... I'd like to have a 2" receiver on the front of the vehicle in order to have a receiver-mounted winch that can be moved to the rear if I need to back out of a sticky situation. It's disappointing that Detours cannot make a one-off Backbone-type system with a 2" receiver centered in the stock bumper, however, it might be possible with some custom fabrication (provided it can be made strong enough). Front-mounted hidden hitches hang too low (below the bumper) for my taste, however, I may not have seen all available options.

Click to expand...

wacho4 said:

Ask him. I've talked to him before about that. He said he could do it but with a added cost of course. Email him, he doesn't have much time to get on here.

Click to expand...

That's what strange - I have asked him and received a very short response:

Campbell-

The "BackBone" system 'requires the winch plate for it's strength,
by deleting it, you would compromise it's construction.

Thankyou for your intrest,

Mark
Detours Llc.

Click to expand...

Then again, I just noticed I received this response 355 days ago (September 30, 2009... Jesus, time flies) so his tune may have changed. I'll follow up with him and see what we can work out. Thanks for the tip!

It's looking great! When you wanna get rid of those ugly Moabs, you can pay me to take em away for you

I asked him a couple years ago on here, can't find the post now. He had said he could definitley do it for a increase in cost.

Then I recently emailed him. This is the reply I got from him about a month ago, he doesn't say he couldn't do it, just would require more time and money:

:link1:
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Detours Website Contact Form
Date: Sat 08/07/10 07:20 AM

Clay,

Our lasar/forming subcontractor is dealing with some major issues right
now, I'll be attempting to bring the BackBone 'inhouse' in the weeks to
come. Problem with the non-winch BackBone........it requires ALOT of
extra bracing & fabrication due to the lack of extra material found on
a standard BackBone.....thus time & money. Folks have a hard time under-
standing that sometime less is more........truth be told, theres more
involved without the winch platform.

I'll be working on this in the weeks ahead, we'll keep this one
'inhouse'
as well........the business climate is extremely difficult with our
current economy, the less outside vendors involved, the better.

Hopefully I answered your question, if not....feel free to write back.

Mark
Detours Llc.

PS: Forums......I'm sorry, I simply dont have time to get on forums,
we've
been dealing with problem after problem since May. Hope you understand.





> email: [email protected]
> realname: Clay W. wacho4 @ naxja
> jeeptype: XJ
> category: XJ/MJ Back Bone Bumper System,XJ Tailbone Rear Bumper
> mesg: When do you think the Backbone kit especially will be available
> again, or is it now? Need to reinforce the steering area a bit on the
> newer to me XJ. Can't do right now but as soon as I can find the $$.
Also
> you have mentioned before that you can do a front 2' reciever instead
of a
> winch mount, would there be a price difference for this, or for just
> eliminating winch mount but leaving me with just beefy eyes and front
end
> reinforcement? Sorry I also left a messge or two on , just igore
> them. Thanks, Clay W. wacho4
>

:link1:

Cnickgo - in your dreams, buddy

wacho4 - thanks a ton for the information! I'll follow up with him to see what kind of price we're ultimately looking at (and when their manufacturing issues will likely be resolved).

Well, I'd put off buying longer brake lines due to concerns about DOT compliance and whether or not I really wanted to spend $100 on stainless lines for the front. Fortunately, I found the pre-98 Chevy K1500/K2500 hoses thanks to the following thread:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=70205&page=3

Details are as follow:

NAPA----------38620/38621
Bendix---------77760/77761
Carquest------SP8439/SP8440
Dorman--------H38620/H38621
EIS--------------SP8439/SP8440
Mighty----------77760/77761
Pep Boys-----BH8620T/BH38621T
Wagner--------BH116846/BH116847

After moving the brackets to the top ends of the hoses and drilling/tapping new mounting holes for them (and drilling out the brackets themselves to accommodate the stock mounting bolts/screws), I've got sufficiently long brake lines:





The lines I bought were from Pep Boys... Beware that you have to crank the hell out of the caliper banjo bolts to seal them up properly. Now that this is done, I can move on to finally doing a proper flex test...

This Friday the order is going in for a Tom Woods Super Duty SYE and XB-style drive shaft. Soon after, I'll be purchasing some other goodies (Detours Slimline w/ carrier to start)... Stay tuned.

anthrax323 said:

The lines I bought were from Pep Boys... Beware that you have to crank the hell out of the caliper banjo bolts to seal them up properly. Now that this is done, I can move on to finally doing a proper flex test...

Click to expand...

Did you use copper crush washers? You are supposed to have a copper crush washer between the end of the line and the caliper, and another one under the head of the banjo bolt. They make it so you don't have to crank the hell out of the banjo bolts, at least not so much.

Also, keep an eye on those brake lines, if you don't twist/preload them correctly, they can end up rubbing on your sidewalls with the steering/suspension in certain positions. This can happen even with stock size lines. I caught one of mine on my MJ when it had already worn through the outer rubber, braided metal, AND part of the inner tube :shocked: inspect frequently, if they seem like they're rubbing on anything, unbolt the caliper and get them twisted/positioned differently and see if it helps.