Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

Toughness personified

tworley said:
Thats about what mine looked like too, the top cap was dented but the tie rod was far from coming out.
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Packaging has to be tough! I just wanted to answer this and forgot to quote it :D This thing is heavy!

mrblaine said:
I need folks to update me on the packaging as well. We think we have it figured out, we all know how that goes.
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rasband said:
Good packaging, the only thing (which doesn't matter since I have a stack of them I'm working through) is the chapstick got destroyed and the top did bulge a little but nothing worked itself free.
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rasband, yours and mine must have been handled by the same monkeys at UPS. My chapstick didn't make it, either, and like you, I have more than I'll ever use already! I shared this with Mr. Blaine earlier this week via PM.

Unfortunately, this weekend is the last weekend I have open to work on the LJ, and it's too cold to paint the tie-rod, so it'll have to wait until late March for the installation.
 
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sab said:
rasband, yours and mine must have been handled by the same monkeys at UPS. My chapstick didn't make it, either, and like you, I have more than I'll ever use already! I shared this with Mr. Blaine earlier this week via PM.

Unfortunately, this weekend is the last weekend I have open to work on the LJ, and it's too cold to paint the tie-rod, so it'll have to wait until late March for the installation.
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Perhaps PM would have been a better venue - I wasn't thinking much as I was excited for the tie rod! We are lucky here in CO, should be 60s next week for a few days to get things painted and for my garage to finally dry out!
 
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rasband said:
This thing is heavy!
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12.05 lb with clamps and clamp hardware on my scale. All my professional experience is on road racing vehicles (and a few years with snowmobiles), so I'm used to paying very close attention to component weights. I'm not used to the component weights on a rock crawler! Having been a component-weight-conscious engineer in my previous career, I have a spreadsheet of component weights for all the parts I put on and take off my LJ. I agonize over every component or mod I perform...
 
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rasband said:
We are lucky here in CO, should be 60s next week for a few days to get things painted and for my garage to finally dry out!
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I'm a privacy nerd, so I don't publicly share a lot of personal info, but the location in my profile is an accurate acronym describing my location. Let's just say I'm south of you, and it was 87°F on Monday, but we're locked in a cold snap nearing the freezing point for the foreseeable future, and I share your excitement on this new addition to the LJ. :mad:
 
I got mine installed today along with the tie rod flip, still working on cycling the suspension checking clearances. I need to modify my stabilizer bracket but that should not be too hard. Thanks @mrblaine
FE7BDBA6-A280-4602-AE33-1D8C2ABE4CBC.jpeg
 
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sab said:
I'm a privacy nerd, so I don't publicly share a lot of personal info, but the location in my profile is an accurate acronym describing my location. Let's just say I'm south of you, and it was 87°F on Monday, but we're locked in a cold snap nearing the freezing point for the foreseeable future, and I share your excitement on this new addition to the LJ. :mad:
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Screenshot_20220225-180538_Chrome.jpg
 
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rasband said:
Perhaps PM would have been a better venue - I wasn't thinking much as I was excited for the tie rod! We are lucky here in CO, should be 60s next week for a few days to get things painted and for my garage to finally dry out!
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PM isn't required at all. These are a challenge to pack in a method that I'm comfortable with. We have new tubes that are much heavier with much better end caps but I'm still not happy.

All I know is that original method takes way too long and isn't good enough.
 
mrblaine said:
PM isn't required at all. These are a challenge to pack in a method that I'm comfortable with. We have new tubes that are much heavier with much better end caps but I'm still not happy.

All I know is that original method takes way too long and isn't good enough.
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I have no experience packing products beyond stuff I sell on ebay (meaning pretty much nothing of consequence) - the only thing I could tell is the tie rod seemed to be able to slide to the end acting like a battering ram given the weight. Laterally it was perfect, so it might be as simple as more end padding to mitigate the movement end to end.

In any case, I am very happy with what arrived and the condition it arrived in. Next week is temperatures that allow me to paint my new outboard and this tie rod to get things on for the season.
 
rasband said:
I have no experience packing products beyond stuff I sell on ebay (meaning pretty much nothing of consequence) - the only thing I could tell is the tie rod seemed to be able to slide to the end acting like a battering ram given the weight. Laterally it was perfect, so it might be as simple as more end padding to mitigate the movement end to end.

In any case, I am very happy with what arrived and the condition it arrived in. Next week is temperatures that allow me to paint my new outboard and this tie rod to get things on for the season.
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When the tubes were telescoped together, there was dense foam padding in each end against the inside of the caps. Then they were pushed together by me leaning against them with one end against the wall and then taped with the foam highly compressed purely to prevent any end-to-end movement. I know that any space that allows momentum will let the rod punch through the caps.
 
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mrblaine said:
When the tubes were telescoped together, there was dense foam padding in each end against the inside of the caps. Then they were pushed together by me leaning against them with one end against the wall and then taped with the foam highly compressed purely to prevent any end-to-end movement. I know that any space that allows momentum will let the rod punch through the caps.
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If you see how UPS and FedEx handle "non standard" packages it is a wonder half the stuff makes it intact. Had FedEx lose a $3500 axle shaft last year, filed the claim with the manufacture and they shipped the replacement via UPS and that one was sticking out of the box when it showed up. It would help if manufactures would take half the time that you do in packaging product but sadly they do not.
 
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Blackjack said:
If you see how UPS and FedEx handle "non standard" packages it is a wonder half the stuff makes it intact. Had FedEx lose a $3500 axle shaft last year, filed the claim with the manufacture and they shipped the replacement via UPS and that one was sticking out of the box when it showed up. It would help if manufactures would take half the time that you do in packaging product but sadly they do not.
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It’s all about their level of enthusiasm for the work they do
 
Blackjack said:
If you see how UPS and FedEx handle "non standard" packages it is a wonder half the stuff makes it intact. Had FedEx lose a $3500 axle shaft last year, filed the claim with the manufacture and they shipped the replacement via UPS and that one was sticking out of the box when it showed up. It would help if manufactures would take half the time that you do in packaging product but sadly they do not.
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We have the new tubes here. They telescope but each tube is half again as thick as both of the first version's combined thickness. I just have to find a suitable end closure and we'll have it solved.

I need some 1 1/4" thick poplar rounds at 3 1/16" and 3 7/16" diameters. Got any laying around? I need a couple of hundred of each.
 
mrblaine said:
We have the new tubes here. They telescope but each tube is half again as thick as both of the first version's combined thickness. I just have to find a suitable end closure and we'll have it solved.

I need some 1 1/4" thick poplar rounds at 3 1/16" and 3 7/16" diameters. Got any laying around? I need a couple of hundred of each.
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Worst case scenario you (your helper) could use a hole saw and have something at least until they come in. Staple them in. Not optimal but might work in a pinch.
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts
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