Basket's Build

[jjvw]

Yes, it’s due to a different bend than stock. I know front bars won’t clear where the stock bars will. I’m a little unsure on the rears, but I believe it would be worth the research. I’d hate to install something to find out it has clearance issues.

Hockey pucks for front seem to be the norm, but I thought cup extensions we standard for rear. No reason I can think of that a puck won’t work there too.

Plastic body lift pucks cut to length work a little better than hockey pucks. 3" diameter for the front axle pad and 2" diameter for the rear cup.

On taller lifts where more extension is needed, it is best to split the difference between the cup and the pad so that the bumps line up better and to reduce leverage. Currie does it this way.

All of this is why cycling the axles without springs is so important.

 

[deadbeat son]

So is this clearance issue only resolvable with a relocation bracket? Or does it go away at higher lifts?

I never researched rear bars because I decided a relocation bracket was better for my needs from the outset. I don’t know which bar you’re considering, and I don’t know which rears work without interference.

I am just recommending doing your research before buying a bar and expecting it to just work without issue.

The reason it’s not an issue with bigger lifts is because bigger lifts use longer shocks, which, in turn, require additional bump stop. The additional bump may mitigate the interference.

 

[jjvw]

I never researched rear bars because I decided a relocation bracket was better for my needs from the outset. I don’t know which bar you’re considering, and I don’t know which rears work without interference.

I am just recommending doing your research before buying a bar and expecting it to just work without issue.

The reason it’s not an issue with bigger lifts is because bigger lifts use longer shocks, which, in turn, require additional bump stop. The additional bump may mitigate the interference.

It's more of an incompatibility with the raised pinion, along with the need for a longer bar. Regardless, Currie/RockJock is going to provide the best fit on a 4" lift with a raised skid. But occasionally, even that might need some reshaping with a press.

 

[deadbeat son]

It's more of an incompatibility with the raised pinion, along with the need for a longer bar. Regardless, Currie/RockJock is going to provide the best fit on a 4" lift with a raised skid. But occasionally, even that might need some reshaping with a press.

Any suggestions for a rear adjustable track bar in lieu of a relocation bracket with a 2" - 2.5" lift?

 

[rasband]

Any suggestions for a rear adjustable track bar in lieu of a relocation bracket with a 2" - 2.5" lift?

JKS is the usual recommendation if you’re not wanting to spend the Currie money. I only changed because I got a good deal on a used Currie.

 

[jjvw]

Any suggestions for a rear adjustable track bar with a 2" - 2.5" lift in lieu of a relocation bracket?

At 2-2.5", I would stick with stock and relocation bracket

 

[lBasket]

I think I'm going to end up trying to get my OME bracket in again after my weekend trip since an adjustable will end up with clearance issues. Guess you can't complain about a reason to buy a new tool. I also still need to get some equipment for bumpstops and then cycle the suspension. I'll probably spend some money on actual bump stop extensions if they will work better than hockey pucks, lol.

So it might be a slow 8 weeks on here, I realized this week that 1 class at a time in my masters program is considered "full time enrollment" and I took two at once so I'm probably going to be pretty busy until mid October. Whoops.

 

[Apparition]

I think I'm going to end up trying to get my OME bracket in again after my weekend trip since an adjustable will end up with clearance issues. Guess you can't complain about a reason to buy a new tool. I also still need to get some equipment for bumpstops and then cycle the suspension. I'll probably spend some money on actual bump stop extensions if they will work better than hockey pucks, lol.

So it might be a slow 8 weeks on here, I realized this week that 1 class at a time in my masters program is considered "full time enrollment" and I took two at once so I'm probably going to be pretty busy until mid October. Whoops.

No problem you’re a jeenyus. How’s that hard top coming along?

 

[lBasket]

No problem you’re a jeenyus. How’s that hard top coming along?

Still waiting on hardware for the softtop so that I can be sure to take my time. I have the top now, though!

It's still rocking the tape job I did at the KOA too

 

[lBasket]

Just drove the jeep some more after doing my alignment yesterday and the jeep has some kind of vibrations now since the lift and new axle. I set my toe-in to 1/8" using the guide here. I figured that I had set the control arms to the wrong length in the front since they're adjustable so I grabbed an angle reader, but it looks like that's not the problem.

Pinion:

Driveshaft:

But it seems like that's setup pretty well I think. I am thinking my best bet is to go through with a torque wrench and make sure everything is still torqued? I shouldn't have too many vibes from a 2" lift I thought. Maybe I just need a MML or TCase drop

 

[deadbeat son]

Just drove the jeep some more after doing my alignment yesterday and the jeep has some kind of vibrations now since the lift and new axle. I set my toe-in to 1/8" using the guide here. I figured that I had set the control arms to the wrong length in the front since they're adjustable so I grabbed an angle reader, but it looks like that's not the problem.

Pinion:
View attachment 273139


Driveshaft:

View attachment 273140
View attachment 273141

But it seems like that's setup pretty well I think. I am thinking my best bet is to go through with a torque wrench and make sure everything is still torqued? I shouldn't have too many vibes from a 2" lift I thought. Maybe I just need a MML or TCase drop

FWIW, I ended up somewhere between 2" and 2.5" with my lift and it resulted in some minor vibes. To me, they're innocuous enough that I'll live with them instead of considering a t-case drop.

 

[lBasket]

Today I was re-torquing the front suspension to try to solve the vibrations I was having. It also felt like there was more wander on the highway than when I started the swap. I definitely expected it to get better with new bushing, control arms, and ball joints. The vibrations were mainly during acceleration, and a bit of shimmy sometimes.

I Found out the bolts I used to replace the flag bolts on the frame connection of the front upper control arm had a bit too much shoulder. It'd torque nice... then it'd kinda loosen as it rolled off the end of the threads, guess I didn't notice it putting it back together. I reused the flag bolt for now even though it's a bit of a pain, and it feels amazing now, better than it ever has!


Now with the lift I can hit the speed bumps on my street without slowing down useful since the HOA doubled the number of them and raised them to like 5" recently. Kinda funny lol

I'm heading to Medano Pass into the Great Sand Dunes tomorrow, I've never been to the dunes and always lived here. My friends all had shit come up so I'm going alone, but it shouldn't be an issue it's an easy and decently traveled trail. Hit me up if you want to come with! Pictures coming soon!

 

[lBasket]

I camped on Medano pass over the weekend. It was a great time, camping in the sand is fun like Moab. it gets everywhere.

The Jeep definitely has some vibrations that start at 60mph, get worse going to 65, and then go down a bit 70+. It kinda sucked on the 3.5 hour drive, I am not sure I will be able to live with it for very long and not start to hate driving it. So I need to start thinking about either a TCase drop, MML, or SYE. I doubt I'll do a tcase drop so either MML or SYE. I'll have to do some reading and decide which is most likely to help and is best for future plans

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I camped on Medano pass over the weekend. It was a great time, camping in the sand is fun like Moab. it gets everywhere.
View attachment 274325

The Jeep definitely has some vibrations that start at 60mph, get worse going to 65, and then go down a bit 70+. It kinda sucked on the 3.5 hour drive, I am not sure I will be able to live with it for very long and not start to hate driving it. So I need to start thinking about either a TCase drop, MML, or SYE. I doubt I'll do a tcase drop so either MML or SYE. I'll have to do some reading and decide which is most likely to help and is best for future plans

An MML coupled with an SYE is a good approach. Both reduce the driveshaft angle coming out of the tcase. But if you only want to do one or the other, do the SYE.

 

[lBasket]

An MML coupled with an SYE is a good approach. Both reduce the driveshaft angle coming out of the tcase. But if you only want to do one or the other, do the SYE.

Cool. I guess it's more of a "which will reduce vibes most" than choosing between them. I am thinking I'm going to start working towards a tummy tuck slowly so I think I'll probably end up doing SYE and MML both eventually.

 

[lBasket]

Okay yeah I'm going to do a MML and SS SYE after the wheeling season. The vibes are driving me crazy already and it's progress to a TT anyways which is my next goal.

So I've read a few times on here to basically "build for the tires you want". I don't get that much - it seems more like tires are a by-product of the rest of the build almost. Like all the mods I'd do for a TT on 31s, when I've gotten that done (SS SYE, BL, MML, adjustable control arms, adj track bars, i think thats most of it?) I'll pretty much be ready to throw 33s on right? And will just be a bit of suspension lift from 35s? Maybe it's my perspective, feels like the tires follow the build more than you build for tires? I guess it's all just perspective

 

[Irun]

Okay yeah I'm going to do a MML and SS SYE after the wheeling season. The vibes are driving me crazy already and it's progress to a TT anyways which is my next goal.

So I've read a few times on here to basically "build for the tires you want". I don't get that much - it seems more like tires are a by-product of the rest of the build almost. Like all the mods I'd do for a TT on 31s, when I've gotten that done (SS SYE, BL, MML, adjustable control arms, adj track bars, i think thats most of it?) I'll pretty much be ready to throw 33s on right? And will just be a bit of suspension lift from 35s? Maybe it's my perspective, feels like the tires follow the build more than you build for tires? I guess it's all just perspective

A 31" build is a bit of an odd duck. There's a lot you could do, but a lot you don't have to do. You can always do a TT to increase clearance at the transfer case, but getting anything north of 8" of shock travel on 31s takes a lot of work. Even if you go to the trouble of squeezing out every bit of shock travel, your differential housings and lower control arm mounts will take a beating. That said, if you do it correctly, you can step up to a 33" tire with a smaller amount of work.

 

[jjvw]

...

So I've read a few times on here to basically "build for the tires you want". I don't get that much - it seems more like tires are a by-product of the rest of the build almost. Like all the mods I'd do for a TT on 31s, when I've gotten that done (SS SYE, BL, MML, adjustable control arms, adj track bars, i think thats most of it?) I'll pretty much be ready to throw 33s on right? And will just be a bit of suspension lift from 35s? Maybe it's my perspective, feels like the tires follow the build more than you build for tires? I guess it's all just perspective

At the end of the day, you are building for the tire size you want/need to get the Jeep where you want to go.

Out here, @tworley and I did most of the places we like to go on 33s. We also had lockers and raised skids to go along with it. We also got into a group that was more interested in making things work well than building for looks or just bashing and crashing our way through things.

In my case, the original intention was to run 33s while building for 35s even if I never went to that size tire. Looking back, I have mixed feelings about staying with 33s for as long as I did, especially after the early round of suspension work.

Red Cone and everything nearby can be done stock. Trails like Holy Cross and Chinaman Gulch can be done on well set up 33s, but are much more fun on 35s. Something like Trough needs 35s.

I think we both like our rigs better now on 35s. A larger tire build has more options to improve performance beyond just the tire size. All those things, when done thoughtfully, can really add up into something greater than the sum of its parts. But it takes a lot of work to get there.

 

[lBasket]

A 31" build is a bit of an odd duck. There's a lot you could do, but a lot you don't have to do. You can always do a TT to increase clearance at the transfer case, but getting anything north of 8" of shock travel on 31s takes a lot of work. Even if you go to the trouble of squeezing out every bit of shock travel, your differential housings and lower control arm mounts will take a beating. That said, if you do it correctly, you can step up to a 33" tire with a smaller amount of work.

Why is it harder to get more travel with the smaller tire, everything else equal? Seems like it'd be easier due to clearance, but mostly the same. I'm not married to 31s but not in a hurry to get bigger tires (seems like I need more flex/less vibes/better breakover angle over diff clearance where I've been so far?) until my new ones start wearing out.

So I figured if I had a TT with 31s with 1.25" BL and 2" SL, if my 31s wore out or I got tired of them I could move straight to 33s, and 35s with more a SL. Seems like the TT mandates most of the mods that also are required for running larger tire sizes. Is that right, or am i missing something?

 

[lBasket]

At the end of the day, you are building for the tire size you want/need to get the Jeep where you want to go.

Out here, @tworley and I did most of the places we like to go on 33s. We also had lockers and raised skids to go along with it. We also got into a group that was more interested in making things work well than building for looks or just bashing and crashing our way through things.

In my case, the original intention was to run 33s while building for 35s even if I never went to that size tire. Looking back, I have mixed feelings about staying with 33s for as long as I did, especially after the early round of suspension work.

Red Cone and everything nearby can be done stock. Trails like Holy Cross and Chinaman Gulch can be done on well set up 33s, but are much more fun on 35s. Something like Trough needs 35s.

I think we both like our rigs better now on 35s. A larger tire build has more options to improve performance beyond just the tire size. All those things, when done thoughtfully, can really add up into something greater than the sum of its parts. But it takes a lot of work to get there.

It's cool you can reference trails I've heard of to explain this, lol. The trail system between Montezuma and Jefferson I've been on almost every single trail by now except Radical Hill.. it's been a fun place to learn what the Jeep can do.

This is my first offroad vehicle and it's a lot to think about. All the improvements are marginal gains but you have to think about them together, reminds me of the story about the 90s British cycling team. 2" of tire size doesn't seem like a huge improvement since that's 1" of diff clearance, but I guess that and all the supporting mods are a big difference from where I am now