Operation Phoenix

Shocks shipped. Poly Performance mounts arrived. Finally home so I'll probably get up early and start cutting and grinding spring perches.

IMG20250814184351.jpg


-Mac
 
My grandpa lived in Elkton. I flew out there and drove a 1 ton Ford 1979 with a 460 with camper and boat back to Michigan. Made it in 3 days but that was rough and now I know why the Ford had 2 gas tanks. 9 miles to the gallon loaded or not. lol Glad everthing seem to work out for you. Keep wheelin
 
  • Like
Reactions: macleanflood
Been raining all morning so good excuse to work in the shop rather than on the shop.

Spent about two hours trying to cut off the driver's rear spring perch. Taking it slow with an angle grinder and cutoff wheel and a drill and carbide bit for inside the rail. Got it down to the top welds inside the frame and I think I'm going to pull the tub bolts and give myself 2-3" of room to get a grinder in here.

IMG20250816115950.jpg
IMG20250816115927.jpg


Meanwhile discovered the upper control arm mount is holding on by a squirt of weld. Think I'll heat that with a torch (after removing the control arm) and bend it back, weld it and maybe add a gusset or fish plate.

IMG20250816105648.jpg
IMG20250816105641.jpg


Did discover my 911 racing converted HF 2 ton jack will lift the back end up enough to remove the springs. So...I originally had that jack in the Jeep but took it out for a smaller and lighter OEM jack. Therefore the debate is Hi Lift vs this floor jack.

IMG20250816101957.jpg


Meanwhile despite three car wash trips laying under the Jeep with a pressure washer spraying engine degreaser the entire back end is still covered in ATF and dirt.

IMG20250816102705.jpg


And a couple of days ago I tried boiling the nylon fuel line. That doesn't get the line hot enough. Heat gun at 500 degrees works...hotter and it burns the hose. You have to direct the heat a quarter inch at a time or the line gets too soft to push on. Then you've got to keep the stuff on the barb hot enough to keep moving. Once you figure out the trick it's pretty easy. I now have two new fuel lines so I'll carry a spare and a coupler for the line. I also made them 2" longer.

IMG20250814190132.jpg

IMG20250816121443.jpg

IMG20250816121435.jpg


-Mac
 
Been raining all morning so good excuse to work in the shop rather than on the shop.

Spent about two hours trying to cut off the driver's rear spring perch. Taking it slow with an angle grinder and cutoff wheel and a drill and carbide bit for inside the rail. Got it down to the top welds inside the frame and I think I'm going to pull the tub bolts and give myself 2-3" of room to get a grinder in here.

View attachment 637112View attachment 637113

Meanwhile discovered the upper control arm mount is holding on by a squirt of weld. Think I'll heat that with a torch (after removing the control arm) and bend it back, weld it and maybe add a gusset or fish plate.

View attachment 637114View attachment 637115

Did discover my 911 racing converted HF 2 ton jack will lift the back end up enough to remove the springs. So...I originally had that jack in the Jeep but took it out for a smaller and lighter OEM jack. Therefore the debate is Hi Lift vs this floor jack.

View attachment 637116

Meanwhile despite three car wash trips laying under the Jeep with a pressure washer spraying engine degreaser the entire back end is still covered in ATF and dirt.

View attachment 637117

And a couple of days ago I tried boiling the nylon fuel line. That doesn't get the line hot enough. Heat gun at 500 degrees works...hotter and it burns the hose. You have to direct the heat a quarter inch at a time or the line gets too soft to push on. Then you've got to keep the stuff on the barb hot enough to keep moving. Once you figure out the trick it's pretty easy. I now have two new fuel lines so I'll carry a spare and a coupler for the line. I also made them 2" longer.

View attachment 637118
View attachment 637119
View attachment 637120

-Mac

How do you like the induction stove top?

Did you have a standard electric one before?
 
Making progress in between siding the shop... something I've been working on since January. Sigh. Getting close to the end. Then there's electric, plumbing, mini splits, air lines, insulation and drywall...I love playing with mud.

Got the track bar mount cut and ground off. Prepped the bump stops for locating the new spring perch location.

Shocks arrived a day early.

What's the best procedure to drain the oil so I can cycle them and test for interference?

And does anyone have a good write up on the adjustable dial?

Also throwing some of my JJ fail pictures in here. Track bar joint felt gritty so I figured what the heck, take it apart with the shop press...how hard can that be...three hours later with four pairs of crappy snap ring pliers...got Knipex on order. Probably over compressing the joint to compensate for bad pliers. Probably need a new washer.

IMG20250818180029.jpg
IMG20250818170104.jpg
IMG20250817171617.jpg
IMG20250817141857.jpg
IMG20250817142332.jpg
IMG20250817134619.jpg
IMG_20250819_054052.jpg


-Mac
 
The aluminum spacer/retainer gets bolted to the perch you cut off.

That much I figured out from the destructions! Luckily the bottom one wants the hole drilled to 7/16 and tapped to 1/2-13. Which was great because the threads were shot on the driver's side.

I need to drain the oil so I can figure out how long to make my mock up rods and to cycle the suspension without springs looking for interference.

IMG_20250819_06423737.jpeg
IMG_20250819_06422955.jpeg


-Mac
 
  • Like
Reactions: FarFire70
I need to drain the oil so I can figure out how long to make my mock up rods and to cycle the suspension without springs looking for interference.

It's really easy. If you have 12 travel shocks, subtract 12" from the eye to eye length and make your setup stick. I never took the pressure off of my shocks.

On a side note, did you add weight to your Jeep before cutting everything off so you know the true ride height of your springs? That's the only way to ensure you will be at your desired shock bias.
 
What's the best procedure to drain the oil so I can cycle them and test for interference?

You don’t have drain any oil to cycle those - just bleed the Nitrogen off and recharge when you’re done. Easy peasy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CMBD
Excellent! How do I do that? =)

-Mac

You just use your mock shock setup with heims on each end. Set two the length of max compression and two at ride height. Then you can leave your nice shocks in the box till it’s time to bolt them up when you’re done.
 
Making progress in between siding the shop... something I've been working on since January. Sigh. Getting close to the end. Then there's electric, plumbing, mini splits, air lines, insulation and drywall...I love playing with mud.

Got the track bar mount cut and ground off. Prepped the bump stops for locating the new spring perch location.

Shocks arrived a day early.

What's the best procedure to drain the oil so I can cycle them and test for interference?

And does anyone have a good write up on the adjustable dial?

Also throwing some of my JJ fail pictures in here. Track bar joint felt gritty so I figured what the heck, take it apart with the shop press...how hard can that be...three hours later with four pairs of crappy snap ring pliers...got Knipex on order. Probably over compressing the joint to compensate for bad pliers. Probably need a new washer.

View attachment 637651View attachment 637652View attachment 637653View attachment 637654View attachment 637655View attachment 637656View attachment 637657

-Mac

Is fox doing Schrader valves on those now? I got schrader conversions for mine. They used a rubber pill seal
 
  • Like
Reactions: macleanflood
Excellent! How do I do that? =)

-Mac

Discharging is easy. Re-charging takes a bottle of Nitrogen, a regulator/gage, and a hose with fitting. However, paying a shock tech to do that is pressing the easy button, and shouldn’t be expensive, since it takes about two minutes per shock. If I lived close, I’d do it for you just to meet the energizer bunny of the forum!