Right now I have 35" tires and my frame bends quite a bit already. I plan on going to 37" SSRs or 38" TSL in the near future and I was wondering what people have done to strengthen their XJ unibody. I was thinking of just welding some crossmembers to the frame for extra support but I don't want to make any of the parts under the jeep inaccessable incase something brakes down on the trail. Does anyone have any experience with this or have any ideas? Thanks. oh BTW anyone know of a good place to pick up a used Ford 9" in CO ?

http://www.naxja.org/html/techarticles/XJ_unibody_chassis.htm

This would be the place to go. Do you have a pic of your rig?

Same as the newer muscle cars do. You can tie the uni body together.

Originally posted by wild1:
<STRONG>Same as the newer muscle cars do. You can tie the uni body together.</STRONG>

Would that be as described in the above artical? Or some other way? I dont know much about the newer muscle cars. Can we have a link or some more info?

Split your "frame rails" and insert box steel in them itll really stiffin up your chassis and tie your cage into it as well.
I would also build some sort of belly pan crossmember and tie in a long arm for the front suspension.i have 36s on mine now and only have had trouble w/ control arm mounts bending and caving in the area they are at.

As for that tech BS from naxja is typical long winded horse shit they are famous for.

[ 11-03-2001: Message edited by: Trailhawg ]

hawg, Can you give me some tips on spliting the "rails" and attaching the box steel? Specificly, how do you accach the box? With the cage, or do you weld it to the sheet metal? I'm hopeing to do an extensive XJ build up since I now know more than I did when I slaped the 6" RR kit on my present XJ a year ago. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[ 11-03-2001: Message edited by: Eddie Mcstiff ]

you have to cut away the bottom section so you can insert the box steel inside the current frame area and then you just cut holes through the body to mount a cage to itas far as mounting the new rails to the body i would just use alot off through bolts w/ big washers then use a couple cross members to mount a belly pan to cover the underside also us these to mount long arms for the front i am startin work on this all after i get moved to my new shop as well as some coil overs for the front.then i gotta figure out what do do out back.basicly the more shit you tie together the stronger itll be.

Sounds sweet. I'll be startign on a fresh 2 door as soon as I get a place to work on it (apt now) should be over the summer. Keep us updated.

itll be a project and cost way to much but WTF its a 99 and i gota pay for it for 4 more years so i might as well use it. <IMG SRC="smilies/beer.gif" border="0">

How about this.

Taking some c-channel that will fit over the existing frame and fitting that on? I would think that this would work since it is really not the fram to body attachment that seems to be weak, but it is the twisting from side to side and the c-channel would greatly improve this.
<IMG SRC="smilies/nuke.gif" border="0">

thats not a bad idea AKZJ

Originally posted by Alaska ZJ
How about this.

Taking some c-channel that will fit over the existing frame and fitting that on? I would think that this would work since it is really not the fram to body attachment that seems to be weak, but it is the twisting from side to side and the c-channel would greatly improve this.
<IMG SRC="smilies/nuke.gif" border="0">


That exactly what I've planned to do to mine, box the frame with c-channel, when I build my custom long arm setup and a flat tcase skid and custom rock rails in January of next year. I'm assembling the pieces now. When it happens, I'll take plenty of pics.

mac 'great minds think alike' gyvr

Are there any strength advantages to splitting the "rails" and inserting box? Wouldent it be stiffer since your cage would be connected directly to the box? Could you directly tie the cage into the C-channel?

i have been toying with the idea to put a complete subframe under an XJ... Tie it in to all the suspension mounts that are available... this would in fact give you a "Body lift and allow you to run whatever suspension you wanted... im thinkin about TJ front coils all the way arround... with 8-10" of lift i think you could run 38's

My Twisted .02$

Brian

I've seen one where they welded c or L channel allong the whole frame, then mounted the long arm mounts up allong the inside of the frame rails right above the cross member, this helped a lot, but he also cut off the top and that lost a ton of strength, and I believe he is parting it out now cause of the loss of structural integrity from the top.

Do you have a pic of your rig?

Here are two
http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/standard?pictid={70AE769F-DCE8-482E-ABC2-55EB03F3B503}

http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/standard?pictid={80EC068D-B225-4C3C-8E55-3F3B942D34F1}

How bad would it be to run 37" or 38" tires without reinforcing the unibody? It looks like it will take a lot of Time, money and welding skills; three things that I don't have right now.

When I built my subframe for the long arms, I boxed out the frame rails with some 1/4" c channel - it was like 3.5 inches wide, basically the same width as the control arm mounts (I used the same steel for both).

There was some profiling to do to fit the frame rails, but it was pretty easy.

Bob (on a ZJ)

Originally posted by Xenodank
How bad would it be to run 37" or 38" tires without reinforcing the unibody? It looks like it will take a lot of Time, money and welding skills; three things that I don't have right now.

Dan, I think you should look into an axle swap if you want to run 37/38's. The Dana 30/35 combo wont hold up to well in that situation. I would at least try to find a 44 for the rear and truss the 30. I would also put some high alloy shafts in the front and rear. Then, with 37/38's, you might not break on every obstical. :D :D

Why not do all this in something other than an XJ? I also have a '99 XJ with mild lift and 30" tires, but realized when I was getting ready to build something hardcore that the XJ was not the best platform for a bad ass rock crawler. I bought a CJ and later a TJ for those duties, but still have the XJ for the milder stuff and trips where comfort is more important than clearing a 4' ledge.

Originally posted by Eddie Mcstiff


Dan, I think you should look into an axle swap if you want to run 37/38's. The Dana 30/35 combo wont hold up to well in that situation. I would at least try to find a 44 for the rear and truss the 30. I would also put some high alloy shafts in the front and rear. Then, with 37/38's, you might not break on every obstical. :D :D

Oh yeah I know, I am going 40 spline Ford 9" rear with a Dana 44 front with upgraded u-joints. Damn eddie what kind of JU newbie did you take me for!:p I got the 8.25" in the rear, that is the only reason I am running 35" tires on stock axles. If I had the D35 it would have been swaped out long ago.

oh BTW, the new 8" RockKrawler kit is going in right after winter break. Then new axles, then new tires...... etc. (you know how it is, the list never ends)

Dan, Sounds good, if I can find those jackstands :D ya want a hand? Are you going to get lockers since your replacing the axles in 2 months? Originally posted by TornadoTJ
Why not do all this in something other than an XJ? I also have a '99 XJ with mild lift and 30" tires, but realized when I was getting ready to build something hardcore that the XJ was not the best platform for a bad ass rock crawler. I bought a CJ and later a TJ for those duties, but still have the XJ for the milder stuff and trips where comfort is more important than clearing a 4' ledge.
The anwser is $$$$$. I can only afford have one rig right now. By the time I start the project I'll have a Daily Driver and the project XJ. I'm thinking about swaping the stock springs ect. onto my current XJ and useing that as a DD. If that dosent work out for whatever reason I'll get some sort of sports car or a bike :D There are only 2 things that I see as an advantage to the TJ 1) Not a hard top and 2) It has a real frame. The disadvantages not much interior room, price, wheel base (I like the 104" XJ). I could prob. think of others but I dont want to take the time. Most of these are personal preff. I would love to have a tj or yj but I like to beable to take alot of stuff with me when I go to moab for a week. The ultimate would be a nice pickup, trailer, and trail rig:D That wont be happening for a while. I also like the challenge of doing somthing that is not common. If I can build a XJ so that it will fit all my needs then why the hell not? I mean I think this might be easier than streching the body and frame of a tj/yj. I think I would spend almost the same amount of cash building anything. The diffrence becomes how much I paid for the base truck.

Everyone Likes to see a Station Wagon go up Helicopter Pad when a $50,000 Scrambler just barely did it... The XJ is an Underdog, no one seems to think of them as a real trail rig, but it can be done, and then you don't look like every little poser in town with a TJ, YJ, etc... :flipoff2:

BTW, When was the last time you saw a completely built short wheelbase rig carry 4 people all day on the trail, along with a cooler, spare parts, etc....

Originally posted by Eddie Mcstiff
Dan, Sounds good, if I can find those jackstands :D ya want a hand? Are you going to get lockers since your replacing the axles in 2 months?


I got some jackstands and put in some lockrites front and rear. You won't believe what happened while we were putting in the rear!!! We forgot to put blocks behind the front wheels and the whole Jeep rolled backwards off the jack stands and came crashing down on the drum brakes! Took a fawking chunk out of the cement. The drums were ok though. Oh, and I won't be replacing my axles in two months, just putting in the RockKrawler lift kit. I don't have enough $ to do that and an axle swap front and rear. So I will be wheeling with the 8" lift kit and the 35" tires for a while. So when are you going to get your Heep working and come wheeling with us?!? We are going to hit up Kelly Flats next time. That should be some good wheeling from what I hear.

LOL, I dont know if you want to tell people about that. I hope to get a chance to go to the yard for a new t-case this weekend. I need to get it done before it gets cold.

Originally posted by punkskalar
Everyone Likes to see a Station Wagon go up Helicopter Pad when a $50,000 Scrambler just barely did it... The XJ is an Underdog, no one seems to think of them as a real trail rig, but it can be done, and then you don't look like every little poser in town with a TJ, YJ, etc... :flipoff2:

BTW, When was the last time you saw a completely built short wheelbase rig carry 4 people all day on the trail, along with a cooler, spare parts, etc....

Ive won a fair amount of money this way,when people say you cant do that or you wont make it i say wanna bet
heh. went campin a couple months ago and made over 200$ in 2 days of wheelin.

Originally posted by trailhawg
Ive won a fair amount of money this way,when people say you cant do that or you wont make it i say wanna bet
heh. went campin a couple months ago and made over 200$ in 2 days of wheelin.

Now that is sweet!!!:beer:

Originally posted by Xenodank


what kind of JU newbie did you take me for!:

not a very smart one if you think a 44 is going to hold up to 35's let alone 37 / 38's.

I'm breaking joints, and axles everytime out.

Originally posted by punkskalar
Everyone Likes to see a Station Wagon go up Helicopter Pad when a $50,000 Scrambler just barely did it... The XJ is an Underdog, no one seems to think of them as a real trail rig, but it can be done, and then you don't look like every little poser in town with a TJ, YJ, etc... :flipoff2:

BTW, When was the last time you saw a completely built short wheelbase rig carry 4 people all day on the trail, along with a cooler, spare parts, etc....

Obviously you have NOT spent a long time in the back seat of an XJ. It is VERY uncomfortable.

As far as the expense, when I figured up what it was going to cost to make the XJ hardcore, I figured it was cheaper to buy a CJ than to build the XJ! And when I roll the CJ (and now TJ) I do not have to worry about bending the uniframe and wiping out the top of the rig leaving me with a totalled, mangled mess.

Again, remember, I have an XJ and I wheel my XJ, so I'm not saying this from a TJ/CJ vs. XJ thing. I own or have owned them all. Currently have a TJ and XJ at the same time. This is an OLD picture, but you get the point. My TJ is much more beat up and much more built up now. :D

http://www.cowtownjeeps.com/pics/jenxjtjice.jpg

Originally posted by borton


not a very smart one if you think a 44 is going to hold up to 35's let alone 37 / 38's.

I'm breaking joints, and axles everytime out.

So far the only thing that I have broken on the Dana 30 up front is the spider gears. I was thinking about going with a shaved Dana 60 up front but that would be a big pain in the ass as well as a lot of $. Borton what do you think would be a good front axle?

Originally posted by TornadoTJ
Obviously you have NOT spent a long time in the back seat of an XJ. It is VERY uncomfortable.
As far as the expense, when I figured up what it was going to cost to make the XJ hardcore, I figured it was cheaper to buy a CJ than to build the XJ! And when I roll the CJ (and now TJ) I do not have to worry about bending the uniframe and wiping out the top of the rig leaving me with a totalled, mangled mess.
Again, remember, I have an XJ and I wheel my XJ, so I'm not saying this from a TJ/CJ vs. XJ thing. I own or have owned them all. Currently have a TJ and XJ at the same time. This is an OLD picture, but you get the point. My TJ is much more beat up and much more built up now. :D

Your right I havent spent much time in the back seat of my XJ, I'm the Driver. I have spent time in the back seats of my friends YJ & CJ, that was not comfertable at all. Here is what I want in a rig: aprox 104" wb, as little overhang as possable front and rear, room for 4 + gear, coilovers F&R, 60's F&R, atlas 2, and th700r4. Everything else Body type, frame, and engine, is up in the air. I can get a XJ for almost nothing since I'll be selling most of the drivetrain. So can sombody tell me what would be better starting point? I would have to bob a CJ-8 from what I have seen. Then I would need a custom soft top and a trimed hard top. A 4-Runner's only advantage is that it has a real frame. I have never sat in one so I dont know how much interior room they have. Here is my XJ this picture was taken last year. It is a bit more beat now:D
http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/jeeprocks.jpg

Originally posted by Xenodank


Borton what do you think would be a good front axle?
personally I'm saving my pennies for a terra RC 60, same ground clearance as the 44, but with the bigger 60 axle joits, ring gear and possible 35 spline.

I've also toyed with putting dana 50 knuckles on my 44, this would give me the 60 axle joint again, and other than a slightly bigger ring gear in the 50, it would be the same as the 50. FYI, the 50 has the same spline, side and spiders as the 44, ring gear is a little bigger, and has 60 axle joints.
drawbacks I see with this, I'm not sure there is a way to high steer a 50 nuckle, no flat tops, and its a lot of money to shit to go half way when I can sell my rc44 as a bolt in to a tj, xj, zj, and put that money towards the terra 60.

eddie micstiff, bob a cj8 and put a 7 hard top on it, with the 5" left behind the top, make a tire carier/ junk rack that will fit back there and not overhang, hurting the departure angle, or do a cj6:idea:

Originally posted by 0 Brent
eddie micstiff, bob a cj8 and put a 7 hard top on it, with the 5" left behind the top, make a tire carier/ junk rack that will fit back there and not overhang, hurting the departure angle, or do a cj6:idea:
Brent, do you have any pictures of CJ6's or bobbed cj8's? I tried doing a search but the 4 letter limit kinda put a damper on that :D

I'll see what I can find, I have a friend who is building a sweet bobbed 8, but it hasn't left the shop and isn't finished yet, but there has to be some 6's out there.