Just another YJ build

That is badass!! :beer:
 
Oh hell yeah! I like your lowrider crawler with the spider fang shackles! :D :beer:
 
I am finally back working on my Jeep. I haven't touched it since late December 2020. My father unexpectedly died in early January this year. That was a struggle for me. Then my wife had fairly major hip surgery in mid-February and was down and out of work for 4 months. I was busy taking care of her and everything around our home. She got better, but my motivation to work on my Jeep remained low.

I built the transmission crossmember and mounting. The crossmember is 1.75" OD x 3/16" wall tubing. The bottom of the tube is flush with the bottom of the frame rails so I can bolt up a flat piece of 1/4" steel to the bottom of the frame for a skid plate. I may have to cut four holes in the skid plate for the four transmission mount bracket bolt heads. I also installed my PVC driveshaft to measure my rear DS angle at 16 degrees relative to the TC output.

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I also installed some LED lights that were mentioned in a thread on this site, and made a patch panel for the old fuel filler hole in the tub.

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Nice man did you laser cut the trans bracket? Looks beefy!!
 
Good to see you back on this thing. And as always, thanks for the ideas to steal :laughing:.

Are you going to support the back of the Atlas or just let it hang off the back of the trans?
 
spraypaintman said:
Nice man did you laser cut the trans bracket? Looks beefy!!
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Yes, I designed it in Creo, and had my buddy in the shop laser cut it and bend it for me.
 
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StretchASU said:
Good to see you back on this thing. And as always, thanks for the ideas to steal :laughing:.

Are you going to support the back of the Atlas or just let it hang off the back of the trans?
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I'm undecided. Do you think it is necessary? I know it is common to break the tail housing of some transmissions like a TH350, but I haven't heard of it happening on an AX15. I'm going to be building another crossmember just like the one in the pictures above right there under the rear output yoke for the traction bar to connect to, so I should probably just hook onto it with a rear mount for the Atlas.
 
I finally got around to capping off the rear ends of the frame rails where I had cut them. I suck at welding in any position other than perfect. Trying to keep it low while doing a spring over meant cutting into the frame pretty heavily at the very rear. The angled notch is to allow the shackle to swing under during full droop. I'm fully questioning my sanity for sticking with leaves. I probably should have just picked up some cheap coil springs and linked it.

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orange150 said:
Never thought of doing the crossmember like that. Good idea
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Thanks. I am not a fan of the way a lot of people do it when they hard mount the bracket/crossmember to the transmission, then attach it to both frame rails with bushings. The bushing is needed right under the transmission for the drivetrain to float when the chassis flexes. I welded steel sleeves through the frame rail so the bolts are not just pinching the two walls of the frame. I didn't take a picture of that.
 
drkelly said:
I'm undecided. Do you think it is necessary? I know it is common to break the tail housing of some transmissions like a TH350, but I haven't heard of it happening on an AX15. I'm going to be building another crossmember just like the one in the pictures above right there under the rear output yoke for the traction bar to connect to, so I should probably just hook onto it with a rear mount for the Atlas.
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I don't think it can hurt. In our cases it serves a few purposes if we hang the traction bar from it. I have the TMR support ring for the back of the Atlas and was planning on using an OEM style poly mount for the 4L60E at the transmission if at all possible. If not, Advance Adapters sells one that is cut to bolt to the adapters. Also, I agree we are foolish for trying to keep it low on leaf springs. However, linking stuff on OEM frame vehicles without a lot of cutting requires a slew of compromises as well. I do dig the shit out of the way you've designed and cut a bunch of the stuff for yours vs the just off the shelf stuff I've done on mine.
 
drkelly said:
I'm undecided. Do you think it is necessary? I know it is common to break the tail housing of some transmissions like a TH350, but I haven't heard of it happening on an AX15. I'm going to be building another crossmember just like the one in the pictures above right there under the rear output yoke for the traction bar to connect to, so I should probably just hook onto it with a rear mount for the Atlas.
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I have seen a few people break tail housings on multiple transmissions because they did 2 mounts. (1 on trans, 1 on t case)

This only hurts when one crossmember gets hit by a rock and pushes up. The other mount stays put and it causes something to break…

If your crossmember won’t hit anything than you’re good. Like a top mount or if you have a skid plate that sits below your crossmembers to take the impacts.

Don’t question leafs. They are cheap, stable, and smooth if set up right.
 
StretchASU said:
I don't think it can hurt. In our cases it serves a few purposes if we hang the traction bar from it. I have the TMR support ring for the back of the Atlas and was planning on using an OEM style poly mount for the 4L60E at the transmission if at all possible. If not, Advance Adapters sells one that is cut to bolt to the adapters. Also, I agree we are foolish for trying to keep it low on leaf springs. However, linking stuff on OEM frame vehicles without a lot of cutting requires a slew of compromises as well. I do dig the shit out of the way you've designed and cut a bunch of the stuff for yours vs the just off the shelf stuff I've done on mine.
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I am taking notes on both builds! Ya'll hurry so I can nit pick and wrangle some juice from each. As for the link comment. Its a sane choice. I however feel the platform is better served as you fellas are approaching it. If its links coil overs and the whole mess just build a buggy. I view this approach as very grass roots and more like resto mods. The fun is improving. If I want a race car I'm gonna build a race car. A Jeep remains a Jeep when certain characteristics of its soul remain. A grill, tube, and coils is not a Jeep.
 
The inside rear of the tub was pretty dirty and nasty. I cleaned it up and repainted it. I also painted the Motobilt fuel cell mounting brackets and mounted the fuel cell.
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drkelly said:
I'm undecided. Do you think it is necessary? I know it is common to break the tail housing of some transmissions like a TH350, but I haven't heard of it happening on an AX15. I'm going to be building another crossmember just like the one in the pictures above right there under the rear output yoke for the traction bar to connect to, so I should probably just hook onto it with a rear mount for the Atlas.
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My buggy has the mount at the trans like yours, no rear support or anything under the atlas and I beat the crap out of it without issues.

I may eat my words very soon, but I'm pretty sure the tailhousing failures we see are from an overly constrained mounting situation (IE 4+ points of contact) vs the standard 3 point like you and I are doing.
 
Well, since my hopes and dreams of wheeling the MethTracker this fall at Uwharrie were crushed by my wife and @YotaOnRocks snatching it up so quickly, I decided I better get back to work on my YJ. I got the rear shock hoops built, raised wheel wells riveted in place, and painted the shock hoops and well wheels.

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Over 1 year since my last post. That is depressing.
 
StretchASU said:
I’m a quitter. You’re not. Keep hustlin. 🤣
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Your the smart one! Your going to be wheeling very soon! Heck, you've already been wheeling in the TJ.
 
Another small step forward. New rear driveline is in. Flange yoke at the TC, 1410 u-bolt yoke at the rear axle, and a 1350 CV. Getting the old 1350 strap yoke off the 14 bolt took longer than expected. I had to take the whole pinion assembly out of the 14 bolt and crank down on my HF 20 ton press until I was scared to be standing next to it, then hit on the yoke with a hammer. This cost more than my Samurai that I bought 17 years ago. #stupidhobby
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