Just another YJ build

A friend at work made these parts for me.

Rear bumper and shackles.jpg


Rear bump and shackles on Jeep 1.jpg
 
Rad. I had a similar setup on the front of one of my old rigs to keep it low and keep the shackle from inverting.. Not as clean as that though!
 
Killer build. Love the sunset graphics the most honestly
 
drkelly said:
I looked back through your build thread. You must be running the Astro van forward swing steering box?

I can see that I am going to need a different (shorter) radiator that doesn't hang down so far, because the DL is going to try and occupy the same space when the suspension compresses.
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Did you ever figure out a shorter radiator? I'm in the process of redoing the front suspension on mine and, with the truss on the 60 going in, clearing with the radiator at bump is going to be an issue.
 
adamk said:
Did you ever figure out a shorter radiator? I'm in the process of redoing the front suspension on mine and, with the truss on the 60 going in, clearing with the radiator at bump is going to be an issue.
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I haven't really looked yet.
 
NCJeeplover said:
I've seen some people push the bottom of the radiator and grill a little to clear the axle.
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That's actually what it ended up doing, in a roundabout way. I shifted the whole grill/radiator assembly up ~.5" and forward the same. Gave me just enough clearance. The hood no longer sits perfectly straight with the body lines but .5" over the length of the hood is hardly noticeable.
 
The front end is sitting a little lower than the rear. Maybe too much lower. Caster is about 6-7 degrees. I might move the springs to the next lower hole in the shackles. That would raise the front about 1/2" and change the caster to about 5 degrees.
 
I really like how the winch is mounted. Nice and low. What's the mount your using? Also how are you gonna mount the A piller for the cage with the boatsides?
 
Monkeynono said:
I really like how the winch is mounted. Nice and low. What's the mount your using? Also how are you gonna mount the A piller for the cage with the boatsides?
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I designed it and my friend at work made the parts for me.

I'm not sure about the cage. I'm probably just going to roll out with the stock cage at first because I've been off the trail for over 4 years!

Front end.jpg
 
drkelly said:
I designed it and my friend at work made the parts for me.

I'm not sure about the cage. I'm probably just going to roll out with the stock cage at first because I've been off the trail for over 4 years!

View attachment 321387
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How much strength do you think is lost by removing the tube crossmember? I really want to do something like you have there but I am concerned about cutting to up the crossmember and bumper to sink the winch in.
 
Monkeynono said:
How much strength do you think is lost by removing the tube crossmember? I really want to do something like you have there but I am concerned about cutting to up the crossmember and bumper to sink the winch in.
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I really struggled with the idea of cutting that tube out. I couldn't figure out how to leave it in place, move the front axle forward several inches, have a steering box, and keep it really low like I wanted with some reasonable amount of up-travel in the suspension. I briefly thought about leaving it, and going with full hydro steering. I know people do it on rigs that are street driven, but I ultimately decided against doing that. I'm sure cutting out that tube reduced the strength of the frame to some degree that my current front bumper assembly is not replicating. I'm going to add some kind of grill hoop, and once I have everything it place (steering linkage, grill, etc), I am going to look at other ways to stiffen the front of the frame back up.
 
drkelly said:
I really struggled with the idea of cutting that tube out. I couldn't figure out how to leave it in place, move the front axle forward several inches, have a steering box, and keep it really low like I wanted with some reasonable amount of up-travel in the suspension. I briefly thought about leaving it, and going with full hydro steering. I know people do it on rigs that are street driven, but I ultimately decided against doing that. I'm sure cutting out that tube reduced the strength of the frame to some degree that my current front bumper assembly is not replicating. I'm going to add some kind of grill hoop, and once I have everything it place (steering linkage, grill, etc), I am going to look at other ways to stiffen the front of the frame back up.
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With all that metal up front I’m not sure removing that tube will make a difference in the long run. I’m in the same situation as to whether to hack mine out or not. With the Astro box,I don’t have a reason other than to have easier access to the winch mount hardware from underneath. Then I have to make a new grille mount. Kind of counter productive so for now mine is staying.
 
StretchASU said:
With all that metal up front I’m not sure removing that tube will make a difference in the long run. I’m in the same situation as to whether to hack mine out or not. With the Astro box,I don’t have a reason other than to have easier access to the winch mount hardware from underneath. Then I have to make a new grille mount. Kind of counter productive so for now mine is staying.
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@StretchASU Since y'all are on steering.....does the Astro set up go in the factory spot?
@drkelly. You obviously moved yours. Why not the astro route?

Looking at pros and cons for each. I will be running my Reid high stear stuff. Most likely 3 link. Not four link since I'm ditching the full hydro. Unless I go parrallel four link with a panhard bar.....that's a lot to package.

Edit: I don't think you lost much structure with the winch tray. Especially if you have a rear lip turned up or down.
 
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