ZJ_flexxxer Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 made it to the JY today and got a set of wj knuckles and calipers. didn't have any luck finding a set of the '02-up akebono calipers but oh well, still better than the stock single piston's. and i also ordered some drilled/slotted wj rotors and ceramic pads that's it for now. waiting on money for more parts lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 got some progress done on the mj got the control arms on, upper control arm bushings in the axle, axle in truck, shocks on, wj knuckles on, coils in, and some other stuff. still waiting on my sway bar links to come in(even though i'm not sure if they're gonna work)and some jks spacers for the knuckles. pics... oh and i accidently got my pinky finger with the hammer in the midst of it all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 ok so my sway bar links came in the mail yesterday. first thing i did was remove the bushing sleeves from the lower bushings. then i test fitted them. and they fit perfect on the tractor pins. popped the clips on there and now i've got quick disco's should i ever need them. and for only about $26. oh and i forgot, my wj drilled/slotted rotors and pads got here. rotors look sweeeet! now i just have to drill the 5x4.5 pattern in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 needed a break from the heat so i'll go ahead and do another update today. tightened down the wj knuckles, and i picked up a set of these wobble extensions from harbor freight for about $10 and this sucker worked awesome for the upper ball joint nut. i also decided to go with the crossover steering setup the wj knuckles use. picked up this wj tie rod but of course it's much to wide for a xj or even a zj setup. even adjusting the ends all the way in, it was still to wide. so my first instinct was to try some shorter ends off another vehicle. i went to o'reillys, auto zone, and advance to try and cross reference something but none of them were any help due to out of stock parts or just pure ignorance. so i returned home a little discouraged and then even to realize that had i found shorter ends that it still wouldn't have worked due to the bends in the wj ends. without these bends the tie rod will hit the diff cover when the steering wheel is turned all the way. so after a few seconds of looking at it and pondering i then of course came to my senses and cut the damn thing in half and cut about 3" out of it. threw some of my not so great looking welds on there. and ta-da! this would also be a pretty great upgrade for anyone wanting to beef up there tie rod since these wj tie rods are alot beefier than the cheesy xj/mj/zj stockers. so this is for the douche at auto zone that told me it would never work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComancheKid45 Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Lookin good man. Keep up the great work and updates :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COFFMAN Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 so after a few seconds of looking at it and pondering i then of course came to my senses and cut the damn thing in half and cut about 3" out of it. threw some of my not so great looking welds on there. and ta-da! this would also be a pretty great upgrade for anyone wanting to beef up there tie rod since these wj tie rods are alot beefier than the cheesy xj/mj/zj stockers. so this is for the douche at auto zone that told me it would never work. :nuts: To cut & weld a steering component seem a little crazy to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 :nuts: To cut & weld a steering component seem a little crazy to me. it wasn't exactly my first choice either but sometimes u just have to work with what you've got. i still trust this cut and welded wj tie rod over the stockers that bend like a horseshoe the first time you bump into something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 well i finally got the jks flange spacers i've been waiting on. spacers in place with the cv's and hubs installed and here's 2 pics of the three 12 point bolts that hold the hubs on looking a little closer to a truck again and here's some pics of the track bar on with a new end i bought this morning planning on drilling the rotors tomorrow and getting the brakes put on almost forgot, i'm picking up this xj for $500 as a donor vehicle for some parts on friday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomguy310 Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 hey there, yeah you might want to cut that back in half and sleeve it and then weld it , just smart thing to do, since your welding with fluxcore, it not getting hot enough... but really like your truck man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 I began looking at my steering setup and I'm not able to run the stock drag link. Since the wj knuckles use the seperate tab and it's about 3 to 4 inches closer to the driver side it makes the stock mj drag link too long to use. I could turn it fine to the right but not all the way to the left. So tomorrow I'll make a trip to the junkyard for a wj draglink. But as far as I could tell everything looks like it should work without any interference. Should be able to find out tomorrow once I get the drag link and wheels/tires back on it. Today I drilled out my rotors. I started by lining up my old rotor on top of the new one and tracing out the bolt pattern with a sharpie marker. Then I used a small punch and hammer to put a little divot in the center of my marks. Then used a decent size drill bit to get a hole started and finally moved up to the step bit to finish it off. Spent a few hours with my drill and this bit today, and I can honestly say I don't want to have to pick up a another drill again for a while. And here's the end result. I think it looks pretty sexy on there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 hey there, yeah you might want to cut that back in half and sleeve it and then weld it , just smart thing to do, since your welding with fluxcore, it not getting hot enough... but really like your truck man i will probably re-do the tie rod in the future but for now it will have to do. and thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MancheKid86 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 replace your lca mount before this happens to you! viewtopic.php?f=7&t=34299&start=72 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 replace your lca mount before this happens to you!http://comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopi ... 9&start=72 i already did. grinded the old one off and welded a new one on. besides did you read the beginning of that post "went 4x4ing" lol. this is a DD only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 so after finding out that wj drag links are the same length and wouldn't work for this application i decided to yet again get the grinder out. chopped the drag link in half and took about 3" out of it. i used the old peice from the wj tie rod to sleeve it with. slid it on there then welded up the center of the drag link. then slid the piece of tubing over and welded it. then i noticed that the nut on the drag link was hitting the tractor pins i used for disconnects. i grabbed the grinder and gave it a little buzz and now the knuckle goes all the way over to the stop. i still have to grab a new end to go on the drag link since the ball joint is bad and some brake lines. but here she is parked out on the street so i could pick up my mess in the driveway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 been meaning to post this pic but haven't got around to it. here's the comanche pulling what's left of the donor xj into the scrapyard. 3300lbs not including the weight of the trailer! i love this little truck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 well i got bored today and decided to fab up a dual steering stabilizer. i've always thought this truck could use one after the lift it felt unstable on bumps in the road. so started out with two peices of angle iron, i basically just laid them opposite of each other and held the stabilizer end between them to get the right width and then tacked them together. then i ran a bead down each side then i cut it down to size after that i did a little grinding and smoothing and then welded it into place in front of the coil spring plate almost identical to the opposite side and at a slight outward angle to reach the tie rod then i made some tabs to mount the stabilizer to the tie rod and welded those on and here's how it came out then a fresh coat of paint! : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89eliminator Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 is that tie rod not even welded straight? man that looks scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT31 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 that tie rod is not only a danger to yourself but other drivers on the road, and why upgrade to wj knuckles and brakes if its only a DD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 that tie rod is not only a danger to yourself but other drivers on the road, and why upgrade to wj knuckles and brakes if its only a DD? for better brakes/greater stopping power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 well the 2.5 jumped timing on me and rather than fix it i just decided it was time for a 4.0. so say hello to the new donor xj. i'm gonna attempt the motor swap as well as dash, steering column etc. using my existing clutch pedal and putting an ax-15 in it. and also gonna put the newer header panel on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomguy310 Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 hey what year is the donor xj? is it 4 wheel drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscowell Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 liking the single 97+ door on there looks good ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ_flexxxer Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 hey what year is the donor xj? is it 4 wheel drive? it's a 98, and yes it's 4x4. i would have liked to gotten a 99 with the newer style intake but this one popped up and the price was right so i took it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomguy310 Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I'm not far from you, I am by the nascar track... what are you going to do with the old motor and parts? I have a 89 2.5 4x4 short bed 5 spd I'm messing with.. also a 2000 Cherokee I want to convert to 4x4... so just always on the look out for parts I need Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHayduke Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 Did you get the taillights out of another MJ? You said JY...not sure if I'm missing something? Were MJ tail lights used on another vehicle? I need a set! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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