I'm sure you'll be fine. Looks like you have good quality fans so I'm sure they actually flow what they are rated for. Are you going to be running a hood??

 

I was hoping to run a XJ hood skin but things didnt work out so it will have a hood but will just be a sheet of metal. Thought about adding vents to help with cooling.

 

^^^^ Can you cut up an XJ hood to work? I vote yes for vents, I know I want to add some to my junk.

 

Possibly. If I do that I want it to look as seamless as I can make it. So if I get to that point and I feel like I can pull that off I might try.

I had planned on using a XJ hood and a narrowed header panel/grill. Still plan on doing the header/grill but not to the point of figuring out how to make it happen.

 

I could always cut you an XJ grill out of sheet steel? Then just attach it to the tube..... easy...peasy.... I thought about doing that to my YJ, but was able to get the stock grill to work out by cutting it up. But thats steel and not plastic like an XJ. Just an idea.

 

I'm going to try really hard to use factory pieces as I think it looks better (if done right). But my back up plan is to do just that, designing my own grill. I've tried to do it just based on guessing dimension and it never looks right. But maybe if I had some factory pieces to take actual measurements off of I bet I could pull it off.

 

I'm getting ready to try and figure out where to locate the hydro ram on my front axle (2005+ D60). Anyone have do's/don'ts to share? My only goal at the moment is to keep it as high as possible so its not getting hit or hung up on rocks. Anything else I should consider? Do I want the ram and tie rods as close to being inline as I can with the wheels pointed straight? Any thoughts on off setting the ram to the passenger side instead of centered on the axle?


My first thought was something like this

But also like the idea of mounting it off of the truss like this. But not sure if its possible on a standard 60.

 

As high as possible to be in line, or just below your high steer arms. I say below so you can do double shear. DO double shear!
As close to center as reasonably possible to keep your tie rod linkage symmetrical.
Don't make it a duck bill sticking out. If it gets bent, you are hosed. (literally LOL)
Triangulate your mounting so that if it gets bumped, it has a chance of staying in place.

 

Appreciate the words of wisdom. Yup, double shear for sure. Going to make my own set of weld on high steer arms. Mount will definitely be a stout unit and thinking off some bolt on armor to give the hose fittings a little protection.

 

Welders at work gave me this. I think I'll put it in the buggy right where the passenger can see 🤣

 

That's funny !

 

Think I've come up with a ram mount. Hope to have a design for the high steer arms soon.

 

I built mine off the truss. Thick plate that welds to the top of the truss and the bottom is welded to DOM that spans knuckle to knuckle. I bought Crane knuckles and used their histeer arms.

I used DOM tubing. Drilled out the arm and welded it in. Adjusted the height with how much stick out I wanted. I'd love to do it again as I have the mill now where I can drill the hole on an angle. I had to make small miss alignment spacers as it would bind at around 98% lock. Nice thing about having the DOM is when the hole wears out, just grind/cut and weld in a new piece.

Used Wide open design truss and ram mount:

Late Ford Dana 60 Front Truss

Front truss kit for Ford Dana 60 axles Built using 1/4" thick steel Cut and contoured to fit tightly to the differential housing Extends the majority of the long side tube giving excellent support 38.625" Long 6.75" High 2.5" Depth Made in USA

www.wideopendesign.com

Steering Ram Mount Kit

Complete Kit to Mount a Steering Cylinder Fits Dana 60, 14 Bolt, and Dana 80 Steering Axles

www.wideopendesign.com

 

@xj4life, @Plato2k5's set up is far better. Your mount is a seat for your ram. His mount is also a truss for his front axle which will help him take forward impact. If you are going to do any rock crawling, you WILL bash into rocks. I'll have to look for some pics of mine or you can look at my YJ or Buggy build threads.

 

@JohnnyJ do you like your ram mount/truss? I've got some 2"x1/4 wall tubing. My initial idea was to do something like you have.

I like what I have so far, it's minimal and feel like it's stout. But I'm open to other ideas.

 

@JohnnyJ do you like your ram mount/truss? I've got some 2"x1/4 wall tubing. My initial idea was to do something like you have.

I like what I have so far, it's minimal and feel like it's stout. But I'm open to other ideas.

Yes, seems to be holding up well so far. The front bash bar cross piece is 2x0.375 and the sides are 1.5x0.250. The ram mounts to 1/4" plate, and I wanted the bash bar up as high as possible, so I notched out the back side of the tube to make room for the ram mounts. Plans are to add an upper support that ties the bash bar to the truss for reasons white rhino mentions. My thought is to make it dual purpose and create a winch tie down for it. I don't use a winch tie down frequently, but it's nice to have the option.

Johnny's GoatBuilt JHF buggy build

At post 110 I changed my mind and decided I would build a buggy instead of the Wag. The Wag continues to wait for it's next build. At post 187 I ordered up a GoatBuilt JHF chassis to hopefully speed this up. (edit: nope) Current Build plan: GoatBuilt JHF Chassis, 108" wheelbase, "jeep" hood...

www.greatlakes4x4.com

 

The design looks good, I'd just add some tubing for more support. I've hit my ram mount a lot on big rocks. Would reallllllly suck to bend the mount and screw up the steering.

Take a look through these builds for ideas: Gallery

 

The design looks good, I'd just add some tubing for more support. I've hit my ram mount a lot on big rocks. Would reallllllly suck to bend the mount and screw up the steering.

Take a look through these builds for ideas: Gallery

I bent my ram mount in Utah, which sheared the ram bolts, which sheared the ram hose fittings, which emptied my hyd reservoir, which left me stranded on the mountain. If you think you "might" bend it, reinforce it in advance.

My previous comment was ignored, but just as important. A truss over the top of the axle does not keep it from bending front/back. I've bent an axle twice front to back and also popped the rosette weld, which allowed my tube to twist. As long as you are making a ram mount, make it a front truss.

 

yikes. That would suck hard. I see a lot of builds where its just a 1/4" plate and they are shocked when it bends. That is why I like the DOM that spans knuckle to knuckle to help keep everything inline and hopefully prevent the bending back/forward. I defiantly weld the tubes on all my axles....first thing I ever do before anything.

@xj4life I'd also make sure you full bump the axle to make sure everything clears. I have around 2" before it hits the radiator/grill.

 

yikes. That would suck hard. I see a lot of builds where its just a 1/4" plate and they are shocked when it bends. That is why I like the DOM that spans knuckle to knuckle to help keep everything inline and hopefully prevent the bending back/forward. I defiantly weld the tubes on all my axles....first thing I ever do before anything.

@xj4life I'd also make sure you full bump the axle to make sure everything clears. I have around 2" before it hits the radiator/grill.

Exactly!

 

I didn't even think of doing a winching point... hmm. May have to. Can think of a few instances where having that ability to pull the front end down would have helped.

 

Progress continues to be slow, but still progress continues.

Think I've got the top truss, ram mount, front truss, and high steer arms roughed in.

 

Took a mental health day today and got everything degreased, cleaned up, and ready for welding.

 

loving the progress. Get it done so next year I can come wheel badlands with yah.

 

Thank you! I appreciate the encouragement. Can't wait to finish it up. Hoping for a productive winter/early spring. Would be nice to be ready for a shakedown run mid-spring.

 

Quick update. Not much been going on as I have been sick for the last five weeks with an unknown illness. Starting to feel better but lost a lot of strength and stamina.

Yesterday I started welding up my high steer arms on the stock knuckles. Decided to pick up some $$$ ERNiFe-Cl mig wire to make sure I got good welds. Took me a bit to figure out how to weld with that wire and end up getting some cracks as it cooled. Don't think I gave them a good enough pre-heat. Going to grind them out and give it another try. If I can't get good welds I've decided I'll drop the coin on some Reid knuckles and bolt-on high steer arms.

 

Keep at it! The truss and ram mount/ front truss look great.
As an aside, how hard/ easy is it to pull the carrier out of the diff with the front truss? I need to come up with something for mine and not having to make it all bolt on would be so much easier.

 

I appreciate the encouragement. I'm getting close to seven years on this build, definitely not quitting but go through mental slumps at times. Just keep making forward progress every week.

Carrier doesn't go in straight in/out, have to angle it a little but but its not to difficult and there is room to spare. If it ends up being a problem I think I can come up with a way to have a section of the tubing be bolt on.

 

You could do what I did but many think it's overkill.

 

For the truss or knuckles/arms?

 

Anyone run 4.10's with 40's and not a lot of motor. I bought both axles for my buggy project with 4.10's cause I was trying to keep it budget friendly build. Its no longer a budget build I'd rather not buy gears but if its going to be a total turd I may reconsider. My D300 has 4:1 low, puts my crawl ratio at 45:1. I've run 40:1 on 36s so I think crawl ratio will be fine for the time being.

But beyond crawling I dunno. I've got a manual shifter on my AW4 so I can hold any gear I want. So maybe I stay in low range and shift the trans to scoot around, extra wheel speed, etc. I think that's what I used to do in my old XJ...been so long I dont remember for sure.

 

My cousin is running my old 42’s iroks on steel beadlocks. He’s running 4.10’s in his axles with 4.0 aw4. It’s not ideal but it works. Locks it in low 1 and does fine for crawling, on a budget it works


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My cousin is running my old 42’s iroks on steel beadlocks. He’s running 4.10’s in his axles with 4.0 aw4. It’s not ideal but it works. Locks it in low 1 and does fine for crawling, on a budget it works


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Thanks for the feedback. Sounds a lot like what I remember doing with my XJ.