Truss and rear shock cage! ZJ

[Ryan93]

go to a semi truck parts store and buy a rubber shifter boot. self tap it over the hole and run the shock through it. thats what im gunna do to keep the dust and mud out.

yeah thats what i was thinking of doing, lemme know how it works out

 

[Cache96]

Well this past weekend i went out on a trip to golfo de santa clara mx and the jeep did great, nice and smooth. broke the rear driver side glass, im thinking because of the removed rear hatch.. what do you guys recommend to replace it? i was thinking eighter plexiglass or sheet metal.

 

[grandrunner]

ooooo. yeah, ur unibody flexed. lol you cant run it without a hatch untill you cage it completely.

 

[Cache96]

hahaha yea thats what i figured... might have to do the cage quicker than i thought..lol.. atleast some crossbars or something to stiffen it until i do.

 

[tharlanjr]

Damn, that thing is Badass!

You running IRO long arms?

Front and Rear?

 

[GrimmJeeper]

ooooo. yeah, ur unibody flexed. lol you cant run it without a hatch untill you cage it completely.

the hatch is not part of the unibody, it doesn't add any rigidity to it. It just hangs off hinges and latches onto a pin on the bottom, what part of that would add stiffness to the rest of the body?

You could be having the same problem I did man, I think the hoop pulls up on the floor and distorts the body... the rear floor area is apparently designed to have some give in it so it acts as a crumple zone in a crash... I think I'm going to be re-thinking the mounts if I throw a new hoop in the shell that I swap my drivetrain into in a month or so. might just say to hell with the hoop and wait till I can get started on a cage.

:dunno:

 

[Cache96]

Damn, that thing is Badass!

You running IRO long arms?

Front and Rear?

just the front for now, im going with a custom 4 link in the rear or claytons.


That is true Grimm, the hatch only attaches with 6 bolts and latches on at the bottom. The back looks the same to me the doors shut and open fine still, i mean its the first time i take it out since the shock hoops so i'll give it a couple more runs and see how it does. i dont mind making the full cage a little quicker than what i had planned. The 4 link will have to wait though .. hahahah

 

[grandrunner]

the hatch is not part of the unibody, it doesn't add any rigidity to it. It just hangs off hinges and latches onto a pin on the bottom, what part of that would add stiffness to the rest of the body?

:dunno:

yeah thats what some tell me, but ive talked to enough people even without a bedcage that bend the rear not having a cage and pulled the hatch off..

dude lets geet a full shot of that glass painted. havent seen it yet, and what about head on.

 

[sjstar]

what about plating the unibody underneath, have you done that at all?

 

[GrimmJeeper]

yeah thats what some tell me, but ive talked to enough people even without a bedcage that bend the rear not having a cage and pulled the hatch off..

dude lets geet a full shot of that glass painted. havent seen it yet, and what about head on.

I've beaten my XJ within an inch of its life, and up until the last trip out it had a hatch on it the entire time, I've also seen the same damage mine shows on XJs with a shock hoop and no hatch. I'm not saying I know for certain, I'm just saying there is no way something attached by hinges at the top and loosely clamped onto a pin at the bottom is adding structural integrity to the unibody under this type of stress. Push on your hatch while it is closed, does it move in and out a bit? mine did. if it does I can not see how it would be a rigid part of the structure. This is all just my oppinion though I don't have any type of data to back this up, take it how you will.

 

[xcm]

i replaced my driverside rear quarterglass with a peice of alocobond. its basically 2 layers of thin aluminum, sandwiching plastic. its used in modern building construction. its a green technology thing, high tech. i had a peice of it leftover from a job, and a full sheet is like $3k, so i did what anyone would do, use it! it even matches my paint (white). its a little trade pride, what can i say?

 

[Cache96]

what about plating the unibody underneath, have you done that at all?

Nah havent done nothing to that yet, i will be making my own uni-body stiffies in the next coming weeks.

 

[Cache96]

Havent really been doing much to the jeep since the rear.. but now it starts again... haha.. just got my Johnny joints in to start my custom triangulated 4 link in the rear. Im still debating if i should go with trailing arms and change up my rear shock location. heres a drawing of the arms for comparison.
The shock and coilover will come off the trailing arm going through the floor in the rear and attached to the shock tower.

Here is a cell pic of the Joints..waiting on the bushings now.. so if everything goes good we will be busy this weekend .... I will also be making some Uni-body stiffeners and hopefully my rear bumper..hahah

These Johnny Joints are HUGE!!!!

Next i will be ordering 14" travel 2.5 King coilovers to put in place of the front spring..

 

[grandrunner]

oh man those look awesome! i wanna see when ur done, maybe we can do my zj next hahaha

 

[Bro-Quo]

DUDE! that is out-friggin'-standing. jealousy in my veins.

 

[Cache96]

Ok, need some opinions how this look? Do the lower arm need to be moved? I'll have the side view soon.

 

[XJRunner]

I'd cage the damn thing first hell after rolling 5 times last thursday i wanna cage the little Paseo I drive everyday now

 

[Cache96]

My friend made some progress on the 4 link... now he just needs the top,finish welding some pieces and to powder coat the arms. I will not be going with coilovers up front like i had planned, i spoke with sonny @ http://downsouthmotorsports.com/ and we decided on a King 2.5 16" triple bypass, got an awesome deal from him. If you need some shocks make sure to give him a call and tell him cache sent you.


Sorry for the crappy cell pics!

By cache96 at 2010-08-03

By cache96 at 2010-08-03

By cache96 at 2010-08-03

By cache96 at 2010-08-03

By cache96 at 2010-08-03

 

[I Beamed Jeep]

Very clean work. I like the design!!!

 

[crazyjim]

A 16" in the front?