Alex01 Silver Sport Build Thread

Man I had to run down to pleasant hill to pick up a low boy trailer today and I was totally thinking if you had your rig back on the road coming over the Benicia bridge
Im right off Pacheco (2 exits before the bridge) so you were only a few min from me.

I've had it back on the road for a bit now. The springs came in sunday so I got around to installing them yesterday / tonight. I drove it to work monday and noticed some wondering so I had to slightly adjust the trackbar. As of now its good to go. I just need to talk to @bobthetj03 and find a time that I can hassle him for his fab / welding skills.
Feels good to have the arb back in though. I finally feel like its fully back together after the fenders.
 
Get me a measurement. I need to know what inside diameter pipe to use, so I need the diameter of that washer plate that is attached to the top of the shock piston. The inside diameter of the extension pipe needs to be bigger than that washer. I'm guessing 2" inside diameter should work, but I want to be sure. We'll also need a hole saw to punch a bigger hole in the upper perch to allow that washer to poke thru.
 
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Get me a measurement. I need to know what inside diameter pipe to use, so I need the diameter of that washer plate that is attached to the top of the shock piston. The inside diameter of the extension pipe needs to be bigger than that washer. I'm guessing 2" inside diameter should work, but I want to be sure. We'll also need a hole saw to punch a bigger hole in the upper perch to allow that washer to poke thru.
With all the projects I have been doing lately my collection of hole saws is getting pretty impressive. According the the rancho website the shock body is 2.25" I'll take a measurement today and measure the actual washer then get back to you. I grabbed a photo from @jjvw 's build thread and looks like he had a similar idea.

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Do you think using boxed steel (I'm sure that is not the proper name) would be easier? To me at least it seems like it would require less welding but I have little knowledge in this area. The only advantage I can think of would be that you would be able to see how much travel the shock has left when fully bumped. I suppose this could be addressed with a small notch or window in the pipe though.
 
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My extension was a scrap piece of c-channel with the back side closed off. Use a hole saw through the old mount to make room for the shock. The new post hole is the same size as the indexing(?) on the bushing halves. If the MC inner fenders have a relief hole for the shock post, be sure to match up to that. If you are doing a good job of getting the Jeep twisted up, that post will push into the engine compartment.

Try to keep at least 4" of down travel from ride height. I consider what I did to be temporary. When I switch to better, longer shocks, I will be adding down travel, while maintaining as much of the 6.5" of up as I can. Things to keep in mind...
 
Actually, C channel would be easier than pipe, and give you the visual you want. I'll dig thru the scrap pile today and see what I can find. @jjvw , why did you close off the back side of the c channel? Added strength?
 
Actually, C channel would be easier than pipe, and give you the visual you want. I'll dig thru the scrap pile today and see what I can find. @jjvw , why did you close off the back side of the c channel? Added strength?
The thought was added strength, but I don't know how necessary it really is. Stock is also 3 sided. If I were to make up a reason, maybe the mount extension could collapse if the shock reached full extension at a high rate of speed. The hack job mount would survive, even if other things don't in the aftermath. :)
 
The thought was added strength, but I don't know how necessary it really is. Stock is also 3 sided. If I were to make up a reason, maybe the mount extension could collapse if the shock reached full extension at a high rate of speed. The hack job mount would survive, even if other things don't in the aftermath. :)

Nothing wrong with making something stronger than it needs to be.
 
Nothing wrong with making something stronger than it needs to be.
True.

Let me know how your weekends look during the next month or two and we can figure out a time. I could take a day off during the week also if its easier. I'm thinking I'll tow the jeep up to your neck of the woods for the install. I'm hoping to find a decent car hauler on craigslist soon so it would be a good test run. I figure with the cost or renting a trailer for Moab and other trips I have gone on further then the wife / kids can tolerate it will pay itself off one day.
 
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A trailer would come in handy for sure. And, if you upgrade to an RV one day, you can do what @lowranger does and tow your Jeep behind the coach.

I'll check my schedule for next month. Saturdays are usually best for me.
 
A trailer would come in handy for sure. And, if you upgrade to an RV one day, you can do what @lowranger does and tow your Jeep behind the coach.

I'll check my schedule for next month. Saturdays are usually best for me.
Sounds great.

My wife grew up camping and her dad spoiled them with a 20 something foot long toy hauler. Now she really wants a trailer one day since she is used to all the luxury that come with a trailer such as hot water, a sink, and a bathroom. I told her the only way I would be on board is if we get an RV and tow the jeep behind it.

That's later in life though, 5-10 years, because I refuse to pay storage for an RV and our current starter house doesn't have any room for parking.

I envision something like the size of yours.
 
Ours is a 25' with no slideouts, so it is cozy and easy to drive. Plan is to upgrade in a couple years with a little bit bigger one, maybe 27-28'er with slideouts. Gonna stay class C so the wife is comfortable driving it if need be.
 
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I took a look at my jeep today, and that piece of real estate on the upper perch. With my stock fenders there isn't a whole lot of room up there. I found some scrap pieces of 2.5" steel pipe that might do the job. Just need to cap them with some flat stock. I hope your Cloak inners provide more room.
 
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I took a look at my jeep today, and that piece of real estate on the upper perch. With my stock fenders there isn't a whole lot of room up there. I found some scrap pieces of 2.5" steel pipe that might do the job. Just need to cap them with some flat stock. I hope your Cloak inners provide more room.
I'll take the measurement once I get home around 4-430. From my quick googling I found a beer can is conveniently 2.6" wide in the middle. I'll force myself to drink one so I can cut it down to 1.75-2 inches and mock it up in order to get an idea for the room. I want to say I have a decent amount more room then stock above the mount but I guess we will find out.
 
Unfortunately I was out of canned beer so a fizzy water had to do. The washer part is around 1.65" so an inner diameter of 1.75" would work fine. I then cut the can to a hight of 1.75" and 1.5". It will clear with minimal trimming. I did notice that the body of the shock is closer to 2" wide. So taking into account that the body won't fit into the 1.75" pipe the useable amount of lift would be approximently 1.25" - 1.5". I got to this by combining the height of the rubber bushing at .75" and the top of the shock where the bushing goes at .5". I added the extra .25" in the approximate height since the shock body gradually gets to its thickest point.
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I guess you'll need to bump stop so the shock body doesn't slam into the underside of the upper perch. Will this actually give you any gains?
 
I guess you'll need to bump stop so the shock body doesn't slam into the underside of the upper perch. Will this actually give you any gains?
Currently with the shocks I have I need to run 3 inches of bump in order for the shocks not to bottom out on full flex.

I was just looking back at all the data I recorded in the other thread the over the last few weeks and it looks like when I was test fitting the ranchos designed for a 2.5 inch lift I needed 1.5 inches of bump. (the exact number I am looking for) The difference in length of the 2.5 and 3.5 inch rancho shocks is exactly. 1.26"