05 Flame Red TJ Build
- Thread starter JMT
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HardSell
TJ Enthusiast
Was a kid in Grand Junction just before KREX TV existed. Denver was about a half million. My first visit to Arches was in '53 @ 6 years old. Edward Abbey published Desert Solitaire in '68, 11 years after he rangered in the park. In May of '84, before the Euro invasion, I slept under Delicate with a full moon rising. I was the only one parked in the 8 space dirt lot below. Entering the park, no one in front, no one behind and no one in the booth. Hiked under Landscape and Wall Arch on the way to Double O and Dark Angel. I'm so thankful to have grown up in those times. Don't miss Fiery Furnace.
I usually don’t breach 50mph. On the Moab trip we could easily be hitting 80 just to get there in reasonable time. I was reminded of how bad harmonic oscillating vibes can be. 1000 miles? No thank you. I removed it for the trip home.
I decided to replace the u joints when I got home. That turned into needing the centering ball. That turned into the rubber CV dust cap. $145 later the DS is rebuilt and the vibes are still there.
One solution that may be helpful. The rubber CV sadist cap is easy to pop off, and a cheap part, but the tool to replace from Denny’s DS is $30. I said no and bought a PVC pipe fitting from Ace. It was very close fit, but still some slop, it wouldn’t work as it came. At night I pondered using a heat gun and tapering one end to get a tighter fit. In the morning it became a reality, and I tapped it right on with no issue!
I decided to replace the u joints when I got home. That turned into needing the centering ball. That turned into the rubber CV dust cap. $145 later the DS is rebuilt and the vibes are still there.
One solution that may be helpful. The rubber CV sadist cap is easy to pop off, and a cheap part, but the tool to replace from Denny’s DS is $30. I said no and bought a PVC pipe fitting from Ace. It was very close fit, but still some slop, it wouldn’t work as it came. At night I pondered using a heat gun and tapering one end to get a tighter fit. In the morning it became a reality, and I tapped it right on with no issue!
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HardSell
TJ Enthusiast
I vote for you to be vice president of the club. Only a few thousand more fun coupons and 50 or 80 more hours of painstaking labor to go and you could be president!
Mr President, I don’t think anyone can surpass your vibration debacle. Carry on Sir!
The Fox Savvy TJ Valved Shocks arrived today. I have all the pieces, AND, an easier work week, so I’ll be getting into my rig tomorrow.
Yeah, James and the Sahara ran 3” Savvy springs. I’ll watch though. These aren’t much longer than my Rancho 55239/41. I believe these new shocks are Rear 9.1” and Front 9.6” travel.
This is the last picture of my rig at 3.5” SL.
Moving to Currie 4” Coils + Fox Savvy TJ Valved shocks and moving my OME 2” Coils + Rancho 5000X (55239/41) over to the Twin’s ’04 Sport. Here’s a last look at the front OME’s and Rancho‘s on my rig. Note the 1.5” aluminum spacer. This setup has been amazing, truly. It drives great, it’s dialed in and wheels amazing. Ask anyone who’s seen. It’s like a spider. Why, why am I changing anything?
I measured the Fox Savvy TJ Valved shocks in preparation for cycling the suspension. Front shocks are 16.25” from eye to base of stud. Shocks ‘look’ aesthetically pleasing. When I cycled the suspension I was not so happy. 4” bumpstop needed for shocks.
I’m not sure what the deal is at this point. These shocks are designed by Savvy to pair with 4” Currie Coils on a TJ, which is what is going on this rig. That’s going to put me at more down travel than up travel, which does not make me happy. I went ahead and put the tire on and plenty of clearance at full passenger lock. Driver rubbed on the Anti-Rock, no surprise there, plenty of space up and behind. When I go to 35’s there will be no tire clearance issues with this setup, and that may be the reason Savvy had Fox build the Shocks this way. Out of frustration, I removed the Fox Savvy TJ Valved shocks and put the Rancho’s back on, went to full compression of the shock and needed 2.5” bumpstop. When I put the tire on it was getting quite a bit closer to the MCE flares. With 35’s I think I’d clear them, but at full lock I’m sure I’d push the flare out of the way and the tire is close to rubbing the upper shock housing and may with 35’s, it’s hard to say for sure. When all was said and done I added 3” bumpstop (hockey pucks) to the 3/16-18 tapped lower perch. I‘m not happy with the MetalCloak front trackbar. The clearance is fine, but he stupid flag nut stripped, and this is the second one to strip (you basically get one use out of them, WTH?). Fortunately, they sent me two last time (must be a known problem, fix that crap MC). I’ll be selling the MC front trackbar sooner than later. Axle is centered though. Adjusted the steering so it’s all straight. I’ll do the rear tomorrow or Thursday. I took it for a spin and it rides well, but I still have the Rancho’s in the rear, so who knows the real story? I’ll know more tomorrow. I’m not happy with how much up I have. (4.2”, crap!) I don’t see that improving when I do the rear. Total lift up front currently, 4.5”.
Moving to Currie 4” Coils + Fox Savvy TJ Valved shocks and moving my OME 2” Coils + Rancho 5000X (55239/41) over to the Twin’s ’04 Sport. Here’s a last look at the front OME’s and Rancho‘s on my rig. Note the 1.5” aluminum spacer. This setup has been amazing, truly. It drives great, it’s dialed in and wheels amazing. Ask anyone who’s seen. It’s like a spider. Why, why am I changing anything?
I measured the Fox Savvy TJ Valved shocks in preparation for cycling the suspension. Front shocks are 16.25” from eye to base of stud. Shocks ‘look’ aesthetically pleasing. When I cycled the suspension I was not so happy. 4” bumpstop needed for shocks.
I’m not sure what the deal is at this point. These shocks are designed by Savvy to pair with 4” Currie Coils on a TJ, which is what is going on this rig. That’s going to put me at more down travel than up travel, which does not make me happy. I went ahead and put the tire on and plenty of clearance at full passenger lock. Driver rubbed on the Anti-Rock, no surprise there, plenty of space up and behind. When I go to 35’s there will be no tire clearance issues with this setup, and that may be the reason Savvy had Fox build the Shocks this way. Out of frustration, I removed the Fox Savvy TJ Valved shocks and put the Rancho’s back on, went to full compression of the shock and needed 2.5” bumpstop. When I put the tire on it was getting quite a bit closer to the MCE flares. With 35’s I think I’d clear them, but at full lock I’m sure I’d push the flare out of the way and the tire is close to rubbing the upper shock housing and may with 35’s, it’s hard to say for sure. When all was said and done I added 3” bumpstop (hockey pucks) to the 3/16-18 tapped lower perch. I‘m not happy with the MetalCloak front trackbar. The clearance is fine, but he stupid flag nut stripped, and this is the second one to strip (you basically get one use out of them, WTH?). Fortunately, they sent me two last time (must be a known problem, fix that crap MC). I’ll be selling the MC front trackbar sooner than later. Axle is centered though. Adjusted the steering so it’s all straight. I’ll do the rear tomorrow or Thursday. I took it for a spin and it rides well, but I still have the Rancho’s in the rear, so who knows the real story? I’ll know more tomorrow. I’m not happy with how much up I have. (4.2”, crap!) I don’t see that improving when I do the rear. Total lift up front currently, 4.5”.
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The only thing missing is 35s!This is the last picture of my rig at 3.5” SL.
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Moving to Currie 4” Coils + Fox Savvy TJ Valved shocks and moving my OME 2” Coils + Rancho 5000X (55239/41) over to the Twin’s ’04 Sport. Here’s a last look at the front OME’s and Rancho‘s on my rig. Note the 1.5” aluminum spacer.
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I measured the Fox Savvy TJ Valved shocks in preparation for cycling the suspension. Front shocks are 16.25” from eye to base of stud. Shocks ‘look’ aesthetically pleasing. When I cycled the suspension I was not so happy. 4” bumpstop needed for shocks.
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Really the fix is to move the lower shock mounts, at least that’s what I thought with mine. For the stock setup it all worked well, but now that you’re long past that you could keep some of the up travel and get closer to the 50/50ish bias it sounds like you want.
My plan to address this is rebuild my towers and axle mounts once my hilines ship some day and I have the budget for beyond factory travel.
My plan to address this is rebuild my towers and axle mounts once my hilines ship some day and I have the budget for beyond factory travel.
Crawltek so I can color match them. I’ll post eventually in my build when there’s progress... a bunch of projects are stalled
Yes, this setup looks like it is designed to maintain factory travel. 4”. Well shit. I should have got the Rancho’s, they’re $400 cheaper and I might be able to get 5.25” up.
EDIT: the locals will be happy, they’re all about down travel as they sport their RE and post-fabricated to make everything fit.
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I have a set on order also. Emailed them asking for an approximate ship date, no response. Also want the armor too.Crawltek so I can color match them. I’ll post eventually in my build when there’s progress... a bunch of projects are stalled