Before and After

360 view

It is Done !!!!!

Here is a picture of the rear suspension linkage. You can see the upper control arm, lower control arm, rear sway bar connector, rear shock, spring, rear track bar bracket and the rear track bar.

The transfer case has been rebuilt with the Heavy Duty slip yoke eliminator kit and rear Constant Velocity (CV) driveshaft. I would have liked to had photos taken of the rebuild but my wife was traveling with the kid and the camera so I did not get any photos of the transfer case rebuild or the front bumper installation. I will get some new photos up tomorrow after I get the rig washed.

Here you can see the rear driveshaft is in-line with the rear yoke. This little detail will make a large difference in the way a lifted jeep feels on the road. (ie...No vibrations)

Here you can see the front differential cover by Superlift and the new front track bar. You can also see the heavy duty tie-rod (painted silver to match the other Rubicon Express parts)

This is the entire front suspention and steering linkage.

The new front bumper by Advanced Frame Works and superwinch.

The 9000 lbs. Superwinch

Side shot

Front shot of new bumper and the Smittybuilt D-ring shackels that I added to the front bumper for two extra tow points from the front. I just have a few bolts to check and I need to get the steering wheel pointed straight, and get it back home to Kathleen and Jim in one piece and this Jeep build will be 100% completed.

Corrected the tie-rod

The new tie-rod from TNT Customs is a larger diameter than the puny stock one that comes on every jeep. The new tie rod measures 1 inch diameter with .120 wall thinkness. If you look closely at the stock tie rod you can see the wall thickness of the metal is very thin which makes it suceptable to bending when it gets tapped on a rock or a stump. The tie rod ends are kept in place with very large jam nuts that measure a very weird metric 18 x 1.5 thread which is very difficult to find replacements for especially since one side is left hand threaded.

I painted the new tie rod with silver to help match it to the rest of the rubicon express components found under this vehicle.

This is the drivers side tie rod end.

Nice and straight. The old tie rod had a nasty bend in it from hitting an object. That wont happen again.

Here is the old bent tie rod.

I just like stickers

Sorry, Jim but I just could not stop myself from putting at least one sticker on your jeep. I guess I'm still a kid inside and I love stickers. I promise these will be the only ones I put on your jeep. There are one of these Rubicon Express stickers on each side. OK, well I may put a small American Flag on the spare tire mount in the rear of your ride and that's it, I promise. These manufacturers should not include so many stickers with their parts if they didn't want us Jeep guys to plaster them onto our vehicles.

Front coil spacers are installed.

I added a set of 3/4 inch Rubicon Express coil spacers to the front suspension. After the lift kit was installed the front of the vehicle was sitting just a hair lower in front. I dont like the front rake look that many lifted vehicles have so I picked up a set of spacers for the front and made sure Jims jeep will be perfectly level when you look at it from any angle. This will also compensate for the extra weight of the custom front bumper and winch once they are mounted.

This rear bumper is now bomb proof

Alright, after much consideration I have decided to remove the gas tank and get this rear bumper installed the correct way. I will be replacing all the Grade-5 hardware that came with this bumper and mounts to the frame with a higher quality Grade-8 and a newer Grade-9.. I have never heard of Grade-9 hardware before I spoke with my fastener sales guy today. I told him I wanted to replace all the frame mounting hardware with Grade-8 fasteners to ensure that Jim will not have any issues during inspection at a Jeep Jamboree. I was informed that if I wanted to really go above and beyond that I could use a higher strength Grade-9. So I dropped the fuel tank and began to replace all the mounting hardware between the rear bumper and the frame of the vehicle with brand new Grade-8 and Grade-9 fasteners. This will ensure the rear of the vehicle will be able to handle any winch or towing issue Jim will ever encounter without a second thought as to the strength of his bumper. Was this necessary, no. Did it create a lot of work for me, yes. I REFUSE TO PUT MY NAME ON ANYTHING LESS.

Rear differential cover is installed

Rear suspension linkage is nearly complete

From this photo you can see the rear pinion is not in alignment with the rear driveshaft. There is about a 5 or 6 degree difference between the two. Jim has ordered a set of Adjustable Upper Control Arms (UCA's) that will address this issue. I will also be installing a Slip Yoke Eliminator Kit (SYE) with a Constant Velocity (CV) driveshaft that measures 4 inches longer. The combination of these parts will ensure this lifted jeep will drive just as well on the highway as it does off-road.

These are some good photos of the nearly completed rear suspension. You can see the Rubicon Express lower control arms, swaybar connectors, shocks and coil springs. All we have left with the rear half is to get the new rear track bar, track bar bracket and UCA's installed and the rear suspension will be complete.

Bent tie rod before replacement install

Here are two pics of the front tie rod that has a bend in it. This is what was creating the tow in situation with the front tires. When the new HD replacement gets here it will fix this problem.

Front Axle needs alignment

The front drivers side is sticking out 3 inches.

The front passenger side is tucked inside the fenders. The rear tires stick out 1 - 1/4 inches on each side from the fenders.

I will be purchasing a new front Track bar and front tie rod this week since the front axle is pushed 3 inches to the drivers side as a result of the lift kit. The result is the funny look as well as the sway bar disconnects are crooked. The tie rod will be also be replaced since it is slightly bent and creating a tow-in situation. Althought the jeep is starting to look finished there are still a bunch of tiny details that need to be addressed. I still need to rebuild the transfer case and install the rear CV driveshaft. The rear track bar needs a little custom fab work to get it correctly installed. I need to drill out and install about 50 rivits for the rock-sliders on the sides. The rear bumper is still not on all the way yet. The gas tank needs to be re-installed. The front bumper is still not here yet and that will need to be installed along with the winch. I still need to tighten the front and rear control arms after the suspension settles in. If the rear driveshaft is not in alignment with the rear differential then a rear cam bolt kit will need to be intalled. I still need to install the stainless steel brake lines as well as the transfer-case drop kit, front track bar, rear track bar and front tie-rod. Oops I forgot to mention the front and rear differential covers. Then I need to perform a shakedown and address any gremlins that pop up. I love this stuff.

75% complete