The Wilderbeest

[88towmanche]

Thanks, good information.

 

Going to put a airbag kit on my rig to help with towing - boat motor & trailer only clock in at ~2500lbs but like to be overly cautious dragging stuff around.

[agamble]

After freshening up the sleeping platform of the Wildernest with enamel paint; 1: it looked much better than before (i.e., cleaner/newer) 2: the dirt didn't stick to it as readily  3: it had a smoother feel to the touch than the raw resin 4: it encapsulated the fiberglass fibers that were breaking free. Seeing as I only used about an 1/8 of the quart to cover the sleeping platform the remainder of the quart was used to freshen up the rest of the cap.

 

Before:

 

 

 

After: (Note the silicone sealant used around the edge of the windows didn't allow the paint to stick or cure very well, it was left unpainted.)

 

 

[agamble]

In the next month  I’m having 4.11s and an E-locker installed in the rear Dana 44 to match the front Dana 30 currently under the Jeep. 

 

 

With a bit of research I decided on a method for painting the Dana 44 that I’d sourced a year or so back. I ultimately went with paint verses powder coating for the simple reason of as the paint gets messed up all I need to do is run to Home Depot or Ace and pick a couple cans of paint and recast the axle where the paint is damaged. 

 

Previous experience with powder coating has shown that as it becomes damaged you can’t repair it. As it starts to peel/strip you need to remove the entire coat and start over. Now while the paint won’t last as long it can be easily fixed, therefore I’m theory it should last longer and prevent rust with routine upkeep.

 

Here’s what I did to paint the axle over 3 days. 

 

Day 1:

After removing the drum brakes and backing plates and axle shafts all the built up grease, dirt, flaking coating and rust with a wire cup brush. (This step took longer than anticipated as the there was much more grease than I originally thought.) Then I washed the axle housing to remove residual grease and dirt with Dawn dawn dish soap  a scrub brush. 

 

Day 2:

Sprayed on 3 coats of Rust-O-leum automotive primer and allowed it to cure for 24 hours. 

 

 

Day 3:

Applied 3 coats of Rust-O-leum appliance epoxy. With a 30-minute dry time between each coat.  Where it now sits for the next week to allow the paint to fully cure. The appliance epoxy has become my go to for rattle can paints as I've found it to be more durable than the regular Rust-O-leum.

 

 

It’s took awhile but it works well and is not costly. All told I’m $20 in to it. I’m hoping the that it will hold up well with the knowledge that it it’s going to scuff on the first impact and/or wear off with enough time. 
 

Lastly, currently the Jeep has 30” BFGoodrich All Terrains. To bring the RPMs back down after the 4.11s are installed some new kicks in the flavor of 33x10.5x15 BFG KM3 were purchased during the 4WD holiday day. I’ve heard really good things regarding the KM3. 

 

I knew new I didn’t want to go any wider than 10.5. I really went back and forth between 31s and 33s. Both were practical and eventually the aesthetics won out. I’ve always thought the LWB looked better with a little bigger tire size. 

[agamble]

When driving around I had metallic hollow clunk from the sway bar end link contacting the passenger coil when ever the suspension would cycle up and down. 

 

 

The result of the sway bar end link rubbing on the coil. I didn't want this to happen to the new coils going on the Jeep.

 

As I was replacing the worn old coils with some new ones, I took the opportunity to add a set of Synergy rear sway bar relocation brackets. They brackets move the sway bar down 1" and forward 1-7/16" for added clearance. The hole spacing for the brackets line up perfectly with the MJ frame and and sway bar bushing brackets. The two main issuesI had/have with the brackets is the steering box brace from KevinsOffroad I have on the Jeep wouldn't allow the brackets to sit level. The simple solution was to use a few washers as a spacer front to level the brackets out.

 

The second issue is the brackets overhang the front of the frame.

 

 

However, the results speak for themselves. The benefits definitely outweigh the two cons that I found regarding the brackets. Plenty of clearance between the sway bar end links and the new IronRockOffroad 4" coils.

 

[agamble]

The other item of note is I got the new 33x10.5 BFG KM3s installed on the Jeep. 

 

 

I really went back and forth on which size (31" vs 33") to buy. I have always thought the LWB Comanches look better with a bit bigger tire. And I am not regretting the decision. The front is sitting higher as I've swapped new coil springs.

 

 

 

The 4" lift gives plenty of clearance. The only rubbing that I have encountered is just on the passenger side. The tire rubs on the sway bar when backing up and the tires are turned left at full lock.

 

[neohic]

Love the tall/skinny look!

[DesertRat1991]

On 7/27/2019 at 9:58 PM, agamble said:

When driving around I had metallic hollow clunk from the sway bar end link contacting the passenger coil when ever the suspension would cycle up and down. 

 

 

However, the results speak for themselves. The benefits definitely outweigh the two cons that I found regarding the brackets. Plenty of clearance between the sway bar end links and the new IronRockOffroad 4" coils.

 

 

 

Have you checked your castor and pinion angles lately?  In both your before and after shots your spring is bowed forward.  That's usually a big red flag that your suspension geometry is off which could explain the interference issues you were having.  The concern here is that you didn't actually fix the root cause of the problem so it's just going to cause you headaches elsewhere.

 

Check to make sure your springs are properly seated/clamped, then make sure the axle is centered forward/back and left/right, then check your castor and pinion angles to make sure the axle is rotated properly with your spring seats pointed in the correct direction. These angles can be modified by adjusting the lengths of your upper and lower control arms. 

 

The other half of the problem is that your sway bar end links are too short.  In the last photo, your sway bar arm looks about parallel to the ground.  It should be pointed up at 10-15 degrees.  In your current configuration, the sway bar arm is pointed directly at the bowed spring in the worst possible way (minimum clearance).  One tool can help you clear up both of these issues:  Dial Gauge.

 

Lastly, consider spinning your upper shock mount adapters 90 degrees so that they are perpendicular to the lower shock mounts.  At rest, the bottom of the shock is positioned just forward of the top mount.  Think about that.  In your configuration, it means you're loading that upper bushing in an awkward fashion at rest.   If you spin the mount 90deg, the shock will be able to "swing" forward to back as the axle moves though its arc of travel.  The bottom mount then keeps you covered for any inboard/outboard flex that is needed.   Why bind a bushing when you can swing freely instead, right?  

[agamble]

10 hours ago, DesertRat1991 said:

Have you checked your castor and pinion angles lately?  In both your before and after shots your spring is bowed forward.  That's usually a big red flag that your suspension geometry is off which could explain the interference issues you were having.  The concern here is that you didn't actually fix the root cause of the problem so it's just going to cause you headaches elsewhere.

 

I just had an alignment done on the Jeep and the castor was within spec. I haven't checked the pinion angle in awhile, but the last time I check it was also within specification.

 

Check to make sure your springs are properly seated/clamped, then make sure the axle is centered forward/back and left/right, then check your castor and pinion angles to make sure the axle is rotated properly with your spring seats pointed in the correct direction. These angles can be modified by adjusting the lengths of your upper and lower control arms. 

 

Spring are properly seated and clamped. Using the picture of the wheel well in the previous post the axle appears to be centered forward and back, that's the reason the springs are slightly bowed to begin with, to get the axle centered forward/back. I am open to second opinions and if it appears off let me know.  The axle is also centered left/right.

 

10 hours ago, DesertRat1991 said:

The other half of the problem is that your sway bar end links are too short.  In the last photo, your sway bar arm looks about parallel to the ground.  It should be pointed up at 10-15 degrees.  In your current configuration, the sway bar arm is pointed directly at the bowed spring in the worst possible way (minimum clearance).  One tool can help you clear up both of these issues:  Dial Gauge.

 

The sway bar links are indeed too short and make the sway bar arms parallel with ground. They were salvaged from a lower lifted Jeep as I wanted the quick disconnects and I have not purchased longer ones. Currently I am making do with what I had available. When I had the stock sway bar there was ample space between the coil spring and the sway bar, however when I upgraded to a thicker V8 grand Cherokee sway bar the sway bar started contacting the coil spring. Please don't think I am picking fights as I post here to gain others insight and appreciate the feeback; the manner/punctuation in which you wrote the last sentence comes across as rather condescending and other may take offense.

 

10 hours ago, DesertRat1991 said:

Lastly, consider spinning your upper shock mount adapters 90 degrees so that they are perpendicular to the lower shock mounts.  At rest, the bottom of the shock is positioned just forward of the top mount.  Think about that.  In your configuration, it means you're loading that upper bushing in an awkward fashion at rest.   If you spin the mount 90deg, the shock will be able to "swing" forward to back as the axle moves though its arc of travel.  The bottom mount then keeps you covered for any inboard/outboard flex that is needed.   Why bind a bushing when you can swing freely instead, right?  

 

I have never thought of this. I will spin the adapter 90 degrees, I believe I have enough room between the bolt and engine bay wall to spin it. How would there be loading the upper bushing at rest? Would there not be any load at a resting position? Makes perfect sense when "swinging" in arc motion during the axle travels. And agree that why bind.

 

 

[agamble]

At the suggestion of DesertRat1991 I rotated the upper shock mount adapters 90 degrees to be perpendicular to the lower shock mount.

 

Having changed the gearing to 4.10s and the tire size to 33s on the Jeep, using the gear chart below I replaced the factory speedometer gear with the most correct tooth gear. 

 

55-93 Long Shaft Cable Driven Speedometer Gear Chart

Tire Size	44"	42"	40"	38"	36"	35"	34"	33"	32"	31"	30"	29"	28"	27"
5.38 Ratio	34	36	-	-	42	43	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5.13 Ratio	32	34	36	-	-	41	42	43	-	-	-	-	-	-
4.88 Ratio	-	32	34	36	-	-	-	41	43	-	-	-	-	-
4.56 Ratio	28	-	32	34	36	37	-	-	-	42	43	-	-	-
4.10 Ratio	-	26	28	-	-	33	34	-	36	37	-	-	-	41
3.73 Ratio	-	-	-	-	26	28	-	-	32	33	34	-	36	37
3.55 Ratio	-	-	-	-	27	28	-	-	-	32	33	34	-	36
3.07 Ratio	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	26	27	28	-	-	-

The gear and tire combination that I am now running fell between a 34 and 36 toothed speedo gear. I went with the larger of the two.

 

 

Remove the bracket holding the assembly in place and pull it out of the transfer case. Swap the speedo gear and put it back in place. Make sure to "clock" the new gear to match the number range on the housing. You want the bottom bracket peg to line up with the range notch you need. Tighten it down and you should be good to go. If you don't get a reading, make sure the housing is turned correctly and the speedo cable or sensor peg is fully meshed with the speedometer cable gear shaft. 

[agamble]

Awhile back the axle was given a refresh before taking it to the guys at Just Differentials to it regard and a locker installed. The big questions were which gears and which locker? The Comanche started with 30" tires and the typical stock gearing of 3.07 gears. The 30" tires were robbing the power from the Comanche, and with the recent jump to 33" tires without a reduction in gears robbed even more power. Earlier in the build process I found a HP Dana 30 with 4.10 gears on Craigslist for a good price. The popular 4.10 ratio is a great ratio that will bring the ratio and tire size to almost stock.

 

The debate on which kind of locker is as hot as the debate of automatic vs manual transmissions. Everybody has an opinion. Some say the lunchbox style locker have the edge. Lunchbox lockers are locked when you need it to be locked, but can't be unlocked. While others swear by the selectable variety, with its open daily streetablilty being a strong lure. There truly is no right answer, it really boils down to what you need/want out of your vehicle. For my application I chose to go with a Eaton E-locker. I chose the E-locker for its simplicity and less components. While failure in the air system does not occur frequently, it will render the ARB useless. With more components there are more areas for failure. My thoughts are as long as there is power and the wiring is connected there should be a locker. As my build is for overloading I don't want to be in a scenario where I am in a remote location and I have a failure in the air system, particularly in the differential housing.

 

Before scheduling the appointment I already knew which direction I was going but their customer service rep, Scott, was double checking my selections and why and talked me through all the available options. With everything scheduled the axle was dropped of for the install and back in my possession within the week. With the axle ready to go in the rear suspension was installed to match the front. For rear leaves I purchased Rusty's 4" leaves. I've never had issues with Rusty's products and the height matched the 4" coils from Ironrock offroad.The disc brake conversion that was put on the previous axle was swapped over to this axle. The last iteration the stock bolts that hold the retaining plate to the housing were used. The only drawback was that they were almost too short. 

 

This time around longer bolts were used. The only needed modification is to grind down one side of the bolt so it can sit again the axle tube.

 

 

The weight of the Wildernest was causing the previous leaves to sag prematurely.  Airlift airbags were put on to help carry the weight of the Wildernest (~300 lbs). When it was first installed the lower mounting brackets were not compatible with the Comanche's suspension. To make it work at the time the lower mounting brackets were welded directly to the axle tube. This made it so lower airbag bolts were inaccessible and the u-bolts virtually unremovable. Not good on either account. This time around some modifications were made to make airbag lower mounting bracket removable, allowing for access to the lower airbag bolts and removal of the u-bolts. 3/8" plate was welding to the sides of lower mounting brackets. With a few test fits the plate was trimmed down to allow for clearance of the shocks/shock mounting tabs and the backing plates. Then holes for u-bolts were measured and drilled into the 3/8' plate.

 

 

 

With the airbags removed for the first time in years the fittings, hoses and hardware were replaced.

 

For the outer axle tube 3" u-bolts were used for diameter increase as you go towards the outer axle tube. U-bolts were used for the outer mounts on both sides. The u-bolts didn't have enough thread engagement without the leaf pack, so a large stack of washers was used as a spacer to compensate.

 

The original plan was to use u-bolts for the inner mounts as well. However, the airbag sat to far inboard to allow the u-bolts to be used. An alternative plan was devise using bolts to hold the inner bracket to the axle tube.

 

 

 

 

[itschrisb]

Cool to see an overlanding type build with a comanche and I always love seeing a Wildernest. Looking forward to updates!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[agamble]

Thanks. 

[Pete M]

lookin' good!    

 

you may want to update your signature  

[agamble]

11 hours ago, Pete M said:

lookin' good!    

 

you may want to update your signature  

 

Thanks for the reminder. 

[agamble]

While it's been more of an inconvenience than a problem, I became tired of not having operating windows over the summer. Both windows would roll down but I was unable to get them back up without applying power directly to the motors. So for the summer months I drove around with the vent windows as the only way to get air moving through the cab. The replacement doors that came from an XJ came equipped with power windows and locks. When the windows were first wired the the drivers side control panel only operated the drivers door window and lock. A wiring harness from 4-door Cherokee with power windows and locks was later installed to connect and operate both doors. After the install the locks and windows worked.......for about a day. At first I thought the passenger window regulator died on me while I was testing it out. It would go down with no problems. Going back up I would have to flick the switch on both the master control switch and passenger switch multiple times to get it to go back up. However, I couldn't hear the motor running. I traced the the issue to the wiring harness connection in the master control switch. The wire pins (located inside the resin) were not making good contact with the window switches. I couldn't address the problem without destroying the wiring harnesses. Several runs to different junkyards provided plenty of donors for a replacement wiring harness, none gave confidence of lasting long term. There was one 86' - 96' XJ that had manual window regulators. After giving it some thought, the manual windows would better meet my needs and eliminate unneeded electrical issues. Swapping the regulators is straight forward, with the window rolled down, with a T-40 star bit remove the bolt holding the window glass to the regulator, once removed tape the window up and out of the way.

 

Remove the rivets holding the window regulator and door braces in place. With them removed the regulator can be removed with some finagling.

 

The manual window regulator was them put in its place.

 

The indoor panels currently in the Jeep didn't have the hole necessary for the regulator cranks. I grabbed the panels from window donor, but they were not in as good of condition. I modified the nicer ones to allow for the window cranks.

 

 

Using the second panel as a template a 1" hole saw was used to make the window crank opening.

 

 

With the window regulators swapped and the window crank hole made the door panels were reinstalled on the doors.

 

 

[knever3]

Very nice job on the door panels!

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[agamble]

Appreciate it. The one minor issue is the window crank barely scraps the speaker cover when rolling the windows up and down.

[Ls2xjcomanche]

Love your build! Hoping to do something similar with my 91 LWB. Is the Wildernest canopy Comanche specific?

[agamble]

6 hours ago, Ls2xjcomanche said:

Love your build! Hoping to do something similar with my 91 LWB. Is the Wildernest canopy Comanche specific?

Thanks! It’s almost complete.....or so I keep telling myself. But as anyone here can attest to, I am only deceiving myself. There’s always something that will need to be done or changed. 
 

No. The Wildernest is not Comanche specific. The canopy  a Tent Top Model Number 91/ Tip Top Model Number T91 and is designed to go with a number of light weight long bed pick-up trucks, essentially a one size fits all approach. While the fit isn’t perfect, it’s a close fit not to be aesthetically unpleasant. Height is ~1.5" below the roof line.

Width wise is almost a perfect fit. 

Length is ~1” too long leaving a small gap between hatch and tail gate. For a complete setup on the long-bed Comancheit  requires a rear door wedge, which I don't have, nor ever seen.  

 

Here is a link to a brochure listing model numbers: http://www.therangerstation.com/resources/pdf_documents/Wildernest_OEM.pdf. 

[agamble]

Wanting to keep the cab looking as stock as possible I bought the '84 - '96 Jeep Cherokee and Comanche In-Dash DIY Carling Style 4 Switch Panel from Prime4x4 that replaces the factory clock. I went with the Prime4x4 switch panel as it is a steel construction vs being plastic that other manufacturers offer. After installing the Eaton E-locker wiring harness, the supplied rocker switch was too large to mount into the Prime4x4 switch panel. Rather than enlarging the opening of the panel I purchased a Contura V rocker switch at otrattw.net (wanting to have all the switches match I bought additional switches for accessories to be added at a future date) for the locker.

 

 

[agamble]

Pulling up to the 4-way stop there was a loud pop, followed by a loud grinding sound that quickly went away. I quickly turned around and headed home. Once I got the Jeep into the garage, I was in a rush and already running late, I made a quick glance and noted that the front driveshaft was hanging down and left it at that. At the time I thought it was odd that the front u-joint on the driveshaft would randomly blow up like while driving. Later on, with more time to inspect I noted that the centering tabs on the front yoke had been broken and the free swinging driveshaft had marred up the upper control arm. Still thinking it was odd that the front u-joint would blow up and cause the centering tabs to break off was odd, I did more searching and that when I found the issue. All three cross member bolts on the passenger side had broken off (I neglected to get before pictures). It then became clear that when the bolt and/or bolts broke, the drivetrain was pushed to the driver side where the driveshaft then contacted the upper control arm, breaking the yoke and front u-joint.

 

The nuts welded into the frame for the cross member had broken free, so using new bolts was not in the cards. I ended up welding the outer long arm brackets in place. Welding the outer brackets in place required removing the undercoating. Which will be replaced as soon as the temps get back above 60's. 

 

 

While I was under the Jeep, I took the opportunity to install the new diff guard that I'd had laying around. The diff guard came with new mounting hardware for the guard. Not wanting to have half the bolts be 1/2' bolt and the other half 3/16 allen head, a run to the hardware store was made to get 5 more. While getting additional hardware I noticed that there was no price difference between the stainless steel bolts and regular steel. I ended up getting 10 stainless steel bolts so they all matched.

[agamble]

There’s nothing worse than starting your Jeep only to have the battery fail you. Having now experienced this several times in the last few months, I  finally came to my senses and decided it was time to really address the issue. It's been said, a Jeep  with a performance battery will never fail to start, whether you’re in the blistering cold of Montana or in the dry heat of the Arizona plains. Whether you choose a performance battery from any of the top brands, you’re guaranteed to get a battery that will get you to where you need to go. A performance battery with advanced AGM technology and up to 1500 pulse amps is guaranteed to outlast conventional starter batteries.

 

After reading through specs and reviews on several different kinds of batteries I finally settled on the dual purpose (deep cycle/starting) X2 manufactured by NorthStar. I opted for dual post to connect the auxiliary power supplies for various low draw accessories to the front post. I spent more than I really should have on a battery, but my hope is that it will last several years before I need a replacement.

 

To go along with the new battery I got a new battery tray from Dirtbound Offroad to replace the stock cracked and deformed battery tray .

 

 

When I pulled the old battery tray out I found rusting had occurred on the nuts holding the tray in place, as well as beneath the battery tray. Even though I had soaked the bolts in PB Blaster a couple of days prior I snapped off the stud on the first bolt on tried to remove. A lot of heat from a butane torch and the remaining two bolts came out with a bit of groaning. I still had a bit of Chassis Saver on hand and put a couple coats down to stop further rusting.

 

I let the Chassis Saver to cure for 48 hrs. before installing the battery tray and new battery. The front post provides 12V power to the head light harness and the Eaton E-locker.

 

New battery in place.

[Pete M]

stainless steel tends to be less strong than grade 5 or 8.  but for a diff cover, I'd imagine you'll be just fine.  

[agamble]

On 2/26/2020 at 8:30 PM, Pete M said:

stainless steel tends to be less strong than grade 5 or 8.  but for a diff cover, I'd imagine you'll be just fine.  

I was of the same train of thought. The bolts only need to keep the cover in place. 

[agamble]

With the Chassis Saver Cured, a new battery tray from Dirtbound Offroad was installed.

 

New battery in its place.