The LBP XJ Cherokee POS

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

Some 3 way interracial Jeep action going on there

No JK present so really not that gay.

Maybe next time...

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

More boring updates.

I put a full gauge cluster in because a tach is somewhat nice I guess. And I wanted to see if the speedo would work right with it.

Annnnd, it's the same. I have no idea why it randomly works then doesn't. I should see if I have another cable around but ehhh, phone in the ram mount works fine.


The rear springs basically went inverted after the last little trip. Luckily I had already bought replacements 2 years ago.

Old VS new.

They're RE1463 3.5" lift springs. I think they're okay, but they probably lifted it 4" from where it was.

Had to use a couple bolts to spread the shackles open so they'd fit.

Hopefully they work better, or at least don't sag. Forgot to take an after picture with it outside.

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

Oh, and PG Spring and Axle hasn't inflation adjusted their price for u-bolts yet. Was like $15/each with nuts and washers for 5/8". TMR wants $25/each for them.

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

How it sits now.

The front springs are 3.5" RE lift springs too, which are on a perch that is at least an inch taller than stock... So why so much difference.

And there's a 37" spare tire, tools, jacks, and go knows what else in there. You'd think they'd not be so tall.

[Snowracer]

good to see this thing getting some beat down action

going to come race Houston in September ?

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

I'm not sure it's cut out for racing. Is there a "slow as fuck full bodies rigs" category?

[Snowracer]

I'm not sure it's cut out for racing. Is there a "slow as fuck full bodies rigs" category?

thats pretty much half the rigs racing

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

Who in town swages cables and doesn't charge an arm and a leg? Fucked up my winch cable "somehow". Wiser wire rope I'd assume would?

Also my winch failure was a fuse that was buried and I forgot about. It was one of those annoying glass fuses you never carry, so I cut it out and replaced it with a regular fuse holder. I also upsized it, because I think the reason it blew was because I extended the control wires so much by putting the plug in the cab. Or maybe because it was warm. One way or another the wire can handle more than the 5A fuse I put in there. Maybe.

Fun fact, that cloth coated "high temperature" wire that Smittybilt uses actually burns at a lower temperature than the heat shrink splices shrink.

[pointsnorth]

I'm not sure it's cut out for racing. Is there a "slow as fuck full bodies rigs" category?

fastest lap went to a stock grande cherokee last year

[pointsnorth]

and yes you should bring it out to houston

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

I'm not sure it's cut out for racing. Is there a "slow as fuck full bodies rigs" category?

fastest lap went to a stock grande cherokee last year

[Snowracer]

I'm not sure it's cut out for racing. Is there a "slow as fuck full bodies rigs" category?

fastest lap went to a stock grande cherokee last year

just have tell the mexican that the federales are after him and that jeep was flying

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

So what seemed like just a case of slightly bending my lower front link mounts, along with a loose bolt, turned into... Yeah.

So, I knew this was coming. It was straight up asking for it reusing the stock lower mounts on the "frame" side. I think I had planned to plate them at some point, then just didn't. Well, I mangled the one really good, and the other one got a bit beat up. So, I cut them off.

That said, 100% this bastardized stupid idea front suspension was working totally fine otherwise. If I had just plated them it wouldn't have been an issue and I could probably have got through the summer.

Anyway, that turned into the justification to put the frame plating "stiffeners" on. Or at least part of them. These are the Ruffstuff ones. Why I bought them I don't remember, but I do recall arguing with him about them because I wanted him to cut them in half to save me money on shipping, and he wouldn't do it. I told him I'd have to cut them in half anyway because they aren't going to fit my jeep due to the other mods. He told me he didn't recommend that. Anyway, Dan seems like a decent guy in all my years of dealing with him, but this product, ehhhh...

How they come:

I immediately cut them down like this:

Because, again, they weren't going to fit.

I then cut the front part off it too, because it also doesn't fit. Then I started looking at how the things are made and tried to figure out how the hell you're actually supposed to weld them on. There might be instructions or videos out there, but again, I'm pretty opinionated and didn't care to look into it. I think you're supposed to weld the edge of the upper flange to the floor, which is stupid, since the there is a much thicker flange on the uniframe rail that you probably want to be welding to like the factory did. So I put a bunch of holes in them for rosettes on the flange, and a bunch more in other places because none of this shit fits perfect, nor do any of the existing holes line up with the internal structure, so you're doing to want something to pick up on that and spread loading. I also added some big holes for the factory cleanout and drain points, because without them if you run in any sort of mud (and you're not avoiding that around here) the frame will just fill entirely with mud eventually.

Example of how things were drilled (parts are from different sides, because I forgot to take pictures):

The product description also makes mention of there being no "stress risers" with this product.

Here's how the front part is intended to be installed, or I think, like I said I'm doing my own thing:

So we very clearly have a MASSIVE stress riser at the V notch area where the two pieces of plating fail to meet. Also, the other big known weakness is the large hole above the forward plate, which is for accessing the upper control arm bolt if using the stock suspension. In defense of the product they sell a separate plating kit that would address this area, but the way they left it is absolutely asking for trouble, and this product is meant to be standalone for most uses. Ugh.

So I made some pieces to put in these areas:

I left a small hole in the upper piece for cleanout aid, I was going to dimple it but decided nobody would care.

Also, welding all of this is largely hell. All awkward positions, welding thick metal to thin, and getting all the zinc plating off the factory metal without actually destroying the base metal is a pain. That's why I didn't do this earlier.

Welded up some new link mounts:

Probably should have filled that weld more... Eh. Next build.

This side welded on and painted:

From the inside:

I ground a lot of the welds because nobody wanted to see that crap. Also, I'm not totally happy with how I tied the link mount into everything. Might change it... Of course I painted it now so that sucks.

Still have to finish the other side. I did make the new links out of some junk I had lying around. They're a little longer now so it's more "normal" than what it was before.

I don't plan to do the rear half of the plating at this time. I've already caused enough knock-on problems from doing this. I'm hoping the rear spring hangers make it through to fall, then maybe I'll do the rear and the spring hangers. Or I'll rip the rear axle out next trip. Hard to say.

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

Wow, those pictures are mostly pretty useless.

Oh well. Nobody else on here is stupid enough to build an XJ anyway.

[Scoobienorth]

I hear you on welding thick stuff to the stock sheetmetal. The corner guards I welded under my rear tail lights off the red grand was truly terrible looking. That being said I’ve hit them a couple times and they shifted the Jeep over so I’m sure yours will be fine