Current daily/project is a 98zj which for having been a Wisconsin vehicle its entire life surprisingly is relatively rust free but when did longarm and sliders definitely did plenty, can't ever have overkill,, of frame stiffeners and bracing in key spots,,
Ironman4x4Fab!! Quality parts! Andy Carter makes the best parts in the business for your XJ! The only time I buy parts for my XJ somewhere other than Ironman4x4fab is when Andy doesn't make it! Nice work on the spring mounts, Quality upgrade.
I am replacing a real bad 6.5 inch lift on my 92 XJ with a rough country long arm lift. I had to replace the rear studs today without an air ratchet. It was awesome. I have to replace the passenger side hub assembly tomorrow then I can get to the rest of it. It is nice to be able to take the tires off.lol
Really appreciate you posing this video. I've had a set of front leaf spring mounts from irorman4x4fab. Glad to see a a video of the install. Looking for to the next episode.
Hey Dave I'm doing my Xj this weekend thanks for the guide , just the passenger side needs it . Going to pick up the spot weld Sande tomorrow from Harbor freight.
Excellent install of the ironman4x4fab heavy duty brackets. My xj had the exact same problems with rusted/broken leaf and shackle mounts. I also went with the ironman4x4fab front leaf spring mounts and stinkyfabracing shackle boxes. There are so few videos for installing parts like these. Wish this video was around when I installed my parts!
Nice job bro. I lifted my son's 93 XJ with a rough country flex lift. I changed out all ball joints, axle joints, tie rods, bushings, brake system, coils ,leafs etc. It is a lot of work. It took me a little under a week. Great video
The slots were cut so you don't have to have welded nuts, a useful thing if you're using different size bolts(and solves the problem of nuts coming loose during installation or abusive conditions.
That was good of r.c to send out a replacement lift. in my opinion I would have just started fresh with a real lift that isn’t going to be trashed within a year again though.
I'm in the middle of my XJ right now. Just got a Pickup so I can spend more time on the XJ. I wasn't aware of the front spring mounts ! I have a set of the rears. I believe that's what I'm going to do. I'm going with POR15 instead...
I have never heard of people's leaf spring perches falling off. The bolts rust in them all of the time, which i have experienced on a few of my XJ's. Most people get shackle relocation brackets to get a little more flex or fix shackle angles. It looks really nice all painted. I don't think these brackets would work with frame stiffeners and they make it difficult to run a rear bumper or skid plate that mounts to the frame rails. That is what has kept me from getting them.
I've heard conflicting things from some youtubers on using bed liner or raptor as an undercoat. Some say it just traps moisture when you apply it and it will eventually rust. But I really like the look of this. I would be curious to see a follow up video later to show how it holds up. Also interested in your opinion Dave. Nice build Cheers.
I used the 2k raptor liner and I prep the surface very well before I sprayed it on it's been a year since I added it to my car underneath and wheel wells my car is under a tarp because I just got the motor done a couple months ago and I checked the Raptor liner to see if rust went through or any bubbling nothing so far after a year of sitting in the weather elements I'm finally able to get my motor back in probably next week. It's holding up very I'm going to apply it to my daily driver too.
I think the moisture being trapped is referring to the bed liners that heat up when curing like line x. Condensation forms against the cold metal as the chemical reaction occurs. Same thing happens when body filler is applied to bare metal. Applying self etching primer before using those types of products
Man, I love the kind of cars you’re working on. I myself have a Pontiac GXP and a GTP and a Durango srt8 & a WK2, keep it up brother! I’d personally love to see instead a GXP a GP NA that you fix up and put a supercharged into it and saving it from the scrapper
the modifications on the front leaf spring mounts is due to the bolts in the original leafs rust and swell up in the spring bushing and they will not come out. the original bolts probably had to be cut on both sides of the spring to remove them, this is very common in XJs from the rust belt when removing the factory springs to add a lift, so the previous owner did what everyone else does, no biggie. Ironman4x4fab and RC, opposite ends of the spectrum for sure in the XJ world👍. bedliner on the underside is cool, but not over a beautiful rare color like moss green pearl. when i see bedliner on a XJ my first thought is its hiding rust
hey dave, xj owner here. if you plan to add a diesel or LS and bigger tires you should probably add frame stiffeners to the list of mods to keep the un from tearing and kinking (they suck ass to install )
@@kshepthedrummer its already 44 rear, hp30 is fine for a diesel like a tdi or kubota and stock ls power is probably fine too, just dont drive like a tard.
That nut cutout on the front leafspring mount is a COMMON fix on these XJ's. Basically, anyone who's done a leaf swap on one of them, especially one that lives in the north, has done that mod. I wouldnt "fix" it as us XJ's owners consider what youre looking at the fix. They should have never been boxed in at the factory.
Love XJ jeeps, they're gorgeous. Nice work and bigups to rough country for the support. Hoping you plan to do the steering box frame reinforcement too. The stock box likes to rip the thin sheet metal that makes up the mounting point
Keep all of your raptor bottles. Clean them out and you can get under coating by the gallon for 30 bucks. And use the raptor setup to put it on If I have any old mixed paints still wet I’ll add the waste to it. It’s all turns black sometime sooner then later
What brand of leaf spring mounts are those. I've searched can't seem to find any that look like them. Those look a lot better than any others that I have found.
Most have no idea of how much work is involved with this scale of project! I used the same brackets but only bolted them in. I called them and they said that you could or couldn't weld em in. Depends on how rough you're going to be getting with the rig? What welding setting and wire size were you using? I have my Hobart 140 set up with .023 and straight CO² for sheet metal work. I patched up thw inside of my wheel well.
@@Shiftheads they all work well nowadays and he’s not looking to build a drag jeep or he wouldn’t have gone with the lift. Diesel or Hemi would be more in keeping with the theme of the build.
@@jimmyford271 they all cost more though and so do their hp tuners credits or aftermarket fuel management. You can buy 5.3 out of an early truck with the computer and harness and pay 100 bucks for hp tuners credits and be all in for like 1200.00. You're not doing that with a diesel anything or a hemi
Swap a Merc OM diesel. Tune it for ~350HP and 500 lb-ft and you will have a bulletproof diesel. Plus it's about the same size as the six that's already in there.
Dont no if you stared or have already swapped this jeep but a swap nobody looks at is a 4200 l6 from trailblazer same computer as Ls much easier to package under xj hood has more 100hp and 50 more torque uses 4l60e easy to put the 231 j on it
Hey Dave you and I have talked before I was gonna buy them signs off you awhile back hey I’m an xj nut I have a few of them myself if your gonna swap it do a hellcat swap one I haven’t myself seen it done and xjs came with diesels so kinda been done I have seen them ls swapped mine currently has an L83 in it from an late model Silverado and obviously been DOD deleted and cam excited to see this project bro let me know if you need anything I have a bunch of part xjs
@@noodlworks I m not entirely sure but for handling loads and hauling leaves may be better. Coils I fee may ride better.... There no doubt that coils will give better articulation and better off road performance, esp. with a long arm setup. My old 89' still has leaves. I am conflicted if I want to convert to coils... I know a long arm grand cherokee or a TJ does pretty well...
@@jeff7086 Leaves are def the way to go for pulling / towing, but I have zero plans or desire to do any of that. My XJ is going to be for light trails / camping down by the river, so for my specific setup & needs I'm thinking coils is the way to go. Thanx for the reply!
Shit, pay for the shipping and I'll send you some LS swap headers. I took them off my old XJ after rolling it and they've been sitting in my garage since
We're going to do an engine swap diesel or or maybe an LS or maybe hydrogen-powered or you know we could do solar-powered you know what we could even do foot pedals we can make it Manpower and just peddle we're not sure yet.
Don’t do an LS. Anyone can do an LS, it takes someone with a vision like you to do something different! Amy mouth breather can do an LS. And yes, the rear axle should be replaced with an Explorer/Ranger 8.8!
Bedliner, raptor liner, That bumpy paint crap is just FUGLY, disgusting and who wants to make sure they totally devalue their rig by using it. It's like buying a house from the 60s with wood paneling walls, painting it white, the nicotine bleeds through and you call it good enough. Nobody smart enough to paint anymore?
Don't do a diesel swap because you wouldn't be able to get the higher rpm's that are sometimes needed when trying to get through a difficult part of a trail. Check out Matt's Off Road Recovery channel, he has one video where he explains this.
Not true at all. You don't need high rpm for trails and rockcrawling, unless you want to be the guy that thinks he has a rock bouncer and bang limiter for no reason. Even then, diesels can rev plenty high if you want to send it. You want low end torque and gearing, which makes diesels a perfect swap for offroad vehicles. Flooring it and revving it up high with a bunch of wheel speed is how you break axles and driveshafts. The only real need for high rpm and wheel speed is in mud or sand. Rocks and trails are almost entirely low rpm crawling
@@kshepthedrummer Yes, although I said “sometimes” which if I was to go into detail I would have mentioned sand, mud and snow. Instead I referred to Matt’s channel. After watching all the different types of situations he (also his buddy Paul from “FabRats”) gets into, if I were to do an off road build, I would follow his advice. The type of work he does gives him an expert viewpoint.
@@townsendliving9750 He’s had a few videos where he had to rescue a diesel stuck out in the sand and he talks briefly about the subject. I’ll see if I can find the specific one I’m thinking of and give you the link.
@@jamesmckelvy5441 He talked about how a diesel isn't great for his specific application. He's on sand a lot and likes the light weight of the XJ and diesels are generally heavier. I believe there were a few more reasons. Dont recall the specific video.
Dang that was a missed opportunity to have added frame stiffeners to your Jeep!
Current daily/project is a 98zj which for having been a Wisconsin vehicle its entire life surprisingly is relatively rust free but when did longarm and sliders definitely did plenty, can't ever have overkill,, of frame stiffeners and bracing in key spots,,
100% and to not talk about good welding burn into a xj unibody
Ironman4x4Fab!! Quality parts! Andy Carter makes the best parts in the business for your XJ! The only time I buy parts for my XJ somewhere other than Ironman4x4fab is when Andy doesn't make it! Nice work on the spring mounts, Quality upgrade.
I am replacing a real bad 6.5 inch lift on my 92 XJ with a rough country long arm lift. I had to replace the rear studs today without an air ratchet. It was awesome. I have to replace the passenger side hub assembly tomorrow then I can get to the rest of it. It is nice to be able to take the tires off.lol
Really appreciate you posing this video. I've had a set of front leaf spring mounts from irorman4x4fab. Glad to see a a video of the install.
Looking for to the next episode.
Hey Dave I'm doing my Xj this weekend thanks for the guide , just the passenger side needs it . Going to pick up the spot weld Sande tomorrow from Harbor freight.
Excellent install of the ironman4x4fab heavy duty brackets. My xj had the exact same problems with rusted/broken leaf and shackle mounts. I also went with the ironman4x4fab front leaf spring mounts and stinkyfabracing shackle boxes. There are so few videos for installing parts like these. Wish this video was around when I installed my parts!
Nice job bro. I lifted my son's 93 XJ with a rough country flex lift. I changed out all ball joints, axle joints, tie rods, bushings, brake system, coils ,leafs etc. It is a lot of work. It took me a little under a week. Great video
The slots were cut so you don't have to have welded nuts, a useful thing if you're using different size bolts(and solves the problem of nuts coming loose during installation or abusive conditions.
👍I love it! Dave says “just clean your Jeeps up” I don’t know why but that was great!😂
Dude, you never stop moving. I don't know how you do it but your work always looks awesome.
That was good of r.c to send out a replacement lift. in my opinion I would have just started fresh with a real lift that isn’t going to be trashed within a year again though.
I'm in the middle of my XJ right now. Just got a Pickup so I can spend more time on the XJ. I wasn't aware of the front spring mounts ! I have a set of the rears. I believe that's what I'm going to do. I'm going with POR15 instead...
I was to distracted by your sketchy jack stand set up, kept expecting the jeep to fall on you
I hate jacks i trust bricks or tires more
So much progress in 1 video .thanks man
I have never heard of people's leaf spring perches falling off. The bolts rust in them all of the time, which i have experienced on a few of my XJ's. Most people get shackle relocation brackets to get a little more flex or fix shackle angles. It looks really nice all painted.
I don't think these brackets would work with frame stiffeners and they make it difficult to run a rear bumper or skid plate that mounts to the frame rails. That is what has kept me from getting them.
I've heard conflicting things from some youtubers on using bed liner or raptor as an undercoat. Some say it just traps moisture when you apply it and it will eventually rust. But I really like the look of this. I would be curious to see a follow up video later to show how it holds up. Also interested in your opinion Dave. Nice build Cheers.
It's solvent based it would bubble if there was moisture if you have moisture on the inside there are other more serious problems
I used the 2k raptor liner and I prep the surface very well before I sprayed it on it's been a year since I added it to my car underneath and wheel wells my car is under a tarp because I just got the motor done a couple months ago and I checked the Raptor liner to see if rust went through or any bubbling nothing so far after a year of sitting in the weather elements I'm finally able to get my motor back in probably next week. It's holding up very I'm going to apply it to my daily driver too.
Undercoating causes rot/rust....bedliner chemically adheres to the metal and seals out all the bad crap when prepped right
It rusts underneath after two or three years if the application isn't perfect or if it gets cut under rough use. See it fairly often at auction.
I think the moisture being trapped is referring to the bed liners that heat up when curing like line x. Condensation forms against the cold metal as the chemical reaction occurs. Same thing happens when body filler is applied to bare metal. Applying self etching primer before using those types of products
Man, I love the kind of cars you’re working on. I myself have a Pontiac GXP and a GTP and a Durango srt8 & a WK2, keep it up brother! I’d personally love to see instead a GXP a GP NA that you fix up and put a supercharged into it and saving it from the scrapper
Yup, always establish reference points and use them to maintain square and accurate positioning
the modifications on the front leaf spring mounts is due to the bolts in the original leafs rust and swell up in the spring bushing and they will not come out. the original bolts probably had to be cut on both sides of the spring to remove them, this is very common in XJs from the rust belt when removing the factory springs to add a lift, so the previous owner did what everyone else does, no biggie. Ironman4x4fab and RC, opposite ends of the spectrum for sure in the XJ world👍. bedliner on the underside is cool, but not over a beautiful rare color like moss green pearl. when i see bedliner on a XJ my first thought is its hiding rust
You really are very thorough Dave ...mad props to you!
Harbor freight sells a drill bit special for drilling out those spot welds
Ford exploder 8.8 rear with iron rock off road install kit.... then LS it Dave 😬
hey dave, xj owner here. if you plan to add a diesel or LS and bigger tires you should probably add frame stiffeners to the list of mods to keep the un from tearing and kinking (they suck ass to install )
and axles too, an LS and bigger tires is going to make that dana 30 go bang real fast
@@kshepthedrummer its already 44 rear, hp30 is fine for a diesel like a tdi or kubota and stock ls power is probably fine too, just dont drive like a tard.
@@kshepthedrummer dont bash the dana turdy it has feelings
HEY! Good morning Dave and thumbs UP!
That nut cutout on the front leafspring mount is a COMMON fix on these XJ's. Basically, anyone who's done a leaf swap on one of them, especially one that lives in the north, has done that mod. I wouldnt "fix" it as us XJ's owners consider what youre looking at the fix. They should have never been boxed in at the factory.
Love XJ jeeps, they're gorgeous. Nice work and bigups to rough country for the support. Hoping you plan to do the steering box frame reinforcement too. The stock box likes to rip the thin sheet metal that makes up the mounting point
I got a lot from this video, thank you.
Nice video! Going through all that trouble you should plate it and do coils or at least a ZJ type rear suspension?
BIG thumb up!! Got a jeep who's in need of exacly that. Thanks for all the links, very usefull and gracious of you
Can you put a link to the spring mount kit you used? Thanks great job.
Ironman 4x4.
Keep all of your raptor bottles. Clean them out and you can get under coating by the gallon for 30 bucks. And use the raptor setup to put it on If I have any old mixed paints still wet I’ll add the waste to it. It’s all turns black sometime sooner then later
So it’s a mix of old paint, rubber under coating, poly v epoxy and a lil fiber glass harder well alcohol. Use your raptor set up to spay it on
Never paint the underside Black - a light gray makes it much easier to see damage ..
I'm surprised you didn't plate the unibody rails while you were in there. Other than that, excellent work.
What brand are the spring mounts.
Think I'd like to add those when I do my lift, since you can adjust the shackle location
Ironman
Thanks rather plan for it weather I need it done or not rather than getting surprised and it holds me up
What brand of leaf spring mounts are those. I've searched can't seem to find any that look like them. Those look a lot better than any others that I have found.
You're a good teacher man :) inspired. Wish I could afford to go that route with my 91 xj . Is there a cheaper route for a basic 3 in lift ?
Almost every vehicle you get, you find the "someone's been here before" problem with things not done properly.
Does that sander works good or not.
Dave, how do those spring brackets work if you have frame stiffeners?
what kit was that? i need to replace my rear mounts on mine as well
Ironman but there are a few companies that make similar kits
What seam sealer did you use.
Do you own that junkyard? and place looks familiar , is that In colorado? cinematography is awesome btw
need a diesel swap? just pulled mine. bew 1.9 tdi with all the fixins.came out of a 2000 xj.
Most have no idea of how much work is involved with this scale of project! I used the same brackets but only bolted them in. I called them and they said that you could or couldn't weld em in. Depends on how rough you're going to be getting with the rig? What welding setting and wire size were you using? I have my Hobart 140 set up with
.023 and straight CO² for sheet metal work. I patched up thw inside of my wheel well.
What brand are those mounts?
No link to the leaf spring mounts you used
You need some bigger jack stands. the jacks on rotors looks sketch.
Hemi or diesel swap not a Ls. Ls swaps are so old and tired they’re on par with the old 350/350 swaps from years past.
Yeah but there is a reason. Because they work well and are cheap to fix and nothing else gives you the same power per dollar.
@@Shiftheads they all work well nowadays and he’s not looking to build a drag jeep or he wouldn’t have gone with the lift. Diesel or Hemi would be more in keeping with the theme of the build.
@@jimmyford271 they all cost more though and so do their hp tuners credits or aftermarket fuel management. You can buy 5.3 out of an early truck with the computer and harness and pay 100 bucks for hp tuners credits and be all in for like 1200.00. You're not doing that with a diesel anything or a hemi
dead sick of LS swaps in jeeps
3bt Cummins would be cool
Swap a Merc OM diesel. Tune it for ~350HP and 500 lb-ft and you will have a bulletproof diesel. Plus it's about the same size as the six that's already in there.
Why not a tdi?
1kzt
No stands under a fork lift?
Dont no if you stared or have already swapped this jeep but a swap nobody looks at is a 4200 l6 from trailblazer same computer as Ls much easier to package under xj hood has more 100hp and 50 more torque uses 4l60e easy to put the 231 j on it
Frame stiffeners?
What size diesel are you thinking about ??
2.0 tdi
Friends dont let friends run Rough Country
Hey Dave you and I have talked before I was gonna buy them signs off you awhile back hey I’m an xj nut I have a few of them myself if your gonna swap it do a hellcat swap one I haven’t myself seen it done and xjs came with diesels so kinda been done I have seen them ls swapped mine currently has an L83 in it from an late model Silverado and obviously been DOD deleted and cam excited to see this project bro let me know if you need anything I have a bunch of part xjs
Id swap in a 4.7 v8 into the thing
Hi , did you install frame stiffiners on this Jeep ?
No I may eventually
@@Junkyard_Dave it would be a good idea
muy buenos trabajos en tus videos saludos
Nice man.
Diesel !
Wax and grease remover takes all the over spray raptor liner off real easy. Just don’t use it on your face 🤭it will dry out skin out quickly
If anything build a turbo 4.0 with stronger goodies lol
I've always wanted a diesel in my cherokee. I'll watch that for sure.
That seems like a lot of work for leaf spring, I think I would have gone coils on the rear.
I've been wondering what the pros & cons are of going with coils all around on my XJ.
@@noodlworks I m not entirely sure but for handling loads and hauling leaves may be better. Coils I fee may ride better.... There no doubt that coils will give better articulation and better off road performance, esp. with a long arm setup. My old 89' still has leaves. I am conflicted if I want to convert to coils... I know a long arm grand cherokee or a TJ does pretty well...
@@jeff7086 Leaves are def the way to go for pulling / towing, but I have zero plans or desire to do any of that. My XJ is going to be for light trails / camping down by the river, so for my specific setup & needs I'm thinking coils is the way to go. Thanx for the reply!
those rear well wheels should not have been cut off all the way. It's structural since it's a uni-body. you need to weld those gabs not fill them in.
R2.8, or om606 swap with a double transfer case
Those old disc jack stand lifts look super sketchy tippy. A couple rims would probably be more stable
Shit, pay for the shipping and I'll send you some LS swap headers. I took them off my old XJ after rolling it and they've been sitting in my garage since
Hi
get you some wontons!
Cool
seam seal the fuck out of everything
I'll gladly accept any parts removed for my 96 xj. 😉
That’s not feasible for the average Joe. Not everyone has access to a complete shop. I could and would do a lot more if I had that kind of equipment.
Iron man makes great quality parts.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
We're going to do an engine swap diesel or or maybe an LS or maybe hydrogen-powered or you know we could do solar-powered you know what we could even do foot pedals we can make it Manpower and just peddle we're not sure yet.
12 valve swap the xj and send it
The first thing you do is not buy Rough Country. Worst springs made.
Don’t do an LS. Anyone can do an LS, it takes someone with a vision like you to do something different!
Amy mouth breather can do an LS.
And yes, the rear axle should be replaced with an Explorer/Ranger 8.8!
If you want to off road an rock crawling don't go with a diesel, it will not work well with rock climbing..
Don't you dare ls swap that jeep lol
Ummm…if that is a DANA 35 you might as well install a 8.8 from a Explorer. But of course don’t take my word for it, look up DANA 35.
That’s a Dana 44 that someone already swapped in
Junk yard Dave can you pm me , I need help
it's a jeep not her IT !!!!
What?
Bedliner, raptor liner, That bumpy paint crap is just FUGLY, disgusting and who wants to make sure they totally devalue their rig by using it. It's like buying a house from the 60s with wood paneling walls, painting it white, the nicotine bleeds through and you call it good enough. Nobody smart enough to paint anymore?
Don't do a diesel swap because you wouldn't be able to get the higher rpm's that are sometimes needed when trying to get through a difficult part of a trail. Check out Matt's Off Road Recovery channel, he has one video where he explains this.
Not true at all. You don't need high rpm for trails and rockcrawling, unless you want to be the guy that thinks he has a rock bouncer and bang limiter for no reason. Even then, diesels can rev plenty high if you want to send it.
You want low end torque and gearing, which makes diesels a perfect swap for offroad vehicles. Flooring it and revving it up high with a bunch of wheel speed is how you break axles and driveshafts. The only real need for high rpm and wheel speed is in mud or sand. Rocks and trails are almost entirely low rpm crawling
@@kshepthedrummer Yes, although I said “sometimes” which if I was to go into detail I would have mentioned sand, mud and snow. Instead I referred to Matt’s channel. After watching all the different types of situations he (also his buddy Paul from “FabRats”) gets into, if I were to do an off road build, I would follow his advice. The type of work he does gives him an expert viewpoint.
Can you tell me how to find Matt's video, iwatch his channel but havent see that specific video
@@townsendliving9750 He’s had a few videos where he had to rescue a diesel stuck out in the sand and he talks briefly about the subject. I’ll see if I can find the specific one I’m thinking of and give you the link.
@@jamesmckelvy5441 He talked about how a diesel isn't great for his specific application. He's on sand a lot and likes the light weight of the XJ and diesels are generally heavier. I believe there were a few more reasons. Dont recall the specific video.
1
First