The Sienna Pearl

I don’t envy what you are going through to get those bolts replaced.
 
Wow...I thought replacing my mounts was tough! I only broke 2 of them...I was able to weld a nut on one and get it (drivers front tub) and the other (Drivers rear crossmember, same as you) I cut the access hole, then I cut the cage that held the nut to pull it AND the bolt out.

Stick with it, you CAN beat back the rust. I'm actually contemplating NOT buying anything for mine this winter, so I can focus on tearing it apart and repairing ALL the rust.
 
Thanks guys! I'm trying to stick with it. I admit when I get in situations that I don't feel comfortable I tend to start procrastinating. It's taken me longer to do this than it should. I don't work on it every night and sometimes for not too long. Anyway, I am getting close now. All the bolts are out. I have all the 1.25" pucks in, but the one by the radiator. I have the new bolts, washers, and nuts in place on the back 8 locations. The two bolts where your feet are at actually never broke when removing. Go figure, I couldn't get the new bolts to start on those two. I can't quite see the entire hole. I need to shift the body ever so slightly for both holes. I'm hoping to use the jack to just lift it enough to get those started and get that last puck by the radiator in this weekend. Then I guess I will try tackling the Brown Dog 1" MML.

I have the rear tires off so I could cut out the back two body mounts. I'll need to repair that area, then I'll probably spray my inner fender wells and frame black. I've been coating it with POR15 as I go.
 
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Amen, I finally finished the 1.25" body lift. That wasn't much fun, but im glad I was able to complete the job myself. More rewarding that way. While I had the back tires off, I figured I should just keep working in the back.

I started off with what I figured to be my next headache, the rear shocks. I sprayed those things everyday for about 10 days. I still ended up breaking 1 bolt on each side. I was already used to cutting holes in my tub, so I just went ahead and cut access holes. I used a dremmel to cut the nuts off clean, painted, then used washers and nuts for the new bolts.

I also managed to get the Metalcloak lower and upper control arms installed along with the Metalcloak rear trackbar. Lastly the H&R springs went in with the Bilstein 5100 shocks. I reinstalled the rear tires and lowered it back down holding it's own weight. Just need to torque all the bolts down to the proper measurements and start working on the front now.
 
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Sienna Pearl has to be one of my favorite TJ colors!

Anyways, that sucks about the rear shock bolts. This is one more reason I'm happy I outboarded my rear shocks. Never again will I have to mess with those stupid bolts in that stupid location, which is even a pain on the butt on my rust free TJ frame! It's just a horrible place to put them to begin with.

What lift height are those H&R springs? I didn't know H&R made springs beyond 1" or so of lift! H&R makes great springs. I used them on my BMWs in the past and really liked them.
 
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These H&R springs are only supposed to gain about 1" of lift. I was wanting to keep my jeep fairly low, but I also knew I didn't want to put those old worn out stock springs back in. I was thinking about going with new stock springs, but came across these H&R springs when researching through the jeep forums. I sat the stock spring next to the H&R spring and there wasn't much of a height difference. The H&R was less than 1" taller. So far I am liking the stance of my jeep. We will see how it rides if I ever get the front end finished.

I'm with you on the shocks. I researched outboarding them, but thought that was a little too involved for me at this point in time. It's tucked away in the back of my head for future mods though.
 
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It's been a while since I posted. Finally got some work done to the front of the Jeep. Pretty much ripped out the whole thing. Had the Brown Dog 1" motor mount lifts installed. Put on Metalcloak adjustable upper and lower control arms, Metalcloak adjustable trackbar, H&R springs, Bilstein 5100 shocks, ZJ tierod and drag link, new stabalizer shock, new Spicer ball joints, Currie Antirock sway bar, unit bearings, and finally the Vanco big brake kit.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I took advantage of a few sales over the holidays. Next things for me to work on are to install my SPOD and some lights. I'm still researching what to do with my axles.

Here are a couple pictures I quickly took yesterday just to show the progress.

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It's looking good so far!

I think it would look even better if those fenders were painted to match. I rarely see that, but when I do, it looks really good!
 
Looks good! Who would've thought that H&R springs + MC fenders would work with 35" tires (well, with a body lift, also)? Good work.

So how does it drive now with all the changes?
 
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Chris said:
It's looking good so far!

I think it would look even better if those fenders were painted to match. I rarely see that, but when I do, it looks really good!
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I agree Chris. The paint isn't the greatest the way it is, so I opted not to spend the extra money. It's never going to be a show Jeep. I understand that. just trying to get it to be more capable off road and look the way I want it to style wise.
 
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glwood said:
Looks good! Who would've thought that H&R springs + MC fenders would work with 35" tires (well, with a body lift, also)? Good work.

So how does it drive now with all the changes?
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The Jeep drives pretty nice actually. The Bilstein shocks might be a little firm. If I was to do anything over, I might have went with the Rancho shocks. Just going by what I have been reading on the forums lately, it seems they might have given a little softer/better street ride. I'm not sad though.

The H&R shocks and the 1.25" body lift gave my Jeep the stance I was looking for. That was the most important part for me. The Jeep has the factory bumps still installed. I am able to completely flex the front end and the tires do not hit the fenders. Nor do they hit at full turn. So I guess I have the same flex as my Jeep did stock, only I'm on 35" tires with the stance and look that I was after.

I have been looking at the Barnes skid plate to gain a little more under belly clearance next. Plus I would like to get rid of that ugly stock plate anyway.
 
Qaddiction said:
The Jeep drives pretty nice actually. The Bilstein shocks might be a little firm. If I was to do anything over, I might have went with the Rancho shocks. Just going by what I have been reading on the forums lately, it seems they might have given a little softer/better street ride. I'm not sad though.

The H&R shocks and the 1.25" body lift gave my Jeep the stance I was looking for. That was the most important part for me. The Jeep has the factory bumps still installed. I am able to completely flex the front end and the tires do not hit the fenders. Nor do they hit at full turn. So I guess I have the same flex as my Jeep did stock, only I'm on 35" tires with the stance and look that I was after.

I have been looking at the Barnes skid plate to gain a little more under belly clearance next. Plus I would like to get rid of that ugly stock plate anyway.
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I haven't seen this, so I am wondering what transmission you have, and what gearing changes, if any, you've implemented for the 35" tires...
 
glwood said:
I haven't seen this, so I am wondering what transmission you have, and what gearing changes, if any, you've implemented for the 35" tires...
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I have the 32RH 3 speed automatic. Stock gearing right now. That's also on my list of things to do. From reading on here I am going to go with 4.56 gears. Just trying to decide on exactly what axles I am going to run. I'm leaning towards the Super 35 and Super 30 with ARB lockers. I want to go with something stronger, but I'm guessing the Super 30/35 will probably hold up to what I plan on doing with it. Still researching....
 
Haven't had much time to work or money to spend on the Jeep lately. I've had this Poison Spyder hood louver in my garage for a while now. Finally took the time to install it.

Working by myself, I opted to leave the hood attached and do things the hard way. Overall, things went well. The paint isn't the greatest on my hood and it had a few dents anyway so I didn't have any hesitations.

99642
 
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