The Jeep started out as any CJ might, a new paint job and the biggest all-terrain tires that could be put on the stock Jeep.
Before coming to Baertrax, the Jeep had gone through several significant upgrades. A full cage was added. The old T150 transmission and Dana 20 transfer case were removed, and a T176 and clocked flat Dana 300 were put in their place. The stock axles got a Lock Right in the front, spool in the back, then they and the stock springs were reconfigured as a spring-over. Also, 33" Super Swamper TSL-SX tires were put on the stock CJ wheels.
Overall, the Jeep was working much better. The lockers allowed it to go places it had not been able to before, the clocked 300 gave much more clearance, and the full cage made the Jeep more safe.
Problems did still exist. The Jeep was unstable due to the large lift and narrow stance. The stock 3.73 gearing limited the crawling ability, and the new suspension did not flex well at all. The stock motor mounts were broken. The Jeep rode extremely rough on the trail. The Jeep did not turn well, many turns had to be taken by going back and forth until the corner was made. This is when the Jeep was taken to Baertrax.
The first thing repaired were the motor mounts. Bulletproof mounts from Mountain Offroad were installed in place of the stock units. These motor mounts are strong, and should last far longer than the stock ones, if not the life of the Jeep. The leaky radiator was replaced with a new 3 core unit from Al's Radiator in Hurst, Texas.
A set of wide track axles were found out of a newer CJ. These axles had 4.56 gears, open front, and a Detroit SoftLocker in back. It was decided that the Lock Right in the existing front could be swapped into the new front, so the work began.
We wanted to retain the brakes and stronger 6 bolt hubs from the narrow track axle, so it was stripped completely down. Note in the following picture how short the shocks are in the setup as it came to the shop.
To make the front suspension stronger, and so that it would work better offroad, the front was converted to 2.5" springs instead of the stock CJ 2" springs by using Mountain Offroad spring perches, shackles and shackle hangers. We used a set of springs intended for the rear of a CJ, for durability compared to YJ springs.
To fix the problem concerning the short shocks, the stock shock towers were cut off, and Russ welded Ford 3/4 Ton towers in their place.
The factory shock mounts were cut off the new wide track axles, and new mounts were put at the top of the axle to allow more clearance offroad.
Testing of the Jeep so far showed that the new suspension was flexing very well, and the springs were going to ride near flat when sitting still. The 4" wider axles were going to allow the Jeep to turn much better than before.
Notice the difference in width comparing the front and rear.
