Project Trail MJunk

I suppose it's time to start a build up thread. Actually I need some motivation to get my butt out in the garage to get this thing built for the wheeling season coming up.

I bought the MJ from a member on this board back in December. It is a 88, 4.0, AW-4, 231 with a non-disco HP30, Ford 8.8 rear, both with 4.10's. It has 4.5" RE springs up front and spring over in the back.

My goal is to build a reliable trail Jeep. Nothing hardcore. Just something to have fun here in the midwest. It's not my daily driver and I will be trailering it to the trails. I'm sure I'll probably drive it every once and a while on the street but mostly just on the trails.

It looks like this.....

I've got a set of 5 of these to go on it.....

I'm putting this inside it.....

And this is going under the front of it......

The plan is to put a Lockright in the open front diff and weld the rear. It already has a rear bumper built for it (thanks to the previous owner) but it's going to need a front winch bumper of some sort. I'm kinda thinking about getting that Detours Offroad deal and bolting up a winch of some kind. After it's all done it's getting a olive drab paint job.

Well.... that about does it. Now all I have to do is actually work on it. Hopefully now I'll have the motivation to do it.

Updates and build pics coming soon.

Don't forget the rocker guards. :D

Oh ya..... definately need to build a set of those.

I salivate at the site of krawlers and MJs.

Any pics of the whole truck?

I've got some pics of it on 32's but that's kinda boring. Not much to look at at this point. The hood and drivers fender have surface rust all over them. The MJ was "Bountyhunters" old MJ.

I see cage material :beerhead:

mmmmmm....... krawlers. hope theyre only goin offroad. theyre street tread life is poor but they are proven offroad (id get em but I'm too poor).

did you do the tube work or did ya get someone to do it for ya?

This is my second set of Krawlers. I had a set on a TJ for a couple years. I actually won them in a raffle. :D I found this set of five used for $575. They are about 85% tread. They are blue labels.

As for the cage... it's a S&W Racecars Cherokee EWS (welded seam, not DOM) kit. The only thing I did was have them send me the rear bars (that go from the "b" hoop back into the bed) straight instead of bent to go over the backseat in a XJ. I then put a little bend in them at the "b" hoop end so I can run them straight out of the cab above the rear window and then down to above the rear axle. Before Christmas they were running a special on their "10 point" cages. It was like $219 plus shipping. I got it to the door for just under $300. I'm going to add a bit to the cage in the way of triangulation in the halo and back in the "b" hoop. I'll gusset it up and probably run a "v" in the windshield as well. For me, a cage is all about saving a life. If it saves my noggin', or my kids noggin' then I'm happy. I've never been a huge fan of exo's although I understand why people run them. I'm just more of an interior rollcage kinda guy.

For waht it is worth.... Iam going to be doing an interior cage as well on this build.... Mostly so I can reinforce the front of my rig..... and to make a "drivers capsule" for that serios roll or flop that is in my future

Sounds like you'll be needing it. Pong sounds like it's going to be pretty Hardcore.

Since mine is just a trail rig I hope to never use my cage. But, there is no way I'd go wheeling without one. The risks just aren't worth it in my opinion. It only takes once right?

I've got some pics of it on 32's but that's kinda boring. Not much to look at at this point. The hood and drivers fender have surface rust all over them. The MJ was "Bountyhunters" old MJ.

sweet at least it stayed in the club. i have the old axles from your "new" MJ under mine...lol

Right on! :cheers:

Progress is finally being made. I've got the long arm brackets on, the Lockright in the front axle, the Krawlers mounted on some Soft 8's and a few other odds and ends.

I need to cut the factory control arm frame mounts off still before putting the front axle back under it.

Oh... and got new u-joints in the TJ shafts for the front axle.

I'll post some progress pics when I get the front axle back under it with the long arms.

looks great so far. krawlers are so nice. what size are they?

Thanks man. The Krawlers are 35 x 13.5 - 15's.

Getting some work done. I ground the factory control arm mounts off today. That was absolutely no fun whatsoever. (note to self, must invest in plasma cutter) The new mounts are in...

Put the Lockright in the Dana turdy... the cross shaft would't clear the ring gear so had to pull the carrier, take ring gear off, install lockright, re-assemble. Only took around 45 minutes and was a pleasure to do on the workbench.

I also had to install the "Krawler" joint in the drivers side upper axle mount. The factory bushing from what I have heard is a real bear to get out. I am thinking the previous owner must have replaced them because one good whap with the hammer and the old bushing flew across the garage floor!

I also stumbled on an awesome deal locally on a set of USA Superior alloy shafts and OX U-joints. The shafts have 100 miles on them and the OX joints are brand new. I only paid $300!!!!! These are over $1K new shipped when you add it all up if purchased new! :cheers:

More soon.

I also had to install the "Krawler" joint in the drivers side upper axle mount. The factory bushing from what I have heard is a real bear to get out. I am thinking the previous owner must have replaced them because one good whap with the hammer and the old bushing flew across the garage floor!

 

Can I get some info on this? Never seen em before.

The joint is part of the Rock Krawler long arm upgrade. I'm sure they would sell just that joint. It's super easy to install. It's basically the same joint they use on their lower long arms.

I have read that if you don't take all of their joints apart and grease them heavily that they will make a lot of noise and prematurely wear. That's what all that red grease is in the joint you can see in the pic.

The RK long arm upgrade recently went through some changes. Their website says that they only fit like 92 and up XJ's now. It looks like their frame brackets are different or something from what I bought in December.

Before ordering the kit I called them up and they told me to measure from the center of the rear bolt on the lower control arm back to the first crossmember bolt. I think mine was 18" or something. Whatever it was it was the magic number as the kit supposedly doesn't fit all MJ's or XJ's. I'm thinking it's probably the MJ's with the Peugot that are different. Mine is an automatic.

The point is call them up. They have great customer service and will answer any questions you might have.

Let me know if there is anything else I can tell you about.

:cheers:

Are you running a different crossmember for your long arms, or just putting the hangers on the frame only like leaf springs?

Thank you for the RK info!

The kit doesn't use a crossmember. I suppose that's how they keep the price down. I paid less than $400 to my door for their long arm upgrade. The kit itself is way beefy and mounts to the frame rail using a combination of welding and bolts.... The back of the frame mount is bolted to the crossmember using the factory hole locations (then the crossmember is put on top of the bracket.) Then the front half of the bracket is welded on to the frame rail.

I think there is some write-ups on NAXJA. Just search "Rock Krawler".

sorry to get off topic but i m ver interested in the rk LA upgrade and wanted to find out if this is true some guy told me that if u dd with a 3-link the passenger side tire will lift off the groung while turning

Uh... Really doubtful.

Although... I used to have a TJ with the standard 93" wheelbase. Now... with a short arm 5 or so inch lift (specifically rear) and a locker you can pull a front tire off the ground pretty easily. The reason is the control arm angles get really, really steep causing the COG to be placed really far back on the chassis and causing crazy amounts of lift. This combined with a locker and turning will cause a tire to come off the ground.

For example... if you are turning left really quickly (so the locker stays engaged) from a dead stop the left front tire would come off the ground.

Now... with long arms (better control arm angles) this doesn't occur on the same TJ with the same lift height.

Now, how could this apply to a MJ? I don't think it could. The leaf springs are flat so they provide no crazy center of gravity changes like the TJ described above. The three link in no way could contribute to lifting.

So, in a nutshell... Could it happen on some badly setup vehicles? Yes. Could it happen on a MJ. I so no freakin way.

:cheers:

By the way... The Superior shafts are the wrong ones. They are CJ Dana 30 shafts. The guy selling them screwed up (he had TJ and CJ shafts for sale) and gave me the wrong ones. Luckily he has the TJ shafts sitting in his garage still (didn't sell them to someone as CJ shafts) so all I have to do is run down there this weekend and swap for the correct shafts. I have to take the OX joints out and put them into the TJ shafts when I get them.

:mad:

I think there is some write-ups on NAXJA. Just search "Rock Krawler".

Done and done. Read lots of good things, looks like you'll be having fun with the set-up!

I hope so!

I used to be a TJ guy but have always wanted a MJ. My reason and theory behind the long arm is... as long as one end of the Jeep flexes really well then all should be good on the trail. I don't think it really matters which end flexes well... the front or the back... as long as one side does. So, I am setting the front up to flex and the rear kinda stiff to aid in stability.

Rock Krawler got a bad rap when previous owners marketed and sold sub-standard suspension kits. They have come a long way and I like their stuff. I had Clayton's stuff on my TJ and it is the cats @$$! (in other words... I like it.) But... for the price the RK stuff is such a great deal. Although... I think the price just jumped up another $100 on the long arm upgrade here in January.