Why I won't be doing any wheeling this year.

[EricsXJ]

I've got a lot more done to the jeep but obviously not as much as I'd hoped. Over the past few months some things didn't go quite as planned with the build and I had to change direction. I've got to get it done before wheeling season so I will have to buckle down and get to work. Anyway, gas tank is finished.

Axles got sold. Am I committed now?

So I started working on the rear JK axle and wasn't quite careful enough when trussing it and ended up warping one side. I got frustrated and decided to go with a different axle instead. I ended up with a Dana 60-ISU out of an E350 van. Its an awesome axle as far as Dana 60's go, and in some respects its close to a Dana 70 with 3.5" tubes and spindles ready to accept 35 spline shafts. Plus its a full-floater. I shortened one side to center the differential and added some steel and ended up with this:

 

[rockclimber]

how could you tell that you warped it?

 

[EricsXJ]

how could you tell that you warped it?

you could tell just by looking through the tubes

 

[MoparManiac]

I've got an E350 rear in mine.

Love it.

 

[Vanimal]

looks good man. as for the jk axle, it was likely bent beforehand. those things are noodles.
why no 14 bolt?

 

[knucklehead 61]

looks great eric!
you may want to add a tab on the truss that ties it into the diff cover or center of housing & another in the center between the upper link mounts for a limiting strap (or rear suck down winch) to anchor to. i forgot the anchor tab on mine so i have to weld it in place under the rig instead of the comforts on working on the table.

 

[Vanimal]

Eric, what's that gas tank and pump out of?

 

[EricsXJ]

I've got an E350 rear in mine.

Love it.

I saw that in searching the site for info. The bad thing about mine is it was out of an 89 so I have to source disc brakes for it which isn't as easy as other axles.

looks good man. as for the jk axle, it was likely bent beforehand. those things are noodles.
why no 14 bolt?

Unfortunately no. This axle was unused and straight. But in the long run, maybe its better this way since I'd much rather have a full-floater. As to why no 14-bolt? Well, mostly I didn't want to deal with the clearance issues since I will be running 37's for at least the first few years. Yes I know you can shave it - I've seen the knucklehead 61's axle and its baddass. Plus there is no doubting the strength of the 14-bolt gear set. But, this axle will suit me well and should be fine for when I step up to 40's eventually.

looks great eric!
you may want to add a tab on the truss that ties it into the diff cover or center of housing & another in the center between the upper link mounts for a limiting strap (or rear suck down winch) to anchor to. i forgot the anchor tab on mine so i have to weld it in place under the rig instead of the comforts on working on the table.

That's a good idea Tim.

Eric, what's that gas tank and pump out of?

Its stock (2000 XJ).

 

[Jk2xj1]

I love reading through this build. Lots of hard work, its gonna pay off too. This thing will be an even bigger beast. I am digging the metal work, wish I had those kind of skills. How much did you have to put into the new axles(s)? I am looking to go swap out axles in the next year or so, torn on wether to do the 44/9 swap..or just go to tons. Was tire size the only deciding factor (besides the JK warpage*) to swap into running the 60?

 

[EricsXJ]

I love reading through this build. Lots of hard work, its gonna pay off too. This thing will be an even bigger beast. I am digging the metal work, wish I had those kind of skills. How much did you have to put into the new axles(s)? I am looking to go swap out axles in the next year or so, torn on wether to do the 44/9 swap..or just go to tons. Was tire size the only deciding factor (besides the JK warpage*) to swap into running the 60?

A 44 front would not have been much of an upgrade over my built 30 and it will cost alot. Most guys who've built 44's wish they had went with a 60 instead due to the cost building the 44. So a 60 front is a no brainer. I got the JK rear for cheap and was going to make it work (switching to 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern) but I think if big tires (40"+) are in your future you should just go with tons front and rear. The 9-inch is a good axle though and I would consider it if I was going to stay on 37's forever, but we all know that's not going to happen.

 

[Jk2xj1]

Wise words. Mine (hopefully) will be a trailer queen of sorts within the next year. I'll probably upgrade to 37s and stay there for awile. Guess I need to start looking a little harder at other axle options. Gonna stay tuned to this build, its a nice one!

 

[Vanimal]

Unfortunately no. This axle was unused and straight. But in the long run, maybe its better this way since I'd much rather have a full-floater. As to why no 14-bolt? Well, mostly I didn't want to deal with the clearance issues since I will be running 37's for at least the first few years. Yes I know you can shave it - I've seen the knucklehead 61's axle and its baddass. Plus there is no doubting the strength of the 14-bolt gear set. But, this axle will suit me well and should be fine for when I step up to 40's eventually.

i had a late model e350 d60 with disks which is why i asked. i ended up machining flanges to weld on the 14b to run the d60 disks on it, and shaving the 14b. I have maybe $600-700 into it total, which was the main deciding factor with going with the ff 14b, being the poor cheap bastard i am. it has the same or more clearance than my dana 44 did.

A 44 front would not have been much of an upgrade over my built 30 and it will cost alot. Most guys who've built 44's wish they had went with a 60 instead due to the cost building the 44. So a 60 front is a no brainer. I got the JK rear for cheap and was going to make it work (switching to 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern) but I think if big tires (40"+) are in your future you should just go with tons front and rear. The 9-inch is a good axle though and I would consider it if I was going to stay on 37's forever, but we all know that's not going to happen.

having gone the hp 44 route, i agree, it was a waste of money. the 60 front is the way to go. i have zero regrets so far with the d60, 14b, and 37's, aside from not going with 40's

 

[EricsXJ]

Been so busy working on this thing I haven't been posting any updates. Here's a brief one.

Finding disc brakes for the Dana 60-ISU was a major headache and didn't turn out how I planned. I'll post this here so that if anyone else finds themselves with the same axle they will know what they are faced with. My axle is a 1989 and had drum brakes. 1995 - 2004? supposedly have the disc brakes and retain the 8 x 6.5" bolt pattern. I mistakenly thought that the axle flange that the backing plates bolt to would be the same on my older axle as the new ones. They aren't.

Here's the newer ones (guy said these were from an '01 or '02 I think):

Problem is the bolt pattern on the flange is a trapezoid pattern and my 1989 is a square/rectangular pattern like the usual Dana 60's and Dana 70's. So obviously these will not bolt up. Billy (JeepFreak21) used these but he had to make a spacer and then weld them on. I could have done that but this guy wanted $200 for these backing plates, calipers, and caliper brackets, which were all in bad shape. I said screw that.

I went back to the RuffStuff brackets and ordered the Dana 70 brackets, which is what Billy originally used (http://www.bsfab.net/?p=85). I also used the bolt-on brackets but cut the lower half off in order to raise them, roughly 1/4", to fit over the E-350 rotors. I should mention that I tried using 12.5" rotors with a deep hat but all the ones I found will not fit over the E-350 hubs. So... you have to use the E-350 rotors which are 12.83" diameter.

I used the '75 Chevy 3/4-ton calipers which is what RuffStuff suggested and what I found is the brackets have the right spacing when welded to the in-board face of the flange. Here's how mine turned out:

So finally the rear axle is all but done. Got the Yukon cut-to-fit 4340 chromoly shafts cut and installed. Finally a simple job that went as planned!

Also I am jumping around a bit because unfortunately that is how the build is going at this point due to having to wait on parts, etc. Here's the shock hoops for the front:

 

[srmitchell]

Looks great Eric. You have a lot of patience haha.

 

[EricsXJ]

So I haven't posted any updates for this in several months but there is good reason for that! The rig was finished around the end of July, just in time for Sierra Fest. I had to really buckle down to get it done because I also had a deadline to meet for my next book which will be coming out soon. So the last few months I was working on the jeep literally every day and pulling 18-hr days in the garage on my days off from my regular job. So now that I've had time between Sierra Fest and Moab in a couple weeks I've updated my website and can post some more pictures here.

Track bar:

For the track bar bracket on the frame I was going to use the Rubicon Express bracket that I already had (as seen in the photo posted previous to this). I changed my mind and went with the Ruff Stuff bracket instead. This bracket doesn't hang as low and it kicks out from the frame allowing for a longer track bar. But because I welded the front frame stiffeners around the RE bracket, I decided to leave the top portion, cut off the lower half and weld the Ruff Stuff bracket the top half of the RE bracket. I also added some 1/4" braces to the side for added support.

I'm also using Ruff Stuff brackets for the 3-link and axle-side track bar mount. I needed the track bar mount taller for better steering geometry so I increased its height roughly 1.5 inches.

The track bar is 1.5" x .250" DOM. The drag link and tie rod are 1.25" x .281" DOM and tapped for 3/4" rod ends. For the tie rod I went even stronger by sleeving that with 1.5" x .120" DOM, making the combined wall thickness .40" as shown here before welding.

Sorry for jumping around here.... the mechanical parking brake was replaced by an electric line lock from Biondo Racing.

Flex testing the rear 4-link, checking for exhaust clearance:

 

[EricsXJ]

It took quite a bit of work to box in the wheel-wells. Here's the passenger side:

Here's an interior shot of the sheet metal work complete.

Inside all the holes were patched. The mount will hold a 37" spare tire or it can be removed and the rear bench seat put back in.

Moving on to shocks.... I'm running Fox coilovers with remote reservoirs, 12" front, 14" rear.

The shocks come with a hard rubber bumpstop (5/8" tall) on the shaft. These are not ideal so I purchased Eibach micro cellular foam shaft bumps. These are much more forgiving and it is amazing how much they compress - almost down to the same height as the hard rubber stops.

Installing them requires removing the bottom eyelets. Separating the eyelet from the shaft is done by heating it up to soften the red locktite on the threads.

Here's one of the coilovers installed:

 

[EricsXJ]

With the rebuild complete, it was time for testing. I started with some short trips around the neighborhood and then one short run down a 2 mile stretch of highway close to home. Everything was good and only a few minor issues needed to be addressed such as tightening a few brake fittings. I was also surprised how well it went down the highway at 65 mph considering that there was no balancing done to the beadlock wheels. To be honest though, the jeep likes to drive at 50 mph much better than full highway speed. I attribute that to the heavy one-ton axles, heavy wheel and tire combo, and low 5.38:1 axle gearing. That's okay though because it wasn't built to be a highway cruiser and for longer trips it will get trailered.

Offroad performance was still yet to be seen however and that would be the real test. For its shakedown run I went to my favorite testing spot: Moon Rocks. Everything worked as designed and I was very pleased with how much more capable the rig was than before. I could climb up sections without engaging the ARB's that previously required both front and rear locked. It also felt very stable with the wider track and stretched wheelbase. The increased articulation of the rear 4-link was also very good. Bump stops and limit straps were all set properly. The Atlas is great and the lower gearing in low range and in the axles is a nice improvement. I know I haven't shown anything about the hydro-assist setup yet, but that was also a much needed and welcome improvement. Overall I could not have been more pleased!

The same day we hit another trail in the area which was a canyon and loose boulders. Again the rig performed great!

I also like the new tags I got for it:

 

[BrokeBrewKnow]

Nice work man really nice rig! I may be borrowing a couple ideas like the exo cage.

 

[XJEEPER]

NICE!
FYI- I need a few more trail leaders for the Moab 30th Anniv. event, folks would love to follow this rig on the slickrock!

 

[rockclimber]

Looks great. I am going to copy your rear fender setup/taillights.