WK Build Begins

[Z]

After about 5 months of thought and planning, I've finally begun the build of my 2008 WK. This is and will remain a daily driver, but I want it to be as capable as a 4" lifted, 33 or 34" tired WK can be. I doubt this WK will ever make it over French's Creek on Holy Cross or Pritchett Canyon, but it'll easily handle Golden Spike.

The first two problems to be tackled: Fit a 33" spare tire in the stock location (under the cargo deck) and create "stealth" rear bumper protection, mainly from dropping off ledges - especially at the corners.

Yesterday I took the WK to Trango's house (I'm not a welder, he is and he also has good fabbing sense, so it was pretty cool to bounce ideas off each other).

The WK has a 2" x 2" rear crossmember - if you have a tow package, a hitch receiver is bolted to this crossmember - the location of this crossmember is the limiting factor when attempting to fit a 33" spare. The crossmember needed to be relocated rearward by about 2", so that's what we did...

Here's a shot of the stock setup with hitch. Disregard the tape on the left - that was where I was going to place 1" tubing for protection, but I've discarded that idea...


After taking off the rear fascia, we removed the hitch receiver, here's a shot of it in stock form:


The integrated nuts took up to much space, so they had to go. Also the tube would extend too far into the spare tire area so that had to be shortened. (The hitch reciever would be welded onto the new crossmember section.):


Next we cut the lower portion of the stock crossmember. We left part of the upper portion of the crossmember to maintain shape. Here's a shot with the 33" spare in place:


Next, the 3/8" plate extensions:


Here's a pic of Bob (Trango) test fitting the crossmember replacement:



Here's the final (for now) version with the replacement crossmember section and hitch receiver:



(It does look a little better in person, but it's pretty obvious I'm going to have to fashion some form of face plate - even painted, that is just ugly.)


Next on the agenda was the "ledge protection". What I wanted was to have 1" round tubing around the entire edge of the fascia - I just had to figure out how to secure that tubing!

So, we positioned 2"x2" square tubing around the INSIDE of the bumper fascia. We started in the rear, where we could tie into the crossmember and rear crash protection supports, then created wings for the side sections, here are a few shots:







That's as far as we've gotten. Next on the "todo" list is to fab triangluated supports from the top of each crash protection ramp out to the far corners. That should give us plenty of support when landing on the far corner of the bumper. Right above each wing is a pinch weld, we're going to fab supports from the pinch welds down to the wings, which along with the triangulated support at the far corners, should provide plenty of strengh for the hits that the middle of the wings might take. We will probably also add some lateral protection - tying horizontally to the crash protection ramps.

The 2"x2" square tubing hangs at the same level as the fascia bottom and just inside the fascia. We plan to build sliders from 3/8" plate that bolts onto the 2"x2" tubing, the plate will extend outward. This plate will be the mounting surface for the 1" round tubing, which we'll bend to follow the contours of the fascia and weld into place.

The reason for bolt-on sliders is to allow me to remove and re-powdercoat after each wheeling season.

I realize that my departure angle has increased - the hitch receiver is now 2" farther back than stock. If this really becomes an issue, I'll probably just cut it off - I only really use it for a bike rack anyway.

[Rubber Chuck]

This looks like it should be a cool build

[PassRunnerZJ]

In looking at the angles, keeping the hitch receiver out there should save your spare from some grinding. It is amazing to see how much of the "looks like it should be empty space" has stuff in it. Have you concidered building a lighter weight slider for the spare or just going with a skinny spare? If you had a slider back there you could run your spare low or empty of air and just fill it when you need it and not take up as much space.

Taking the grinder to the new WK... As usual I'm sure the first cut was the hardest. Did Trango do it or did you get the honor?

[Z]

In looking at the angles, keeping the hitch receiver out there should save your spare from some grinding. It is amazing to see how much of the "looks like it should be empty space" has stuff in it. Have you concidered building a lighter weight slider for the spare or just going with a skinny spare? If you had a slider back there you could run your spare low or empty of air and just fill it when you need it and not take up as much space.

Taking the grinder to the new WK... As usual I'm sure the first cut was the hardest. Did Trango do it or did you get the honor?

Regarding spare tire protection or sliderage, I'm still contemplating that. I tried to find a skinny spare, but they simply don't exist for 17" tires. My wife occasionally drives the WK, so I want the spare to hold air in case she ever has to deal with a flat. I'll probably tackle the need for a slider after everything else is said and done.

Regarding cutting - the only thing that literally took me 15 minutes to have the guts to do is trimming the fascia. The underside of the fascia angles in about 1-2". If I kept that portion of the fascia, the slider plate would need to be a lot wider than I wanted it, so I cut off the lower portion so the amount of space between the 2"x2" square tubing and the 1" round tubing would be as small as possible, for strength:



I also had to cut the center section of the fascia to make room for the extend cross member, that hurt a lot too.

[fpkites]

Looks very good Tom - I'm looking forward to reading your progress and seeing it in May.

[InIt4TheFun]

Nice Tom!!!

Never been north of "Wheelin Trips" on mallcrawlin cause never been anything for a wk .

Keep it up and can't wait for what you come up with next.

[1tongrand]

Show us whats on that trailer.

[Z]

Show us whats on that trailer.

Hey, this is MY thread, not Trango's!

I don't know what all he has on that beast. What I really like is his tow vehicle - a surplus 6x6.

[OverkillZJ]

Awesome Tom! I'm glad to see someone cutting into a WK a bit. With the planning you did, I'm sure it will come out tasteful and functional; it's good to see Trango building something on a Grand again!

[SuicideTireZJ]

Show us whats on that trailer.

Pretty much just some outrageous buggy on 53's. Can't find any pictures of it, but it's huge.

[CurtP]

Neat. I figured since you were moving the mounting point for the hitch aft that you wouldn't have to cut off the weld nuts and it would mount normally.

I've thought about doing a build, but after reading about all the issues others are having when going with anything above 31" tires, I opted to stop there. Is that 33" tire the one you're going to be using? Looks like a Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor.

Who makes those lift forks for the front shocks? I know people were bending them and the new ones look scary too. No fucking way I'd run them!

My final setup is AEV Pintlers, 31" tires, Bilstein shocks and Commander front springs.

[Z]

Neat. I figured since you were moving the mounting point for the hitch aft that you wouldn't have to cut off the weld nuts and it would mount normally.

I've thought about doing a build, but after reading about all the issues others are having when going with anything above 31" tires, I opted to stop there. Is that 33" tire the one you're going to be using? Looks like a Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor.

Who makes those lift forks for the front shocks? I know people were bending them and the new ones look scary too. No fucking way I'd run them!

My final setup is AEV Pintlers, 31" tires, Bilstein shocks and Commander front springs.

Hindsight being 20/20, I actually wish we had extended the crossmember about 1/2 an inch less - that section is pushing the bumper fascia out just a smidge. But, I wanted to make sure the spare didn't touch the trackbar, so we gave it a little more room. I'll need to fab a face plate for the modified center section - I think it'll look okay. If we had kept the hitch receiver mounting nuts, the extension would have been even longer. Plus, the section we cut out was pretty much trashed, so we couldn't reuse it anyway.

It is a Silent Armor that I'll be using. I'm thinking of running those my first year - if they don't hold up, I'll switch to MTRs. I'll be running them as winter tires, so if they work for both, great, if not, I'll use 2 sets.

The problems people have had with lifts seem to be with the lesser brands. I have not heard many bad things about the 4" Superlift, so that's what I have on order.

[CurtP]

You can always cut it out and re-weld it!

What's hitting on the facia? You could try removing the black trim bezel and see if it clears, then just trim the bezel as needed or forgo it entirely. If you have to trim the facia, I guess the trim bezel will be a moot point anyway.

The Silent Armor tires I have on mine are holding up very well, but about the most off-roading I do is dirt roads and corn/soybean fields. I was more under the impression that the biggest problem with running a tire bigger than 31" is that it fucks up the computer. I'm not sure exactly how, but I guess the ABS and traction control freak out. I know there's a box that is supposed to resolve the problem, but have they finally got all the bugs worked out of it?

The front shock forks were Rock Krawlers: http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/d...20Jeep%20Forks
I don't know about you, but those scare the shit out of me. Superlift uses replacement knuckles, correct? How much rake in the stance does the Superlift leave?

[Z]

You can always cut it out and re-weld it!

What's hitting on the facia? You could try removing the black trim bezel and see if it clears, then just trim the bezel as needed or forgo it entirely. If you have to trim the facia, I guess the trim bezel will be a moot point anyway.

The Silent Armor tires I have on mine are holding up very well, but about the most off-roading I do is dirt roads and corn/soybean fields. I was more under the impression that the biggest problem with running a tire bigger than 31" is that it fucks up the computer. I'm not sure exactly how, but I guess the ABS and traction control freak out. I know there's a box that is supposed to resolve the problem, but have they finally got all the bugs worked out of it?

The front shock forks were Rock Krawlers: http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/d...20Jeep%20Forks
I don't know about you, but those scare the shit out of me. Superlift uses replacement knuckles, correct? How much rake in the stance does the Superlift leave?

The trim bezel has to go - no room for it and I had to cut the hitch receiver window in the fascia (where the bezel would go) taller and wider, hence the need for me to fab a trim plate.

4" Superlift changes steering geometry, which messes with the ESP program. The AEV module which has been release, fixes 95% of the problem, but is only available for the 4" Superlift. I can't remember what all the Superlift changes. I personally won't have a problem with rake. In April (I hope) Armorology will be creating a winch bumper for me - this will require stiffer springs to handle the extra wieght. I bought 2 sets of springs from King Springs in Australia, one set is ~15% stiffer, one set is 25% stiffer, both sets are 1.3" taller. If I need to I'll cut the springs 'till I reach the correct height. (I used to live in Australia, still have a bank account there, so the springs were basically purchased with found money).

[CurtP]

Just keep in mind that the more coils you cut off, the higher the spring rate will become. But at only 1.3" taller and the extra weight of a winch and bumper, you probably won't have to trim much, if any, at all.

Please keep us posted on your build - it's good to see someone doing a WK. I'm supposed to be going to Uwharrie next month with a group of friends and I'm actually thinking about taking the WK instead of the ZJ.

[SirFuego]

How much longer until we see a DubKuggy?

Seriously, though. Nice to see someone build a WK. I'll be watching this thread.

[nierace]

Always interesting to see the WK builds as there are so few of them...looks good so far :thumbsup:

[jsteves]

Anything new? I will be really curious to see how this all turns out.

[Z]

Anything new? I will be really curious to see how this all turns out.

Yes, if you want to come to San Francisco, you can see the pics I took with my IPhone. I took them just before I went to the airport. (I haven't bothered setting up remote access to my home PCs, so I'll have to wait until I get back to host the pics.)

Man is tube bending a very time-consuming task.

We got the tubing bent for a replacement for the hitch receiver bezel - I now need to cut some plate to fit inside the bezel and weld it on. When I'm done, it will actually act as a parking guard - people will (most likely) hit the guard before they hit the fascia.

We (meaning Bob, of course) also got the 3/8" plate tacked up to the inno-skeleton, bent the 1" tubing and tacked it onto the plate. We're both pretty happy with the way it looks - pretty subtle, especially when it gets painted.

I don't think the 1" tubing is going to give enough protection to the fascia corners, so I think I'm going to augment the corners with some 1/4" plate - so the plate will stick out 1-2" futher than the 1" tubing (just in the corners).

Also, I've designed (out of cardboard) a skid/slider for the spare tire - I need to get some 1/4" plate, score it up, bend it and head back to Bob's for a final day of fabbing.

[jsteves]

Sounds like it is moving along.

[Jeeperoni91]

a built WK? whhhhhhhat?

can't wait to see the build. keep up the good work

[InIt4TheFun]

Wk is the step child of the grands, but we like to wheel 2 .

[Matt]

WK are impressive for IFS.

Nice build Tom, keep it up.

[InIt4TheFun]

Can't wait to see what Tom comes up with for the front bumper!!

[Z]

Got a bit more done yesterday. Finished drilling and tapping all the holes to secure the edge protection to the inno-skeleton, here's a few shots of the edge protection. (The edge protection fits closer to the fascia when all bolts are installed.)







Here's a pic of the spare tire protector/slider (in progress). 3/16" plate scored and bent to shape: