LSRGreg's WJ Build... Its ON!

[LSRGreg]

yeah.. i don't want to go any higher, i gotta keep the COG as low as i can for the higher speed desert stuff i like to do.. i think the 12" of shaft will be plenty. I only have 9" to 10" travel shocks on there now, and i still haven't lifted a tire due to lack of articulation.. and i am not planning on hitting super hard trails while this sucker is still my daily driver.. maybe when i can afford a second car again, but in the mean time, i gotta get back and forth to work, so nothing too crazy for me.

G-

[LSRGreg]

Got some more work done on the jeep...

I got my 4.56 gears installed by Desert Fab Motorsports in East Mesa. They also installed a Riddler front diff cover since they had it apart.

I also installed my tie rod flip kit yesterday as well. It went pretty easy. I also cut off the factory steering stablizer mount.

Here are the pics:

Tie rod before:



And after:





Riddler Cover:



Shocks should be here next week!

[Jeeptech01]

I see the cv's are still in the thirty and the 44a is outback. How are they holding up? I didnt see in the thread where you upgraded anything on them other than gearsets.

[LSRGreg]

holding up fine so far.. no mods to them. keep in mind, this is more my daily driver than hardcore crawler, so it doesn't see tons of hard abuse. i still have to drive it to work everyday..
G-

[Jeeptech01]

Im in the same boat. Mine sees way more street than trail. I just got a freebie 44a yesterday with a trac loc. Im gonna overhaul it truss it and beat it and see what happens. Thanks for the reply seeing yours hold up on 35's is very promising.

[LSRGreg]

i just plan on making a truss/skid for it, and see how long it lasts.

G-

[LSRGreg]

Look what the UPS man dropped off today!!!!! HELLL YEAH!



I am just alittle excited. I am so tired of driving around on my hacked together shocks. I can wait to get these suckers mounted up!

[ATL ZJ]

Look what the UPS man dropped off today!!!!! HELLL YEAH!



I am just alittle excited. I am so tired of driving around on my hacked together shocks. I can wait to get these suckers mounted up!

Drooooool. Are those 2.5s or 3's? How much travel?

[LSRGreg]

12" travel, and they are actually only 2.0's. I couldn't get the 2.5" to fit with out some serious hacking and sheet metal cutting. They are a little on the small side for a jeep this heavy, but i am not racing, so they should be plenty, and miles above any other shock that isn't a full on race shock.

I spent a few weekends trying to get the larger bodies to fit, but no go. I even had to get the bypass tubes placed in custom positions on these 2.0's so everything would clear.

I deal with Fox daily at my day job, and that new Ford Raptor truck they do the shocks on are only a 2.0 as well, (its a 2.5 internal bypass, so the actual main tube and piston are the same as these) and they raced baja with it, and i am sure that race truck weighed more than my jeep with all the extra roll cage, and chassis braces they did.

[Jeeptech01]

I dont know a whole lot about high end shocks yet but I know enough to say daaaayyyuuummm!! Cant wait to see how you mount them.

[Poser]

I dont know a whole lot about high end shocks yet but I know enough to say daaaayyyuuummm!! Cant wait to see how you mount them.

[Derek33]

Where did you get the joints you put in your axle side UCA mounts?

I was looking for the same joint, but with a bigger eyelet to run a 1/2 bolt.

[LSRGreg]

Where did you get the joints you put in your axle side UCA mounts?

I was looking for the same joint, but with a bigger eyelet to run a 1/2 bolt.

they are currie johnny joints for a zj/tj/everythingj

there website has the kits listed.

[LSRGreg]

sprayed the riddler cover, and added some green. haha



Got the rear shocks mounted up temporarily, until i fab up the new lower mounts to get them set up right.

[Jeeptech01]

Lookin good. Are you gonna mount them on the inboard side of the framerail in their final position?

[LSRGreg]

Lookin good. Are you gonna mount them on the inboard side of the framerail in their final position?

no.. they will basically be located in the same place, i am just changing the axle side mounts to be a lot stronger, and lower them down a little bit so i can get full movement of the shocks.

the upper mounts on the back will be getting re-inforced with some plate, and the front upper mounts i will be adding plates welded in so they can use the double shear cross bolt set up, instead of the verticle mount stud like factory.. so nothing major..

G-

[Jeeptech01]

Oh ok. Are you going to have to reinforce the inner aprons on the front to handle the high speed desert stuff you mentioned? Im curious. I know hardcore XJ's need frame stiffening but is the wj uniframe stronger?

[theksmith]

the shocks look bad ass in there!

how do you like the 4.56 with the 35's? i have 4.56 and 33's right now and i thought that it would be too much gear, but actually it seems fine, so now i'm curious if when i go 35's i'll want more?

[faststang1]

Oh ok. Are you going to have to reinforce the inner aprons on the front to handle the high speed desert stuff you mentioned? Im curious. I know hardcore XJ's need frame stiffening but is the wj uniframe stronger?

WJ's have stronger uniframes but I would still plate the frames!!

[Poser]

The uniframe on the WJ was the strongest Chrysler had made up to that point. They colaberated and consulted porsche on its design.

[ATL ZJ]

The uniframe on the WJ was the strongest Chrysler had made up to that point. They colaberated and consulted porsche on its design.

How was that determined, and what advancements did they make? Where are you getting this info from?

Having dissected an entire ZJ unibody, I can say that there are a lot of minor details that go into making the overall structure stronger than you would think. Just curious what might have been improved from ZJ to WJ.

Sorry to jack your thread Greg, but I think it's relevant. Shocks look incredible mounted.. Now let's see some vid of them in the rough!

[Jeeptech01]

[Technohead]

. . . Just curious what might have been improved from ZJ to WJ. . .

The "frame" rail width is larger and higher strength steel was used. The first point is clear just by looking and the second point was noted on the Jeep website back when WJ was the new model.

[Jeeptech01]

So the general consensus is that the wj uniframe does not require reinforcement (within reason of course)

Sorry for the threadjack G

[LSRGreg]

Oh ok. Are you going to have to reinforce the inner aprons on the front to handle the high speed desert stuff you mentioned? Im curious. I know hardcore XJ's need frame stiffening but is the wj uniframe stronger?

i am not planning on doing any stiffening, besides the areas right near the shock mounts..

the shocks look bad ass in there!

how do you like the 4.56 with the 35's? i have 4.56 and 33's right now and i thought that it would be too much gear, but actually it seems fine, so now i'm curious if when i go 35's i'll want more?

honestly, i thought they would make more of a difference. but i haven't wheeled it yet, and put it into low range either.. so not sure. the biggest difference is freeway.. when driving over overpasses and minor hills, it doesn't want to down shift anymore like it did.. which is nice.

i am hoping it made a bigger difference once i get into the dirt. it does accellerate a lot better now.. which is a nice feeling to have again.

So the general consensus is that the wj uniframe does not require reinforcement (within reason of course)

Sorry for the threadjack G

No worries on the hijack.. i was curious too.. i know the form of the wj "frame" is much bigger than the zj.. so i am sure that helps. plus, the fender wheels are doubled up around the springs and shocks, so there is a good amount of sheet metal to weld too.. so i am not worried.. but time will tell..

G-