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Chernobyl Cherokee

40K views 254 replies 35 participants last post by  VAhasnoWAVES 
#1 · (Edited)
ive been on this forum quite a while... finally decided to make a build thread.

the jeep has gone from a clean rig to a beater. but she loves it. originally a VA jeep, so its super clean underneath. here are some mile marks from the years...

originally...
4.0/AX15/231
D30/8.25 with 3.07s
RE 4.5" super flex lift

judgement day...


back home on the east coast...




 
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#42 ·
been playing around in the snow lately...



i think its time for shocks. i know one of the front is blown and i want to relocate the lower shock mounts in the rear. ive noticed wheel hop from the front in deep snow. scares me a little considering its a D30 turning 35s on stock shafts (for now).
 
#43 ·
turns out i have a pretty sneaky girlfriend. i sent her a link to a gas tank skid being sold by John D and didnt think much of it. more of a joke really. but she surprised me with it for christmas. pretty sure its a tonken brand skid. and came off a late model, so i know itll fit.



this is the same woman that came up to me while i was enjoying a beer after the jeep blessing and says, "the swaybar is all hooked up, the tires are filled, and i checked the lugs." i think shes a keeper.
 
#51 · (Edited)
roommate hooked me up with some 5on5.5 rims. deal was i had to find a suitable rim to replace the 4th that he is using as a spare. my only stipulation was that it wasnt going to be a matching walker evan. :teehee:



was good to be back in the lab today working on the baja cars. got in a little early to do some machining for another buddy. he needed some 2.000" high misalignment spacers machined down to fit his 1.625 (1 5/8 for the dummies) track bar brackets. easy work on the lathe.




i had originally hoped to start working with catia or NX again in my free time, and burn out some rock rings for the rims with the plasma in my free time. and get the caliper brackets burnt onto my knuckles. the plan is to throw them into an oven and get them to about 500 degrees, burn them home, and them let them slow cool in the casting sand we have in the other room.
 
#53 · (Edited)
working on the jeep this weekend... basic maintenance and spring cleaning. got a whole laundry list of things to do. i have a list of fab/install parts as well.

- i emailed tomken and got a hardware for my gas tank skid. painting and installing that this weekend.

- i was donated a set of rear bumps and cut my parts to add extended rear bumps. need to keep them fancy 35s out of the fender!



here is the basic principle idea:



the tubing will be welded to the leaf spring pad. i cut the gussets to help brace impact against the leafs (not going to be welded to the leafs themselves obviously). and cut a 3" circle to act as a pad for stacking hockey pucks, which i have a surplus of.

i also have an excess of front end noise. going to be making a steel steering box spacer to replace my aluminum one. and cut this doo-dad.



made some sleeves for some bolts:



the idea? a slight twish on the bearing carrier steering box braces that seem to be popular lately.



im going to basically build my own sway bar relocation, and use it to build a steering box brace that captures both frame rails. i aired a little on the side of caution, not knowing where i would want my bend exactly, how long the bracket would be, or adding reliefs for the nuts and bolts, but thats quick work for the angle grinder.





EDIT: well... linky no worky. oh well, stay tuned.
 
#56 · (Edited)
i believe they are from JCR, but all they offer now are the full quarter guards with the integrated light boxes.


watching the rear bump stop idea.
wellllllll....

that got put on hold on friday. i got my gas tank skid on, and we got kicked off of our lifts. so we went crusings. and i broke a lot of things...

biggest break? the 8.25...



i had all of my spares, but we found that the shaft destroyed the outer bearing. so the decision was made to lock it up and get it in the morning. so i picked up a trailer :teehee: and got it loaded with some fancy snach blocking.



loading it on backwards was the only option to get it off the trail. and once we were on the main drag, we decided to wait until pavement to flip it on the trailer. but the Dmax didnt seem to care and we took the backroads home.



lots of quarters!



finally home

 
#57 · (Edited)
fast forward to today/sunday...

started the tear down... it was cold and the garage was a mess, so i made a fire in the grill. :teehee:



the shaft



my only investment on the whole endevor? a $20 bearing and seal. for those who think carrying a spare shaft is enough, be sure to have a spare set of bearings with you too. this bearing is going to live a VERY short and unhappy life. but at this point the bearing is simply a band aid to get me to class. the axle is now on borrowed time, and is ultimately going to get replaced, but i still got to get to class.



to anyone installing a lunchbox that uses wire to retain the pins during install... be sure to keep the wire. and be sure to keep your spiders and thrust washers. i broke the pins in my spartan.



spiders back in... boooooo



more rear damage



also had to address the front



she went boom too... luckily it fell apart (in the good way!) due to a liberal coating of anti seize before they went together.



the tire did a bit of body damage... nothing major. its back on all 4s and rolling now.
 
#58 ·
she went boom too... luckily it fell apart (in the good way!) due to a liberal coating of anti seize before they went together.



the tire did a bit of body damage... nothing major. its back on all 4s and rolling now.

Lots of breakage, what are your future plans for the rear?
Is that a small joint shaft in the front?
 
#59 ·
a buddy has a set of geared axles (HP30/8.8) that id like to pick up when he is ready. but im starting to think that tons are a better option. worst case scenerio, 3.55 geared 8.25s are dime a dozen.

cheapy durafail 297... abs shafts. they have a visibly bigger ear on the shaft. i guess its not of any strength gain.
 
#60 ·
I just wondered because you could do pretty much any axle you wanted with the knuckles you made
And ya that's why I asked because the ears look like my old small joint yj shafts

Other then the shaft and bearing your 8.25 is save able isn't it?
 
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