TJ rear stretch

[1999tjsport]

Well ive been kicking around doing a rear stretch on my TJ. The long arm i installed was for a TJ or LJ so im curious to remove a control arm and see how much adjustment i have with out making new arms. First thing is first....get that stock fuel tank out of the way!



Ive purchased a RCI2161 cell, im reusing the stock fuel pump and sending unit so i found a set of fuel pump rings on ebay for a TJ pump.
I tack welded 1/4 bolts on the inner ring and cut it in half so it will fit threw the hole i cut in the top of the cell.









I purchased a sheet of 1/8in rubber that i cut to make gaskets out of, i used a 30-06 brass casing in a drill to cut the bolt holes. Other installs Ive seen guys only used 1 gasket and complain of gas odors, i used 2.... 1 inside the tank and 1 out side between the cell and fuel pump both coated with high tack gasket maker. Sorry i didn't get any good pictures of the assembly going together.

The RCI mounting brackets were nice but i have my complaints. The straps were powder coated nice but have no type of cushion between them and the cell. I ended up getting some 1 1/4in wide rubber foam stripping and wrapping the inside of the mounts and the bottom brackets with it.

Got the cell set in place mocking up the mounting brackets


Heres the pretty much final install other than cleaning up the wiring some.


I did have to cut the fuel pump harness and extend the 4 wires. Also as you can see all the plumbing is now stainless braid with AN fittings. I will post back all the hose and hose fittings i had to purchase to adapt everything. I took it for a quick run after the install. You do hear a slight fuel pump whine and some fuel sloshing but its not bad. All in all was fairly easy upgrade.

[beat1078]

Nice.
you would think they would but some baffolds in there or something to keep the slosh down in an aftermarket tank like that.

[1999tjsport]

I had plans originally to make my own aluminum cell and baffles were most definitely going in. I talked my self out of fabing it. But from RCI I would most definitely expect them.

[ridgerunner97]

Thats the same fuel cell in my YJ, i'm running a stock fuel pump as well. I like it so far.

[dan58]

Here is your solution to the baffle. I've been running them for two years now. Zero problems.

http://www.alltechmotorsports.com/

[1999tjsport]

Thanks for the info Dan, I didn't even think about that type of baffle. Here's a finished photo of the fuel cell.


Well Ive been supper busy with work...i got the rear axle dropped out, the old frame mount coil buckets chopped off. I need to chop my drive shaft and rear control arms in half so get tube diameters to lengthen them. Should be ordering all the DOM, threaded inserts, and 2x4 frame steel this week. Hope to get a good jump on things this coming weekend!

[Sycotik Skier]

I have a tj steering box tapped for hydro assist and a ram if youre interested

[MemorEsto]

So how much do you think you have into the fuel cell? This is my winter project and curious if it's worth my time to piece everything together and have to fabricate things.... or just spend the $$$ and get a all in one kit.

[1999tjsport]

Sycotic how much for the box and ram? Any specs on ram?

memor here's a ball park parts break down
fuel cell (summit) $220
tank mounting brackets (summit) $38
hose & fittings (summit) $103
tank rings (eBay) $50
sheet of 1/8" rubber for gaskets, hi-tack gasket sealer, nylon washers, bolts, lock nuts $20-30

so about $430. You can make your own rings if you have tooling I just didn't want to piss with it. Also you could save some $$ not doing stainless hose w/ AN fittings like I did.

[Sycotik Skier]

The ram is nothing fancy. Pm me your cell and I'll send you some pics when I get home. I'm not sure what it's worth so make me an offer

[1999tjsport]

well i made a little progress over the weekend, got the plasma out and chopped the back half off.


I cut my rough country arms in half to get DOM dimensions to re-sleeve them longer. They used some weird damn tubing... The LCA is 1.875" .188" wall, the UCA is 1.75" .095" wall. I was able to order this tubing and some 1.5" for the inner sleeve.

I also chopped up my drive shaft to get dimensions for the DOM to lengthen it. It was 2" .120" wall
Here's with the rubber flex boot off showing both welds that I'm cutting out
[IMG][/IMG]

I ground each weld out and will be adding in the DOM to give me the length i need
[IMG][/IMG]

ill have some better progress as my DOM starts showing up. I also ordered the blue torch fab coil buckets, track bar bracket, shock tabs...

[1999tjsport]

well i finally got some time to work on this thing, im in the process of making my new frame rail to incorporate the stretch and to remove some rotted areas of the frame. I made a templete out of plywood then plasma cut out my frame pieces


tack welded and started shaping the frame rails


I ordered my new coil buckets, track bar mount and shock tabs for the relocation from Blue torch fab, the guys were great to deal with and have crazy fast shipping



I hope to get some more work done this upcoming weekend and will update when i do so.

[Azzy]

Nice extensions!

[1999tjsport]

Been slow progress.... was able to get my old crush corners off and cut the body back, At the same time i was going to have to relocate the rear hatch hinges and opted to just wend it in solid since the fuel cell sits right in side of it anyways. (still needs some body mud no hating)



I went ahead and placed the axle, looks like ill end up with about a 10-11" stretch, i sleeved my old long arm control arms and have them ready to go.



Just got to get the back half of this old rotted frame hacked off and weld my new extensions in and it will be sitting back on the ground finally. I'm going to be matching the comp cut i did on the body to my crush corners and extending them up the side of the jeep so i can weld on rear tube fenders. Ill finish it off with a fresh coat of paint and will be looking like a mall crawler in no time.

[atvboo]

Just some info I have the same fuel cell and brackets I broke the seems on the cell twice now .look into some arttech mounts that is what I'm going to install this spring

[1999tjsport]

your not the first one to say that atvboo, i appreciate the incite and will look into a better mount for the cell.

I finally got the rear frame rails in place and the suspension back in place.


still need to get a sheet of 3/16 to build up some body armor and get a fresh coat of paint. I'm currently gearing up for a chevy ls series truck motor swap. All the parts have arrived, motor should be here this week so plenty more to come!

[Deadman 94 xj]

your not the first one to say that atvboo, i appreciate the incite and will look into a better mount for the cell.

I made a mount similar to what you have there but I framed in the bottom with 2 or 3" angle iron and tied it to the top brackets with bolts. Under the frame I used rubber bushings to give it some give. Just an idea. I can take pics if you want. Jeep looks good.

[1999tjsport]

I made a mount similar to what you have there but I framed in the bottom with 2 or 3" angle iron and tied it to the top brackets with bolts. Under the frame I used rubber bushings to give it some give. Just an idea. I can take pics if you want. Jeep looks good.

i put 1/4" foam/rubber on the straps that hold the tank in to give it a little cushion, the angle iron isn't a bad idea... ill look into that.

Thanks,