Oso Build Thread

dchew

dchew

Active Member
For me this is a big undertaking. Oso is our 1-month old 2013 Billet Silver JKUR, manual trans. Here are the plans:

EVO high clearance long arm kit
EVO bolt on coil over front/rear
AGM sliders for King c/o
EVO Drag link flip kit
EVO Axle C gussets
EVO Rock sliders
EVO rocker skins
PSC steering assist w/ new power steering pump kit
aFe CAI intake (to make room for the PSC reservoir)
37” Nitto Trail Grapplers
17” Hutchinson beadlocks
Spydertrax spacers (?)
Terraflex tire carrier
JE Reel 1350 front driveshaft
RCV front axle shafts
Expedition One front bumper
EVO Protek skid
4.88 gears
Trucklite LEDs

So far I’ve installed the Trucklite LED’s (done the first day it came home). Also the aFe cold air intake:
2013-01-19 06.55.32.jpg

Stuff from EVO arrives:
2013-01-15 15.37.07.jpg

Tires!
2013-01-16 13.38.43.jpg

I’m lucky in that a very good friend has a well-equipped garage. Two lifts, a whole bunch of tools and a lot of experience building cars. You can see some of his work in the background of these pics. I also have a friend who is a very good certified welder.

Jeep goes up. No, that Weiand blower is not going in the JK :(
2013-01-16 19.25.45.jpg

2013-01-16 19.26.26.jpg

Playing with on of the rims :)
2013-01-16 19.45.20.jpg

The combination of the EVO high clearance long arm kit (weld-on) plus the bolt on kit is a bit tricky. This is essentially Rubicat’s set up if I’m not mistaken, but they have changed some things in the bracketry since Eddie’s build. I started the major work Sunday. The gas tank was tough. I swear each connector is different and each one a unique learning experience! Sunday we basically got the Jeep up, outlined a plan and removed the gas tank.

2013-01-20 15.50.44.jpg

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Gas tank off finally!
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Since I have to go out to have the gears done we decided to go ahead and completely remove the rear end. That was tonight’s job. Removing it will also allow us to re-true the housing if necessary with all the welding that goes on the rear end. Also a note about the rear drive shaft: There are two holes in the back of the connection in front of the pinion flange. We used a small extension rod to tap out the driveshaft. By the way, a D44 rear housing is heavier than you might think…
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Oh no, what have I done??
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Tomorrow night we start cutting. :)

Dave
 
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Looks like you're gonna have an awesome Jeep when you are finished. Also very swwet cars in your buddies shop.
 
That is a very nice garage! Nice start to the build, can't wait to see the Evolution! 👍🍻


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Skid_Kid said:
Going to be an awesome set up! Good luck building. Are the Spydertrax spacers needed?
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Unfortunately I think so. I really like the Hutchinson beadlocks, but they have 4.5" of backspacing. I am pretty sure they will hit the coils without something. I will try first without them.

Dave
 
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gtony12 said:
I want your lift in my garage please!!!!
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Which one? Haha :). I would too but it's not my garage :)

Actually even with the lift there are still challenges. The rear long arm brackets mount right where the lift wants to be. He has a tranny jack so we plan to use that in the corner we are working on for a bit of added security. I probably should remove the spare to help the balance.

Dave
 
Subscribed brother!

Question: do you already have the RCVs? The chromoly shafts will perform just as well for half the price. I don't have personal experience with either of them, but I've seen Eddie post about it at least a dozen times.

Where did you get your PSC hydro kit and what did you pay?
 
Prime8 said:
Subscribed brother!

Question: do you already have the RCVs? The chromoly shafts will perform just as well for half the price. I don't have personal experience with either of them, but I've seen Eddie post about it at least a dozen times.

Where did you get your PSC hydro kit and what did you pay?
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Yes got the RCVs already. I've seen Eddie's posts too, after my purchase :(

I got the PSC kit from Northridge. $2100 including the new pump kit. That was a very hard pill to swallow but most people who have 37's seem to recommend steering assistance. I will say the stuff looks like very high quality. It's a nice kit as long as I can figure out how to cram it in there! :yup: I think you can buy it directly from PSC as well.

Dave
 
Yeah, I've been looking at them and found a guy in Chicago that sourced all the parts himself for $800. He's got it on his rig running 40's, so I guess it's working for him.
Fyi, The bracket in the kit requires fab work to make it fit on the axle housing with the EVO drag link flip kit bracket. I asked both Eddie and Chris at EVO and they both said that "tabs need to be welded on", and I couldn't get any more details than that. So once you figure it out, a write up with lots of pictures would be greatly appreciated!
 
Well we didn't get to cutting tonight. We realized we had a lot of car covering to do before we started making a big mess.
But first, Chris went out and picked up a new toy for this job:
2013-01-22 18.36.20.jpg

And boy does it cut nice!
2013-01-22 18.39.14.jpg

So we moved some things around and organized a bit. Then I removed the muffler, loosened the rear body mounts, and checked out how the upper coilover mounts fit. Either I'm dense or that wasn't all that obvious. We finally figured it out. EVO, tagging a few things, or at least a cover page with a photo of all the parts called out would really help! On the other hand, solving the little mysteries is part of the fun. :yup:

Got a lot going on the next few days, not sure how much I will accomplish before the weekend.

Dave
 
Well there is no turning back now. Cut off the passenger side upper and lower control arm brackets tonight.

2013-01-23 19.28.34.jpg

But I am curious how others have removed these brackets. We cut the lower CA bracket with a plasma cutter, then took a saws-all to the weld joint. Vertically just cut lengthwise along the weld. We just couldn't imagine trying to grind the whole thing flush. The saws-all is work but not too bad. Anyone got a better method? I will call Andrew/Chris at EVO tomorrow to ask them too.

Dave
 
Rear shock brackets are in place. EVO instructions say to bend up the passenger side exhaust hanger, but I had to bend the drivers side too. Once those are out of the way and the body mounts are loose they slide right up and in.

Here is the drivers side from the inside of the frame looking slightly back:
2013-01-24 15.12.43.jpg

Passenger side looking forward:
2013-01-24 15.14.41.jpg

As usual, it took us two days to make all the cuts for the passenger side control arm brackets, and two hours to do the drivers side. Experience is a wonderful thing. :yup:
2013-01-25 14.27.41.jpg

I marked around the brackets. Next we will take them off, get the frame all cleaned up for the welds, and tack them in place.

Dave
 
For future high clearance long arm installers: Here's how we cut off the brackets:
  1. Cut off the lower CA bracket just below the frame with a plasma cutter
  2. Cut off the upper CA bracket with a plasma cutter
  3. Cut the body mount supports with a plasma cutter
  4. With a saws-all, cut off the remaining lower CA at the weld along the frame
  5. With a torch, heat up the remaining upper CA bracket and bang it up away from the frame
  6. Cut off the remaining upper CA bracket with a plasma cutter. Careful not to bake wires and brake lines
  7. Grind everything smooth

You don't really have to remove the remaining upper CA bracket (#5-6) but it looks much better if you do.

Dave
 
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