87Warrior

Might be able to swing something like this. If I drive, I could haul up parts...but not with the MJ. I could probably fly up there with my father... Obviously no axles or the would come, only helping hands. How far is Pete from the nearest small airport?

Did a little bit of work this evening. It keeps getting more and more simplified with each design. Based off of $500MJ's brackets, reason46's bumper design and the JCR tie-in brackets.

I may be a little late on the congratulations, but it is still sincere! Very nice truck. This is what I refer to as the perfect, big, Comanche. Congrats

(not hot linked intentionally) This image answered most of my questions Now I am itching to get home to try out a different scheme that is floating around in my head.

Willy, thanks for the pictures. That looks great! I do have a few questions for you. - does the winch sit close to center? - I notice it is sitting in there feet forward. Is the M 8000 designed to mount like that? - how do you access the free spool lever? - how is it mounted/supported? My guess is the bumper is the winch mount, somehow. Do you have any pictures or a build with pictures? I do not own the XRC8, I just used its dimensions. I would like to use one of the "rock" winches, but throwing down $1K on a winch is not for me. I know a M8000 can be had very reasonably.

I would repair the vent line and clean up the diff. If more oil shows up, pull the cover and try again. A pair of jack stands, a jack and set of good metric sockets and wrenchs is all you should need to lift the front. Grab a buddy and do it in the driveway.

Seems like you got the better end of the deal. Very cool. One of those is on my 'someday' list.

You stole that truck from the guy! What a deal. After dealing with rust in my truck I would have paid $ 1K for a rust free shell. Welcome to the club, officially.

qyQi4js2fn0 :redX: Nice rig, HOT headers. I feel like that some days.

Granted you only go 25mph around the switchbacks.

My personal opinion is that with 3" of lift you need adjustable arms. Not only are they stronger, but allow better suspension travel and allows you to get the axle set precisely under the truck. In theory, if your tires don't rub the back of the inner fender (towards the cab) with stock CAs, you shouldn't have a problem when compressing the axle as it gets pushed forward.

I interpreted the problem as rubbing on the back of in inner fender, directly behind the flare.

Ditch the spacers. They are not necessary on a lifted truck with the 245s. Not to mention the Moabs have less backspacing than most Jeep wheels causing the tire to stick out more.

Sorry, not much has happened. I did manage to get that tie-coat primer sanded down and apply TWO coats of the Chassis Black Top-Coat to the frame. It is a satin black color now. I know ever square inch of that danged uni-frame and am tired of looking at it :nuts: The body shop guy called and said we should be able to drop it off within a week or two; he has to get a horse drawn carriage painted and out of his shop :rotfl2: I have been working on a Hidden Hitch Design Proposal. Trying to keep it looking stock with some added safety and utilitarian functions included.

Happy birthday yall! Jim - I must say, you are the most entertaining member here!

Between pasture burning and clearing downed trees this weekend, I managed to get a foamcore mock up of the art built. (please excuse the cell phone picture, I forgot my camera) It is sitting about a 1/4" too low because of some flaring at the bottom of the cross member. It also appears I will not need to move the bumper forward for the winch to fit. I need to find a different winch to use and base my design from. There is no way a 21" long winch can have the drum centered on the rig when sandwitched between the steering box and inner passenger side frame rail. It may not be an issue at all in the grand scheme of things, but I will know its not right. Once I find a suitable winch, preliminary fitment and cuts will be made on my donor rig.

Finally, some detailed pictures of the setup! Seems like nobody else ever wanted to share. Can you tell how the spool leaver was accessed when on the truck? I assume through the opening on top of the bumper, but I want verification. Is the fairlead centered on the bumper? Is the space left on top of the bumper offset to one side of the other?

Not only are they bolt in and the stock width, they are the correct bolt pattern for factory MJ wheels.

If your goal is 35s at max, the TJ Rubi 44 would be sufficient if you upgraded the shafts. I have a TJ Rubi 44 waiting to go into my truck, but I am only going with 31s. It also came with the Vanco Big Brake Kit, Alloy USA Shafts, ORO Steering, RE TB and a Rockcrusher diff cover with 17k miles on it. I paid less for it than most folks ask for a stock axle. I had to drive far into OK to pick it up. It is nice they are bolt in and a factory Jeep part. Its a shame most of them are trying to be sold at such high prices. That said, I would do it. Of course I say that, I already did. You might be most happy if you got just the housing and filled it with the parts you want.

I really like the black/gray interior. It adds some visual depth to the dash and floors.

:rotf: Can't wait to see the pictures. You are awesome Pete!

I won't debate the swaybar issue, but you should really have one up front. How are your tie-rod ends? How was the trackbar bushing at the pasenger side? Are you SURE that trackbar is tight? How are the control arm bushings? Any cracks or the bushing not sitting centered? What is your caster? Pinion angle? Driveshaft angle? How did you check the hub and ball joints? I think this bounce/vibration is a worn out bushing flopping around under the right conditions. You are putting a lot of extra stress on old worn out components.

That guy in Marysville still has the parts truck. We just can't get our schedules to work out to meet up. He knows I want to strip it down and won't crush it. I've been meaning to get back with you but I have been swamped in the evenings.

I have, but not installed, the H4 IPF lens and HID setup from skinnypedal.com. The lights are triggered from the stock wiring and powered directly from the battery. I went with the 4300K lights. The IPF housings provide a pretty good cut off, which is desired with HIDs.

What about the cream/tan or blue/gray color on the JKs?