Finally made some good progress on the Jeep today. Should have it all back together tomorrow except for the yoke. I think I'm going to take it somewhere next week and have someone replace that.
But I went and got me the proper tool for the job ($8 at Home Depot) and found that using the phone for measuring caster is not the way to go. As you can see, it was WAY off (like 1 or 2 degrees the wrong way).
I didn't take a lot of pictures during all of this but here is what I did. I needed to get the new track bar mounted first. But I needed to drill out the frame side mount (5/8" hole), but, I couldn't get the drill in there because the tie rod was in the way. I needed to remove the tie rod anyway so I could replace the bent rod end, but to remove my tie rod you need to take one end of the drag link off (geez). But once all that was done, I drilled the hole for the track bar. Then put the front tires back on so I could center the axle. Once I centered the axle, I adjusted the track bar to the proper length to maintain that position and tightened it up. Once it was all tight, I put the diff cover back on and raised the axle to full bump to see if the track bar hit the cover. Nope.
Then I took the tie rod apart and replaced the ends. Here are the ones I pulled off.
While I had it off I figured I would clean it up and hit it with some paint (had to use a file on some spots it was so bad).
I put the tie rod back on and tightened everything back up. Then it was time to get the caster right. I took the lower control arms off and lengthened them 5 full turns, put them back on and it moved about half as far as I needed. So I did another 5 turns each. That nailed it right on at 6 degrees.
Time to burn on the new upper control arm bracket. But there is an issue (of course). I cut the top of the stock bracket off as instructed and slid the new bracket inside of the remaining stock bracket. You are supposed to be able to weld the front edge of the bracket (1 inch worth) to the tube. But the front edge of the bracket was no where near the tube. It stuck out about a half inch. There was no way to weld it that way. So, after trying to figure out what to do, I had two options. Cut the back of the stock bracket out so I could slide the new bracket completely through the bracket, or modify the new bracket. I figured I would loose strength if I cut the stock bracket any more. So I modified the new bracket.
As you can see, I notched the bracket where it was hitting the back of the stock bracket. This allows it to sit in its intended position without loosing any strength. And also putting the front edge in it's proper position for welding. Here it is after cutting. I test fitted it this way. Once I found that it fit like it was supposed to, I smoothed it out.
And here it is smoothed out.
Here she is welded up.
Tomorrow I will put the springs, shocks and tires back on. Hopefully it will be decent and I can get it cleaned up too. We'll see.
But I went and got me the proper tool for the job ($8 at Home Depot) and found that using the phone for measuring caster is not the way to go. As you can see, it was WAY off (like 1 or 2 degrees the wrong way).
I didn't take a lot of pictures during all of this but here is what I did. I needed to get the new track bar mounted first. But I needed to drill out the frame side mount (5/8" hole), but, I couldn't get the drill in there because the tie rod was in the way. I needed to remove the tie rod anyway so I could replace the bent rod end, but to remove my tie rod you need to take one end of the drag link off (geez). But once all that was done, I drilled the hole for the track bar. Then put the front tires back on so I could center the axle. Once I centered the axle, I adjusted the track bar to the proper length to maintain that position and tightened it up. Once it was all tight, I put the diff cover back on and raised the axle to full bump to see if the track bar hit the cover. Nope.
Then I took the tie rod apart and replaced the ends. Here are the ones I pulled off.
While I had it off I figured I would clean it up and hit it with some paint (had to use a file on some spots it was so bad).
I put the tie rod back on and tightened everything back up. Then it was time to get the caster right. I took the lower control arms off and lengthened them 5 full turns, put them back on and it moved about half as far as I needed. So I did another 5 turns each. That nailed it right on at 6 degrees.
Time to burn on the new upper control arm bracket. But there is an issue (of course). I cut the top of the stock bracket off as instructed and slid the new bracket inside of the remaining stock bracket. You are supposed to be able to weld the front edge of the bracket (1 inch worth) to the tube. But the front edge of the bracket was no where near the tube. It stuck out about a half inch. There was no way to weld it that way. So, after trying to figure out what to do, I had two options. Cut the back of the stock bracket out so I could slide the new bracket completely through the bracket, or modify the new bracket. I figured I would loose strength if I cut the stock bracket any more. So I modified the new bracket.
As you can see, I notched the bracket where it was hitting the back of the stock bracket. This allows it to sit in its intended position without loosing any strength. And also putting the front edge in it's proper position for welding. Here it is after cutting. I test fitted it this way. Once I found that it fit like it was supposed to, I smoothed it out.
And here it is smoothed out.
Here she is welded up.
Tomorrow I will put the springs, shocks and tires back on. Hopefully it will be decent and I can get it cleaned up too. We'll see.
. For future reference, CFS is a dealer.When we going?
Just the regular ones for now. I really wanted to get the armor done and I kept putting it off to do the stretch. But once I figure that in, it was a snowball effect and the project was just too big and I kept putting it off. So, I'll do this for now and then work on the front axle, then the gas tank, then the stretch (maybe).
Just the regular ones for now. I really wanted to get the armor done and I kept putting it off to do the stretch. But once I figure that in, it was a snowball effect and the project was just too big and I kept putting it off. So, I'll do this for now and then work on the front axle, then the gas tank, then the stretch (maybe).