Project Coppertop Axle Swap

[buckeyezuk]

The build turned out good man.. I am starting a xj build now. rear bump stops will help your uptravel problem. if you put a spring pack in that is stiff enough to not uptravel, it probly wont flex good either. a softer spring pack with bump stops is probably your best bet. a traction bar on the rear will help your springs live longer also. axle wrap will kill your leafs. you may have a traction bar but i didnt catch it in your build.

[Coppertop]

Originally Posted by buckeyezuk

The build turned out good man.. I am starting a xj build now. rear bump stops will help your uptravel problem.

Thanks..Good Luck on your build.The rear springs seem to soft,after adding the rear shackle relocation brackets they are sitting almost flat (no arch).Rough Country has always been good to deal with so,I'll give them a call first.All your suggestions are good and I'm considering them.

If you have any questions on your XJ build.I'm happy to help.

Nick

[xj joey]

Looking good Nick!

[itbrokeagain]

I solved the flat spring issue on my yj with an extra main leaf under the original. A traction bar is a must.

[Coppertop]

I gave Rough Country a call ,they are sending me another set of rear springs...If that don't solve it ,then I'll start adding leaves.I agree with the traction bar..The u-bolt eliminators was suppose to help reduce axle wrap.I'm not seeing it so far.

Nick

[Coppertop]

Got the rear springs out. Man,did they flatten' out.





I'm gonna take the leaf under the top one out of the old ones and add it to the new ones.Hopin' it will add a little lift and stiffen them up.

Nick

[gothodgie]

did you get anything figured out for a sway bar yet?

It looks good in the pics from big rock... It doesn't look as wide ai thought it would..

[Coppertop]

Nope,I just havn't got a chance to address the sway bar issue.My plan,to go to You Pull and Save check all the full size trucks and suvs.It's pretty wide. I rubbed the tires a few times in some tight spots.

Got the new rear springs in..It looks alot better,even had to change the shackle postion.

Nick

[itbrokeagain]

When you heading out again? I would like to tag along in my Xj. My Yj is STILL not running well. Replaced every sensor, distributor, and swapped the fuel pump (pressure was a little low), and Swapped in another ECM. Now I am starting into the top end of the engine. Anyway mind if I tag along?

[Coppertop]

Heading down to Big Rock next weekend.Camping friday night and wheeling saturday.I started a thread.

Hope to see ya .
Nick

[Coppertop]

Went to Harlan this weekend for the SEC Naxja Cherokee Crawl.Man ,I put the heep to the test.Did'nt take long to break it....


Heck,even got it on video.
http://youtu.be/-78N3NmGRaA

The second day.The front truss cracked at their welds.Glad I had the home made welder on board.





Another CORE member made it.Always a good time wheeling with beer googles 009


Overall ,the rig performed well.I'm going to buy stronger alloy u-joints.

Rest of my pics here.
http://s529.photobucket.com/albums/d...rokee%20Crawl/

Back to the garage
Nick

[gothodgie]

looks like you had a great time... How was the weather, hot as he** ?

[WrenchMonkey]

Originally Posted by Coppertop

Did'nt take long to break it...

Back to the garage
Nick

Oh, that sucks!
They're still 297 joints, right? Same as you were busting on your 30?
Shame you weren't able to eliminate that proven weak link...

So can you change a 44 shaft as fast as you could a 30?

Robert

[Coppertop]

Originally Posted by gothodgie

looks like you had a great time... How was the weather, hot as he** ?

I had a blast.Yes ,it was nice n dry and hot.

Originally Posted by WrenchMonkey

Oh, that sucks!
They're still 297 joints, right? Same as you were busting on your 30?
Shame you weren't able to eliminate that proven weak link...

So can you change a 44 shaft as fast as you could a 30?

Robert

Not even close to the time ,I could change out a 30 shaft and never want to get that good with this axle... I'm going top of line, Bobby Longfield or Yukon super joints.Ordering them tomorrow,I'm hoping to get warranty replacement on the USA axle shafts,after all it was a USA alloy u-joint that broke.

Nick

[gothodgie]

bobby longs stuff is the only way to go in my opinion... he makes front axles for the yotas and i know a couple of guys with fj40's on 40" tires with some horse power and deep gears, and they beat on them with no issues... Can't beat a lifetime warranty either...

[WrenchMonkey]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I guess the new leaves worked better?

Is this the first time you've had em out on the trail?

Robert

[Coppertop]

The only problem with the rear springs,the bushings are noisy.I won a Rusty's Offroad 250.00 gift card at the raffle.I'm thinking about using it towards a set of rear springs.

I talked to several people and they all said good things about the Bobby Longs stuff.So, I'm ordering those joints.

I'll get this thing built right...One of these days.
Nick

[frankensteinxj]

Hey Nick im about to swap some one tons in my xj.

i came back to check out some pictures of your setup but a lot of them arent showing up.

i will be using the rc long arms as well which is why Im lookin at your build specifically.

How did you figure out where to mount your upper control arm mount?

How long did you setup your upper and lower arms.

definately one of my favorite xjs man.
Good work.

[Coppertop]

Thanks man...Good luck on your swap.
Heres a link to all the pics.
http://s529.photobucket.com/albums/d...20Swap%202011/

I went with the TnT front truss.All the brackets(except the lower control arm , shocks and sway bar brackets)are installed and welded in place by them.The truss comes with instructions to install it and to mount the lower control arm brackets.
http://02ea137.netsolstores.com/front.aspx

I setup the RC control arms per their instructions.The uppers measure 15 1/4 inches from eye to eye.The lowers measure 29 3/4 from eye to eye.

Nick

[kentuckytwostep]

I use to have a ford 44 under my old XJ, got to where I could change out a U-joint in about 30 minutes... did it 3 times at Dixie Run last year. Also had RC rear lift springs in the rear and one of them wrapped my first trip out. anti-wrap bar is a must.

[Coppertop]

That's pretty quick....I could switch out one in my old dana 30 in 20 minutes.After breaking a front USA Alloy joint at Harlan,I bought a set of Bobby Longfields Super joints.So far they are holding up..Beat it in Attica(Badlands) a few weeks ago with no issues in the drivetrain.I justed replaced my rear RC springs with a new set from Rusty's last week ,all the bushings were wiped out.

I hope to post a build sheet soon.

Nick