Who still needs........

With NacFest a month away. who still needs to finish their rigs.
Ours still needs driveshafts rebuilt, door hinge braces welded in, and a going over.

Still need to install rear bumper, adjust the brakes, fix the front right caliper, oil change, rotation and probably a bunch of other stuff.

I NEEDS to put it on the trailer, oh and a second job for gas money…:looney::looney:

STROKER

xcalibur223 said:

Still need to install rear bumper, adjust the brakes, fix the front right caliper, oil change, rotation and probably a bunch of other stuff.

Click to expand...

Rear bumper installed
Oil and rotation done
Caliper fixed

Still need to adjust ebrake, install new front coils, figure out whats wrong with the radio, install tcase skid, than finally make sure its still capable of driving more than the 50 feet its moved in the past year. Probably have to align it at minimum.

Side note when using the oversized oil filter and installing from the bottom be careful not to arc it off the starter and blow a hole in the brand new filter :looser:

xcalibur223 said:

Side note when using the oversized oil filter and installing from the bottom be careful not to arc it off the starter and blow a hole in the brand new filter :looser:

Click to expand...

Been there done that, :banghead:

STROKER

Rear brakes done, still have to finish bleeding them and double-check the parking brake adjustment.

Also needs an oi.

Oh, for Pete's sake - my post didn't actually work yesterday, so have to try again...

I'm in a bit of a scramble now:

Got the rear brakes done a week ago, discovered that when my leaf spring ubolts loosened last year, the passenger side spring shifted and was now almost touching the tire - not good.

Got it to the mechanic to have that addressed, he found the rear (rear bumper end) hanger is done - nut end is all but disintegrated, which is how the spring managed to shift like that. Other one's apparently not too hot either, so I need new shackle boxes on both sides.

A bit of frenzied lunchtime internet scouring later, I'd talked to Andy at Ironman4x4 and placed an order for a set of their no-lift relocation boxes (a "proper" solution to my issue, and my preferred solution). Only thing is, he's out of stock, the next batch are due in 6/8 from the cutter. If I got my order submitted in time to claim a set from that batch, I should have them by the 11th, which gives me barely enough time to slap a coat of paint onto them and get them to the mechanic for installation.

Just in case, I'm on the hunt for a "plan B" (OEM-style replacements, since it seems like Ironman is the only aftermarket option presently). Thing is, while I've found a couple sources for the front hangers, that's not what I need and the rear ones are virtually unobtainium at the moment. I have a lead or two on eBay and an email into DeadJeep, and I tossed a post over in the classified section to see if anyone ever saves these things when scrapping a body if they're in good shape (a long shot, I'm sure).

The ideal scenario is that I also buy and get in the "plan B" parts and end up not needing them because "plan A" showed up in time, but this has me more than a bit nervous that I might end up not being able to pull off either and I end up driving out in the VW and bumming a spare seat for the weekend...]

Just taking a quick look, it seems that Froehlich makes a similar one that may be available quicker:

http://froehlichsuspension-com.3dcartstores.com/LOW-PROFILE-Shackle-Relocation-Cherokee-XJ_p_22.html

It's been a while since I've heard that name though and what I remember isn't exactly positive as far as delivery/communication/etc. I don't know if that's changed in recent years.

Might be worth reaching out anyway.

I also know Tim @ Liquid Iron used to make those, it's not a regular production item for him these days but he may have the CNC files available still to knock out a set.

Thanks, Chris - I'm looking at the instructions and will probably reach out to them tomorrow from home (it's an off Friday for me tomorrow) to find out about lead time.

I'm also going to have to check on one thing that concerns me about these - if I'm reading the install instructions right, the part of the original box that has the nut the shackle bolt screws into is kept and one of the mounting bolts for the kit (what they call the "inside M14 bolt" goes into that as part of the mounting.

Problem is, though, that in my case it's that entire part of the OEM box that's disintegrated - the metal the nut was welded to (and possibly some/all of the nut itself) is all but gone, with the nut end just flopping around. If my mechanic hadn't welded in a plate over the bolt head as a reinforcement to the passenger side box back when we installed these leaf packs 5-6 years ago, that bolt probably would have walked itself out by now. In contrast, the Ironman brackets use three smaller bolts through the rear crosspanel (next to the bumper mount bolts) to stabilize itself, and none of the original shackle box is needed/preserved.

I'll still call these guys tomorrow though, because I want to double check with them in case I'm misunderstanding the instructions (wouldn't be the first time).

xcalibur223 said:

Rear bumper installed
Oil and rotation done
Caliper fixed

Still need to adjust ebrake, install new front coils, figure out whats wrong with the radio, install tcase skid, than finally make sure its still capable of driving more than the 50 feet its moved in the past year. Probably have to align it at minimum.

Side note when using the oversized oil filter and installing from the bottom be careful not to arc it off the starter and blow a hole in the brand new filter :looser:

Click to expand...

Got the metalcloak coils on 1.5 weeks ago and they ride great and it seems to drive ok on the highway still. Gonna take a look at a few things this weekend and hopefully bring it back to my house. Still gonna have Hilary trail me in her car just in case :eyes:

Stinkyfab also makes these brackets and could beat the arrival time I'm sure...

Sent from my SM-A426U using Tapatalk

Thanks Slow, but StinkyFab's website says they closed for 30 days on May 19 so no help there unfortunately.

I did find and buy what appeared to be a set of OEM brackets on eBay, which were delivered today (will need to open box and verify correctness once I get from work tonight). I did try to confirm via the "contact" system that I read the ad right, but didn't hear back. Since the ads claimed only 3 of each on hand, figured it was safer to just buy and return later.

On the Ironman front, last I talked to Andy on Monday was that the timeline he originally gave me (him getting laser cuts Wed/Thurs this week, 1 day to weld/ship, 2 days transit to NJ) should still be in force. Will probably touch base with him this afternoon just to get an update in case they were focused on getting stuff out the door rather than sending update notifications.

Oh, and Chris - I did call Froehlich last Friday. Left a voice message with my question, but have not heard back (and at this point I don't really expect to)

Now I just need my mechanic to be able to free up a lift in time to do the install - I don't have a level-enough spot to work on the Ironman brackets in my driveway (or giving how it delayed my doing the rear brakes, possibly luck with the weather), and if I have to go with the OEMs I'd need him for the welding anyway.

Still at least a 50% chance I'll be looking for open seats this weekend, but won't know for certain probably until late Wednesday. Not my first choice for how I wanted things to go for this event, but riding passenger is better than not going at all...

Rob Mayercik said:

Thanks Slow, but StinkyFab's website says they closed for 30 days on May 19 so no help there unfortunately.

I did find and buy what appeared to be a set of OEM brackets on eBay, which were delivered today (will need to open box and verify correctness once I get from work tonight). I did try to confirm via the "contact" system that I read the ad right, but didn't hear back. Since the ads claimed only 3 of each on hand, figured it was safer to just buy and return later.

On the Ironman front, last I talked to Andy on Monday was that the timeline he originally gave me (him getting laser cuts Wed/Thurs this week, 1 day to weld/ship, 2 days transit to NJ) should still be in force. Will probably touch base with him this afternoon just to get an update in case they were focused on getting stuff out the door rather than sending update notifications.

Oh, and Chris - I did call Froehlich last Friday. Left a voice message with my question, but have not heard back (and at this point I don't really expect to)

Now I just need my mechanic to be able to free up a lift in time to do the install - I don't have a level-enough spot to work on the Ironman brackets in my driveway (or giving how it delayed my doing the rear brakes, possibly luck with the weather), and if I have to go with the OEMs I'd need him for the welding anyway.

Still at least a 50% chance I'll be looking for open seats this weekend, but won't know for certain probably until late Wednesday. Not my first choice for how I wanted things to go for this event, but riding passenger is better than not going at all...

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that, Rob, obviously we are all feeling some crunch this year one way or the other.
I won't be there until some time Friday, lots going on here. Its going to be show regardless.
Rich

Think I might be riding shotgun for this one as well...went to move the Dodge today and there was a small puddle under it, looks like the driver's side on the radiator is seeping through the crimp on the tank, but tough to tell exactly where and that wasn't even under pressure. Not particularly interested in blowing out a radiator on the side of the highway. I don't remember if that radiator is original or not but it's been years since I've done anything with the cooling system in general, so that'll probably turn into a 'while it's apart' deal and get a water pump, belt, idlers, etc.

Also trying to revive at least one of the batteries on the buggy, the AGM charger is not happy at the moment...looking back those have been on it since 2014 and not had the easiest life so I can't blame them for giving up after winter storage. However they're Odyssey PC1200 and the holders are built especially for that exact battery, the ones I used have the metal exterior jacket because they're in a spot where rocks and junk can get flung off the tire, and the jacketed ones are backordered. I can get a plain one from Autozone for $300 but really don't wanna do that and put a rock through it.

One of those deals where if it was just one thing of the above I'd probably be OK, but I'll only have Wednesday to work on stuff, and of course my other car is blown apart in the garage at the moment so it'd be outside in the driveway, etc. My consider borrowing a tow rig if I can get one of the batteries back to life, I have a few options there.

No worries. I'll be out Thursday one way or another, still will be nice gettin out in the woods whether it's riding along or just doing some exploring