No vibe UCF LoPro mount

Rickyd said:

After looking at more pictures of the mount i see exactly what you mean by that neck down not being a stress point @AndyG. Thanks again for the nvh fix!

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Hopefully after service tonight I’m going to do some final tweaks-

Basically what could happen is if the mount were pressed together very hard it’s going to compress the rubber and theoretically go metal to metal and be OK-


But now that I’ve said that if you think about a transmission bouncing and if that area is cut too thin- I think you have a good point. Especially knowing that rubber is pretty stiff.

Also I’m gonna take a minute to say something on this forum that I think needs to be said-

It’s OK to be wrong.

It’s OK to have an opinion.

It’s OK to play devils advocate or even talk hypothetically.

It’s OK to point out something that might be a concern.

Regardless of how much any of us know -
we don’t know everything.

We all share a like passion and we are entering a later stage of the life span of these vehicles and we need to all keep an open dialogue about everything- A respect for the other guys ideas- A willingness to share and not be afraid to get shut down.

I was thinking just a few days ago how we are mostly just guys that are being our own automotive engineer- Really something that few of us are truly qualified to do- But I think if we all use this forum to work together we can keep these things going, we can solve problems and we can win.

As patriotic music plays in the background of this thread, I think it’s time for a group hug.

Shes done - real smooth but 2 new developements-


The front skid contacts the down pipe


And is within 1/32” of the trans pad-


I’ll drop the skid and get these to clear-

@Mikee024 ask me to bump him-

Will update as I fine tune it -

freedom_in_4low said:

Motor mount lift? Or do you have something in mind, like lengthening the struts?

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This set up is a 1.5” belly lift, not a full tuck, so the stock motor mounts can used- the height gain is all from the mount and the skid design.

The concept is a semi -tuck.

I’m building a strip mall crawler. Not radical enough for the big malls. Nail salons, barber shops, and cell phone stores are the likely targets.

In all seriousness, this TJ build is a sleeper- The goal is to be a really capable rubi on 32” tires and 2.5” of lift.

I do have a mml kit ( actually 2 - one solid and one rubber) that would fix the exhaust issue and i think allow me to use the lower front skid holes for more height- so I need to look a little farther down the rabbit hole I reckon.

Thanks for mentioning that- kind of opened my eyes-

I considered a lot of paths and sort of had tunnel vision lately.

Final report- this is a deusy- all was working but still had the exhaust contact issue up front-

So I decide to go deep, and I remove the front skid, clearanced that area and check the 4 bolts that connect the skid to the mount- they were still too long at a 1/4” shorter than shipped- under torque they can contact the edges of the oversized holes designed to clear them.


So I add some washers and loctite-



At this point I’m confident everything clears- the 15mm primary nuts clear because of these-




So I get it bolted up and start testing the jeep in my yard- drive through the ditch to flex it and go back to the shop- I hear a weird noise and it comes and goes - then I hear a pop and it sounds bad and vibrates really bad- and worsens when I turn the wheel to the left.

I’m sick. I mean all this and it’s beyond worse-

So I piddle with the locker pump bracket and my son Egghead Jr. gets home- I get him behind the wheel and get the noise going-Keep in mind this tuck does not involve the exhaust- and of all things-



The exhaust hanger bracket on the frame in front of the coil spring upper bucket was loose, and allowed the rubber hanger to “flip” as I drove through the ditch- and positioned the exhaust against the frame.

Freaky coincidence.

Final Verdict- The UCF LoPro mount is a strong, serviceable mount that will not buzz if you watch your clearances. Left to chance and it is likely going to buzz. The higher skid and light weight of it all is a win-win.

KingCarGuyZ said:

Had to fix this on my UCF steel. wound up swapping the tab on one side of the frame mount so they are both "forward". then grinding a steeper "U" where the pipe is and affixing some 3/16" tabs to the back (these were really more to mount to the stock skid plate, but they are costing me 3/16" clearance. hopefully that helps I can dig around through my photos or crawl under the jeep if you need some pictures.

waiting to see how this all works for you before I order parts to do something very similar.

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Thanks for the post- it worked out good- I’d really like to see a tighter fit at the hinge bushing- the lateral/shear movement of the hinge design really creates a problem with all 8 mount bolts- the 15mm and the 5/16-28.

If you look at how much play the skid has at the frame with the 6 elongated holes, you can twist the mount enough it contacts the bolts all the time. It would be nice to find the transmission mounts’ neutral point as you bolt it all up- Matt likely knows a trick to that.

The mounts’ overall design is so innovative Matt really deserves recognition for it.

Love to see pics you have.

freedom_in_4low said:

Very nice. Thank you for going to all this effort and sharing your findings! It's good to know there's options out there. I don't know how it would be received but it would be awesome to see this sent to UCF and implemented as improvements to the next design revision.

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Thanks-

It was linked to Matt a few minutes ago-

Short term- if he added more clearance around the 15 mm nuts, sent 5/8” length 5/16-28 mount studs and reduced the lateral movement (which may not matter so much if the other is done) and relieved the skid some, it would dramatically reduce vibe transfer issues.

If he could ever develop a hydraulic bushing it might be a break through-or can play off of muffler hanger designs and eliminate the through bolt-

Maybe a 2 piece lower 1/2 that hooks its rounded ends into the rubber bushing and get held in place simply by the same way it mounts to the skid would eliminate any metal to metal transfer the bolt allows. I have another concept I will flesh out also.

KingCarGuyZ said:

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Someone let me loose with the welder, added the tabs to to get the necessary length to mount where I wanted on the stock Skid plate, then I swapped one of the engine brackets so that both are facing toward the front of the Jeep. Had to grind out around the exhaust so get the necessary clearance for the engine rotation under load. - skid has saved my tail on more than 1 occasion.

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Good job- that is the work that gets you home.

gasiorv said:

The rubber bushing in your LoPro, is it a tight fit or is it a loose fit. Same question for metal sleeve? I am not chasing vibes, but I am chasing a clunking in my tunnel area and I found my bushings and sleeve to be a "loose" fit. I may add a washer like you did to tighten up the lateral movement, but wondering if I need to buy a new set of bushings.

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Was loose - i added the washer to tighten it up.

I think the bolt needs to be a little bigger in the sleeve too- ...could easily be hitting the 15 mm bolts.

There was no way to use the locker pump mount with the 241- I just didn’t have the real estate-

So in a moment of desperation or inspiration I cut a piece off the factory skid plate and made my own mount and used that to incorporate his bracket with the factory and I ended up getting the pumps a good 5-6” higher. May add a brush shield.

KingCarGuyZ said:

really curious to see if you wind up with vibes or not at the end of this. might warrant a video tour when you are satisfied with it.

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Its vibe free.

For some reason I can’t seem to get videos to load

KingCarGuyZ said:

youtube link maybe?

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Yes I’ll see if my son can help me do that-

At the same time I am going to say that it doesn’t feel stock- I don’t know how to describe that but it may be that you hear the transmission working more- its great, I’m happy and I can be pretty picky- I’m just trying to be very real with everybody. Maybe the difference between using a fiberglass and would handled hammer, for example- And I’m using that as a vague correlation- Basically I can just tell you it feels a little different and I really can’t say for sure why- But in reality it feels like it really is- more metal and less rubber.

And I am going to say I mean you just got to be super careful or it will buzz- The margin for error is pretty slim I think-

I just don’t want people to be totally afraid to buy this, It works so well with the skid.