Flexj

Had to work well into the night but its back on its own weight now... Still need to get the drivelines hooked up, brakes bled and a few other odds and ends but its at least moveable now if I need to get it out of the way. Should be under its own power by the end of this weekend.

Last but certainly not least I got the rear axle installed. Leaf perches are super easy to set that was no issue, but man cutting off all those brackets was like a 4 hour job... Definitely wish I had a plasma cutter to take care of those.

Its mostly in. I need to shorten the trac bar a bit. I am waiting on a reamer from Trailforged to ream out the pitman arm to fit the newer much heavier duty tie rod ends so I can get the drag link installed. I'm thinking I will need to chop the drag link and shorten it about 2" also but that still remains to be seen for sure. I will also need to figure out a mounting solution for my JKS quicker disconnects.

So the lower control arm bolts are also a bit larger. To me it was easier to weld a thick washer to the outside of the control arm mounts and use the stock MJ/XJ hardware. I could have drilled out the sleeve in my long arm kit for the lower control arm but this just seemed better. Especially when considering that the lower control arm holes for some reason are square instead of circles and seem to have a ton of play in them. The trac bar had to have some cutting done, but the width was correct. I just had to trim is a bit to bit the curve of the core4x4 trac bar I'm using. This is also the point where I realized that the stock axles have the spring perch sitting a couple inches in front of the axle tube, not centered like the JT setup.. Thats fine tho, I will be ammending that soon I just need to get it moveable under its own power for now. Ill come back with a spring compressor, drop one side and move the buckets 2" forward to match the MJ/XJ setup. I will also use that oppurtunity to reinforce the trac bar mount where I had to do some cutting to make it all fit correctly.

The front end is not 100% bolt in, but its really not that far off. I had to drill out the upper control arms to 5/32" to fit the larger hardware for the 210 front axle. The spring perches are also a bit wider, and also sit centered on the axle instead of forward of the axle tube as the stock xj/mj dana 30s do. I cut off the factory spring perches and moved them inward to 36.5" center to center and re welded them back in place, just tac welds for now until everything is fully set up. This landed them super nicely right inside the shock mounts, pushed up against the outter section of the shock mount from the inside as pictured. If I was doing this again I wouldnt even measure I would just set them exactly where I did as pictured.

So, I thought I was done... But I stumbled across some Jeep Gladiator axles that I just couldn't pass up.. 5.13 gears and curry diff covers. Honestly they are not a HUGE upgrade, but I never plan on really wheeling this more so a driver and weekend warrior that I hope to keep semi nice. The JT axles have significantly larger brakes, axle tubes are stronger, ring gears are larger, bearings are larger, shafts are stronger etc etc. Its not a dana 60/14b but its between there and standard 44s. Advantek 210 front and 220 rear. Front ring gear equates to an 8.26" ring gear which is an entire inch larger then the dana 30 and the 220 rear comes out to 8.78" ring gear which compared to the 8.8 I had is obviously ever so slightly smaller, but with better brakes the correct wheel lug pattern for my wheels and obviously the 5.13 gears.

Thank you! I was super skeptical at first but I'm glad I tried it!

I'm actually really happy with how it looks on the Comanche. I was hesitant at first but it fits really well. I may end up keeping an eye out for a rubicon version.

Well I stayed up way to late working on the MJ last night but I did manage to get the Gladiator bumper mounted up

Rear shocks finally installed.

Got the JKS Quicker Disconnects installed. Wasnt terrible but wasnt fun cutting and drilling out the mounts for the axle end either. First time ive ever used them, ive always been cheap in the past and just unbolted them when I got to the trail when I actually ran a sway bar.. Overall happy with the product and would recommend.

And got my VSS for the LS PCM hooked up. Originally I purchased the Novak adaptor for the t case speedo location, but as I was going through the wiring behind the dash I realized that the factory cruise control module is the SAME EXACT THING that novak is selling for like 70 bucks after shipping.. They are both rated at 8k PPR, so either method requires you to change the pulse settings in the LS PCM. I highly recommend saving some money if your planning on using the Novak adaptor and just use the cruise control module. Other benefit is that I have it wired under the dash instead of back at the t case, so I have literally zero wires back of the bellhousing since I'm running a manual.

Did a new rubber boot for the slip section of my t case. Ive been running my driveline like this for over five years with no issues. Its a ranger drive shaft, I used it because it was the proper length and had the 8.8 flange on the driveline already. I attached the u-joint to the xj slip section of the 231j, so yes it has two sections of slip. It works great, zero vibrations, has been reliable for years so I am going to leave it for now, maybe do a SYE in the future not sure, don't really need it with the 97+ 231.

Threw the gas tank skid up to get it out of the way, tired of tripping on it. I sanded and painted everything I would be able to reach on the top side, but I need to do the same on the bottom. Ill get to it eventually, long as I'm not tripping on it I'm happy

So I actually have the core4x4 ones sitting in a box not installed yet, the only reason why is because they give you another like 1" of lift minimum and I don't want to go any taller... Ive been considering drilling a new hole for the shackles forward of the old mounting location to correct the shackle angle a bit and possibly allow me to use the adjustable shackles... However I'm in no rush to do that since its sitting right about where I want it to. Using a cherokee shackle like others said may be your best option.