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XJ Buildup III

LCA Frame mount trimmed, welded and primed. I left the inner brace intact and decided to just clamp the gap tight and weld the seam to retain the strength that it provides, some folks chop these off. You need to trim it tight or the weld will rub on the lower arm during articulation.


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Modified trackbar bracket with tabs for mounting brace/under engine crossmember (under construction)

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Kind of an odd angle......but I didn't get a good shot of my diff cover armor before I installed it.

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Here's the front axle installed. I swapped out the poly bushing on the axle end of the trackbar for a heim, as there seemed to be too much play in it. Solved the problem. Everything works well together.

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With 3 days left before Fall Fling, I started my front bumper. I planned on fabbing it to accept a winch that ideally would be recessed below the bumper and recessed into the front crossmember, which I will rework/strengthen. Time didn't allow for this, so I wound up with this.

Main tube is 1.75" DOM, hoop is 1.50" DOM and the side braces are 1" EW. I already had the 1.5 hoop from another bumper project and decided to use it, even though it was smaller than the main. Turned out OK.

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Lower braces installed

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I was on a dead run on this and didn't get as many shots as I wanted....I finished de-slagging the welds and quickly threw on 2 coats of Krylon on Thursday afternoon. I finished packing the Jeep while the paint dried and bolted in on before we hit the road to Moab so I never even took time to snap any installed shots, so this one will have to do.

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Since I didn't get my Viair compressor installed, my ARB's were open for this run. Hells Gate was unusually slippery from a morning storm and sand tracked up from below, so I wound up taking a tug after sliding off the wallI, which allowed me to test the bumper brace as a tow point......yah, I meant to do that :laugh3:

The rig worked well, but as with any newly built rig, needs some fine tuning. I still need to install bump inserts in the coils, add a center strap to tune the droop because with 12.5" travel shocks, there is articulation o' plenty. Gotta get the ARB's plumbed and then work on sliders and rear bumper armor.........you know, a rig is never really "done".

Stay tuned................
 
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Still surprised after all that great effort that you did not do OTK on the passenger knuckle to reduce your drag link angle. This would reduce steering strain and effort and also allow you to have raised the trackbar on the axle end to reduce body sway.
Also see you still have to make up your swaybar mounts as well. How are you going to go about that?
 
Gojeep said:
Still surprised after all that great effort that you did not do OTK on the passenger knuckle to reduce your drag link angle. This would reduce steering strain and effort and also allow you to have raised the trackbar on the axle end to reduce body sway.
Also see you still have to make up your swaybar mounts as well. How are you going to go about that?

Swaybar endlinks mounts are done, have to up load those shots still. As for the steering, the Currie setup has plenty of clearance on the pass side, but I would like to move it OTK. Problem with this is that Currie didn't engineer an adjustable TRE end on the knuckle end, so flipping their setup is out the question.......unless someone were to rework the end to support an adjustable, replaceable TRE. I might be that someone.........but I haven't ruled out WJ steering either.
 
Here you go Marcus........Swaybar link mounts

I'm going to add an antirock swaybar setup soon, so I slapped some cheapo fabbed links together.
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Front shock mounts.....with real hardware

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Here's a couple of closeups of the front bumper. I'll likely add some tow points and sell this, as I already have another design which accomodates a winch, floating round in my noggin.

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THis is by far my favorite rig. MAN makes me wish i had your pat.... see i cant even finish writing. I really like how you kept the stock flares.
 
Love the shock mounts!! That's exactly what I need!! Are those stock LCA mounts??? I see you've got the JKS skids welded on and you cut off the stock shock mount and it looks like you may have just gusseted the stock LCA mount to support it and then welded a standard shock mount to the LCA mount, am I following?? Oh, I will be copying that. 12" shocks are a little long up front, and I don't want to rely on my bumpstops to keep me from killing my blisteins!
 
XJEEPER said:
Made some progress last week on the beefed HP 30.

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Got the ball joints installed and was surprise how well my cheap HF press worked.

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SBS Plate welds smoothed, primed and finished.
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Closeup of the RE SuperRide bushings used in the TnT truss
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Trimmed stock shock mount, LCA gusset and new shock mount placement

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What did you do to weld the steele to the cast on the D30?
 
you mentioned selling that bumper... how much you thinkin for a price, i really like the design of it. its pretty much what ive been lookin for, and holy crap seeing what you've been able to fab up on your own def. gives me confidence that it will last
 
Guess it's been a while since I added anything here, so time to flash back and play catch up.

I selected a Viair 450C compressor which has a 100% duty cycle to power my ARB lockers, because I also wanted to be able to power air tools and inflate tires quickly. After some measuring and noise sampling, I decided that I would rather have my compressor mounted underhood instead of in the cargo area, as some have successfully done. The only place that didn't require the relocation of factory parts was next to the brake master cylinder, however, this did require removal of the factory air box. I fabbed up a simple airtube and installed an AEM Dryflow filter to solve this problem.

To mount my compressor, I fabbed up this funky little bracket.

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Compressor with manifold for air lines, check valve, gauge, Viair 85psi to 105psi relay/pressure switch and female quick connect fitting. Air tube is a section of exhaust tubing that my buddy flared for me to match the intake tube.

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I ran a length of 1/4 reinforced rubber airline from the manifold to the rear of my Jeep, following the path of the factory fuel lines. I decided to mount my 2 gal Viair tank in the area where the factory spare used to live. Here is the mocked-up bracket that I fabbed by welding a piece of 3/16" T x 2" W strap to the factory spare "cradle".

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I ported the floor below the tank and installed these fitting for a waterproof bulkhead.

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Remove the plastic trim in the spare tire area and mark the hole for drilling with a multi-bit.

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Bulkhead fitting installed with poly sealer, let cure overnight.

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Completed fitting for airtank supply line from compressor

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I decided to run manual air valves to contol my ARB's to eliminate the dependency of electric/pneumatic switches. I've seen too many instances where a failed solenoid renders an ARB worthless on the trail, and I wanted to keep it simple. I also decided to run DOT poly 1/4" OD tubing which is stronger and more durable than the ARB 5mm blue tubing, plus available about anywhere if a repair is needed. I also carry some spare tube and push-lock quick connectors. If you route the tubing properly and protect it against chaffing, trail repairs should be rare.

Here's a shot of the ARB tubing setup (top) to connect to the diff fittings, compared to the setup (bottom) using 1/4" poly tube. (the ferrel and collar were discarded ) I used a 90* push-lock fitting at the diff to minimize the potential for binding. Push-lock couplers make for easy install and easy repair, if needed. All fittings were purchased from EVCO in SLC, UT.

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Fuzzy rear diff shot showing how the fittings connect

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As a review of how I plumbed the D30 ARB, drilling and tapping the stock diff vent hole to accept a 1/4" pipe x 2.5" nipple and T fitting. This allows the small copper ARB seal housing tube to be routed out of the diff and through the 1/4" nipple, and the axle to vent out the top of the T.

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Front diff with air tubing installed

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With the air tank and axles plumbed, I moved inside to install the switches. I used the factory wiring harness grommet located below the brake booster to double as a grommet for routing the 1/4" tubing and relay trigger wire for the compressor switch.

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To control the lockers, I selected these Clippard 2 position poppet valves PN-MJTV-3 with 1/8" NPT fittings, which accept 1/4" OD tubing. I sourced these from Raumland Systems USA in Midvale, UT. www.raumland.com and they cost about $15.00 each.

These valves have IN, OUT and EXHAUST (vent) ports so they effectively function exactly like the ARB electric/pneumatic solenoids and electric switches do, but eliminate the multiple potential points of failure. Shown here with 90* swivel push-locks and a straight push-lock on the rear.

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I decided that I wanted my ARB switches (technically valves) out of the way but easily accessable, so the area on the console, just in front of the 4WD shifter was selected. I can easily access them when in 4WD and 2WD and they are out of the way. I removed the console and drilled 2 holes to mount the switches side by side.

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Rear view of the mounted switches, with push-lock fittings installed.

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I wanted to be able to lock either locker up independantly, so I plumbed the switches accordingly. To reduce the amount of tubing I needed to route through the firewall, I used a couple of Y push-lock fittings to share the air supply IN and VENT lines. The vent fitting was installed under the hood.

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I used these rocker switch covers to minimize the potential of accidental switch actuation.........(say that 3 times, fast).

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Left engages Front, Right engages Rear. They've since been labeled.

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To actuate the compressor relay, I use this low voltage switch from PepBoys. With the 2 Gal tank, I can lock and unlock both lockers more times than I can recall, without the compressor kicking on.

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