[1_2_XjU]

Nice work on the flares, we was doin the same thing at the same time...

 

[XJSuperman]

Cool! Btw, the late nuts finally showed up. Aggravating.

 

[1_2_XjU]

amazingly, all my front flare brackets came off without a single broken stud - i coulda sent em over your way!

 

[XJSuperman]

I reclaimed all but 1 I guess. I'm one short and order a pack of seven that arrived a week and a half late lol. Just silly.

 

[XJSuperman]

Fenders are done. Done done done. Got a hair up my ass and finished the passenger side tonight.

 

[XJSuperman]

Went wheeling/camping all weekend and had a blast. Jeep took minor damage if you count the tailpipe wrapping around the axle. I removed it and drove home no problems. Mud and ruts in trails that are shared with buggys on 44s mean I spend the whole day dragging differentials on the trail centers. It was too slippery this weekend and I gave up after part of the day.

 

[XJSuperman]

Pics

 

[Gluckmysock]

Yep lots of mud. Only option is more throttle!

 

[XJSuperman]

Washed the jeep yesterday, after another thourough powerwashing, I even wiped it down with a sponge to remove the mud stain spots. Looks cleaner than it has in a year or more. Im still waiting on some paint stuff for the rust removal projects but once i get that and my steel, I should start on that. Trailer went back inside and Im switching over to Mini Cooper projects for the next week or two.

 

[XJSuperman]

Not much to update.
-I found weld-thru primer at NAPA.
-My POR finally came from amazon, I need a better option for buying it. Maybe direct from POR and wait for sales.
-Still need to go get steel from a guy I know.
-Took a drive last weekend and dumped my lawn waste on the special day they have for it (stupid and aggravating)

-Then I took a longer drive out to a new Jeep show that was ok but needs a lot of work to make it enjoyable. I hope the try again next year. They are a motocross track and not jeep people so they completely guessed at what it takes to entertain us and most of the "trails" were the moto track and open pasture. The wooded section was supposedly ok, but we didn't get in there due to a traffic jam. (bad mud, steep hill, no way around and no exit trail so it was a dead end until a buggy broke in the trail better). The announcer guy said they weren't allowing vehicles without winches so mine sat parked all day. Then we got out there in my buddy's jeep and saw plenty of them without winches. We later found out is was only the woods, not the whole thing. They failed to communicate that, and didn't have ANY signage at all labeling things or requirements. Tech inspection consisted of looking to see if we had seatbelts. I was nevertheless pretty pissed but I ended up having a good talk with one of the staff about some suggestions and to check out our club/show we do in September if they wanted to see some helpful things. They offered me a refund and I took it because I spent a half tank of gas driving to/from, and the entry fee was $40/day!!! Ouch. A full weekend with real obstacle course and everything for our show is less than that. Felt a little like a Karen but oh well. Im not new to this, so why I heard something different than everyone else when I was standing right next to the announcer is beyond me. My buddy and his gf heard what I heard, but I didn't ask around too much. Once you got on the "trails" there wasn't a good way to get off, so it was a long drive through everything and then we packed up and left. I did manage to supply tools and help fix a couple jeeps so good thing I went I guess.

Made some new cherokee friends kinda and they all had sick XJ builds. Varying rollcages with good ideas for mine, OBA systems that had input I can add, and one even has a RAD standalone shifter! Never seen one in person before. I want one. They all had bumpers and stuff built by the guy Im getting my steel from. One of them had a badass bumper setup I liked. Might have to see if he can duplicate it for me. Or learn and do it myself. They all had rockers done so I looked at that for a bit. Oddly enough I didn't see a lot of unibody stiffeners on them, even though everything else was armored.

 

[XJSuperman]

Brought home some 2x6 steel for the rockers! Yeehaw. Now if I can get my shit together Ill get started on this soon.

 

[XJSuperman]

The above-mentioned new XJ friends were apparently a bad influence. After seeing and talking with them, then the guy I got my steel from (he's an XJ guy who runs his own fab shop "AwwwDude" on facebook), I ordered some stuff I have been wanting and needing for years.
Parts on the way:
-HD Offroad Engineering shackle relocators
-RadDesigns AW4 shifter kit
-rear BPEs cause a shock popped out AGAIN and Im tired of fixing it. 5 times is enough.

Recently done:
-reinstalled muffler with downturn tip welded to it (no more tailpipe over the axle and bangin on the shackle)
-welded to original hanger so thats nice
-patched a leaking tire
-tightened belt and may have fixed my squealing on startup
-replaced flasher relay and regained my turnsignals/hazards

Left on the to-do list:
-grease drive shafts
-drain, inspect, and refill diffs.
-call a guy about a rear 8.8 axle setup for XJ/YJ (Detroit locker, chromoly shafts, disc brakes, $500 I think)
-fix wiring and find problem for rear wiper switch
-cut out and install new rocker steel
-cut out and replace passenger side floor board.

 

[Gluckmysock]

I feel all your pains bro

 

[XJSuperman]

I feel all your pains bro

Thoughts on that 8.8 axle deal?
Do you have rear bpes?

 

[TgRamsey]

I have rear bpes, love em

 

[Gluckmysock]

Yes I have rear bpe's. On the 8.8. If you don't have to regear, jump on it. The 8.8 is as good as a Dana 44, plus chromoly axles and a Detroit locker, I'm jealous.

 

[XJSuperman]

bpes just got delivered, might go out and install them

 

[XJSuperman]

Got a bpe installed tonight. Guess well see if I rip a shock mount off tomorrow commuting. No uptravel allowed hahaha

 

[XJSuperman]

And I need a favor....will one of you drive to Iowa and punch me in the face? Somehow I thought it would be smart to use a carriage bolt last time I fixed the upper shock mount. Spent waaay too long trying to get a wrench on it.

 

[4.3L XJ]

I think you have been hanging around too much farm machinery