BigAl's Jeep

[BigAl]

1990 Jeep YJ
5 speed

Big Mods
4.0 motor swap
SOA on full size wagoneer springs
Bilstein shocks
F250 Shock mounts
Dana 44 axles front and rear
4.88s, spooled rear, detroit front
Parts Mike high steer knuckles, high steer arms, tierod and draglink
1/2 ton tierod ends
Warn Premium Hubs
35x12.5 KM2s
Cragar Soft 8 wheels
AA SYE
Tom Woods rear driveshaft
MORE traction Bar
Custom rear bumper, tire carrier, and cargo rack
Smittle built stinger and custom winch plate
Custom Rockers
Whaley Enterprises Full cage, Corbeau seats mounted to cage and 4 pt harnesses
Warn PowerPlant 9.5 ton winch
Custom high clearance exhaust
TJ Flairs
E350 Master Cylinder

Little Mods
Custom Hand Throttle
CB
Optima Yellow top
Fire Extinguisher
High Lift
Custom shovel mount
KNN airfilter
Kryon Desert Tan Flat Camo Rattle can paint

 

[Haggis]

This is the view I usually have of Al's YJ. Though there's sometimes a snatch strap involved. :elkgrin:

I wish someone would have got a shot of Al's jeep surfing a huge chunk of ice during the ExPo Redneck Rendezvous last January. It was a most epic moment.

 

[Mr. D]

nice like the shovel mount

 

[BigAl]

nice like the shovel mount

Thanks, I built a piece of 2" receiver stock into my tire carrier so I can plug in different accessories. The shovel carrier is just a piece of 2" box with a flat plate welded on . The plate has 2 quick fists that hold the shovel. I also made a cooler rack

 

[Jwood]

Pretty sweet jeep. A+ on the mounting bracket idea.

 

[Warn Industries]

Nice rig. Had to laugh at the decal on the rear bumper.

- Andy

 

[BigAl]

Nice rig. Had to laugh at the decal on the rear bumper.

- Andy

I've gotten a lot of mileage from that sticker! Most like it, some are highly offended:elkgrin:

The jeep was feeling neglected, so I bought it some new stuff.
These are from M.O.R.E.

These are from alloy, i think.

I got these under warrenty from Warn, I blew one out this spring.

I'll post again after installing and testing.

 

[MrBeast]

I like your jeep, how big of a deal was it installing the waggy springs and the spring over?

I know back in the day when I first started reading about jeeps that was the preferred method.

I have an extra set of stock CJ rear springs, I was thinking about running those in the front with a shackle reversal.

Over all you have a very nice setup. Although I think the decal should read "Hummer recovery vehicle" for all the mall crawlers out there.

 

[BigAl]

I like your jeep, how big of a deal was it installing the waggy springs and the spring over?

Waggy springs are easy to install. They are 2" longer on one end, so you can extend your wheel base if you install the long end at the fixed spring eye mount. If you mount them the other way, your wheel base remains stock. They are very flexy and give a 1-2" lift.

SOA conversion is more time consumming than a regular lift kit b/c you have to figure out a lot of things yourself. For the rear, I had just a few problems. I set the pinion angle and welded the perches. After a few weeks the springs settled and I had to redo the pinion angle. Also ended up needing a traction bar due to axle wrap. SYE was also required due to steep driveshaft angle.

For the front, steering linkage is the issue. If you keep the stock steering setup, your drag link is very steep resulting in bumpsteer. There are a lot of ways to fix it. I chose high steer knuckles and arms.

If you choose SOA, do a lot of research and allow for more time than a normal lift. The advantage is a plush ride and a lot flex, compared to a stiff traditional lift springs

 

[MrBeast]

Waggy springs are easy to install. They are 2" longer on one end, so you can extend your wheel base if you install the long end at the fixed spring eye mount. If you mount them the other way, your wheel base remains stock. They are very flexy and give a 1-2" lift.

SOA conversion is more time consumming than a regular lift kit b/c you have to figure out a lot of things yourself. For the rear, I had just a few problems. I set the pinion angle and welded the perches. After a few weeks the springs settled and I had to redo the pinion angle. Also ended up needing a traction bar due to axle wrap. SYE was also required due to steep driveshaft angle.

For the front, steering linkage is the issue. If you keep the stock steering setup, your drag link is very steep resulting in bumpsteer. There are a lot of ways to fix it. I chose high steer knuckles and arms.

If you choose SOA, do a lot of research and allow for more time than a normal lift. The advantage is a plush ride and a lot flex, compared to a stiff traditional lift springs

I appreciate the info, going to be picking up a whole waggy here pretty quick, I might just do that.

 

[BigAl]

I appreciate the info, going to be picking up a whole waggy here pretty quick, I might just do that.

If you need any help jsut ask, btw, you only use the front waggy springs on both front and rear of the cj/yj, so you need 2 sets.

 

[MrBeast]

If you need any help jsut ask, btw, you only use the front waggy springs on both front and rear of the cj/yj, so you need 2 sets.

Well that does complicate things, I am going to PM you my contact info so we don't muddy up your thread talking about it.

 

[BigAl]

As soon as I get a head band and have time to fashion a burlap sack into a shirt I will be all set:elkgrin:

here is link the the scabbard, the cover and other bags are smitty built

 

[MrBeast]

That is awesome, I have been thinking about converting my CJ to a Wrangler swing gate because I have a Wrangler top, This just sold me on doing it, it will work perfect for my Mossberg, I was having a hard time figuring out where to keep it in the Jeep.

 

[BigAl]

Best Trail Fix ever!

Had a nasty suprise last Sunday, clunk, clunk, clunk... I stopped to check it out and found the upper grade 8 shackle bolt sheared off. Replacing it on the trail was a PITA. Luckily my boomerrang front shackles have and extra centering bolt that worked perfectly. The gas tank was in the way, so the only tools that I could use on the nut side, were channel locks and vice grips. Nothing would cooperate on the uneven ground, so 2 ratchet straps were employeed to get everything lined up. Breaker bars provide excellent leverage:sombrero: Now for the "BEST" part, my buddies girlfiend made lunch while we worked in the warm sun and enjoyed an ice cold brew. Everything worked perfectly. We were way out in the boonies, over seriously rough terraine, so I'm glad I did not have to drive it broken.

The fix

Spare parts