The Bronzewyrm Evolution

[Bronzewyrm]

I got it all bolted up and opened the hatch. BOOM, Arrg:rattle:





I Took the measurement, popped the side rails off the rack and cut them down accordingly. To this day(current) I still have yet to recap the tubes... maby someday.

I scrubbed the 3 years of jeepN out of the headliner b4 I put it back it. Spot shot it the best cleaner for interior cleaning.



I finally got my hands on Torx's Package :firedevil


Sadly, there was no Theon in the box


Ill take what I can get. thanks again dustin :thumbup:

 

[Bronzewyrm]

As you can see my trans mount was TOAST.


Now that the front fenders were armored, and had lost there Flare's the back flares were gone too. but I couldn't live with the look of the flare less wheel arch. I took care of it as most of us xj owners do. chop, whack, pound.




This was my choice to finish everything off with.








Tessa even gave her approval when it was done that don't happen to often when there's fresh jeep metal laying on the ground.

 

[Bronzewyrm]

And after a month or so in PAKED. Vwalah, out she comes, looking purdy much the same :anon:



After driving all of 2 blocks I realized I had made a mistake. You see Murphy and his laws I got on lock down, its that damn Newton that gets me every time.

My rear shocks were trying to shove themselves through the rear floor. and my kidneys nor jeep was happy about it. because I move the lower mount up on the axle, I lost up travel... now what?!?!? I knew I wasn't cutting the floor and doing shock hoops at this point. so I did some digging. found several different kinds of shock re-locators for the back. I set out to build me up something.

At the recent build party several people had noticed my Supper Sexy Factory trans cross member laying on the ground at the house, and could not hold back comments. This is for all of you who thought about how to use it. I GOT IT!

I was betting on the real uniframe being the same width as the mid section of the jeep. I was right! I flipped it upside down and it seemed to "want" to be there, fit good, and needed just a couple things to bolt up.



I went through Several versions before I got this thing to work right, allow the shocks to work right, give me my up and down travel back, clear everything, and hold up to the test of time on and off road. It Sucked....

V1.0




V2.0



V3.0 and 3.0.1 were like this, and then boxing this end in. also I had to build a small gusset for the back side.



Damn, Finally. in the hole just where I want it, and functioning like I want it to.

 

[bmikes]

Looks like you caught up on a lot of work man. It all looks stellar as usual!! I like the relocated shock mounts the most, seeing as that's what troubles me the most... those damn root grabbers that hang off the axle.


I guess it's time I revive my thread..

 

[paddlernate]

Where does one get that "Dynatron" seam sealer locally?

 

[Bronzewyrm]

Where does one get that "Dynatron" seam sealer locally?

I know NAPA will have it. possibly autozone. any of the auto parts stores that have Professional paint supplies will have it for sure.

Brandon, the shocks have been a PIMA for 6months now. Im hoping its all dialed in...


Bronze.

 

[TORX]

Did you notice any difference in handling after you inboarded the shocks?

Shocks begin to lose their dampening ability with the more angle you give them. I would imagine this would create a softer ride, and make your leafs work more. The other thing to consider is body roll. I've heard the rule of thumb is to mount them as far out as possible (on both ends) to reduce body roll.

Curious what your initial impressions were after, and if you plan on staying with the setup. :thumbup: for ingenuity!

You forgot the part on the loud ass muffler mod too.

 

[Bronzewyrm]

yeah I got about 60 pics left. rear swing out stuff, and the 5.2 mod... I didn't think the shocks were doing all that well at first. once I got everything boxed in and secured right. it seems to be plenty stable. my major problem was with the rebound. they seemed to have plenty for compression it was a bit springy at first on the rebound. now that its all boxed in and welded on to the frame It feels really good. For now, its staying the way it is. If anything ill upgrade to a gas charged in the rear to help compensate. Im finally feeling like I got my jeep right where I want it. ill be tackeling the heater core here as soon as the MJ is trail ready.

Bronze.

Edit: IMO the Dakota leafs are helping a bunch for stability. its night and day compared to the aal and shocks in the factory location.

 

[Bronzewyrm]

I have to back up here, yet again. Before it cam out. and while the steering was off. I decided to replace the Balljoints. This axle was from my 92 Cherokee, and I had no idea what kind of condition they were in. while diagnosing the steering, I found some play in a lower balljoint. I chose Spicer. While the knuckles were off, I found a tapered adapter that had popped loose.


My factory steering box had given up the gusto, I replaced it with a ZJ unit. swapped the pitman arm, and added a F250 trans cooler into the system as a P/S cooler.



I like the zj unit, its much faster on the trails when bobbing and weaving through trees. its weaker tough, At times I've had it struggle to turn the tires at a stop on trail. and its a little to fast for the Highway/DD'n I do with it. I think ill be swapping out the ZJ box for a YJ (fixed ratio) box in the future.

 

[NW99XJ]

I like the zj unit, its much faster on the trails when bobbing and weaving through trees. its weaker tough, At times I've had it struggle to turn the tires at a stop on trail. and its a little to fast for the Highway/DD'n I do with it. I think ill be swapping out the ZJ box for a YJ (fixed ratio) box in the future.

Any reasons why a Durango box isn't on your radar?
(just curious)

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

Odd, I found the ZJ box to be stronger.. I wonder if there are different boxes in the XJs and ZJ's throughout the years?

 

[Bronzewyrm]

Well, ease of access and based on the info I recived. I ran with a zj box to see what I came up with.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1112746

More specifically,

I swapped in a Durango box in the last ZJ and the ONLY thing I noticed was loosing steering radius

Swapped back to another ZJ box and gained my radius back


Edit: I thought about the YJ box but was told by multiple sources I would hate the gearing

The key is to build/buy a good steering box brace

id like to run it a time ot two more on trail before I make my final choice tough. I haven't got to use it much offroad.

Bronze.

 

[Bronzewyrm]

Odd, I found the ZJ box to be stronger.. I wonder if there are different boxes in the XJs and ZJ's throughout the years?

you know im not sure. Ill say this. when I parted out spikey puck's green 2dr. I threw the steering gear from that rig in my XJ (briefly) and it felt WAY different. I took it out due to a bind inside the gearbox. but you might be on to something Scott. I think that one was a 84/5 2.5 2dr.

:roll:
Bronze.

 

[Bronzewyrm]

WOW, its been a bit on this thread. let see how much I forget to update as I try to make it current... Oh how my spelling blew at the beginning of this thread. I have been working on that for years now. stupid English.

Umm, I built a rear tire carrier! I hated all of the carriers that are huge, with one pivot point to hold all the weight. They are either in the back window, or hanging down begging to be nailed Via drop off ledges. I need the interior room for the kiddos and there junk, as well as hating spares on the roof. I set out to see if I could find some middle ground.






This was intended as a Bi-Fold rear carrier. Its tight, I had to remove the license plate light housing, and relocate the plate to make it all work. even so, I put foam strips on the back of it to prevent rubbing the paint off the hatch. I will eventually build another side to match. it will hold the toolboxes, and/or coolers. bonus to this setup is with the sleeper in tow, hitched up, weight distribution hitch on. I can open the rear W/O unhitching. I use the factory spare location inside for carrying the spare "family sleeper" tire...

Bronze.

 

[paddlernate]

If nothing else, this is unique. A lot of work there. The only suggestion I have is to do something different with the pin connection. I ended up just putting a bolt through mine because it rattled so much with just the pin. Yes, it's a minor PITA to have to loosen the bolt every time, but silence is golden.

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

That's pretty damn cool actually. Lots of clearance, lots of window left.. I dig it!

 

[Bronzewyrm]

If nothing else, this is unique. A lot of work there. The only suggestion I have is to do something different with the pin connection. I ended up just putting a bolt through mine because it rattled so much with just the pin. Yes, it's a minor PITA to have to loosen the bolt every time, but silence is golden.

with as tight as it is to the hatch it actually is silent. having the top mounting point made it solid as hell. the 7/8" hole in the metal has worn out a smidge, but I figure with the other side ill be close to good for life. I know a dude, ive been talking to him about 7/8" weld washers. that would solve it for good. all and all ive had it on trail and dd'N for over a year now, and everything is tight as can be.

I'm real happy with it! plus it real easy to pull the bolts and run no spare. Why, I don't know. good to have options right? xj's are like legos.

Bronze.

 

[Bronzewyrm]

So the loud ass muffler mod will have to wait, I need to snap a couple more pics of that stuff.

After getting the above work done, I parked the jeep in the driveway out front, slammed it in park, and took a deep breath and kind of relaxed a bit feeling like I was good. only to find steam rolling out of the pass side defroster vent...:flame:hasta

Looked like I was doing a heater core after all, Yeay me...




I was not paying the price or waiting the time for factory seals to be sent out.



what a chore


not having fun


But, it all went back together, all sealed up, no more water leeks or sweet ass antifreeze smell. I was happy-ish



all that for this...


Bronze.

 

[Bronzewyrm]

I Had a tire issue around the same time...



Then a wheel...


And why not unit bearings next...


Next trip out, the T-case went:loveu:

Bronze.

 

[Orygun]

Bummer on the heater core, starting to smell it and realllllly do not want to tear into it. Not fogging the window but I can still smell it. How long till spring?