Evan's Green Grand

Evan Boberg, Sandy UT.


94 Jeep Grand Cherokee


4.0 L, auto, 231 t-case, front dana 30 with e-locker 4.88 gears, rear axle Ford 8.8 with yukon grizzly locker 4.88 gears, Rough Country Long Arm suspension with 4” lift, Federal Couragia 35X12.50/15 tires on 15X7.5 aftermarket steel wheels. Has a modified winch plate from Rough country with a Harbor Freight 9500 lb winch. 2X8 square tube rocksliders., Lots of Moab pinstriping. Completed the build in July of 2019. It's terrible on the road, max speed is about 55 mph, so it get's trailered everywhere.Rock3.jpgRock 2.jpgLove going to Sand Hollow, and second to that is Vernal Rock Rally. So far I have had terrible luck at Jeep Safari, broke a OX rear locker in a Dana 35 on Devil's Crack in 2019 my first obstacle that year. 2020 was canceled and this year my front ring and pinion let go at Launch Pad my first day on Golden Spike. Though I have done much wheeling in Moab with MFFW and a few Rr4w TOMs.

Been involved with Jeeps for many years, though only rock crawling recently. The late 80's till '98 I was a design engineer at Jeep/Chrysler. Was the first Chrysler employee to bring a Jeep to Moab for testing in the early 90's in preparation for the launch of the TJ. ifs jeep.JPGPictured here is a YJ that had an IFS installed with a ZJ link-coil suspension in the rear. The TJ was basically the YJ with a ZJ suspension, though I did use all the authority I had at the time to move sheet metal up so the TJ could fit 31” tires without modification. So I do have ties to the XJ, ZJ and TJs, My favorite is the ZJ. I also did preliminary work on the WJ, though my career was in free fall at the time. Another story for another time.



Since wheeling Green Grand since July of 2019, I've learned a few things. I only run one upper link in the front suspension, I was destroying the bushings about every two trail rides with the two links. The original Rough country winch plate stuck out too far, and sometimes prevented me from getting front tires onto an obstacle. I modified it to move the winch backwards 4 inches where the grill once was, now I get onto more obstacles. The slip yoke for the rear drive shaft was modified with a grinder to prevent any binding. Haven't broken it yet. But I do carry a spare with me. I run the tires at 10 psi and have never lost a bead yet. It's far more capable than I ever imagined. Recently on Double Sammy in Sand Hollow, I easily went up obstacles that I bypassed 2 years ago because they intimidated me.



I retired in May and now hope to wheel even more.
 

RockChucker

Well-Known Member
Location
Highland
Now we need more stories about engineering jeeps! So rad! I’ve seen you in random YouTube videos I’ve watched from trail hero this year
 

ivantalk

Member
Cool ride, what are your plans for this vehicle?

I recommend that you check out 4wheelonline in case you want a new set of wheels.
 
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Subarudude54

Member
Location
Sandy, UT
Mostly just drive it now, maybe Moab in early Dec, Winter 4X4 jamboree, Jeep safari, Vernal Rock rally, 5 to 8 rated trails. Now retired, but have volunteer commitments Sun- Weds. If I know someone to wheel with on other days, I'm ready to go. Don't like going alone, in case I break something which seems to be often with this kind of driving.
 

phatfoto

Giver of bad advice
Location
Tooele
As a 15 year ZJ owner I am quite interested in any of your tales of engineering and personal ZJ experience!
 
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