Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

Sab-a-dab-a-doo! The back-country LJ build has officially started

Today, I finished painting my skids because LVP/Crosslink got me the right color yesterday:
IMG_7358.JPG


Since I couldn't do anything that would generate dust due to the paint drying, I started looking at relocating the front frame-side trackbar mount. After a few emails and a phone call with Mr. Blaine, I started to mock it up, but I don't have pictures of that because I'd need three arms to do it. ;)

I should be able to get a few things done over the next four days because I'm off work, so stay tuned!
 
...I started looking at relocating the front frame-side trackbar mount. After a few emails and a phone call with Mr. Blaine, I started to mock it up, but I don't have pictures of that because I'd need three arms to do it.

I figured out how to take meaningful photos with just two arms. The idea is to move the centerline of the trackbar mounting hole 1" forward. To do it requires welding a spacer to the frame. In my case, it's a 3/8" spacer. Here's the before and after pics:
IMG_7372.JPG


IMG_7375.JPG


Edited to add: I just noticed that my spacer is 180° off. The bevels are supposed to be on the inside of the frame, not the outside. I'm not re-taking the picture, so use your imagination to spin that spacer!

Next up is welding it in place. Stay tuned!
 
Well, the rest of the day I rode the Struggle Bus. I couldn't get a decent weld on that pad for the trackbar mount no matter what I tried - and try, I did. Thomas Edison would be proud. I bet I welded it and ground the welds off about a dozen times, nearly wearing out my favorite carbide bit.

About 3:30pm, I switched to getting the frame prepped for the mid-arm control arm mounts, but I didn't take any pics.

And a short time ago, I had a phone consultation with the Wizard (thanks again, @mrblaine!), and I'll try welding that pad again tomorrow using his advice, after a good night's sleep, Stay tuned.
 
Well, the rest of the day I rode the Struggle Bus. I couldn't get a decent weld on that pad for the trackbar mount no matter what I tried - and try, I did. Thomas Edison would be proud. I bet I welded it and ground the welds off about a dozen times, nearly wearing out my favorite carbide bit.

About 3:30pm, I switched to getting the frame prepped for the mid-arm control arm mounts, but I didn't take any pics.

And a short time ago, I had a phone consultation with the Wizard (thanks again, @mrblaine!), and I'll try welding that pad again tomorrow using his advice, after a good night's sleep, Stay tuned.

Those of us who are not day in day out good weldors always struggle with something we have convinced ourselves of as being critical. When that happens, our brain overrides what we know how to do and makes us slow down to get it right. Then our welds turns gloopy and practically roll around the edge because we are moving too slow to do an actual good weld.

Also why I suggested you trim back the flanges on the mid arm C's. That little bit extra room for a fillet weld makes all the difference when we are trying to do something without the muscle memory we need for that horizontal weld.

That said, you could trigger weld those mounts onto the frame and never have a problem. There is so much weld that even a terrible weld would likely never fail.
 
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Also why I suggested you trim back the flanges on the mid arm C's. That little bit extra room for a fillet weld makes all the difference when we are trying to do something without the muscle memory we need for that horizontal weld.
Yes, that advice, and the "I get it!" alarm, was ringing in my noggin while I struggled yesterday! Great advice to anyone with less then professional welding skills doing the mid-arm installation. (y)
 
Yesterday was a slow day in the shop for me, and being in a bit of a mental funk, I decided not to post anything. I tossed and turned all Sunday night re-playing that trackbar mounting plate welding disaster in my head. That told me the difficulty of the weld was still "in my head space," and I'd better wait another day. Instead of welding that trackbar mount on, I decided to apply zinc primer to the frame behind the future mid-arm control arm mounts. Here's the passenger front side (the thin blue line you can see is the location of the front edge of the bracket):
IMG_7381.JPG


After a good night's sleep last night (well, good by old guy standards, anyway), I started preparing for welding, in earnest, this morning. I wanted to get the frame all cleaned up where the old brackets were removed, and I had an idea to avoid the waviness I got when I did the rear frame raise project. When I did that project, I used the 36 grit Cubitron disc to great effect removing the weld's left over after cutting the brackets off. That left circular patterns of scratches from the 36 grit abrasive. The 40 grit pads on the random orbital sander wouldn't cut through those very well, so I tried carefully and slowly using the 36 grit Cubitron to clean those up.

After thinking about it more last week, I realized how that was a mistake. First off, I concentrated on removing those localized scratches instead of grinding a larger area to keep it flat. That created the waves. Secondly, using 36 grit to remove 36 grit scratches is just plain ignorant. I needed a finer grit Cubitron to clean up behind the 36 grit discs, so I ordered some 80 grit Cubitrons last week on Amazon. Unfortunately, they didn't even ship until yesterday, and since they are not from Amazon directly, and it's a holiday week, they are coming UPS - next Monday. :mad:

Since that doesn't help my progress, yesterday morning, I got on the phone to the local autobody supply shop (Tasco, a big chain) to see if they had some 80 grit Cubitrons in stock. They didn't, but a store down in North Austin had some. My wife was headed that way for some provisions, so she picked them up for me yesterday. This morning, I tested my theory of cleaning up with the 80 grits using wide coverage prior to using the 40 grit discs on the random orbital, and I'm very pleased. I was able to minimize the waviness I got when I did the rear of the frame! Check out this section, which was the worst of all because I screwed up using my flush cut plasma consumables:
IMG_7382.JPG


I'm pleased! With that done, my mind's in the right place to attempt welding once again, and that's on the agenda for sometime today. I've still got the front of the frame to clean up, but before that, I need to apply zinc primer to the rear arches, where the spring perches will be welded back on. Stay tuned!
 
To inform the uninformed, what's the reason to move the centerline of the trackbar mounting hole 1" forward?
When you get a decent amount of uptravel built in with longer shocks, it is common for the barrel on the JJ trackbar to just barely clear the flat spot on the diff casting for the case spreader holes, and by just barely, sub 1/8". If you need to sneak the axle forward a bit to get the back of the tires to clear the inner fenders under articulation and turned to full lock, it is far easier if your limit isn't that small bit of clearance. And since all TJ's are different, having a bit more room to clear the trackbar with the diff cover is never a bad thing.
 
I added some ugly welds to the insides of the towers I have waiting to be installed. So ugly are these welds that I didn't take a picture. :cool: It's very hard to get the MIG torch in there, so I hope I got a least some penetration with the blobs of weld I plopped in there!

I did the same thing last week. Hoping this makes you feel better. It was very difficult to get the mig head in there.

IMG_5176.jpeg
 
To inform the uninformed, what's the reason to move the centerline of the trackbar mounting hole 1" forward?
I'm glad Mr. Blaine responded with details. All I would have said was, "to avoid clearance issues as I complete the build." Mr. Blaine suggested moving it, if I have the wherewithal, during one of my many phone calls with him discussing this build. I'm sure he told me exactly why, but it's hard to keep up with him sometimes. :sneaky:
 
It doesn't. Mine are much uglier. :(
FYI- fully unnecessary to do that for both of you. I've installed many dozens of those exact parts without a single issue. The load on those shock tabs is carried by the vertical welds, the top corner welds are just there to close out the corner and provide a smidgen of extra support if and only if you can somehow subject the pair of tabs to a lateral load. Once the shock is bolted it, it becomes the 3rd side of the box that ties the two sides together.
 
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Today went much better in the shop, and I have some confidence back in my welding abilities. After spraying the arches with zinc primer above the spring perches, I tacked them on:
IMG_7386.JPG


Then, one-by-one, I placed the mid-arm control arm brackets in the prescribed locations on the frame, used a jack to load the bottom, with two welding clamps to press them against the inside of the frame, and tacked them in place, like so:
IMG_7384.JPG


And, just like that - all four are in place:
IMG_7385.JPG


My goal for this five-day weekend was to get the front trackbar mount, two rear spring perches, and four control arm brackets welded to the frame. I have one day left, and I need to finish welding these brackets on and then tackle that elusive trackbar mount. Stay tuned to see if I'm the windshield or the bug tomorrow!

Happy New Year to all my forum friends. May 2025 bring you prosperity in every aspect of your lives!
 
Today went much better in the shop, and I have some confidence back in my welding abilities. After spraying the arches with zinc primer above the spring perches, I tacked them on:
View attachment 582747

Then, one-by-one, I placed the mid-arm control arm brackets in the prescribed locations on the frame, used a jack to load the bottom, with two welding clamps to press them against the inside of the frame, and tacked them in place, like so:
View attachment 582752

And, just like that - all four are in place:
View attachment 582753

My goal for this five-day weekend was to get the front trackbar mount, two rear spring perches, and four control arm brackets welded to the frame. I have one day left, and I need to finish welding these brackets on and then tackle that elusive trackbar mount. Stay tuned to see if I'm the windshield or the bug tomorrow!

Happy New Year to all my forum friends. May 2025 bring you prosperity in every aspect of your lives!
I've found over the year that I suck at welding so I have to cheat a lot to make it easier. So, when I do the mid arm brackets, I run my "tacks" at the places where I'm most likely to mess up a good weld.

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To inform the uninformed, what's the reason to move the centerline of the trackbar mounting hole 1" forward?
I definitely don't have an elephant's memory. @MikeE024 liked an older post in @psrivats' build thread this morning that reminded me where I first got the idea to move the front trackbar mount forward:


That was back in August, and I'd completely forgotten I'd seen that. It's a good series of posts.
 
I definitely don't have an elephant's memory. @MikeE024 liked an older post in @psrivats' build thread this morning that reminded me where I first got the idea to move the front trackbar mount forward:


That was back in August, and I'd completely forgotten I'd seen that. It's a good series of posts.

I love the set of boobs Blaine designed into Sri’s bracket. Deliberate Easter Egg?

😉
 
I got the mid-arm brackets welded up. I'm not proud of the welds, but I'm confident in them. Here's a couple examples:
IMG_7390.JPG


IMG_7391.JPG


Now, the front trackbar mount is a different story. I just can't seem to figure that weld out. Instead of doing a mediocre job, I just welded the shit out of it, which is totally embarrassing. However, I could weld that thing 20 more times, and it would still suck. :mad: Here's the outside:
IMG_7388.JPG


And a boobie-shot for Jeff. Paging @NashvilleTJ! :p
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I'm glad I don't do this for a living, 'cuz I'd go hungry!

Stay tuned for more bubba welding with sab...
 
Yesterday, I posted the weight gain from replacing the stock control arm brackets with the mid-arm brackets in my first post, but as with the tummy tuck, I couldn't compare to the stock weights because all four of the lower control arm brackets were removed by the previous owner when the Rubicon Express long-arm kit was installed. If any of you with the mid-arm setup have the cut off lower control arm brackets laying around and the time available to weigh them, I'd be obliged (again)...

Thanks!
 
Yesterday, I posted the weight gain from replacing the stock control arm brackets with the mid-arm brackets in my first post, but as with the tummy tuck, I couldn't compare to the stock weights because all four of the lower control arm brackets were removed by the previous owner when the Rubicon Express long-arm kit was installed. If any of you with the mid-arm setup have the cut off lower control arm brackets laying around and the time available to weigh them, I'd be obliged (again)...

Thanks!

And Mr. Blaine for the win. He weighed them for me - 12 lb. He's like rust - he never rests! (that's a weird compliment, I know) :cool:
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts