theicecreampeople
Adventurer
wow ..its not a fj anymore ....crazy cool build brother ....cant wait for some offroad pics .....j
FJC Long Travel Build: 3Link Rear w/ Coilovers, Camburg, and more
- Thread starter FJLED
- Start date
Thanks
No plans to address the steering at this point. CVs would probably the weak link, but we are working on some prototype ones with RCV to hopefully eliminate that issue. That leaves the front r&p and steering (as you've pointed out). Haven't heard of many folks racks going out, but have seen a few tierods go (just planning on carrying spares). Tundra rack might be a "bolt in alternative", but no immediate plans there and don't know if anyone thats tried it.
If r&p or the steering end up being major problems we'll address them as needed. However, I'm already envisioning the next phase of the build when I no longer have need for FJ as a part time daily driver (cross my fingers things hold up until then).
Next phase would be currie or dutchman independent front housing and move the front suspenion up an inch or two to clear 37s, different rear axle with a 4 link and pushed back and inch or two as well, fuel cell inside, cage, custom dash, and some weight reduction. Currently tho all thats outside of the scope of what we use the vehicle for now (travel a fair amount with 3 large dogs), so it will wait until we get a replacement vehicle which is a few years down the road.
Bypass shocks are what took so long (had a set of used 8" coilovers for the front & the 14" coilovers on the rear came within a week of ordering). No idea what SAW's deal is with getting bypass shocks out and why it takes so long. We ordered through Camburg and it was quite a headache.
In the end we didn't even get what we ordered (piggy back and they sent a remote reservoir). Unfortunately it will be a PIA to fit the remote reservoir (if we can even do so) and we've been told "we won't see a remote reservoir from SAW"...sending these back isn't apparently an alternative either.
Would have ordered through fox if I had to do it again (or perhaps ICON if they had better turn around times). Fox said they could have had them in 2 weeks from point of order and we were considering this when it was going on 3 months with little updates from SAW.
Hopefully it will be ready for wheeltoberfest at hiddenfalls in October if you want to see it in person.
Wilbur
Adventurer
I would love to see someone ditch the stock front setup for a custom front completely but I think most of the guys willing to do that just go for SAS instead. The only thought in my head about that is how much more travel could you really gain and keeping roughly the same width. That is still a ways down the road, so no trying to reinvent the wheel just yet.
I can't wait to see this back on the road and seeing how it performs. I would be a little upset about the coilovers, but atleast you got them now.
marshal
Burrito Enthusiast
if i may, you may want to look at replacing those heims at some point with a better joint like a Currie johnny joint or similar style ball joint from Ballistic fab. reason i say this is those heims lack any way of getting lubrication short of putting some 3-1 oil on the exposed bearing and over time as they wear will start squeaking. i had a few heims on my jeep and after the first winter with the salt trucks causing the steel to pit, move and be repolished they started squeaking terribly.
otherwise, looks great!
otherwise, looks great!
There's tradeoffs with everybuild. To build a custom IFS front end you are easily at the cost of a SAC if not more. Aftermarket 4x4 IFS support is still in its infancy compared to the support SA folks have. However, with folks like Shannon Campbell winning KOH with an IFS rig it should help enhance the aftermarket IFS developments.
Main driver for the currie independent 9 housing would be for a larger r&p, wider selection of axle options, etc. Side benefit would be the narrow width of the differential and from there it would be a fun geometry problem for the entire front suspension and determining your travel - also would need to rethink the front fender area a bit to gain much more uptravel with a 37" tire.
Thanks for the feedback. A "good rod end/joint" seems to be in the eye of the beholder. A lot of folks are very against BF joints (coming from folks who've run them) and there are johnny joint haters as well while others swear by both.
I'm not expecting a lifetime out of the heims. If pitting and wear occurs they are cheap enough and easy to swap out. They are 4130 heat treated housings with an impregnated teflon race and the ball is a heat treated bearing steel - everythings chrome plated (spacers are zinc coated). We make several trips from TX to PA throughout the year and winter so we'll see how they handle the salty roads. Some folks using em have gotten 5 years or so before needing to replace them (cleaning and teflon spray with basic matienance), but I'd be impressed if they last that long.
Once it gets moving again I'll let you know how they hold up.
Should go a bit faster now?
X-runner folks are putting ~340hp & ~360ft/lbs down with same setup on 93. e85 bumps the torque up to ~400 and hp to ~390. Hopefully will get the FJC on the dyno by years end to see what it puts to the wheels for comparison on the drivetrain losses.
X-runner folks are putting ~340hp & ~360ft/lbs down with same setup on 93. e85 bumps the torque up to ~400 and hp to ~390. Hopefully will get the FJC on the dyno by years end to see what it puts to the wheels for comparison on the drivetrain losses.
Longer Splined Axles
D60 Outer Bell
930 Inners
Finding the happy spot
Uncut fender well
First Cut
Not Quite
Rear of Fender Well
Passenger Side Mocked Up
Passenger Side Finished
Close to Full Bump at lSteering Lock...Wheel Still Spins
Slightly past full bump (14" of travel at this point)
Front Bump vs. Rear Bump
Would be nice to get more uptravel/bump out of the rear, but its a limitation of the platform and configuration.
Hafwit
Adventurer
That is an impressive build to be sure--unless you have an incredible source for highly discounted prices on the parts, I would imagine your cost of parts, fabrication, and installation exceeds the value of the vehicle. Out of curiosity--what is/was the ultimate goal, and why did you choose the FJ as the basis?
Thanks,
Greg
Thanks,
Greg
Not neccessarily. A lot of parts which were originally on it were removed and sold offsetting a large portion of the new parts costs. But yes, the more things you add the more expensive it gets. In general parts and labor from the get go can be done for less than the purchase price of an FJC.
Vehicle was bought to replace a honda civic out of college with no a/c. Wouldn't exactly fly in Houston, TX and the additional storage space was useful when moving.
Use will be a part time daily driver, well suited for offroad trails as well as high speed runs (potential prerunning for TX baja series), yet comfortable enough to drive cross country and camp with 3 large dogs dogs. Used the FJC cause that's what I owned and its been suitable enough for trips with the dogs and wheeling to date. Just making it a bit more capable and seeing what you can really push the IFS to while retaining the creature comforts/funtionality (i.e. before going to a dedicated trail rig/buggy).
Fully understand that the use isn't aligned with most folks objectives on this site. I just posted it up out as courtesy showing the limitations of the various IFS setups as a reference for those interested.
ReconH3
Heavy Duty Adventurer
What an amazing build!!! Congratulation on such an outstanding job. You really went above and beyond any other FJ I've ever seen. Very well thought out and executed. Especially because you went ahead a did it with the ride you had instead of going with the typical mainstream vehicles. You should get one of the 4x4 mags to do an article on it.
"Ex Umbris Venimus"
Sent from my iPhone
"Ex Umbris Venimus"
Sent from my iPhone
ReconH3
Heavy Duty Adventurer
I don't know if you were familiar with cantilever suspension systems? It would have saved you having to hack up into the interior. I'm not familiar with the FJs enough to know if you have the space for it. Here's a pic of the setup we did for mine.
You get 14" of travel with a 7" travel shock.
"Ex Umbris Venimus"
Sent from my iPhone
You get 14" of travel with a 7" travel shock.
"Ex Umbris Venimus"
Sent from my iPhone
Thanks for the comments. I'm familiar with the cantilever setup. Definitely has its advantages as well as its limitations (just like any other setup). It wouldn't work for me due to the 19gallon auxilary gas tank I have directly behind the axle. Ideally I would have done a triangulated 4 link setup, but that would require removing the oem gas tank and running a fuel cell inside (wouldn't work the the dogs). Would have liked to modify the wheel base and a bunch of other stuff as well, but have to draw the line somewhere (be better suited spending that money on a dedicated buggy or similar).
You can probably stay out of the interior if running a 12" coilover or if you are willing to have the axle mounts situated lower (similar to how they come setup OEM). Interior wasn't a big deal for me as the rear seats were removed 1.5 years ago since its just me and my fiancee traveling around with the dogs 99% of the time. The sheetmetal which covers the coilovers matches OEM sheetmetal fairly well and should be covered/hidden by the front half of the storage system when the project is wrapped up.
You can probably stay out of the interior if running a 12" coilover or if you are willing to have the axle mounts situated lower (similar to how they come setup OEM). Interior wasn't a big deal for me as the rear seats were removed 1.5 years ago since its just me and my fiancee traveling around with the dogs 99% of the time. The sheetmetal which covers the coilovers matches OEM sheetmetal fairly well and should be covered/hidden by the front half of the storage system when the project is wrapped up.
Scott Brady
Founder
Fantastic work! I look forward to seeing it in the field.
It will be at Overland Expo in 2012, so you can check it out there. Originally was going to be at the 2011 expo with the build being finished just in time, but the original suspension modifications didn't really meet expectations.....and we'll just leave it at the scope creep began 9 months ago now, haha.