YJ Erection

[WideJ]

This project has been going for a little while now, so its time to share what has been going on...

Here is (was) my rig. 94 YJ, 60's, 2.5L, SM420, NP231, 40's. 3-link front, SOA rear w/cherokees. It worked well, but its time for some change.


The Build will consist of:
6.0L LQ9, TH400, Stak 2-speed.
4-link front w/full hydro -- 45 deg. of steering
109" WB
Front frame section.
same axles & tires -- 60's & 40's
14" c/o's & air bumps all 'round
Rear 4-link, some back-half frame action
Low & Nasty stance.

Well I don't want to throw all my tricks out there, you'll have to stay tuned to see what happens!

TRD and I share a shop in the LA area that fuels our addiction to this hobby. He is helping (I mean guiding) me through this build.

[WideJ]

The drivetrain came out way too easily!! BTW this is all for sale.


The frame was stripped of all unnecessary brackets


The new drivetrain awaits...


A F-body camaro oil pan was installed to gain 3" under the motor. A new dip stick, windage tray, and oil pickup was also required.

[WideJ]

Ride height & drivetrain height specs:
Frame - 22" from ground
Clocked flat Stak - 21.5"
...the drivetrain now resides between rails.



Some floor cutting was needed to attain the belly height



Lowers are nearly parallel to the ground. They were sleeved & lengthened... the lowers were actually 2"x.256 wall, so TRD machined some 1.5" tube to work as the sleeve.



Here is ride height... various other trimming, etc. required.



We discovered that the power steering pump is VERY in the way of the driver side upper link, so a bracket will be made to relocate the p/s pump to where an idler is currently.

[WideJ]

We got the upper link mounts made and tacked in place. They are 3/16 plate on the sides, 1/8 on the front and top & bottom plates that sandwich the johnny joint.

...TRD TIGing the axle side upper link mounts. Thanks to his skillz we are taking this project to the next level. I have been welding on brackets that will not be seen, so far so good!



And of course the dimple dies were busted out.




frame side -- had to cut the body mount a little to get this one to fit

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The beginnings if a truss. It will get filled in w/more sheet metal (and dimple dies) and also have the ram mount, air bump pads, & coil over mounts all in a clean package.





...will update as progress continues...

[Mac5005]

looks good man, i got one quick question, what torque converter are you running in the 400, and are you going to run full manual control?

Im getting all the pieces for my 5.3/400/203/205 swap

[WideJ]

I'm still way up in the air on that one. I'm putting off that decision for now...
I have not decided what setup I want, I hope to ride in a few rigs with different setups before deciding.

[Mac5005]

gotcha.....i'm still up in the air b/t a 400, or a 700r4....the 700 already has the TCI kit that sets the line pressure....but i dont know....i may try both and see what I like.....didnt mean to hijack

[TRD]

Rock on broham.

Where are the backdoor pics?

[fordnut]

looks good kinda different on the link setup , looks like it tucks in nicely. whats going in the rear?

[WideJ]

The rear is going to get a double triangulated 4-link w/14- or 16-inch 2.0 coilovers & air bumps. The back half of the frame will be rebuild to house all the goodies... The rear 60 will get a sweet truss and get moved back another 4" to get the 109" wheelbase.

The rear tub will get massaged to have the uptravel & articulation clearance necessary.

[scramb82]

i'd be curious to see how the joints on the front axle work since they're on their side.

[yota44]

Looks good!! Exhaust should be fun tho!

[WideJ]

Originally Posted by yota44

Looks good!! Exhaust should be fun tho!

True that! Some custom headers may be in order... we'll see exactly where the motor ends up and take it from there.

[pilothillcrawler]

ditto on the front joints being sideways like that, just don't see them like that usually. Also looks like your upper arms would want to hit the bottom of the motor when the front articulates, but could just be looks, I am sure you checked that already. The stance looks GREAT though really nice a low.

[FJCcrawler]

Nice build up!!! Can't wait to see the final stages of the YJ

[TRD]

A lot of people mount the joints like that, but usually on the chassis side instead of the axle side. Some Trophy Trucks also mount a rodend like that on the rear axle. My truck is also mounted this way. We calculated the angle required for full travel and they will be well within the limits.

Building the mounts that way allows the truss to come up to the top of the mounts. We probably wont have it come that high but it is nice to have the option if necessary.

It will all make sense when done

[WideJ]

At long last there is some serious progress to report. We got stuck in a rut for a few weeks battling motor/upper link clearance issues at full bump. Just getting to full bump was the real issue... it involved cutting off the front frame section and settling on running a slight bend in the lowers to clear the stock YJ framerails. I came dangerously close to throwing the tub & frame in the dumpster. Have no fear, the lower links pictured are only for mock-up purposes...

Full Bump -- a temporary supa-bling crossmember was welded in to prevent the frame from going wacky after the front section was removed.


Motor mount plates awaiting... the mounts are going to be interesting.


The upper links straddle the block. You can see the need to relocate acessories high on the motor!!



After attaining full bump we were able to shift the motor back about 2". This was the deal maker for the front end! Check out all that clearance from the crank pulley to the upper links!!


The suspension was cycled from full bump to full droop... then articulated on driver & passenger sides to ensure nothing hit. Its all good! Now that the motor position is dialed in its time to build the mounts. They have to clear the upper links at full bump. They will be fully boxed in.

[offroadjunkie]

nice. looking good. That must be nice to be at the point in a rig where an "upgrade" doesnt consist of axles and tires.

[WideJ]

...checking for clearance issues while articulated. It gets a little scary when everything shifts around on those jack stands. I can't wait until its all supported on its own!



So its time to figure out the steering and get the truss going... The POS ram is freaking HUGE!! We mocked it up on the front end and realized that to mount it low enough to go to the stock knuckle arms (my original plan) the mount would have to stick 12"+ off the axle tube. I don't want a 60 with an underbite that bad! The ram is getting mounted high on the truss. Stay tuned.





To follow up from last week the motor-side of the motor mounts are done. They turned out real nice.

Passenger


Driver


To get ready for the Jambo we tackled TRD's Toyota. The fuel pump was not pumping so it was swapped for the one out of my Wrangler. It not only fired up and ran strong, there are no check engine codes being thrown.

Maybe this is the cure... Jeep pump in Toyota

[Keith]

Those engine mounts turned out really nice. Getting a rig that low is a headache, but you are doing a great job!

[jmhinescj]

motor mounts turned out pretty cool...won't comment on the upper link mount

[SPOA87YJ]

How do you plan to run your exhaust? Looks like your upper link is right in the way of your header.

[TRD]

Ah yes,

The exhaust question. We are going to run it out the front.




j/k. The interweb pictures are a little misleading. If you look at it in person there is room to run it between the firewall, motor and upper link. They will probably have to be custom headers.

Thanks for the kind words

[got4-lo]

looks like its goin to be tight in there. i like the idea and look forward too seeing the progress... do you think you will have any clearence issues with the raditor contacting the upper link mounts??

[WideJ]

Originally Posted by got4-lo

looks like its goin to be tight in there. i like the idea and look forward too seeing the progress... do you think you will have any clearence issues with the raditor contacting the upper link mounts??

Of course we hope there will not be clearance issues, the new frame section up front will be built to address any clearance problems.