comanche 88

I've spent a bit of time lately building my new rear bumper since the old one was always getting in the way when wheeling and was badly beaten up as a result. I started out with 100*30*4mm square tubing which was cut to match the angle of the bed sides and sticking out about 1cm on each side. A local welding shop also made D ring tabs for me out of 2cm steel Feeling a bit naked I used the original bumper brackets since they seemed to be quite sturdy and the were mounted to the frame rails using five bolts, I just had to cut to the right length Started by cutting the tubing to the correct length Raised the sides by adding some pieces of the leftover tubing Since the original bumper was mounted so much lower I had to remove a little bit of the bottom of the original bumper bracket. I added some strengthening on the top to compensate Flush mounted the receiver tube D ring tabs mounted and welded to both inside and outside of bumper The protection for the bed sides was made from 4mm steel which I had a the local welding shop cut and bend based on a cardboard template I made. Almost finished Braced the steel plate using some 30*30 square tubing and painted the bumper in semi-gloss black On the car The next project is rock rails, I already have the materials I need

Also mounted a Warn Transfer case skid: A quick and easy job, and a lot cheaper than breaking the transfer case

Took it wheeling on monday together with a few people from Jeep Club Norway and it performed beyond expectation Most of the time I was following a CJ7 and a TJ, both on 35's and with relatively big lifts. there were only a few places where the wheelbase and overhang stopped me, and quite a few where they gave me a definite advantage I've managed to bend the corners of my original bumper everytime i've gone wheeling but everytime I was able to bend it back into shape with almost no permanent damage. This time I really killed it though! actually tore the sheetmetal half off. here's the moment when it really goes I have plans to build a very slim but robust bumper and I actually went and bought 100*30mm square tubing for it this morning, I also asked the welding shop to make me some Tabs for the recovery points. However i'm going wheeling tomorrow and i needed a quick fix for the original bumper so I wouldn't ruin the bed. Here's what I came up with: The center section inside the frame mount seems to be really sturdy but outside the frame it's just flimsy sheet metal until you get to the vertical support that the rubber extensions are mounted to. I just welded in a piece of square tubing that connects the two vertical supports, I also put a few spotwelds along the bottom which should stop the sheetmetal from tearing off. Flexes really nicely now Damn rear bumper :mad: couldn't get close enough to climb this rock Jan-Erik in the Tj also tried but chickened out when his front wheels lifted, pretty sure I wouldn't have that problem. Some more pics Lots of pics here http://picasaweb.google.no/macern7/GP2Juni2008 And here http://picasaweb.google.no/mareritt/JeepSvinndal262008 And finally here http://vagner.jeje.je/bilder/Mandagstreff-GP-02-06-08

I was thinking about it until I heard there would be no offroading. By the way, your MJ is awesome. which bumper is that? Whereabouts do you live, if you live close to norway you should come to some of jeep club norway's meets. So far I'm the only active member with an MJ

Skyjacker 3" lift and 31s

In the begining it was really high in the front which was due to the combination of a Teraflex 1,5" budget boost which was made for XJ's and the Skyjacker kit which was also high in the front. old and tired leafs probably didn't help either. I removed the Teraflex spacer and put in two OME 1cm spacers. after this it was still very slightly high in the front. Now with the new bumper and winch it's a little lower in the front. It probably hadn't settled completely when I took those pictures. It flexes great now, I also removed the overload leafs which I think helps alot.

Thanks

It sure is In the rom next to where i was working there's probably another 8-10 carriages. In the background of this shot you see my fathers converted bus with room for three horses, one carriage and living space for four people. It's not really my thing though, but i sometimes help out when my father goes to competitions.

Some updates from this weekend Warn Bumper ready to be mounted Bumper brackets mounted to the car. the bumper is held to these brackets using 14 bolts! Sturdy as hell but it should be as the bumper probably weighs around 60-70 kilos and with the winch that's going on top you're looking at around 100 kilos. Aligning these brackets with bolt holes in the bumper turned out to be difficult, especially since I didn't have anyone to help me. Gave up on two of the bolts, but I reckon twelve should do. The finished result with the T-Max vinch mounted. I also trimmed the flares a little

Anyone know where I can get the rubber bend bit that comes out the center of the valve cover? I went to the stealer and asked for this piece and apparantly it wasnt sold separately. I would have to buy the entire set of vacuum/breather hoses which would cost me almost 400$ :nuts:

That thing is sweeeet love the two-tone

Not really mine though, a colleague snapped this on his way to work

It's happened to me also

Check this out :brows: http://www.4x4offroads.com/mahindra-scorpio-suv-from-india.html Looks cool but I wouldn't drive one on the road, check out the spacers :rotf: not to mention the laughable photoshopping

How did you get the front up there?

Some flex pics I was in kind of a hurry so I forgot some of the angles. The driver side rear tire is pretty much jammed into the wheel arches, the front has another 2-3" of up travel before it hits anything.

Thanks

My bad, I hadn't really thought about the SUA thing, I figured that since they were shorter they would have to have a tighter arc. i was thinking of replacing one of the original leaves instead of adding another AAL since I don't want it to be to stiff

They are 31/10,5/15 Interco TRXUS, I want to stay with 31's since I want to keep the body and bed absolutely stock but I can't help thinking how much better 33's would look

I don't think I'm getting the advertised 3+1,5" (full length AAL and 1,5" XJ lift shackle, expected total maybe 3,75"?) of lift at the back, probably because my original leafs have sagged. I didn't measure how much higher the bracket was after flipping it but it was definately not more than 4" and afterwards the valve arm was pointing up at a sharp angle, maybe 60-70 degrees.

The only way is up :roll: I have reconsidered my plans to remove the front spacer since I like the height the way it is, instead I'm going to try and get some old XJ leaf pack and build an MJ/XJ leaf pack to raise the rear that little extra bit. Has anyone tried this? I was thinking that I could use one of the longer XJ leafs and use it to replace one of the shorter leafs in the MJ pack. the tighter radius of the XJ leaf should give it a litte boost, right?

I have considered it since there is a possibility that you can get TÜV papers for this kit, but since I bought this kit from the states I would have to get them directly from Skyjacker. I don't think its worth the hassle and I could put the old springs and "approval wheels" on in an afternoon if I get stopped.

does anyone have pictures of the rear brake load valve on a standard height, unloaded MJ? When i installed the new 3+1,5" lift i flipped the bracket on the rear axle upside down since I believed this would leave the valve in approximately standard angle. Now I got way to much brake force at the rear. I probably need to make a new hole in the axle bracket but for this i need to know the standard angle of the valve.

quite a lot has happened since my last update. Fixed the passenger side power window, installed OEM style electrical radiator fan in the stock location (strangely it has completely stopped overheating even if the extra fan never runs :???: ) Finally got my new wheels, not much different than the ones i was already borrowing, needed a massive amount of balancing weights (185 grams on one wheel :eek: ). The front bumper is off in this pic cause I've started planning my home built bumper. Also I finally got my skyjacker 3" lift kit and some other goodies Clockvise from top left: -Skyjacker Nitro 8000 shocks -Skyjacker 3" lift springs -Skyjacker accesory kit "single flex" including steering damper, adjustable upper and lower links with uniballs, adjustable trackbar, quick disconnects, trackbar and steering damper relocation bracket -Skyjacker full length add a leaf for 3" lift -Powertrax auto lockers for front and rear axle -Steel braided brake hoses, 6" over stock -AGR high performance steering pump -JKS quicker disconnects (Didn't realize quick disconnects came with the skyjacker kit) This was to be combined with the 1,5" budget boost I already had on the car for a 4,5" total lift. I sort of forgot to take any pictures of the whole process, but I got some of the results. One thing the Skyjacker kit didn't have any solution for was that the braket on the lower leaf was to short with the add a leaf in the pack, I had to get this fixed quickly and couldn't find any suitable flat bar. The solution was to use parts of some old horse shoes, these were the right width and already had a hole for the bolt, I don't think i've ever heard of anyone else who has a parts of a horse shoe as a functional part of their car :brows: Removed the overload spring since I didn't think would do anything but reduce articulation The old Trackbar gave me a lot of trouble since it didn't want to come off at frame bracket. after spending almost a whole day in total trying to get this of I gave up and had a local machine shop drill out the bolt for me. The new control arms should give lot of extra articulation and improve the steering geometry LCA uni-ball Side wiev showing Spring, LCA, UCA, shock, brake hose and JKS Quicker disconnect Rear brake hose Trackbar and steering damper relocation bracket The front is more than 1" taller than the rear and also quite a lot stiffer, I might remove or replace the front spring spacer to even out the stance Even though the front is very stiff the car is actually a lot better to drive. I haven't had a chance to test it offroad yet but it seems like most of the articulation is at the back. if the front spings don't loosen up a bit after some use I might consider replacing them for something softer.

From what I understand these engines won't start until the oil pressure reaches a certain value, which makes sense since when I turn the ignition the oil lamp is on and remains on while cranking until just before it catches.