dan
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Post by dan on May 20, 2012 20:57:20 GMT -4
sorry for the blank posts, too many photos on one page. I Think I have a set of springs made that will hold up. I used my new mains, a set of old mains for my double-wrap, and a main leaf from the rear of an '84 dodge 150 4x4, with the eyes cut off. they worked great, have a bit of arch, are a little stiffer, and run from end to end. I got a bit excited with the welder when I was tacking things in place, and ended up fully welding the anti-wrap bracket on at once. I kept an eye on it, and never saw any cracks forming, so I'll keep a close eye on it, and hope for the best I also dropped the belly pan to weld on the other bracket for the anti-wrap. I didn't get any photos, but this evening, I took a flap-wheel to the top of the skid plate, welded on a new torsion mount, and painted it with primer. I'll do the bottom tomorrow.
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dan
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Post by dan on May 21, 2012 20:12:08 GMT -4
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Creepy
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Dartmouth
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Post by Creepy on May 24, 2012 13:00:15 GMT -4
Leafs look good Dan. I think the axle bracket for traction bar is going to wind up cracking off tho.
Might get a few runs out of it. I've tried what you did because of lack of room on a narrow trac. its hard enough to keep it welded to the tube, lots of force there.
You may also want to plate the side of the bar itself, just 1/8" will do it. to keep the bars from bending,
Good luck with it!
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dan
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Post by dan on May 24, 2012 17:55:27 GMT -4
I wouldn't be too suspect if the bracket did end up cracking, I will be keeping a close eye on it. I don't plan to be driving the YJ much this summer, it has become my second vehicle. Also, if the bracket does end up cracking, bending, or breaking, I know I can still drive/wheel fine, just have to be easy on the throttle on the rocks. By plating the side of the Bar, Jan, you mean the traction bar, in between the two tubes? I have been thinking of it, and may very well do so if time allows. All I can say right now is that I gave a couple of hard launcheds out on the pavement on monday, and it never shook, shimmied, or knocked, so I'm quite happy so far.
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Creepy
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Post by Creepy on May 24, 2012 18:02:41 GMT -4
yeah, plate betweent he traction-bar bars. triangle. they will try to collapse on each other.
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dan
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Post by dan on Dec 23, 2012 20:15:41 GMT -4
been pretty lax this summer and fall, haven't done much to it. I did finish up the winch plate before Jam, used it a bit, and was quite happy with it. My anti-wrap bar held up great, I never had a problem with it all summer or fall, although I didn't do any dd'ing with it since May. I started looking into some things, since I just can't leave well-enough alone. I had issues all summer on the runs with my front d-shaft over-extending and falling out. because of this, the slip splines are ruined. I deciced that I only had a couple of options; either I could limit my front-end travel (which I tried with a set of limit straps, unsuccessfully), or I could see into building a set of long-arms for the front. SO, I started researching. last week I brought home a 24' stick of 2x2x1/4" square tube, and the week before (for my birthday) I was given 4 weld-on Metalcloak Flex-joints, and two 1" threaded Metalcloak flex-joints. I also picked up some u-bolt nuts to fit the threaded rod ends. Now, I am looking at bracket designs. I want to try to triangulate my uppers. I laid around under the Yj back in the fall for a couple of hours with sticks of wood, envisioning things, seeing what would and what wouldn't work for me, and I think I came up with a solution for everything, 'cept my exhaust. Exhaust will be an after-thought project. I made a mock-up out of 1/4" foam-board, to see what things will look like, and mocked it up on a piece of scrap 2x4" tube. right now, I can move the upper bracket in and out freely to find a final location and position, and the lower has a slight outward taper. I want to try to get the LCA as far out on the axle as possible, which may entail welding the LCA bracket to the edge of the inncer "c". In the meantime, I will be making up steel copies of the brackets to test fit on one of my spare frames outside. I have a couple of pieces of 1/4" plate to use for the brackets. Hopefully this winter, between working, and living in the new-to-us apartment, I'll have time to come back to Dad's, and get some more done on this. Hopefully I'll make some progress over the Holidays, I'm off work until the 2nd.
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Creepy
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Post by Creepy on Dec 24, 2012 21:59:36 GMT -4
That material is awesome! What is it?
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dan
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Post by dan on Dec 25, 2012 3:50:02 GMT -4
Agreed, it's called Foamboard, Steph bought it at Dollarama for making journal covers, and I stole it from her.
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Post by theonlybull on Dec 25, 2012 11:42:03 GMT -4
The price is the best part, alot easier to work with then cardboard
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dan
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Post by dan on Dec 30, 2012 19:19:19 GMT -4
SSOOOOoo..... after rebuilding the HP d30 in the Plow ZJ, I felt it appropriate to play around a little bit... This is a lower link, Just tacked in place right now, have to cut the welds on the solid end and try to straighten it just a tiny, tiny bit. Total length, center to center is 28.5". I thought about a 30-32" lower, but I'd rather keep them a bit shorter, so my uppers can have a little more triangulation. Tomorrow I'll see about mocking a couple of things up ON the YJ, if I don't get busy with something else.
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Post by hubbardxj89 on Dec 30, 2012 23:06:50 GMT -4
wheres the plug welds on the nut dan i would do them for safety
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Post by HardKorTJ on Dec 31, 2012 9:30:56 GMT -4
yes plug weld them suckas cuse we all know your not easy on gear!
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dan
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Post by dan on Dec 31, 2012 10:28:14 GMT -4
just tacked in, I still plan to plug weld. I won't be welding these either, I don't have enough faith in our little 120v welder.
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dan
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Post by dan on Jan 1, 2013 12:15:48 GMT -4
well, I think I'm gonna have to go with a 3-link for the front of the YJ. after building up a steel copy of the foam bracket I made, I tried it in place, and realized I would have to either shorten my uppers, or uppers and lowers. Not wanting to shorten the lowers too, I cut the bracket up some, and tried things again, and realized that my starter would be in the way of the passenger side upper bracket. Not only that, but even if I push the front axle ahead 3-4", I will still have only 3-4" of compression on the suspension before the truss will be riding into the oil pan and vibe-dampener.
Now, I'm onto the idea of a 3-link. Should be easy enough, since there are tone of them out there, custom-made, and purchased. I will be reusing the upper control arm I made up, and making a pair of lowers. The upper arm is 28.5" long and will be on the driver side, the lowers should be 31.5-32" long. I should still be able to add a truss to the D44, and put the upper bracket on the centre of the top of the pumpkin. So far, I have the frame-end upper arm bracket mocked up on a piece of 2x4 tube, I have to add a couple of gussets still, and finish-weld it. I'll get some photos this afternoon if I have a chance. have to undercoat the ZJ after lunch, and run down the road and have a look at our new apartment.
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jmurphy
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Post by jmurphy on Jan 1, 2013 15:16:42 GMT -4
Sounds like it'll work fine. The front of my TJ is a 3 link. Truss on top of the D44 with a bracket on top of the pumpkin. Frame bracket was a tight fit between the rail and front drive shaft. I don't have enough driving time on it to comment on performance on or off-road.
Jonathan
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