Old man emu YJ spring conversion

[Manic Mechanic]

I know the kit came with Transmission skid plate spacers. I believe they intended to drop the Transmission and Transfer Case to correct the issue as opposed to axle shims

 

[CJ]

I know the kit came with transmission skid plate spacers. I believe they intended to drop the transmission and transfer case to correct the issue as opposed to axle shims

Yep, that works as well!

 

[hole]

I vaguely remember that discussion CJ when I did the OME on mine and assembled it without the shim. I vividly remember the Mister Toad ride feel on first test drive above 40 MPH and had to add the wedge to correct the caster problem .
Thick part of wedge goes to the front

 

[hole]

It might be because the 8 is longer, but I opted to not start with the skid plate spacers and see what happened. I have no vibration issues.

 

[Manic Mechanic]

I'm going to start with nothing and see what happens. Id rather have a shim than lose ground clearance with a skid plate drop.

Either way I can even do my measurements until my new axle shafts arrive and I can get her back on the ground

 

[KRUPP]

Look'n good, so far. Again, your work makes me feel really lucky I don't have to deal with rusted everything.

Not sure of something though: Why did they make the front shackle hangers hang so far below the frame? They look beefy as hell, but seems they could be tucked in tighter.
As low as they are, it certainly invites issues with caster. Has been brought up already & personally I would rather not use shims on the front leaf springs to correct caster.
However, if the company will stand by it, then let'r rip.

Maybe it ends up about the same when you're done, as it looks like you had pretty long front shackles to start with?

 

[Belizean]

Take it from me, maybe it’s for when you go over a 3 ft. ledge you didn’t see on the trail at Moab and you land on your nose.

 

[Manic Mechanic]

Take it from me, maybe it’s for when you go over a 3 ft. ledge you didn’t see on the trail at Moab and you land on your nose.

I did that in Gore and had to do some trail repair to keep going.

I did a little work today. Not much as I had to redo a few things.

Kinda my own fault I was reading various things while at work about shims and shocks. As I mentioned I'm going to start with nothing as the kit came with Transmission drop "pucks" and I don't want that. As for the shocks people online mentioned putting them on the new brackets. So I called Rocky road outfitters and asked. They had said to put them on the new lower bracket. So when I got home I cut off the axle mount for the shocks. Once I installed the shock it hit the axle tube. So I did some digging and in a small section of the last page it mentioned the new bracket and shock mount on the axle. (Depends on year) But says in the very last part of you have axle mounted shocks to definitely use them. Well F me is what I said. So I busted out the welder and undid my work and rewelded the shock mount.

Once all that was done I installed both shocks with antiseez my sway bar disconnects and started on my new coolant hoses. I also installed my new vin plate and finally figured out a working air cleaner since my old one would no longer fit after moving the engine back.

I did order new extended brake lines for front and rear as I don't like the ones that came with the kit.

I have to do taxes tomorrow so unless I get off early it will be Saturday before I have more updates.

On a completely different side note. A stray came to my house that was free to a good home. It's a 79 olds 98 two door with the rocket 350

 

[boney]

When I put the spacers under (above? on? in?) the skid plate it put the rear of my valve cover closer to the firewall than I liked. And, with my aftermarket rear shaft (PO installed) I had high speed vibration. When I took the spacers out, I have a low speed shimmy. I settled for 6 degree wedges and a Tom Woods drive shaft. There's this phase stuff and output and pinion shaft angles being the same or something.

 

[Manic Mechanic]

When I put the spacers under (above? on? in?) the skid plate it put the rear of my valve cover closer to the firewall than I liked. And, with my aftermarket rear shaft (PO installed) I had high speed vibration. When I took the spacers out, I have a low speed shimmy. I settled for 6 degree wedges and a Tom Woods drive shaft. There's this phase stuff and output and pinion shaft angles being the same or something.

Did you have to shim both the front and rear or just the rear?

 

[boney]

Did you have to shim both the front and rear or just the rear?

I shimmed the rear and put in a double-cardon joint at the Transfer Case . Pointed the nose of my rear diff toward the Transfer Case for a neutral angle on the rear u-joint. This completely eliminated the rear vibrations. Definitely see how your setup works before you add changes. I know two people who put in the same kit and never had a problem, even without the skid-plate spacers.

On the front, my kit came with (about) 2 degree shims. I'm running tow shackles and they're a bit taller than what comes with the kit. So even with those little shims, I'm still a couple degrees of on caster.

 

[Manic Mechanic]

Thanks I appreciate it

 

[boney]

Because I can't help myself:

According to the internet, the distance, eye-to-eye, of a YJ spring is (roughly) 43". Using another internet resource ((Link)-> Central Angle Calculator -<) I have calculated that every 1" in shackle height change results in a 1.3 degree change in caster. A taller shackle decreases caster and a shorter one increases it.

None of this is relevant until there's a base number to work from, and that is only possible once the kit is installed and measured.

 

[Manic Mechanic]

Some progress today. Got all my coolant hoses replaced and filled. And installed my new air cleaner assembly. It wasn't my first choice however it fit my EFI and cleared my booster and was cheap enough. Maybe down the road I'll look for some less blingy or modify this one.



I'm hoping to have my new axle shafts, twin stick, and extended brake lines tomorrow. I have class tomorrow so it will be Tuesday before my next update.

I still need to crack open my fuse block and fix my blinkers. I figure as long as I'm doing all this might as well fix that and stop pointing when I need to make a turn. ( No one even knows em anymore anyway)

 

[Belizean]

It does look a little stiff, I see what you’re saying.

 

[CJ]

Love the Augha horn!

 

[Manic Mechanic]

Still waiting on parts. In the meantime my Jeep grew an extra shifter.

 

[Manic Mechanic]

Updates soon. The rest of my parts finally arrived (axle seals dust shields (thanks for those that posted in my other thread) and extended brake lines)

I'm hoping in a few short hours to have her back on her wheels and get a measurement to see how high and level she will sit.

Stay tuned

 

[CJ]

Waiting and hoping to see HER driving!

 

[Manic Mechanic]

Waiting and hoping to see HER driving!

I have to get drive shafts before I can drive it. And I need it on its wheels before I can measure for them.

But it's a slow process apparently my driver's side spindle was f-ed up (I should have known since that axle shaft was no good. I've spent the last two hours filling and sanding getting all the burs and scratches out so that it would fit on the new shaft.

The passenger side fits fine just needs the bearing and cleaning up.

Here's what little progressive I have done thus far.