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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
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Finally, some decent progress!! :D I spend a few hours in the shop tonight after work.

First off, I picked up a winch for this thing after selling the 8274 (that wouldn't fit). I found a Warn Zeon 12 with steel cable for a decent deal. I'll upgrade to synthetic rope later on down the road. I really wanted a Zeon 10, as the 12 is sheer overkill for my needs.... but I guarentee it'll drag the TJ anywhere I need to go!

The high & tight Motobilt frame really puts the winch up high, compared to the grill! It fits perfectly in the winch mount and looks great on the front of the Wrangler.

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I've been fitting up where right where the track bar needs to live and as mentioned, it was going to be tight. I tweaked the track bar mounts on the axle and cut up the frame end, to raise the track bar to clear the front diff cover and PSC DE steering cylinder.

After a LOT of fitting, I decided I was happy with the placement and tacked the track bar brackets in place, cut the bar to length and welded in the threaded bungs.

Everything clears by at least a 1/2", including the balancer! :eek: (That's a truck balancer though, I'm planning to run a Camaro balancer & accy drive, so it'll have even more clearance.)

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Since the track bar was in, I kept the momentum going and started working on the TRE's for the PSC DE steering cylinder. Measure, cut, tack weld.... in case I need to readjust for proper toe measurements. ;)

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Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Your diff cover welds look better than my motobilt cover welds. On the diff covers I built for my Dana 44's I had a couple spots that weeped oil after some time. I ended up putting some JB weld inside on the bottom of each cover and it stopped the weeping. I wonder if just powdercoating them would do the trick.
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Your diff cover welds look better than my motobilt cover welds. On the diff covers I built for my Dana 44's I had a couple spots that weeped oil after some time. I ended up putting some JB weld inside on the bottom of each cover and it stopped the weeping. I wonder if just powdercoating them would do the trick.


I have the “weld yourself “ covers on my 14 bolt and Dana 60. The 14 bolt is a “Great Lakes Fab” or something like that and the D60 is a RuffStuff unit, I believe. Both have been surprisingly liquid tight. I do get a weep from the Dana 60 unit but I attribute that more to the steering ram than anything else.

I’m far from an awesome welder but these have held up quite well. Even my welds
 

1969honda

Well-Known Member
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Location
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If you're worried about those welds I'll make sure to hide any pictures of mine once I can get caught up enough to work on the K5....
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
I decided to raise the TJ up to around ride height, it's about 5" above full bump in these pics. ORI's work better in mid-stroke, but that (7") would be taller than I'd like. I had to disconnect the ORI's from the lower shock mount, as I still don't have a way to charge them and you do NOT want to jack them up without using nitrogen. Plus, I want to keep them at full compression for the time being.

I wanted to check the track bar angle, suspension link angle, frame height, etc. I think this height will be about the normal suspension height. The track bar looks pretty good, IMO. The rear links are damn near parallel to the ground and front links don't have much angle on them either.

The windshield frame is 6' 4" tall and the frame is 22" off the ground at the t-case. It seems just about right.

Damn this thing is looking good! X-D😍

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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
That's a better height. I think mine is bellied at 19" and it's too low for some stuff. 21 road for example.

Yep, it's a good all around compromise, I think. I'll experiment more once I have my nitrogen tank, regulator and hoses. It'll be interesting to see how it does on big climbs with that 114" wheelbase and this height.
 

Gravy

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
That feels ok to me. Mine is 107.5".

When I get back into it (when my kids are a bit older I think) I'd like to do a mini boat side. The sliders get me stuck most when I'm climbing stuff at an angle (like Eagle's Nest). (Like bellying out at an angled break over).
 
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