Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

Alex01 Silver Sport Build Thread

We went on a small loop of prosser ohv this weekend. The road, at the Hirschdale exit off 80, is unmaintained durning winter. We drove up to stampeed reservoir then came back down through prosser.

At most there was 1ft of snow on the road so it wasn't anything crazy but it was fun to get the TJ/kids out.

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That first picture made me feel uncomfortable... the snow hides the unevenness of the ground. It looked like one of my favorite Jeeps on here was all bent up.
 
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That first picture made me feel uncomfortable... the snow hides the unevenness of the ground. It looked like one of my favorite Jeeps on here was all bent up.

That photo was taken off the main road in the ditch. We caught up to a new bronco at that time so I figured I'd take a flex shot while we let them get a bit of distance on us.
 
Having no issues and wheeling hard trails was fun while it lasted. I started hearing a noise when I was wheeling with @Woodrow at Fordyce then it continued at Rubicon.

I was finally getting around to installing the ultra high UCF skid and found what the noise was.
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Also took out one of the 4 trans mounts.
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New crossmember is on order. After talking with @Lonewolf it seems like the atlas rear brace may be a good idea as well.

At least it made it through summer without blowing any u joints or breaking down.
 
Looks like the trans mount is too stiff to allow the motor mounts to handle the rotation. What about putting larger bushings at the frame ends of the crossmember?

I wonder if people ever make removable crossmembers that are rigid at the frame and utilize a factory style rubber mount at the transmission. That was my tentative plan. It seems like it may solve that issue if the bushings are his problem.
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It probably would hang too low for those with fully flat bellies, but if I remember correctly Alex has a somewhat dropped skid?
 
I wonder if people ever make removable crossmembers that are rigid at the frame and utilize a factory style rubber mount at the transmission. That was my tentative plan. It seems like it may solve that issue if the bushings are his problem.
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It probably would hang too low for those with fully flat bellies, but if I remember correctly Alex has a somewhat dropped skid?

I was thinking the same thing. I guess the nice thing about a rear tcase mount is it wouldn't transfer that force to the block and brackets, potentially breaking them with that 5:1 torque?
 
Having no issues and wheeling hard trails was fun while it lasted. I started hearing a noise when I was wheeling with @Woodrow at Fordyce then it continued at Rubicon.

I was finally getting around to installing the ultra high UCF skid and found what the noise was.
View attachment 564064View attachment 564065

Also took out one of the 4 trans mounts.
View attachment 564066View attachment 564067

New crossmember is on order. After talking with @Lonewolf it seems like the atlas rear brace may be a good idea as well.

At least it made it through summer without blowing any u joints or breaking down.
Bummer about the trans case, I assume the Genright crossmember broke first, then the trans tab. What's your plan for the transmission?
I wonder if people ever make removable crossmembers that are rigid at the frame and utilize a factory style rubber mount at the transmission. That was my tentative plan. It seems like it may solve that issue if the bushings are his problem.
View attachment 564068

View attachment 564069
It probably would hang too low for those with fully flat bellies, but if I remember correctly Alex has a somewhat dropped skid?
That was my initial plan when I put my Atlas in last winter, but as you speculated, I didn't have room with the 1" drop UCF skid I'm using.
Atlas to skid gap.jpeg

Here's an example of why I like that much tuck (w/ @Apparition heckling me):
I was thinking the same thing. I guess the nice thing about a rear tcase mount is it wouldn't transfer that force to the block and brackets, potentially breaking them with that 5:1 torque?
I talked to a guy (Keith) at Genright who recommended the additional support for the Atlas. Maybe now I'll need to reconsider...
 
I talked to a guy (Keith) at Genright who recommended the additional support for the Atlas. Maybe now I'll need to reconsider...
I've chatted with lots of folks at AA about this and they relate various things to watch out for but mostly centered around ensuring that the relative flexibility between the trans crossmember and the Atlas rear support remain very close to the same. If not, it is pretty easy to break off the back of the trans where the Atlas bolts up. Given that I'm typically not that smart, I've never done one.
 
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I've chatted with lots of folks at AA about this and they relate various things to watch out for but mostly centered around ensuring that the relative flexibility between the trans crossmember and the Atlas rear support remain very close to the same. If not, it is pretty easy to break off the back of the trans where the Atlas bolts up. Given that I'm typically not that smart, I've never done one.

That does seem like a hard thing to measure.
 
I wonder if people ever make removable crossmembers that are rigid at the frame and utilize a factory style rubber mount at the transmission. That was my tentative plan. It seems like it may solve that issue if the bushings are his problem.
View attachment 564068

View attachment 564069
It probably would hang too low for those with fully flat bellies, but if I remember correctly Alex has a somewhat dropped skid?
Given a choice, that is the only way I do them.
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How far does that crossmember hang below the lowest point of the Atlas?
Not sure. My skids are made for me with a 1" drop x 13" wide in the center to match up to engine skids under trans oil pans. From the sides of that 13" section, they go up to the frame and then return to flat at the narrowest part of the frame so the bend winds up just inboard of the frame at the front and a bit more at the rear of skid. The line below is defined by a section of skid we've cut off that we use to see how much more clearancing we have to do so it gives you a rough idea of the hangy downy bits.

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Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts