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Overlanders Unlimited This is a forum to discuss expedition vehicles and trailer options, a place to talk about builds, modifications, and designs, as well as past and future adventure trips.

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  #31  
Old 02-01-2008, 12:11 PM
mrblaine mrblaine is offline
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Then I'd also have to relocate my water tank to the tongue.
right in front of the batteries
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  #32  
Old 02-02-2008, 10:01 PM
mrblaine mrblaine is offline
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Well, we got enough done today to take it for a test drive.

One word- impressive. All the small things add up to one giant improvement in handling, stopping, ride quality, and just the overall fun factor of driving.

There's still some fine tuning to do, but anyone looking to do new shocks needs to seriously consider the New Rancho Silver shocks. They are outstanding.
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  #33  
Old 02-03-2008, 08:33 PM
Lawrence Lawrence is offline
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As Blaine said, with the rain letting up, we completed the rear yesterday. We welded on the Poly kit to the driver's side, put everything in place (including Blaine's awesome trackbar), hooked up the air lines to the rear shocks, and took the Jeep for a drive.

After breaking in the brake pads, braking is pretty amazing. The Jeep now stops like crazy, it is so good that I have to learn to be gentle with the brake pedal.

The ride is outstanding, all suspension components work very well together. The Jeep eats road imperfections like they are not there, and adjusting the shocks on the fly is really cool. We cranked up the shocks on the freeway, and we came upon a stretch where you can normally feel those freeway sections. With my RE suspension, it would beat me up, with the new setup we could still feel them, but it was much smoother. Now, the beauty of the system is that we immediately set the front to a medium setting and the rear to a soft one, virtually eliminating the annoying bouncing most vehicles would be subject to. BTW, for anyone considering this system, it doesn't leak. We set the front shocks pressure two weeks ago and it was exactly the same yesterday.

The SwayLoc kept the body from leaning in a curve, allowing us to take one of those looping freeway onramp at 40 mph without any hesitation. Now, you can actually accelerate through a turn and keep the Jeep under control instead of breaking to keep it from getting away from you.

The steering is great, the Jeep goes exactly where you want it to go. Taking shopping centers/gas station driveways, it doesn't jerk you around and it doesn't get away from under you.

Overall, I am very impressed and happy with the results. It is a totally different vehicle than what I started with. With a little more dialing in, it will be complete.

Today, we weren't able to get anything accomplished, as the rain came back. What's left is to dial everything in, and to install the Setrab transmission cooler.

Yesterday, I forgot my camera and there was too much rain today, so you'll have to wait a bit for pictures.
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  #34  
Old 02-04-2008, 04:10 AM
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Yeah sounds good I guess the reason for 17" rims was You had them Correct? I would have opted for more side wall.
Like your break conversion very nice. I will probably do the same in the near future. And I am finally doing my safari tank in the next 2 weeks I will write up that one also.
And yes I am doing a build on a 4X6 trailer with a car top Camper and lots of Storage,31 inch tires and 20" of ground Clearance! www.offroadtrailerz.com A group of us is doing the Mojave Trailer trail in late April, so far 2 unimogs,6 Jeeps, a Cherokee and a Pathfinder all from Point Mugu 4X4 should be really fun I will post up when we have more info and dates.
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  #35  
Old 02-06-2008, 02:18 PM
Lawrence Lawrence is offline
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Yes Rick, I already had the 17" rims. I thought about selling them and going with 15" instead, but I decided that it wasn't worth it in the end. A lot of newer vehicles, like the FJC and the JK, come with 17" from the factory due to bigger brakes, and they are quite offroad capable. The sidewall is stiffer due to the increased load range, but I'll just air down some more.
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  #36  
Old 02-09-2008, 07:54 PM
Lawrence Lawrence is offline
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Well, today we did some more work on the Jeep, mainly transmission cooler time.

Things started off in an interesting way. I had bought a couple gauges, and upon arriving at Blaine’s, I discovered they were mechanical gauges. So, off to Kragen we went. After driving around town to multiple stores, we finally came back only to discover that this time, it took two of us to buy, yes you guessed it, another set of mechanical gauges. So, after yet another trip, 3.5 hours later I finally had the Holy Grail, and I proudly showed my electrical gauges to Blaine. But wait, there’s more… Because they were water temp gauges, there was no T-fitting, so no gauge install right now.

Anyway, the way the system will run is out of the transmission, through the radiator cooler, through the Setrab, and back into the transmission. So, we got one of the transmission lines out and here it is


Here it is again, this time in 2 pieces


Blaine silver soldered fittings on both newly cut ends so we could run hoses to the cooler without having any leaks.


Pretty sweet end result.


Now, here they are back where they belong.


For the cooler, we used a Setrab oil cooler. A few months back, we did some testing for the hydronic tent heater system with some coolers Blaine had stashed away in his super secret cabinet. We discovered that although the B&M cooler was ok, the Setrab blew it away in the efficiency department (http://www.jeepbbs.net/forums/showthread.php?t=12284). So we took one and Blaine couldn’t wait to make a bracket to mount the fan to it. Here it is mounted on the tub, just behind the transfer case on the left side. You’ll also notice an inline thermostat, designed to turn the fan on when the temp reaches 175 degrees.


To make sure there is enough air flow and to minimize vibrations, we used a set of these nice rubber isolators to space the cooler down.


Now, the way it will be wired will be with a master on/off switch to close the circuit in case of a water crossing, so not to damage the fan. A red LED is also being installed on the dash to let me know when the circuit opens and the fan kicks in, LED on = fan on. Once I get my head out of my arse and get the correct gauge , we will put one by the transfer case shifter with a switch to get an in & out temperature reading with 2 inline senders.

A bit more work tomorrow, and we should be done.
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  #37  
Old 02-09-2008, 09:04 PM
mrblaine mrblaine is offline
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Nice job Lawrence! You should add in that the hose is -8 Aeroquip Socketless hose that requires no clamps when used with the correct barbed fittings. -8 is 1/2" so we don't restrict the flow through the 3/8" transmission cooler lines because we added more line length.

Keeping the flow level high enough is paramount to not starving the transmission and damaging it.

Also, with the high efficiency and much higher flow rate of the Setrab engine oil cooler we've put in there for a transmission cooler, it's important to not have the fan come on before 175?F.

Joe at Westminster tells me that as long as we don't exceed 250, we're golden. I don't suspect that will be an issue.

It is nice to get some use out of that Setrab stuff I've had in the garage for a few years though. Glad we found a good home for it.
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  #38  
Old 02-10-2008, 10:06 PM
Lawrence Lawrence is offline
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We finished things off today by hooking up the electrical for the fan. As mentioned before, the fan comes on at 175 degrees by means of a thermostat, and a red LED lights up on the dash to let me know that it is on. The switch directly below the LED is the master switch to turn the fan off in case of a deep water crossing.


We then went for a drive. That reminds me:

Tech Tip of the Day: If you unplug the TCM from the side of the transmission, don't forget to plug it back in. If you do, your Jeep will only know 1 gear only, no upshifting, no downshifting.

After we fixed the little snafu, everything worked as expected, and Blaine told me to take a certain route which has a big dip to see if the rear UCA would hit the cooler. So, off we went, and at the first speed bump, he asked me why I was slowing down. So, naturally when we came to the dip, I didn't slow down and got the Jeep off the ground. Upon inspection, the UCA just grazed the side of the mounting bracket and we called it good since if it didn't hit the cooler then, it is safe to say it won't.

Coming home and driving steady at 70 mph, the fan kicked on about 7-8 miles after getting on the freeway, with outside temps being in the mid to upper 70s. About 45 miles later, I stopped for gas, and before I could pump 5 gallons into the tank, the fan shut down. Very nice.

I also played with the shocks controller and I can really feel the difference between the various settings. I'll keep playing with them on various surfaces.

Although Blaine is slow, expensive, and does crappy work, a huge thanks goes out to him. This is one nice riding TJ, and I am extremely happy with the results. I'll use the it as a DD for a while to get a feel for it, and I'll report back along with some more pictures of all the stuff we've done.
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  #39  
Old 02-11-2008, 12:56 AM
Joe Dillard Joe Dillard is offline
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Although Blaine is slow, expensive, and does crappy work, a huge thanks goes out to him.
Hope you are ready to get another infraction.

Nice job with the pics. They help put everything in perspective. Looks real sweet.
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  #40  
Old 02-11-2008, 08:28 AM
NAILER341 NAILER341 is offline
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that is really looking great!
nice work guys.
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  #41  
Old 02-11-2008, 09:22 AM
steelman steelman is offline
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Lawrence,
I saw your rig at Blaine's place last week (prior to the tranny cooler install), and it looks great!
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  #42  
Old 02-16-2008, 05:17 PM
Lawrence Lawrence is offline
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Here it is before all the work started


And here it is now
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  #43  
Old 02-17-2008, 06:02 PM
Jeff Weston Jeff Weston is offline
Can I get a mint julep with that?
 
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For crying out loud, take down those Christmas lights! Oh yeah, Jeep looks good.
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  #44  
Old 02-17-2008, 07:41 PM
mrblaine mrblaine is offline
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For crying out loud, take down those Christmas lights! Oh yeah, Jeep looks good.
His neighbors might not like him stealing their lights.
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  #45  
Old 02-18-2008, 12:27 PM
Jeff Weston Jeff Weston is offline
Can I get a mint julep with that?
 
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His neighbors might not like him stealing their lights.
Ooooops!
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  #46  
Old 02-25-2008, 09:55 PM
Lawrence Lawrence is offline
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Well, this past weekend we went to Calico to meet up with some friends. We were supposed to tow the camper and stay the whole weekend, but due to various things and a weird acting transmission, I decided not to. Big disappointment, and a call to Joe at Westminster is in order.

Anyway, the Jeep did very well, it was a nice and smooth ride all day long. I was very impressed by it and I didn't take a beating like I was with my prior setup. I was much more rested after driving 2 hours to get to Calico, allowing me to fully enjoy the whole day wheeling. I was also happy with the tires, being 33s on 17" rims with a load range E, I was a little skeptical about their flexing ability. I dropped the pressure to 10 front and 12 rear, and they flexed nicely, much better than my prior 35s. There still are a few adjustments to address in some areas and then it should be close to, if not perfect. Here are some pics.




Some more at http://gallery.mac.com/migault#100037

Besides the tranny, the only other weird thing was that the hardtop got all twisted, for lack of a better word. The rear window ended up rubbing on the passenger side of the top, and the top itself shifted on the tub to where I could barely close my door. This, added to the fact that the whole Jeep is leaning to the passenger side by about 3/4" makes me think the Rock Hard cage might be binding. So, I'll pull the hardtop off and loosen the cage to see if it helps realign everything. If not, I might have to visit a frame machine.
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  #47  
Old 02-26-2008, 07:43 AM
Macgyver Macgyver is offline
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Check that your top isn't too tight on the body. I always back off the hard top slightly so it can shift if need be. Your cage shouldn't be moving at all. If anything the cage should help to stiffen the body from flexing. I've had my hard top on for 1 1/2 years and it does fine everywhere. Just snug it down, so it can float.

One of my LJ Unlimited friends actully cracked his hard top it was on so tight. Right at the back screw, it cracked all the way up the side. Luckly Jeep warrentied the top, and now he doesn't over tighten it anymore

BTW, the Jeep looks great!
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  #48  
Old 02-26-2008, 07:18 PM
Lawrence Lawrence is offline
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Thanks Quinn. Funny you should mention that about the top, as in the group there was a service writer for a local Jeep dealer.

His take was the complete opposite. He said the reason my top shifted like that is that it was not tight enough, and that I was lucky I didn't crack the upper right corner. He mentioned to crank it down as tight as possible or else I would be buying a new top soon.

Seems to be a common trait among dealerships, when in doubt, torque the crap out of everything. I had my cat replaced at my local dealer and the idiot who did the job must have torqued my tranny skid to 1 million ft. lbs. The bolts were so tight, I broke 2 of my sockets and 1 of Blaine's, before Blaine finally had to break out the torch to get the remaining bolts off.
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  #49  
Old 03-13-2008, 09:15 AM
SavageSun4x4 SavageSun4x4 is offline
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In post 24 the shock towers: Where did they come from?

Oil cooler: Are you concerned that due to its location that it might be under water?

I have been in the same mode of converting my rig to a expedition rig.

Thanks
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  #50  
Old 03-13-2008, 09:21 AM
mrblaine mrblaine is offline
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Originally Posted by SavageSun4x4 View Post
In post 24 the shock towers: Where did they come from?

Oil cooler: Are you concerned that due to its location that it might be under water?

I have been in the same mode of converting my rig to a expedition rig.

Thanks
The shock towers are from Polyperformance.

The cooler has a switch on the fan so you can shut it off should you enounter deep enough water to submerse it.
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  #51  
Old 03-13-2008, 09:38 AM
SavageSun4x4 SavageSun4x4 is offline
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The shock towers are from Polyperformance.

The cooler has a switch on the fan so you can shut it off should you enounter deep enough water to submerse it.
Blaine, thanks. I looked at the Ford shock tower on Stu's site and I noted how you cut into the frame to mount it. That said are the Poly's done the same way? Is there a write up anywhere?
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  #52  
Old 03-13-2008, 10:05 AM
mrblaine mrblaine is offline
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Originally Posted by SavageSun4x4 View Post
Blaine, thanks. I looked at the Ford shock tower on Stu's site and I noted how you cut into the frame to mount it. That said are the Poly's done the same way? Is there a write up anywhere?
The Poly mounts are done the same way. The write-up for the Ford tower is identical, just a different shape hole in the frame.

On Lawrence's, I held the mount a bit further toward the tires to keep the max material in the frame because he tows a trailer. I'm not that worried, just cautious.
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  #53  
Old 03-13-2008, 10:10 AM
Lawrence Lawrence is offline
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Originally Posted by SavageSun4x4 View Post
Blaine, thanks. I looked at the Ford shock tower on Stu's site and I noted how you cut into the frame to mount it. That said are the Poly's done the same way? Is there a write up anywhere?
Yes, the Poly towers mount the same way as the Ford towers, and I am sure Blaine can give you some pointers if you need.

On mine, we didn’t cut into the frame as much as usual since I am pulling a trailer, Blaine wanted to leave a little more “meat” on the frame, just to be on the safe side. I can take measurements this weekend to help you out if you want. I’ll also take some different pictures, as the one you referred to is not that accurate. The tower you see was cut down, but then we decided to put it on the driver’s side. The one for the passenger side was then cut differently to tie in nicely with the track bar mount that had to be reworked a bit.

With that said, it is no big deal regarding strength, as if you look under your TJ, there is a crossmember running from side to side right where the towers are. As for the ride, the difference is night and day with all the work we have done. The TJ rides incredibly nice and is very stable.

Lastly, I would get the Poly kit over the Ford towers. It comes with everything you need, it is very well engineered, and it allows for a greater choice of shocks. I am using the new Rancho 9000XL and the shock body is really big. I am not sure they would have fit in the Ford towers without some tweaking. Also, after putting everything in place, Blaine called Poly to let them know to make the lower mount a little longer to allow for a better placement should anyone use big bodied shocks.

As for the cooler, there is a huge difference in the Setrab’s ability to dissipate heat. We did some testing and it absolutely rules. As Blaine said, there is a master switch to turn the fan off should I encounter situations where I need to. No risk of damaging anything. The key to putting it back there is to space it enough to let the air flow through nicely. We used those rubber isolators which also act as vibration dampers for the cooler. The other thing you need to do is to seal the fan to the cooler so that the air doesn’t escape to the sides and is being pushed through the cooler. After testing it and realizing it didn’t seal well enough, we took everything apart and added some weather-stripping between the fan and the cooler, and it then worked perfectly.
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