1997 Jeep XJ Country

[smichaelR22]

those spot weld cutters suck.  i did chips XJ's forward mounts.  it was a pain.

[Callelle]

I cleaned off some of the forward mounts and only some of the spot weld marks are still there. For the ones that I can still see I'm gonna try the cutter on them, the rest I'm going to have to just whittle away at with a grinder. I think the forward mounts are welded on the sides too by the look of it. They're definitely welded where the frame stiffeners are.

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[Callelle]

Just discovered I'm going to have to cut 3 3/4" of the frame stiffeners off in order for the spring hangers to fit. -_-

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[Callelle]

Been building up a stock pile of parts. Have new spring hangers, shackle relocation brackets, and rear frame stiffeners sitting in my closet. Last night I also ordered my rear bumper and tire carrier kit. Was planing on getting the rest of my rear suspension stuff but the bumper was $60 off and I figured, what the hell, I'm going to be ordering it anyway right? Anyway, I'm hoping to get the spring hangers and rear frame stiffeners installed tomorrow, gonna depend on how much of a pain in the ass it's going to be to get the old hangers off and trim back the stiffeners that have already been welded on.

[Callelle]

Got one side burned in with the aid of Josh Wolck. Smike was right when he said the old ones were a bitch to remove, even more so when you have frame stiffeners welded to them. Gonna whittle away at the driver's side until Josh can be back over with a welder (I really need to get one for myself) and do as little damage to the frame rail as possible. Good thing these things are beef and will be tied into frame stiffeners in front of and behind them.

[Callelle]

Driver's side hanger installed and burned in


And driver's side rear frame stiffener burned in

[Callelle]

More parts ariving. IRO double shear track bar and 3.5" leaf packs.

[Callelle]

Was never really sure what I wanted for coils to match the rear, but I found brand new Rubicon Express 4.5" spring on Amazon for $76 bucks. So I went with the "well it's less than $80 so I may as well" logic and got them today. Now that it should be warming up soon, I'm gonna start getting the axles and underbody cleaned up and ready for painting. I've also decided to go with the Currie Correctlync setup for my steering. I like that it uses tie rod ends rather than heims so that it won't loosen up from contamination since it's a daily driver.

[Callelle]

Pulled the rest of the carpets today. I knew the driver's pan was going to be replaced, but it was worse than I thought it was. Rather than just two holes, its soft and crunchy all the way around. Either way, that pan is getting completely replaced. Passenger side is actually a lot better than I thought it would be. Just a couple soft spots that I'm just gonna cut and patch. After all that is finished, floor is going to be bedl ined.

[Callelle]

Well the plan was to get the passenger side stiffener finished today. Got everything cleaned up and prepped, go to weld, and my friend's welder took a shit. Wouldn't keep a solid arc going, even on new steel, so no penetration was going on, just surface globs. This everything just seems to be fighting me to get this passenger stiffener on. On the other hand, I got all the stuff for replacing/repairing the floor. Gonna start on that hopefully this week when it warms up a bit. Starting to get real fed up with winter, I just wanna get this thing finished and wheel.

[Wingman]

Keep at it.  A little progress is still progress.

[Callelle]

Yeah, slowly but surely. I got a couple things I can do without the welder. Prepping the floor for the new pan instal, tacking some of the bumper stuff together with my sick (I don't trust myself enough with it to work on the frame), and maybe some cleaning for paint prep once it warms up a bit. On a positive note, the girlfriend got me an awesome early birthday present which should be arriving either tomorrow or Tuesday. Maybe that will be the moral boost and motivation I need.

[Callelle]

 I have the best girlfriend ever.

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[Callelle]

So a friend is actually letting me borrow his welder for a while since he's had now use for it. It's just a little 110 Mac Tools mig, but its got a full tank of gas and a fresh spool of wire. Can't wait to see what kind of bastardization of a bead I can lay down after not welding since I was about 14. Either way, it's practice and I can actually try and make some real progress on my own for once.

[rejeep]

didnt buy it from me... she cant be that good.