OP
Right back up to Red Cone the following weekend. This time there are mountain goats!
Daily Driver, Go Where I Want To Build
- Thread starter jjvw
- Start date
OP
July 15, 2017
Worked in Aspen. Drove home to Denver through Ouray.
Black Bear Pass, Imogene Pass, Engineer Pass, California Pass
Worked in Aspen. Drove home to Denver through Ouray.
Black Bear Pass, Imogene Pass, Engineer Pass, California Pass
Whew! Just finished the entire thread. Great stuff. My brother lives in CO and wheels. Absolutely loves it there.
OP
This is future me writing in February 2021. My thoughts on springs and rates has changed significantly since this was written in Fall of 2017. Since then, the Jeep's suspension has been completely rebuilt and I have gained significant experience with tuned shocks.
While I won't say I didn't experience what I describe below, I now understand that these changes were inconsequentially small compared to the difference shock tuning makes.
I write this in an effort to stop those who are cherry picking this early documentation of my years long journey towards greater knowledge and understanding from using this to undermine my assertions today. It is my assertion that springs set the ride height and that shocks determine the ride.
Life got busy in August.
I replaced the front OME 931 coils and rear Currie 3" coils, both with spacers. I ended up with Currie 4" front and Currie 4" LJ coils in the rear. This resulted in 4" up front and nearly 5" in the rear. As i hoped, eventually the rear settled to just under 4". The good news is that the LJ coils are 3/4" longer than the regular TJ coils.
Something I realized is that all of my experimenting and problem solving with springs over the years was figured out by Currie. They make the longest and lightest spring for the TJ. The 4" is different that the 3". Noticably lighter and longer for their lift height and they are a very nice compliment to the Savvy Mid Arms. I now have over 13" of available spring travel between bind and free length. All that is left is to move shock mounts so I can make use of it.
While I won't say I didn't experience what I describe below, I now understand that these changes were inconsequentially small compared to the difference shock tuning makes.
I write this in an effort to stop those who are cherry picking this early documentation of my years long journey towards greater knowledge and understanding from using this to undermine my assertions today. It is my assertion that springs set the ride height and that shocks determine the ride.
Life got busy in August.
I replaced the front OME 931 coils and rear Currie 3" coils, both with spacers. I ended up with Currie 4" front and Currie 4" LJ coils in the rear. This resulted in 4" up front and nearly 5" in the rear. As i hoped, eventually the rear settled to just under 4". The good news is that the LJ coils are 3/4" longer than the regular TJ coils.
Something I realized is that all of my experimenting and problem solving with springs over the years was figured out by Currie. They make the longest and lightest spring for the TJ. The 4" is different that the 3". Noticably lighter and longer for their lift height and they are a very nice compliment to the Savvy Mid Arms. I now have over 13" of available spring travel between bind and free length. All that is left is to move shock mounts so I can make use of it.
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OP
OP
Wheeler Lake
Broke my side mirror right here. Really it was rusted through and finally gave up. Luckily, I had a spare from one of the earlier iterations.
Broke my side mirror right here. Really it was rusted through and finally gave up. Luckily, I had a spare from one of the earlier iterations.
OP
Here is my dad's '78 CJ-5. It's been parked for over 15 years in Minnesota. He wants to get it going again and bring it out to Colorado for another off road trip.
It normally has 35s on it, but those were long rotted and wouldn't hold air. AMC 390 V8, Dana 44s front and rear, Dana 300, some unusual Ford T-19 transmission with an extremely low 1st gear, front and rear winches. It was a good build for its day and it has many unique parts and modifications. He wants to clean it up and make some improvments.
Stripping and cleaning while I was back home recently.
It normally has 35s on it, but those were long rotted and wouldn't hold air. AMC 390 V8, Dana 44s front and rear, Dana 300, some unusual Ford T-19 transmission with an extremely low 1st gear, front and rear winches. It was a good build for its day and it has many unique parts and modifications. He wants to clean it up and make some improvments.
Stripping and cleaning while I was back home recently.
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OP
February 2018
I had a rear axle seal leak. Luckily I found a new old stock pair of rear Superior cro-moly axle shafts from CL. Some Synergy 1.5" wheel spacers also go on both ends.
I had a rear axle seal leak. Luckily I found a new old stock pair of rear Superior cro-moly axle shafts from CL. Some Synergy 1.5" wheel spacers also go on both ends.
OP
My winch thimble sticks out too much.
I made a thimble retainer and welded it to the winch plate.
Much better!
I made a thimble retainer and welded it to the winch plate.
Much better!
OP
I didn't take very many pics of the 12" Fox Remote Reservoir installation. These were a forum purchase. Allegedly these shocks have a Wayne Isrealson Alltech tune for a TJ. And they have 8 point compression adjusters.
The final setup gives me roughly 7" of up travel and 5" down.
There isn't anything different from all the various write ups out there. Cycle the suspension and check all the measurements and placements over and over.
With the new lower mount located behind the control arm, the "window" under the axle is really opened up.
The Foxes give me an additional 3" of droop compared to my 9" travel OME. The Currie 4" coils do not unseat. This is why you choose Currie over other 4" coils.
Here you can see that I added a 1" aluminum spacer to add a bit of needed lift and shift the travel bias for more up travel.
The final setup gives me roughly 7" of up travel and 5" down.
There isn't anything different from all the various write ups out there. Cycle the suspension and check all the measurements and placements over and over.
With the new lower mount located behind the control arm, the "window" under the axle is really opened up.
The Foxes give me an additional 3" of droop compared to my 9" travel OME. The Currie 4" coils do not unseat. This is why you choose Currie over other 4" coils.
Here you can see that I added a 1" aluminum spacer to add a bit of needed lift and shift the travel bias for more up travel.
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OP
The rear rides so nicely that I had to do something up front. Rancho RS5000X shocks are cheap and Jerry likes them.
Mine are 10.7" travel. Rather than add more bump stop to accommodate the longer compressed length, I raised the upper mount. Someday, when I switch to Foxes, my ugly raised mounts will get cut out and replaced with the other pair of Poly towers. There is more travel to squeeze out of the coils.
6.5" of up, 4" down.
I had no idea how worn out my Old man Emus were. When the smart guys tell you that shocks determine the ride quality and that up travel is precious, they are absolutely correct. Everything else is insignificant by comparison.
Another thing. Notice the zip tie on the shaft. That will tell me how much up I am using. During my normal drive home from work, I am using over 5" of up travel. Dips, railroad tracks, speed bumps are all very comfortable, yet the Jeep is very stable and controlled. The additional body roll I mentioned after the mid arms went in is significantly reduced.
Shocks and up travel really do matter far more than I ever realized.
Mine are 10.7" travel. Rather than add more bump stop to accommodate the longer compressed length, I raised the upper mount. Someday, when I switch to Foxes, my ugly raised mounts will get cut out and replaced with the other pair of Poly towers. There is more travel to squeeze out of the coils.
6.5" of up, 4" down.
I had no idea how worn out my Old man Emus were. When the smart guys tell you that shocks determine the ride quality and that up travel is precious, they are absolutely correct. Everything else is insignificant by comparison.
Another thing. Notice the zip tie on the shaft. That will tell me how much up I am using. During my normal drive home from work, I am using over 5" of up travel. Dips, railroad tracks, speed bumps are all very comfortable, yet the Jeep is very stable and controlled. The additional body roll I mentioned after the mid arms went in is significantly reduced.
Shocks and up travel really do matter far more than I ever realized.
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OP
I'm all caught up! That's the story of my Jeep as of today.
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OP
Very true. A welder is a great tool to have for many reasons beyond just the Jeep.
2003 Rubicon
OP
Well, the saga continues. Today I had the tires rotated, balanced and over inflated at Discount Tire.
2003 Rubicon
I've asked Discount Tire to add a note to the file to leave them at 26 psi. So far, they've done so each time without me asking again. Might be worth a try if you haven't already.