trplxj
New member
New guy here. A few people were asking questions about my Jeep in my "wave" thread. So here it is.
It's still under construction but should be on the road by Thanksgiving. It will still need some work before it will be trail ready, but at least I can drive it for the winter.
I started with a 2001 WJ with a 4.0 inline 6, 42re trans and I don't remember which T case it had originally. Last fall I swapped in a np242hd.
This past July it went into the garage for a major transformation. It's getting a 14 bolt rear, HP king pin D60 upfront, dual T cases, and custom 4 link rear and 3 link front, stretched wheel base, 5.38 gears, 37's, and a few other little things.
I decided to build my own 4 link and 3 link. I don't really like what the aftermarket has for "bolt in" lift systems. They cut some corners when it comes to getting proper link separation and mounting locations. While the kits work pretty good for the average Jeep they aren't what I wanted. And I HATE radius arm style front arms. Anything like that was completely out of the question for me.
To get better vertical link separation at the body side I added some 2" x 4" 3/16" wall tubing between the lower stock link arm mounts. This gave me something more substantial to weld the lower link arm mounts to. But the concern I had was welding the 3/16" thick tube to the tin body. So I plated the bottom the "frame rail" with 11 gauge, then welded the 3/16" to the 11 gauge.
I ran into a issue with welding the upper link arm mounts to the body. I was only able to weld them on two sides. This wasn't going to work for me. I welded the brackets to a fish plate made out of the 11 gauge, then welded that to the Jeep.
Link arms are made out of 2" 1/4" wall DOM. Steering and track bar will be 1 1/2" 1/4" wall DOM. I'll get those built this weekend. I ran into some issues with the track bar and steering. I had bought a drop pitman arm hoping to use it. But, that was a no go. The drop was too much, and the draglink and track bar were at completely different angles. I had to go back to the stock pitman arm and order a new 1 ton TRE insert for it. I'll have the pitman arm back tonight and I can get the steering and track bar squared away this weekend. As well as put the gears in the front axle. No locker at this time, the wallet is a little thin. The locker will come this spring.
Rear axle has been shaved, Yukon 5.38's and a Yukon Grizzly locker installed. I converted it to disc brakes as well. The WJ gets the speedo signal from the ABS sensors. Having the NP242HD there is no VSS on the T case. So I put some tone rings on the 14 bolt hubs, modified the caliper bracket and made a little spacer to mount the stock WJ rear ABS sensors to it.
I also eliminated the ABS pump under to hood, added a adjustable proportioning valve. This required redoing all the brake lines. I used the stock lines from the master cylinder to the ABS pump and put some 3/16" nuts on them and flared the lines. I reused the passenger side front line and put 3/16" nuts on and flared the line and rerouted the line to work with the new valve and put it in a different location for the flex line going to the caliper. I built a new line for the drivers side front and the rear brakes. I should have the rest of the parts this weekend to finish up the brake system. FYI, the Eastwood flare tool is worth every penny. Makes perfect flares every time.
A long, long time ago I bought a kit that uses a np231 and modifies it into a range box that you can then bolt another T case to back of it. I never used it. So I decided to use it for the WJ. I cut and modified the np231 case, added a 6 pinion planetary, and bolted my np242hd behind it. I ran into a problem with the 242 hitting the floor. I ended up cutting a hole in the floor under the drivers seat and making some patch plates to clear the T case. I still need to get the main shaft cut down for a SYE. And build a new cross member to hold the dual cases. that will probably next weeks project.
For fender flares I went cheap and got some off Ebay that are a direct rip off from the Notch Customs flares. But for a fraction of the price. I will need to do some fiberglassing to thicken the flares, and add some mounting hardware. Even with doing all that I will still be into them less than half of what the Notch Customs flares cost.
I did a tank tuck that turned out to be a major PITA. I ended up doing to twice. The first time I didn't tuck it enough and the upper link arm mount on the axle hit the tank. So I did it again and sucked it up right against the floor which meant the fill and vent line ended up being inside the cabin. I built a removable cover to go over the lines. While I was at it I put a access panel in to get to the fuel pump. I went ahead and replaced the fuel pump while I had it all apart.
I'm sure I have forgot a bunch of stuff, but that's were I'm at so far.
Hopefully all these pictures upload.
Any questions, comments, concerns please let me know.
None of the work is high end shop quality work. It's poor redneck, with basic tools work. But I think it will all hold up and work. Time will tell.
Future upgrades are front locker, on board air, front and rear bumpers, winch, rocker skids, rebuilt stroker engine, rebuilt trans, PRP seats.
It's still under construction but should be on the road by Thanksgiving. It will still need some work before it will be trail ready, but at least I can drive it for the winter.
I started with a 2001 WJ with a 4.0 inline 6, 42re trans and I don't remember which T case it had originally. Last fall I swapped in a np242hd.
This past July it went into the garage for a major transformation. It's getting a 14 bolt rear, HP king pin D60 upfront, dual T cases, and custom 4 link rear and 3 link front, stretched wheel base, 5.38 gears, 37's, and a few other little things.
I decided to build my own 4 link and 3 link. I don't really like what the aftermarket has for "bolt in" lift systems. They cut some corners when it comes to getting proper link separation and mounting locations. While the kits work pretty good for the average Jeep they aren't what I wanted. And I HATE radius arm style front arms. Anything like that was completely out of the question for me.
To get better vertical link separation at the body side I added some 2" x 4" 3/16" wall tubing between the lower stock link arm mounts. This gave me something more substantial to weld the lower link arm mounts to. But the concern I had was welding the 3/16" thick tube to the tin body. So I plated the bottom the "frame rail" with 11 gauge, then welded the 3/16" to the 11 gauge.
I ran into a issue with welding the upper link arm mounts to the body. I was only able to weld them on two sides. This wasn't going to work for me. I welded the brackets to a fish plate made out of the 11 gauge, then welded that to the Jeep.
Link arms are made out of 2" 1/4" wall DOM. Steering and track bar will be 1 1/2" 1/4" wall DOM. I'll get those built this weekend. I ran into some issues with the track bar and steering. I had bought a drop pitman arm hoping to use it. But, that was a no go. The drop was too much, and the draglink and track bar were at completely different angles. I had to go back to the stock pitman arm and order a new 1 ton TRE insert for it. I'll have the pitman arm back tonight and I can get the steering and track bar squared away this weekend. As well as put the gears in the front axle. No locker at this time, the wallet is a little thin. The locker will come this spring.
Rear axle has been shaved, Yukon 5.38's and a Yukon Grizzly locker installed. I converted it to disc brakes as well. The WJ gets the speedo signal from the ABS sensors. Having the NP242HD there is no VSS on the T case. So I put some tone rings on the 14 bolt hubs, modified the caliper bracket and made a little spacer to mount the stock WJ rear ABS sensors to it.
I also eliminated the ABS pump under to hood, added a adjustable proportioning valve. This required redoing all the brake lines. I used the stock lines from the master cylinder to the ABS pump and put some 3/16" nuts on them and flared the lines. I reused the passenger side front line and put 3/16" nuts on and flared the line and rerouted the line to work with the new valve and put it in a different location for the flex line going to the caliper. I built a new line for the drivers side front and the rear brakes. I should have the rest of the parts this weekend to finish up the brake system. FYI, the Eastwood flare tool is worth every penny. Makes perfect flares every time.
A long, long time ago I bought a kit that uses a np231 and modifies it into a range box that you can then bolt another T case to back of it. I never used it. So I decided to use it for the WJ. I cut and modified the np231 case, added a 6 pinion planetary, and bolted my np242hd behind it. I ran into a problem with the 242 hitting the floor. I ended up cutting a hole in the floor under the drivers seat and making some patch plates to clear the T case. I still need to get the main shaft cut down for a SYE. And build a new cross member to hold the dual cases. that will probably next weeks project.
For fender flares I went cheap and got some off Ebay that are a direct rip off from the Notch Customs flares. But for a fraction of the price. I will need to do some fiberglassing to thicken the flares, and add some mounting hardware. Even with doing all that I will still be into them less than half of what the Notch Customs flares cost.
I did a tank tuck that turned out to be a major PITA. I ended up doing to twice. The first time I didn't tuck it enough and the upper link arm mount on the axle hit the tank. So I did it again and sucked it up right against the floor which meant the fill and vent line ended up being inside the cabin. I built a removable cover to go over the lines. While I was at it I put a access panel in to get to the fuel pump. I went ahead and replaced the fuel pump while I had it all apart.
I'm sure I have forgot a bunch of stuff, but that's were I'm at so far.
Hopefully all these pictures upload.
Any questions, comments, concerns please let me know.
None of the work is high end shop quality work. It's poor redneck, with basic tools work. But I think it will all hold up and work. Time will tell.
Future upgrades are front locker, on board air, front and rear bumpers, winch, rocker skids, rebuilt stroker engine, rebuilt trans, PRP seats.
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