Grinding Away Our U-bolt plates arrived so we began to work on the u-bolts and front axle attachment points. Since the locating pin hole was drilled 1/2" inward on the leaf spring perches, that left 1/2" of leaf spring perch hanging over the outside of each spring pack. In order for the U-bolts to fit up against the perch and spring pack, we had to grind off a corner of the old perch. The picture to the left is the passenger side perch, viewed from the front. We had to grind off the diff housing on the drivers side for the same reason. The U-bolts you see here came from the 89 Grand Wagoneer. They work great for testing purposes but they are too long to use for our application and the threads are really stripped.

Flares!! We ordered some Xenon 6.5" TJ style flares for the YJ from a Tacoma Territory member and owner John Ward of Ultimate Off-road Products. Call 1-865-457-2764. These flares are impressive. They're nice and THICK and sturdy.We decided to use 1/4"X20X 3/4" bolts, lock washers, and nuts instead of using the stock screws and plastic clips. If you didn't notice already - we removed our stripes...... The flares had covered some of them up and it didn't look right so we just took them all off. We put on one of our Jeeps R Us stickers instead.

U-bolts: We took some final measurements for U-bolt sizes and went to BUD'S Springs & Suspension service in Lancaster PA 1-717-392-3416 to get 4 U-bolts bent. Only $21 for 4 including nuts & washers.

Front Axle Test Fit: We managed to get <most> of the grinding done - enough to get everything bolted down in place so we could get Izzy back on the garage floor and off the jackstands. This way - AT REST - we could see how things will fit.

The Trac Bar will not work with the set-up. We're not concerned with putting one in unless Izzy's driving characteristics are less than ideal. We'll have to wait and see.

The shock mounts will work as is, however, because of the straight mount at the top - they could bind somewhat. We're planning on converting the upper mount to a standard (EB1) to give it a bit of flexibility. This can easily be done with Ford F250 shock towers.

The hole in the tie rod has been machined to mount the drag link on the opposite side. This was done by Diversified Machine Incorporated in Lancaster PA.

We took the front drive shaft measurements this evening and removed the front drive shaft. We'll be taking it to Bud's Springs tomorrow to be shortened.

Pitman Arm : We ordered a Skyjacker drop pitman arm for an 89 Grand Wagoneer (part # JA350). This pitman arm will allow us to use the Grand Wagoneer drag link. This bolts right up to the YJ steering pump output shaft. You can see in the next few pictures below just how HEAVY DUTY the drop pitman arm is compared to the YJ drop pitman arm.