4xFort Build Thread - previously Frame Swap

Well, I'm still having the alignment issue. It's really odd that the toe continues to wander. It looks visually like it's toe in. I don't get it. Nothing is moving on the rack! Maybe I'll find a good shop that does off-road alignments instead of just Firestone.

Also, something came in the mail today!



Which is nice since that passenger side got crunched when the LBJ and LCA separated...

 

How much have you checked your ball joints in trying to figure out the toe issue - they're the last component involved in the steering out from the rack.

 

Not sure what you mean by checked.. But, they're brand new OEM ones. Nothing was torqued down apparently, so I torqued it all down and nothing has budged since then... so they seem to be holding steady! There's nothing unthreading itself in the rack or elsewhere. I don't really like these SPC Performance LCA bolts. I'm tempted to reinstall the OEM ones that I have on that passenger side and get another set from the dealer (they're just so damned expensive!) I'll try that on one side when I get the alignment plate gussets on. It doesn't seem like those are shifting at all, but then again, the powdercoated surface is quite slick. I must say, there's a lot of things that got powdercoated that I wish hadn't! And the stuff is damn near impossible to remove lol (good I guess)

 

Well I've definitely been getting lower gas mileage. I was getting around 16-16.5 mpg before the swap and now I'm more on the 13mpg range. Seems like that's seems like a rather large drop for simply being a few hundred pounds heavier with tires that stick out a bit further.

Got the front end finished so that's awesome! It holds the alignment with the TC tab gussets.

 

Have made a nice but of progress towards "completion" (whatever that is...)


Have gotten to finally go play a bit! Nice little west desert trip there.

Then, got the glass and finally put them on!


Now, time for the bumper, which is almost done now! Might end up changing it to a dual swing out. Planning on getting a rotopax set up on the passenger side and then mounting the hi-lift to the top bar. I think it'll need like a kickstand for when I'm camping in the bed and leave it open overnight for getting in and out!


And after having this dang light bar sitting around for so long, I finally got it on!!


I'd been debating how to mount it based on what would hold up. The surface rust on the a-pillar makes me not want to put any holes in there for the side brackets.



I dislike that it sticks up another inch since now it won't be able to fit into the current garage, but moving will change that!


I'll get the Amber backlight in the light bar wired in to the parking/running lights tomorrow. Hopefully wire in the dang side lights on the roof too and get all that buttoned up finally.

I also got the 2004 side mirrors and put those bad boys on... So much bigger holy smokes. Worth it! And they're electric so it's a nice temptation to make me convert the vehicle to powered mirrors, windows, and door locks some day in the future.

Sliders go back on and bumper gets done this weekend, with a powder coat next week.

Just need to resolve a blinker issue. The front blinkers intermittently work. The stock/original wire segment coming down to the bumper appears pretty oxidized. I'll just trace that back up to where it's clean and replace it here this weekend as well.

Still chasing down this damned alignment issue. It's been much better since gusseting but it still won't quite hold perfectly. Has really destroyed the front tires. Hopefully I can make sure it's resolved before I need another new tire set since I plan to go 35"
No one has any idea what's happening or how to fix it. It's insane. The way it moves is not really possible..like the control arm moves forward in space without altering the toe? Not possible? Ugh.

 

If your gearing doesn't match the stock setup, your odometer isn't correct and that might explain your MPG change (although it's usually better not worse). And if your tires are larger there is more rotational weight, and that can really affect mileage.

 

Yeah the gearing and tire combo get me 10% higher speedo/odometer readings than what is actually being driven. It also kicks my rpms up by 10% which makes it not like to drive over 72mph. Which is fine since I go basically the same speed on and offroad lol getting 35s will correct all that by 6% which isn't much but it's something. 37s would put me back to sick gearing but I don't think that I want to deal with all the trimming on the firewall/cab that would be necessary up front to do that.

We did finally trim out a little off the rear bedsides where it kept rubbing. We shall see if it was enough...


And got the sliders back on!


Wired in the Sasquatch lights. Pretty shocked that all four still work after being in the elements for a year, not bad for $8 each on Amazon!

Just need to finish cleaning up the wiring and get it all tucked in nice and pretty. Not sure what the best way to route the external weird on the a pillar. Maybe some 1/2" plastic protector with a metal conduit in there for stability?

Bumper is basically done! Dropped it off for powder coating today so that should be sick. I'll be picking up a double four gallon rotopax mounting system to out on the passenger side of the swing out.

Bumper and sliders were done by Pendleton Racing & Fab here in SLC. It's freaking beastly!

Feels damn good to check off all these big and small projects from the list of things to do. Of course I'll find a lot more to keep adding on in their place. Haha it's never done until you're ready to sell it

 

Booyah! Bumper all powder coated and looking sweet! Nice work done by Pendleton Racing & Fab here in SLC! Just need to get a mount for the hilift and reconfigure the mounts for the Rotopax

 

Hi lift mount!

Now that she’s all sexy for Moab, time to move to Seattle.. I’m sure I’ll find things to drive over up in the PNW besides Priuses and Subarus on i5... I hope