Weld on the crossmember?

[jeeperjohn]

so you are saying that I can just turn the stud out of the hole....then put in the new bolt, easy as that? What the hell man, why does this have to be such a process? Is there a head or anything on the stud or should it just thread right through

In the unlikely event that the studs are not rusted into the nutplates they can be removed and bolts put into their place. Most people though find the studs rusted badly and the nutplates unusable.

 

[AZRockRunner]

PB Blaster is your friend. I just removed my studs and replaced with bolts.

On a side note, I have taken my cars to a great mechanic for years for things i either didnt want to do or didnt know how to do. I took my jeep in for a coil spring swap and to put in coil spacers. took them ALL DAY and when i got there at 4 to pick it up, the front axle was on the floor becouse he couldnt get it back in. So out came the grease suit and i helped him put it back together.

Moral of the story??? Mechanis are great for regular cars, but it takes a "SPECIAL" mechanic to work on custom rigs.....

 

[terryd]

Moral of the story??? Mechanis are great for regular cars, but it takes a "SPECIAL" mechanic to work on custom rigs.....

working in autoparts for the last four years had taught me an invaluable piece of info...... "Mechanic" is a lost art..... you dont have them anymore.... "Parts Replacer" is a more correct term for todays shop workers.... My dad was a "Mechanic" in the 70's and is maintenance for a large plastics production facility and has taught me the art of diagnosis and outside the box thinking for custom work... the guys in garages are just people who can turn a wrench... if it doesn't go on like it came off, they're lost, and half of the time lost if it does.... i've dealt with garages who can't change the oil with out screwing something up.... the best thing to do when lifting is just buckle down and learn something for yourself, instead of paying someone who doesn't have to drive your rig to do it for you....

 

[AZRockRunner]

I agree wholeheartetly. I have lifted my rig by myself and with some help from other jeep buddies. I let this shop do this for me becouse I was short on time and they owed me some labor for some work I did for them. I like to barter alot with people I trust.

What you said about "mechanic" being a lost art is soooo true. Sad, but true.

 

[xjbubba]

My '88 has nuts welded inside the frame, NOT nut-certs! I have nut-certs (Chrysler installed) for my factory transfer case skid plate. I would not trust them for something like the cross member.
Do not weld the cross member to the frame. Do it right the first time. Remove the studs, they just screw in.

 

[EMSJEEP]

Ok, I got it back today, it doesn't look like such a bad job. It looks like he welded the nuts to the studs and then to the crossmember surface, and then welded the brackets to the braces and the braces to the frame. The Jeep drives like crap though, to drive straight I have to steer left, it vibs bad from 0-40mph and the steering feels very loose, starting to think I shouldn't have taken on this project. Also it now rubs the LCAs after the alignment. I'm affraid to drive on the highway...It really feels like driving an Ambulance....

 

[TRAILREADYXJ]

So they went ahead and actually welded it??? I guess it's too late to go back now.

Is your steering pulling, or did they just not adjust the drag link so the wheel is straight? If the drag link isn't adjusted right, it can feel loose, and can cause the LCA rub (in one direction) if your steering stops are not adjusted right. Easy fix though, just do it yourself.

Your vibes are probably coming from bad DS angles. Did you do anything to re-adjust them after the SYE install? Your pinion should only be pointing about 2* lower than the DS.

 

[EMSJEEP]

So they went ahead and actually welded it??? I guess it's too late to go back now.

Is your steering pulling, or did they just not adjust the drag link so the wheel is straight? If the drag link isn't adjusted right, it can feel loose, and can cause the LCA rub (in one direction) if your steering stops are not adjusted right. Easy fix though, just do it yourself.

Your vibes are probably coming from bad DS angles. Did you do anything to re-adjust them after the SYE install? Your pinion should only be pointing about 2* lower than the DS.

No actually all he did was weld the nut to the stud and then the nut to the crossmember surface, but didn't actually weld the crossmember onto the frame...that might make it easier to get out the studs later on with the nut welded to them. It seems that the LCA only rubs on the pasenger side. I'll check out the pinion angle and see what it looks like. The only dry day I have had possesion of my vehicle I washed, waxed and changed the oil, which went very well actually and made me feel like I could actually do something right! Haha. it has 4* shims in (pointing the pinion up towards the t-case), the center pins gave me trouble but it worked out in the end, so hopefully I won't have to replace them. Also the upper shock bushings are shot, they just pretty much melted so I'm shopping for some poly bushings now. I have to take everything off to do the Vanco brake install whenever that kit gets here so adjusting that shouldn't be hard, but I'm bad at precise adjustments like that. So long as its not an alignment issue, all should be well for now.