hahah man, You are meant to keep my past life on the DL!!! But, you really dug through the archives to find those pics, thanks Rodney.... LOL
98 Jeep ZJ "SHTFV"
- Thread starter Recce01
- Start date
hahah man, You are meant to keep my past life on the DL!!! But, you really dug through the archives to find those pics, thanks Rodney.... LOL
ranchmuffler
New member
He had a good teacher. lol
Holy Crap! Who let you in here? Ok everyone, this is my dad and yes, he was a great teacher
Like most welder fab guys, I cut my teeth at his muffler shop. Nice to see you over here. Welcome to the Portal!WOw thanks for the pics. Be glad I dont live near you. I would camp in your garage to learn.
hahahah! Why do you think I moved to the middle of nowhere? My buddies rarely stop by anymore, and I actually get work done!! Thanks man!
jeepdreamer
Expedition Leader
Holy Speed Holes!!!!!!!!!!!! I really gotta try my hand at dimple die work one day... Are they expensive and hard to use?
JacksonRally
Adventurer
Thank you John! I have been welding for a lot of years, but I still have a long way to go
I hate him.
HAHA Thanks Scotty!
and i hate you too
HAHA... Ya the dimple die is a cool way to add strength. They are not that expensive, especially when you buy complete sets like this one...
http://www.pacificcustoms.com/AC000200S.html
HAHA Thanks Scotty!
and i hate you too
Dont Hate!
Suspension Continued
I have been out romping this Jeep around for a little while now and decided it was time to take a second look at the suspension. I started with the panhard bar in the front of the Jeep. The small 10mm bolt that attached the bar to the Axle was completely slotted and seized to the metal bushing insided the rubber bushing. Chris is a guy who works for Ranch Muffler, he helped with the OG suspension install. Anyway, Chris happened to have a kit to change that 10MM bolt to a 1/2" bolt. He was kind enough to supply the kit to me, and install it! Thank you Chris!!
Next stop was ICON, for a little discussion about articulation.
More to come as soon as I can, Tomorrow is Offroad Expo, and I have lots to do. If you come by the Offroad Expo in Pamona, be sure to stop by and say Hi, My Jeep will be there as a feature vehicle.
I have been out romping this Jeep around for a little while now and decided it was time to take a second look at the suspension. I started with the panhard bar in the front of the Jeep. The small 10mm bolt that attached the bar to the Axle was completely slotted and seized to the metal bushing insided the rubber bushing. Chris is a guy who works for Ranch Muffler, he helped with the OG suspension install. Anyway, Chris happened to have a kit to change that 10MM bolt to a 1/2" bolt. He was kind enough to supply the kit to me, and install it! Thank you Chris!!
Next stop was ICON, for a little discussion about articulation.
More to come as soon as I can, Tomorrow is Offroad Expo, and I have lots to do. If you come by the Offroad Expo in Pamona, be sure to stop by and say Hi, My Jeep will be there as a feature vehicle.
Firehawkclone
Adventurer
One of the best upgrades I've done was the WJ front brake upgrade. It's should almost be mandatory for a expo ZJ driving in the mountains. Flipping the steering is just a bonus. The steering is so strong now, I've found the next weakest part. The sector shaft in the box.
Any info on the WJ brake upgrade? Never heard of that trick. How is the steering stronger now? I feel like I missed a whole page of info?
edit: Ok I found about the upgrade.
ZJ brake upgrade
Last edited:
88Xj
Banned
Any info on the WJ brake upgrade? Never heard of that trick. How is the steering stronger now? I feel like I missed a whole page of info?
edit: Ok I found about the upgrade.
ZJ brake upgrade
The info is as simple as this.
Wj kuckles, calipers, rotors (redrill rotors to 5x4.5..simple & can be done in your garage with a decent hand drill)
00-06 Xj, TJ or Lj hubs
Wj lower ball joints (different taper than Xj, tj, zj ect)
1/4" hub spacer
At that point you can bolt on the knuckles with their HUGE brakes & you can still bolt up your stock steering, or whatever steering your currently running. I did exactly this, wj swap with v8 zj steering. Basically do the swap, recoupe some cash then do steering.
To do OTK you will need the JKS wj swap steering, or 1.5" .250 wall DOM tubing. You can either tap the tubing straight out (machine shop) to fit the stock WJ TRE's or buy the inserts & weld them in. If you run a front sway bar you will need JKS raised sway bar end links as well. Some do the OTA (over the axle) track bar bracket but I've seen many many setups not do this without an issue..its mainly to get the track bar & drag link on the same angle to avoid bumpsteering. But with true crossover like this, there really isn't any bumpsteer so its not as important.
A local on 35's & 4.5-5" has the swap, with cross & a IRO track bar in the stock location..angles are the same & his jeep drives like a damn dream, no bumpsteer, no wandering or slope. The crossover is very very nice!
If your interested I've got knuckles, calipers, & 00-06 hubs brand new I can sell ya. You will need a 1/4" JKS hub spacer (40), brake pads & rotors (150), Wj lower ball joints (50). I pulled my setup because I went back to OEM rims which are 15's and 5.5" of backspacing. They do not clear the huge calipers obviously. Calipers are practically new, hubs are brand new. Pm if interested.
Sorry to highjack Scott!
BlackClassic
If Not Now When?
Haven't checked in since the biginnning but your build is nothing short of Fantastic! From the welding, ideas, products and jeep as a whole is just awesome. I am truly envious of your build and good luck for your future mods!
I have a little something something planned for the drivertrain and steering, you will have to stay tuned for that!
As far as the 1/2" bolt upgrade, it is offered by Rubicon express. It is this one....http://www.quadratec.com/products/16311_642.htm
That seems like a nice upgrade! not a hijack, just a continued discussion
Thank you very much sir!