The black jeep - 1 ton XJ

[fl0w3n]

Is the passenger upper as close to the pan/balancer as it looks in the pic?

 

[Mike Honcho]

Is the passenger upper as close to the pan/balancer as it looks in the pic?

Pic makes it look worse than it is. There is a couple inches side to side and its pretty much touching the back of the alternator. The driver side has room for days and could be moved inboard for more triangulation but I wanted to keep everything equally spaced.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Got the ram mount engineered just need to finish weld and ad a few gussets.

Using this howe figure to get the geometry right.

I don't have a 1.5" die for my bender so I put a huge bevel and tig welded the 1.5" .250 wall dom. Going to keep the ram centered and run 3 clamps.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Let's talk hydro bump stops. I'm looking at the radflos on wide open designs site. They are pricey Any recommendations before I buy?

2 Inch Travel - 2 Inch Body Bump Stops & Short Bump Stop Cans Kit (2 of Each)

2" Bump Stop Kit Includes: 2 - 2" Body x 2" Travel Radflo Bump Stops 2 - 2" Short Bump Stop Cans Made in USA

www.wideopendesign.com

 

[RunningProblem]

If you know EXACTLY where they’re going and need to be then I doubt it matters (RadFlo/King/Fox). Don’t buy FOA. I bought King because I found them used/second hand. I don’t really like how they mount up just because it didn’t allow for any adjustment after they were installed. I had to crank preload and build risers to compensate for poor planning.

Adjustable ones might be nicer for the ‘oops didn’t think about THAT part’ like I experienced.

If you plan to go fast and jump shit I’d go with 4”.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Finished burning in the ram mount. Added a few little triangle gussets. Moving this thing around to weld is a bitch Thing is getting heavy!

 

[Mike Honcho]

If you know EXACTLY where they’re going and need to be then I doubt it matters (RadFlo/King/Fox). Don’t buy FOA. I bought King because I found them used/second hand. I don’t really like how they mount up just because it didn’t allow for any adjustment after they were installed. I had to crank preload and build risers to compensate for poor planning.

Adjustable ones might be nicer for the ‘oops didn’t think about THAT part’ like I experienced.

If you plan to go fast and jump shit I’d go with 4”.

Jeep won't have 4" uptravel it's going to be a crawler. No go fast with a 4.0.

Heard anything about kmcoffroad.com? They are cheap and local to me. I might go check em out and see if I can get a cash discount

Threaded ProSeries 2.0 Bump Stop

****MOUNTING CAN SOLD SEPARATELY**** Threaded available in 2.0 x 2" Bump Stop EXTENDED 10.25'' COLLAPSED 8.25'' 2.0 x 3" Bump Stop EXTENDED 12.25'' COLLAPSED 9.25'' 2.0 x 4" Bump Stop EXTENDED 14.25'' COLLAPSED 10.25''...

kmcoffroad.com

 

[RunningProblem]

No clue. They’re about half the price of anyone else so I’m going to say they’re as good as FOA. Swing by and see if they’ll give you a tour of the place and explain why their stuff is the same or better than the big brand name stuff. Do some research on bump stops and see what they say if you ask questions. People love to talk about their stuff.

 

[Mike Honcho]

I had to notch the diff cover as the ram clevis was hitting. Cut a chunk out and welded in a piece of 1/4" plate.

All that work atleast the ram geometry is perfect full lock,

 

[Mike Honcho]

I tig welding the steering links and the LH threaded heims will not thread into the bungs. Too much heat I guess but both RHs thread in just fine? I bought a 7/8-14 LH tap to chase the threads. Hopefully fix em instead of remaking them both. Gayyyy

 

[RunningProblem]

When I welded mine I used a FUCK TON of anti sieze on the joints threaded all the way into the bungs, welded them in 1/4s on opposite sides, and left everything to cool before removing anything. You might have gotten it just hot enough to warp it just enough to make it necessary to chase threads. Hope it works out for you.

 

[Mike Honcho]

When I welded mine I used a FUCK TON of anti sieze on the joints threaded all the way into the bungs, welded them in 1/4s on opposite sides, and left everything to cool before removing anything. You might have gotten it just hot enough to warp it just enough to make it necessary to chase threads. Hope it works out for you.

I've always welded them without the heim in the bung. My thought is I would rather spend $10 on a bung than $70 on a new heim and bung. I've never had an issue mig welding them. I am a tig beginner for sure. I'm guessing 130 amps was just a tad too hot on the tig torch.

 

[RunningProblem]

Probably too much heat. I can’t weld and know nothing about it. I only see the steps you’re taking with the TiG as really close together.
Why are you doing TiG? Just looking to get more practice?

 

[WaterH]

Sub’d

 

[WaterH]

I saw you decided to go full hydro. I think that’s a good idea. I agree with Byro that it can get twitchy at 65. I would point out that is with about 4 turns lock to lock steering. That is pretty close to stock for most vehicles. Some guys get an orbital that will give them 2 turns L to L. That would be fun off road, but definitely trouble on the highway.
I realize you already got your orbital. You may want to figure the L to L turns before installing. (Maybe they will exchange it if you dont like it)

 

[Mike Honcho]

I saw you decided to go full hydro. I think that’s a good idea. I agree with Byro that it can get twitchy at 65. I would point out that is with about 4 turns lock to lock steering. That is pretty close to stock for most vehicles. Some guys get an orbital that will give them 2 turns L to L. That would be fun off road, but definitely trouble on the highway.
I realize you already got your orbital. You may want to figure the L to L turns before installing. (Maybe they will exchange it if you dont like it)

I ordered a 9.76CI-160ML open center(non load reactive)orbital and the psc 2.75x8 ram. This setup should be 3.5 turns lock to lock. And should turn a much larger tire if I want to go bigger in the future.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Making some links for the front axle. 2" .250 wall DOM because I had it.
Clean clean clean. Prep with acetone. 145 amps on the root pass.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Cap pass on the links at 150 amps. Happy to report the heims thread into the bungs

 

[Mike Honcho]

Got my tap from China today and cleaned up my steering link threads no problems. Applied retarded level liberal amounts of anti sieze for good measure. Winning today!

 

[WaterH]

I ordered a 9.76CI-160ML open center(non load reactive)orbital and the psc 2.75x8 ram. This setup should be 3.5 turns lock to lock. And should turn a much larger tire if I want to go bigger in the future.

I believe that exactly what I have and I’m happy. It turns 46’s just fine.

I found that after you buy the tap you won’t have any more problems welding the bungs. It’s kind of like walking outside with a shotgun. (No more squirels)

 

[RunningProblem]

So what did you do different on the links to get them not to warp?

 

[Mike Honcho]

So what did you do different on the links to get them not to warp?

Bigger heims 1 1/4 vs 7/8. There is much more wall thickness on the 1.25 bungs. I was also mindful to keep my travel speed up and not heat the part up as much.

 

[RunningProblem]

Have you considered just stepping the right and not ‘walking the cup’?

 

[Mike Honcho]

Have you considered just stepping the right and not ‘walking the cup’?

Not sure what "stepping the right" is? I used a free hand half circle weave on the links. Walking the cup seems super difficult on anything other than a straight corner joint.

 

[RunningProblem]

I’ve seen two types of TiG welding. Walking the cup, and stepping like you’re stick welding. since you do a weave I thought it might have been part of the reason the threads warped.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Front axle is in Everything has clearance and I'm happy with how it sits. Definitely going to require a carrier bearing on the front driveshaft but i was planning that. This is full bump.

flexing no binding and nothing hitting

 

[Mike Honcho]

Put a wheel on just to sit back and look at it

 

[RunningProblem]

Looks tits!

how long are your links eye to eye?

 

[Mike Honcho]

Didn't measure with the heims. Tube themselves were 36" lower and 27.75" upper.

 

[WaterH]

So does the rubber clear as good as the hard parts?