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RareCJ8

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  1. RareCJ8
    The trailer rarely gets out and is usually left at base camp.
  2. RareCJ8
    After a full summer of many trail and street miles the design is holding up strong. Zero issues. Still need to get weighed…. Went thru the spare parts/tool box and purged over 60 lbs of not needed stuff. Need to lose even more weight, lol.
  3. RareCJ8
    still need to go get weighed. am going thru the tool/spare parts box looking to shed weight. Just how many spare parts does a CJ need to carry? i am guilty of overthinking what-if scenarios. working to keep it to what can really strand me and what items needed to get me to pavement? New serpentine belt (vacuum sealed fresh with the food saver and a diagram to illustrate belt routing) ; various jeep sensors and the welding kit. Spare left turn and right turn tie rod end (these also fit the drag link for universal application) and a few other items. No need for a spare stub shaft, spare hubs or other heavy items. the weight loss plan is in effect! MIGHT DITCH THE COFFEE CAN OF ASSORTED BOLTS, ODD PIECES OF METAL FOR FRAMS OR ? REPAIRS, FLUIDS AND ON AND ON... (oops sry for the all caps). Now that rear suspension issues are ready for torture testing and the new engine is running good, added a new custom 2.5" exhaust using a magnaflow muffler. Nates precision did that for me. New engine needs larger exhaust to better expel gasses, not restricted like the old oem unit. yes, it was literally from 1981.
  4. RareCJ8
    look closely at the bolt head stamp. CAT as in Caterpillar. Had difficulty sourcing bolts with sufficiently long shoulder so the weight of jeep rests on that and not exposed threads at the nut end. Resting on exposed threads is not a good idea although it seems OEM and aftermarket suspension folks say otherwise. source Cashman Equipment Cat Dealer Sparks, NV. They have nearly every imaginable bolt u can ever dream of.
  5. RareCJ8
    The front is spring over axle with shackle reverse. the old CJ pax were bent and tired. Swapped to YJ springs that are designed for SOA. Took some fab work since the YJ pax are longer and wider. The front fixed mount was made from scratch and works well and how we set the frontbump stops. Only thing it wass sitting too high and among other things, created rear squat. So the mounting holes relocated 2" higher meaning the front sits 2" lower. and testing shows its a perfect match. Now sim,ply shorten the front chevy bump stops 2" and we have a winner.
  6. RareCJ8
    Correction: the only purchased items are the truss and diff cover and the cover had to be modified to clear the internal ARB air lines.
  7. RareCJ8
    After countless hours researching axle wrap solutions and real-world user reviews, we settled on a slip/twist design. We assembled all of this from scrap from the junk (aka goodie) pile. First was a replacement rear diff cover that incorporates a short over axle truss. This design avoids welding directly to the center section and ties in to the diff cover. The outer ends easily weld to the softer metal axle tubes. This also strengthens the axle tubes from a tendency to spin in the center section under extreme torque loads. Routing the ARB line was a slight challenge. From as close to center as we could go the mount attached the ladder bar forward near the belly pan using a left over JK style panhard 'johny jint.' . Two pieces of tube fit together (with a grease fitting) and so far experiencing zero wrap or pinion climb. no more soft take offs-- solid. More to follow.
  8. RareCJ8
    am hesitant to add more leafs to rear packs since this will limit droop and compression. More of each is why went to the chevy springs over the OEM packs. Been reading a lot about fighting wrap. the leading contenders are similar to these as below. different designs and each with pro and con. Attaching to the axle tube can bring on unwanted movement of the tubes in the center section. A bar will add to the direct torque. beefing up the tube to center is a possible plan. The other idea is to base a bar off the u bolt plate, mounted in double asheer and the fwd mount can twist/rotate to accont for articulation. With this idea need one each side. Some suggest a telescoping design to allow the bar to follow the spring arc. Still researching. Just upgraded to Yukon front hubs. pulled the trigger on this but it is 6 months back ordered. These default to lock if broken compared to open with the Warn hubs.
  9. RareCJ8
    yes, the spring/shackle hangers depicted above and in the ditch are out boarded and now the spring is free to move unhindered. observe the hanging tires are off the ground. so bumps in right place and noting fancy-- OEM GM bump stops from the wrecking yard and easy on/off with threaded studs. No need for fancy $$$ gas filled bumpstops. Will go see the spring shop guys next week. hopefully able to add to the set i have-- and from whom i bought them.
  10. RareCJ8
    once the new YJ springs were set up in front took rig to a local creek for flex testing to help locate placement of the bump stops. Using OEM GM style bumps. passenger door open is a boo boo for good photos... with the bumps installed we tested it again and its perfect. suspension cycles nicely and makes no contact with sheet metal. Nice and clean. lots of thought went into this build and the rear axle wrap is the last major barrier to getting this out on the dirt.
  11. RareCJ8
    suspension work made easier with tall jack stands.
  12. RareCJ8
    local spring shop can add some arch to them to address rear squat. Pix show rig sitting as ready for a trail ride and 1/2 tank fuel. scales are in the works eventually. Spring guy can also add a stiffer leaf to the pack which makes sense but not too much to defeat flex and trail manners. fine balance. I've yanked the pax in and out so many times i have it down-- especially after cutting off, weld in and cut off , weld in the spring hangers. The old springs were located according to jeep OEM location and fitted to the Ford Sterling 10.25 axle. turns out the spring perches on the ford axle are a bit wider than the spring hanger locations. Careful loos shows how had to outboard the hangers to match the axle perch. No more leaf spring binding, which was an earlier problem. this is what i got before the hanger mounts were out boarded. fast way to destroy spring bushings.
  13. RareCJ8
    tdu659 where is this butterfly plate you refer to?
  14. RareCJ8
    all rear driveline U joints are 1410 series throughout. this is side profile, red lines show where front/rear spring hangers are located.
  15. RareCJ8
    rear driveline views.
  16. RareCJ8
    in no particular order side view rear/front shackle, leaf pack and related views.
  17. RareCJ8
    As for springs, brand new dorman 63” 4 leaf packs -application is OEM 88-98 chevy 1500 truck. After this install Jeep taken to Driveline Service in sparks to “build it right.” They had it two days. Paid for extra long slip spline and testing verifies no bottom out. Trust them to build it right. It lasted about 30 miles before the double cardan component failed. There is a pin inside that assembly that sheared off. Took it back, they alleged I was jumping and abusing Jeep and waited too long to come back. I reminded them you installed this just last week, uh…ok, we will rebuild it. No damage to yoke assembly at rear pinion. They did rebuild and field testing continues to show extreme rear pinion climb when clutch released to move forward. Brand new axle u bolts torqued to spec. I’ve come a long way, spending far too much $ and now at an impasse. All new parts to no avail. Upgrading rear springs has proven to be a folly so far, however the ride quality is vastly superior. Thanks again.
  18. RareCJ8
    Additional details: Originally, the output from the T case and the yoke on the rear axle were exactly parallel with each other. Suspension 'experts' said with a CV style shaft, the rear axle yoke should be indexed up a bit to point toward the T case yoke. In that configuration it was nearly binding on the yoke to shaft. and at full droop testing it bound up for sure. (Will add a center limit strap after this wrap issue is resolved.) So I added a 4 degree steel shim between axle spring perch and the leaf pack. Testing showed needed more, so went with a 6 degree shim. No better. Some suggest cut off the spring perches to rotate the rear pinion up then re-weld. (That's a lot of work!) Even so, on acceleration rear pinion points up in an ugly way causing yoke binding too. it literally moves up 4+ inches. not fully convinced doing that will stop the wrap. sitting on its own weight and as full tank of gas plus tool boxes, etc., measured the driveline angle at 23 degrees. So this is where I'm at. its so-so ok to street drive but on a hill in low range, watch out. It destroyed the first CV shaft in short order. Maybe add more leafs but that equals stiff springs and might not address a cure. Also the rear end squats 2" lower than front that is not aesthetically pleasing. Add camp gear and more squat. Then we're into the bump stops. I have a set of 2" lift blocks that I can have machined to a specified degree (replacing a shim), but that only adds more fulcrum leverage to leaf wrap. (How do full size trucks OEM avoid this?) Might consider some sort of center traction bar, but exhaust and air tank in way and that seems a bandaid fix, not a remedy. So I'm basically grounded after a two year new engine/PSC steering and fuel delivery system upgrades and countless unplanned costs. plus a 1000 other little things.
  19. RareCJ8
    My new 4.6L stroker engine is done and the PSC steering upgrade is good. I replaced the front CJ springs with new YJ springs and they are getting broken in. like them a lot, much better. The irritating part is the rear suspension. Getting massive axle wrap. All new springs and related hardware. Put in a new custom CV drive shaft and it was destroyed in under 40 miles. Rear pinion sitting at 6 degrees. Let out the clutch and rear pinion nearly points to the sky and binds the yokes. Had a bigger, better one built, and while the Jeep is streetable, with gentle throttle, it is not trail worthy. I am exploring a number of options, but each option comes with draw backs. If affordable, I would ditch the leaf springs and go to a 4 link set up w/ coils.
  20. RareCJ8
    Well the old OEM switch design met its maker. After about 30 activations of real time trail use the plunger post snapped off. It was asking a lot for that small plunger make contact with the narrow rib on the brake lever. Now to explore a more robust switch design. Back to scratch... At least the circuit is in place. Suggestions welcome.
  21. RareCJ8
    Problem solved. Out with the old, in with the new.
  22. RareCJ8
    Great video. new info. My yellow top optima lasted a long time. Today looking at two Odessey 34M-PC1500 for jeep. seems my old 'battery tender' may not be up to snuff for the job. i see CTEK offers a part number 56-158 and the other 56-864. Not sure about the difference. Also see a NOCO Genius charger, G3500 Also: BatteryMINDer 128CEC1 but this one is like $170! Thoughts here?
  23. RareCJ8
    Have used a battery tender on, off couple years. Will look into ur referral. Some say never mix, others say its ok. got the ebrake light working. Toeture tested it all weekend on a run. Excellent.
  24. RareCJ8
    Running a dual, isolated setup. Deep cycle yellow top for aux needs and a die hard platinum for starter battery. The yellow top has lasted since bought in 2002. Not a bad run. Now not holding a charge. The diehard is soon to follow. Suggestions for replacements?
  25. RareCJ8
    tnx moses for the notes. i am on a quest to find a spare pitman arm. it is straight not dropped. i obtained a period correct CJ arm and it was far shorter than the one now in use. New custom drag link from ORD too. if i get to doing a new box i will have it in hand for easier shopping and side by side comparison. the drag link and tie rod are in perfect level planes. the beveled steering arm on pass side knuckle makes that easier. now the end rests at 90 degrees, not stressed to the limit just for everyday use. on jeep jambo last year noted a very common type of breakdown on newer jeeps is a busted sector shaft. going to massive drag/tie rod suggests the weak link is moved upstream. Such a breakage can be a real headache to fix in the field. i'd rather straighten out a bowed tie rod than deal with the gear box. will look for more info on the mid-line coupler. i recall it was with AN hardware and put together by a local hose shop.
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