Yes, the extension is exactly in the middle of the C for the bracket. I lap a fish plate from the front weld on the mid arm bracket forward over the next joint and onto the frame by about 3-4". Do not weld on the MA mount first.
Wildman's TJ is getting a face lift
- Thread starter Wildman
- Start date
OP
My custom ground bump stick arrived today.....now I just need the engine back from the machine shop.
OP
Took the afternoon off becasue I had to take my daughter into town to go food shopping. She had a tooth pulled and then the tooth behind it is hooked up to be pulled down. So she can't eat hard foods so we had to go get soft stuff. And she's on pain meds so no driving.
Hitting the hardware store tomorrow for stuff I need then I'll come back and drill the final 13 holes. Then I'm sure I'll stare at it for a while and contemplate what I'm about to do. Yes I'm nervous about doing this but I'm still going to do it.
Hitting the hardware store tomorrow for stuff I need then I'll come back and drill the final 13 holes. Then I'm sure I'll stare at it for a while and contemplate what I'm about to do. Yes I'm nervous about doing this but I'm still going to do it.
OP
Got a call from my machine shop with an update on the engine. Man am I glad I took this thing in and had everything checked. So it appears that the last shop that did the build on this engine had "F"d it up pretty good. The shop hadn't used a torque plate when then bored the block so the cylinders were out of round. So they fixed that. Then on top of that the stroker crank was/is an internally balanced crank and the other shop had assembled the engine with the stock 5.9 harmonic balancer and flex plate. These are made for externally balanced engines. Now I already had this suspicion that they had installed the WRONG parts. Then on top of this the crank wasn't balanced completely so they did that. At this point my short block is ready to be picked up. Next are the heads. They are going to go thru them and I should be able to pick everything up early next week.
OP
Well DAMN now I have two TJ's to fix.
Not my week, was in town getting a haircut when I got a phone call from my daughter telling me she's broken down on the side of the road. Clutch went out on her Jeep from what I can tell. Tow truck just dropped it off in the driveway. Won't go anywhere right now. So either here clutch is out or something in the transmission or transfer case is broken.
Either way she's not driving the Jeep for a while.
Not my week, was in town getting a haircut when I got a phone call from my daughter telling me she's broken down on the side of the road. Clutch went out on her Jeep from what I can tell. Tow truck just dropped it off in the driveway. Won't go anywhere right now. So either here clutch is out or something in the transmission or transfer case is broken.
Either way she's not driving the Jeep for a while.
OP
After a little more talking and asking the RIGHT questions it appears she has been having the clutch slipping in her Jeep and hadn't told me about it before. So it looks like I'll be doing a clutch job also at some point on her Jeep.
OP
On my Jeep I have the metal @mrblaine said to use now. Even bought the aluminum angle to get the rails straight with. Damn this stuff isn't CHEAP. But I THINK I have everything I need now to do this with. So I'll be cutting my frame here in the next day of two.
@mattcogdell I'll try to take lots of pictures but won't promise anything.
@mattcogdell I'll try to take lots of pictures but won't promise anything.
OP
Frame rail # 2 done ✔. Now I need to cut the frame extensions and get them drilled. Or at least I think that is what I should do next.
Need to go back and look at the pictures Blaine has shared.
Need to go back and look at the pictures Blaine has shared.
OP
OP
It is that simple if the rest problems are also solved or some idea of what to do is there.
OP
Blaine, I'm not trying to get you to spoon feed me instructions here.
What problems do I need to be looking at? And no I'm only half sure of what to do.
So is your suggestion to cut the frame and move the arch back to where I THINK I want it and then put the axle back under the Jeep and verify that it is where I want it to be before I cut the tubing?
Bolt the axle in and cycle it. Are you happy with where it's located within the frame?
Frame cut is in a good spot, the body mount will go back on with no issue, you've measured 5" in from rear crossmember and verified that the bob isn't going to cause a problem or the problem that it will cause can be solved. You're okay with cutting the shock crossmember loose and moving it forward 5" to pick up those body mounts again.
Or alternately, you have a plan to fab a new crossmember to pick up those two body mounts.
You don't have to have finite detail, just a good handle on the problems and how they are going to be dealt with.
You should have asked specifically about the Aluminum. I bought that so I won't cut it up and I need it pretty often. I would have told you to buy 2x2 x 3/16" or .250 wall since we all need that stuff and it will get used. You only need this once.
If you wanna ship it and wanna dump it when you are done, I'll buy the aluminum angle from you.
OP
I hadn't decided yet if I was going to try to move the cross member forward or build a new crossmember. I figured if I was going to try and move the stock crossmember forward the time to do that is while I have the back of the frame off? Then put the frame back in place and tack the crossmember back in where I need it?
Okay.
I looked for some steel angle but they didn't have any in stock. The aluminum I have is 4' long. Do I leave it that long or cut it in half and then be able to put a piece on top and bottom?
Also they didn't have any 3/16" plate but did have 1/4" so that is what I pick up for the fish plating.
Yes, but the cuts need to be very clean when you remove it if you are going to reuse it. That and you can do a 1/4" body lift on top of the stock body mount and raise the crossmember to eliminate a normal lift puck. You may even be able to get by with no body lift on top of the body mount if the shock crossmember clears the crossmembers on the bottom of the tub.
Cut it in half and use a piece on the bottom and a piece on the side. You don't need one on both sides and both the top and bottom.
OP
Great, I know I had read some of your posts about raising it to eliminate the need for the body lift puck.
I'm trying to find your pictures of the crossmembers you built instead of moving the stock one forward. I know it is in this thread. I'll have to really look at it and decide which is going to be easier for me. I don't have your fab skills.
The rear I have measured already and know it will end up almost where it starts to curve up. So I have clearance back there but I still need to figure out how to cut it to make it flat for the rear body mount. I ahve some ideas floating around in my head but nothing for sure yet.