Angle of the 2nd Dangle - Operation Cheap Jeep

[@jtgarton84]

"Those spring compressors scare the crap out of me". That ratchet strap rig you had was death lol

[@christianvadella5906]

JT Garton I couldn't agree more! I was terrified for him watching him compress those with light duty ratchet straps haha

[@chrisbates3422]

@@christianvadella5906 i was the same way. i was feeling anxious the whole time lol

[@Joel-ew1zm]

"it will eventually self-clearance" this is the best thing ive heard in a while

[@ThePjpulvermacher]

Holy BuckFutt Better then your name?!! Lmao

[@duncan9168]

cheap jeep actually looks cool! love this build series.

[@kevinknabe7252]

Buduncadunc zjs are amazing jeeps. people that build them are pretty fanatical. its a huge underground following.

[@JustinSmith-ph1le]

this needs clearancing. breaks out BFH and beats the shit outta it.

[@SilversWay]

"let's clearance that" smashes the shit out of everything lol i love it

[@niner8tangojuliet149]

The entertainment value of watching you fight those Springs was priceless.

[@Dorian451]

Can't wait for more! New catch phrase should be "Lets clearance that a bit"

[@MVanDii]

Now yer speaking my language! "Huh, this thing doesn't fit... *WHACK, WHACK, WHACK* OK, it fits now."

[@bleepinjeep]

fits!

[@jcgrenier55]

like a glove...

[@GreyGhost-r4z]

VanDii Motorsports hammers are great tools. Haha

[@mobilemechanic2815]

I love when you say "let clearance that " and just start hitting stuff

[@averyechenrode2541]

Really enjoying this series.

[@bigbang7897]

Watch your ZJ build from Ireland and love your workshop, your build style is great and your method of getting clearance with a sledge hammer is spot on.

[@ken5360]

That'd be a funny t shirt... "lets clearance that" with a BFH hahaha

[@mikem5831]

I'd buy it..

[@billybob-jz5mo]

Clearance is the name of his BFH.

[@beepbeep2236]

Favorite show on youtube by far. Keep up the amazing work!

[@njsurf1973]

today I learned: clearanced = a smash with BFH as usual, great video!

[@mamatronic963]

Thank you so much for recording this for us Matt! I know how difficult is to line up your LCA ( i did it a couple of weeks ago) it is a pain . . and on top of that record it!! Thanks!!! you are my hero!!!

[@duster0066]

Just saying hi and thanks for the info on the Jeeps. I stumbled into a 95 ZJ that was FREE, so why not? I used hammers and chisels to get it going. For 300 bucks it did 2 years and 10,000 of it's 235,000 miles. Damn the bad luck. I liked it. If anyone had told me ZJs are built like 75 Cadillacs there isn't a chance in hell I would've started this project. Worst maintenance experience of my long life. But it's done, new every damn thing, and I like it better than before fer sur. I just hope it's done trying to drive me mad by requiring I remove the part so I can remove the part I have to remove before I can remove the part that's broke. This channel and others helped a lot. Like Hondas I now know more about Jeeps than I ever wanted to know. God how did I get so far diverted from my Fords?

[@wcdjmase]

I'm not a jeep guy, but your videos are awesome. tons of great ideas and ways to save some money.

[@rc3140]

Fantastic show Matt!!! Thanks for sharing another awesome show🍻cheers

[@jameswmatthews]

Looking good Matt. On the rear, you might want to add bump stop extenders to keep the coil in. You start flexing it, and that spring will pop out the top pretty quick, if you don't watch it. You can use a pipe and longer bolt to extend the cup down. Easiest fix

[@mudhound0530]

I really enjoyed the music, quality and fit and finish of this video. "We need to clearance that" lmao. great video matt!

[@ryanbear1808]

damn nice work. looking good. can't wait for the next video

[@stymie3855]

I had the same problem. I ended up putting a bottle jack between the body and the axle and that worked as well.

[@bushcraftnorthof6012]

Love your channel. I find the Cheap Jeep series entertaining, and some of it might help my ZJ. It's my daily, so I won't go too cheap, but looking forward to gleaning lots of info. Take care!

[@DavidSmith-fk8wm]

MY Personal Experience... Drilling new holes for the track bar is a very bad idea. Messing with the geometry and increasing odds on death wobble. Lining up the front and back holes in the bracket is a bugger as well. I know this is Operation CheapJeep but please 🙏 Go to the expense of an adjustable track bar. In the long run it will be worth it. And hey, The life you save may be your own. Thanks for the videos Matt👍👍 They are confidence builders and bring more people to the JEEP community.

[@martintaylor984]

Damn bleepinjeep you are a ballsy man using that type of spring compressor. Lucky you still have teeth left!!!!! Great video as usual!!!!

[@jasontanner5656]

That was awesome right there with the exhaust :)

[@Bigman211]

bruh you the best on youtube

[@xmo552]

I paid a buddy shop rates to rebuild mom's WJ front suspension, steering, axles, brakes, everything. While in there it got a few upgrades like adjustable arms. After it was done.. When it hit a bump or dip in the road it would jam up and pull to one side or the other. Mom was scared and wouldn't drive it. I paid my buddy because I was working over 70 hours per week. I was forced to take a day off to redo the arms. Each one was a different length. My friend's mechanic just said F it the alignment shop will do it. Well shit no wonder it would bind up. I actually split the rent at a shop but I had another shop do it. When I did it myself at my shop, the shop was full and I had to do it just like you did. I had to use chains and ratchets and anchor to a fence post just to align all my bolt holes. Fun times. Yeah I was pissed. I'm enjoying your builds thanks to covid. It froze my industry 😢

[@daathseverus]

Looks good! And I agree with buying the mount from rough country. I can make mounts for axles and stuff, but it's so much easier to just buy them from Ballistics. Ends up being cheaper.

[@kevinknabe7252]

Michael Johnson it is till the mount rips off the un. very common on zjs for it to rip off with a drop bracket

[@daathseverus]

Kevin Knabe I agree. But, It's the cheap Jeep. That's how everyone learns.

[@kevinknabe7252]

Michael Johnson yeah after the mount rips off you either get a new zj or fabricate a custom 4 link.

[@AllajchaSibir]

Good times, I remember them well. You could stick a longer upper control arm in with the TJ(?) arms as lower. This would push the axle forward, improving LCA angle (and the TJ ones are designed better anyway, which leaves more clearance) and the springs would sit straighter. They seem to bend backwards a bit now. You'd need to fix some issues with the trackbar though, but nothing majorly complex. As it sits now, I think you'll have too much binding.

[@MrRobertutep]

love the sound track, lol

[@matthewdunn219]

awesome video! great job!

[@jimmysdipsticks]

Clarence the Clearance Hammer.

[@chunkeeone8408]

You're the kid that put your puzzles together with the scissors, aren't you?!? Love the music by the way.

[@xmo552]

That's funny

[@eastpajeeper7990]

I'd weld the track bar drop bracket on the rear now. I've used them before on TJ's and the added force oval's the bolt holes out and they get loose, weld now before that happens and you'll have a better setup. loving the series though, I've built a few cheap Jeep's now and your doing about the same things I've done

[@dannyarmenta6326]

Cant wait for next video!

[@imautoobershooter1377]

Not really interested in the whole unibody stuff so this was the first I've watched. I laughed and will be watching now.

[@bleepinjeep]

WHAT?? unibody or not its still a Jeep!

[@imautoobershooter1377]

BleepinJeep sure are Matt but I'm old and a leaf spring guy. I'd rather rattle my teeth out than switch to coils. I'm hard core like that. Lol. Or maybe that was hard headed. Either way great build for the every day guy. Glad to see you doing something like this.

[@jqedjohnson796]

Love the project. I'm doing a 97 Cherokee. Good ideas from your videos.

[@alexanderbarrera9140]

i see he likes the ZJ now

[@treyhaberman]

might put some weld on the old rear factory track bar bracket to the unibody. I think the leverage from the rough country extension puts to much force on it. It ripped factory welds right off while I was wheeling.

[@troutandbassslayer]

"So lets clearance that a little bit!" Grabs hammer!!! Lol

[@villagomezjaime96]

lets clearance everything!!! hahah loving the cheap jeep build

[@barricadegarage5361]

what's the part number for that rear track bar drop bracket?

[@jbrunsonjr]

Keep up the great work!!

[@travis.c2077]

Put the jk on mine this last weekend n they weren't long enough for the rear lower control arms

[@leedorrell4096]

Just subscribed to rough country really enjoy your channel

[@nicholaasstahl1073]

weld the rear diff possibly? cheap spool

[@brandondannys-menary3678]

Nicholaas Stahl great idea.

[@danoleary5569]

lmfao!! ...lets just clearance that a little bit.😂😂😂

[@brandondannys-menary3678]

Dude, I love your videos. You just earned a sub.

[@rustyshack420]

I would definitely add some steel plating reinforcement to that axle side track bar mount

[@TheTurboSmart]

haha the ending was funny!

[@Str8sixfan]

This is fun. Thanks for doing it.

[@adammorin814]

Brother, your channel is awesome! I absolutely love the information you have and you rock and you get two thumbs up and an air guitar and the Ed Bundy hand in the belt and all the rest of my friend. You should make a video possibly about all of the parts that can fit a ZJ from different models. I'm still curious if there are front brakes from a newer Grand Cherokee or something that will fit. Whether it'd just be the caliper and carrier or rotor as well but anything to improve the braking on those things. They have good breaking generally but if you can increase the rotors by three quarters of an inch then I think you'd really be working with something. As for headlights the best combination I have found is to get the clear lens plastic lens Chinese or european headlamps because the glass ones have all of those slats on them that diffract the light, and with the clear lens housing and the LED headlight plug and play kit from my forget which website but they sell a shit ton of swaps that are plug-and-play and they're only about seventy-five bucks! They look great low beam and high beam and you get to pick your light color / frequency - regular bluish White, a nice gold white, or blue which is really blue. I've always gone with the cheapest option which is the regular bluish-white and it looks great. in case you read these comments this is all info just for you buddy. my buddy had the swab with the glass lenses I had the clear lenses so we threw them on my truck and the light output was beautiful, very similar to an American car from 2006 to 2010ish? Didn't look cheesy either!

[@kanevankampen8077]

I love making clearance!!!!

[@angelbernes1153]

cheap jeep looks good almost crush that thing 😄🎥

[@BobbyB910]

Hang on how much did you pay for the u joint axle shafts

[@ianlaverty1583]

love the vids man whats awesome is you helped me change my lower front control arms on my 5.9 watching these vids thanks!

[@BlindDude]

Umm, I have a '91 xj and the first lift I put on it in 95 was pro-comp and I learned first lower control arm that you attach the arm to the unibody mount first.. lol then it slides up easily into the axle mount.. lmao, that was funny.

[@TheOutdoorLife]

ZJ love.

[@Skiridr22]

Love the music also.

[@MrMattMohler]

also, I just did my front control arms, the front axle dam near folded up under the truck, I had easier time removing springs, then install lower....

[@kevinknabe7252]

the only bad thing is that a rear track bar drop bracket gives you a 100% chance of ripping the mount off the body. zjs are notorious for ripping the rear track bar mount off with a drop bracket. id find a used adjustable rear track bar or just get the cheapest new one you can find.

[@ghostreconslovessnow]

Clearancing... Love it lol

[@Bronkey469]

Looking to do a 4.5" lift on my xj... Best junkyard combo? might splurge in new front coils

[@TheAmericanUhate]

There is multiple threads on multiple forums that goes into detail about junkyard lift options. If you want to retain the best ride possible then go with V6 thunderbird coils along with a stock ZJ coil isolater for the front. Then S10 leaf's in the rear combined with your leaf springs. You're going to want to drill a new hole for the track bar exactly like Matt did in this video for the front end.

[@bleepinjeep]

I did that on the zombie apocalypse jeep build, go back and check it out!

[@WEESHBONE]

You’re so awesome 😎

[@oscariturralde1270]

I love the series angle of the dangle. I have a 2001 Jeep grand Cherokee that I put a spring lift on 2 1/2 inches and you shocks the front end when I’m driving if I put steering into it, I feel like it wanders I’ve changed just about everything, what should my angle on that front axle? I just purchased an angle magnet any input from you guys would be great thanks for the hard work and great videos. They always make me laugh. I appreciate it. Have a good one.

[@allinmota4787]

Excellent vid

[@robertmcbride7211]

love the vid and how you work with ur hands

[@johnduff6436]

Very cool!

[@tomasandresvelizcampos959]

Great videos 😉

[@codylee5132]

So I have a question for you Matt or for anyone one else who wants to chime in. I’m in the middle of building a ZJ pretty much the same way you did in this video series. My question, can I extend the original shocks by cutting the eyes off them and add metal to make them longer? The shocks are brand new. Just to get by till I can buy longer ones.

[@retiredppd]

should have called it project death trap. I don't want to sound negative but that front track bar won't last long the way it's mounted. I get the whole cheap thing but you should emphasize that that some of these cheap fixes are not the best way to do it.

[@Sabby1986]

do a custom long arm pls n stiffin up that frame too

[@johnmays2798]

good video. I think I would just save up and buy a cheap lift kit. then things would at least be clearanced properly. I'm not sure how long this lift will hold up on the trail.

[@g-man1637]

Really enjoy this build series Bro. LMAO when you backed out of the shop. I'm still laughing. :-)) Shared

[@bleepinjeep]

almost made it over;)

[@KurNorock]

That rear track bar bracket is going to sheer off the frame rail. It is a common problem with rear track bar drop brackets on ZJs. You really should have gotten an adjustable track bar or made your own bracket which entirely replaces the factory bracket and spreads the load out better on the frame rail.

[@petemcl99]

Nice job but I think that your new(?) front axles don't have the ABS wheel? So your ZJ won't have ABS? Dash warning lights?

[@harveybullen8960]

Hi I'm currently building a zj very similar to yours I'm doing the f to r swap so all round 3.5" lift with adjusty trackbars front and rear. I'm trimming and running 33's and am looking at doing the same thing you've done control arm wise putting in the jk rear uppers in the lower spot and zj rear lowers in the front lower spot. How does it drive? did you touch your upper arms? Thanks

[@Skiridr22]

Will that sway bar handle the wait n tire size

[@marka.2715]

Hey Matt, is the ZJ driveable at this point? If not, what is left to do? Looking forward to seeing a test ride video.

[@francisbrackney2061]

What is the part number of the front coil springs that you installed in the cheap jeep?

[@325ti1]

Hello, the back arms in front always work? I await response ... thanks and continuation of some good videos

[@robertweinstein6441]

I have watched both videos on angle and dangle. Now a question...well narrative first. I have a 1999 XJ. I got the 3" old man emu lift from Quadratec. They say 1.5 inches in the front, so I got the ACOS spacer from a local vender to get to about 3-3.5 in the front...flat/level body. So I was wondering if you have any recommendations for replacement control arms to get the geometry back to near normal using the cheap Jeep ideas. This is my first Jeep I spent a misguided youth (30+ years as a big Suburban guy). I include this only to get help understanding the various "J’s" we, XJ, tj, etc.

[@xmo552]

The correct way would be with adjustable control arms. You can dial in your pinion angle but it will always come at the expense of caster angle. Or, dial in caster at the expense of pinion. Try to find a happy middle area. Some people lower the transfer case but some people argue against that. 100% the most ultimate fix would be to cut, adjust, and reweld the C's, brackets, and pinion. But that's way more money than its worth.

[@jeremysparks637]

Matt your awsome lol but you scared the shit out of me with the straps you used to compressed the springs lol

[@guillermobanuls7120]

You could show how to do the alignment chepaly. I know Im late. If you show it in other video could you tell me 🤗 Greetings from Spain.

[@doctor5993]

Lol that was cowboy af

[@darreleolsonjrakahoppyolso9033]

Looking for a catalog for my 86 Jeep comanchie

[@darreleolsonjrakahoppyolso9033]

Please help thanks

[@xmo552]

A catalog or an owner's manual?

[@darreleolsonjrakahoppyolso9033]

@@xmo552 86 Jeep Comanche 2.5 listed 4x4

[@tylermartin6683]

What springs did you put in the rear?

[@xmo552]

The oe fronts. 1st video.

[@mikepertle3582]

🔨 Its clearance time. WHAM WHAM WHAM 👍

[@adammorin814]

Anybody know of newer brakes you can swap over? And has anybody thought about Durango front Springs to use on the front of a ZJ while you use the front Springs of the ZJ on the back? Or front Springs from a later GC on the on the front to equal out the ride height front ZJ Springs in the rear and some others front GC Springs on the front of a GC or Durango springs on the front of the ZJ oh, anything like that?? Anyone catching my thought process Junkyard Dog modifications? Absolutely loving the upper control arms from JK used on the ZJ, so awesome.

[@codymoncrief2128]

Just weld another bolt to the frame somewhere that you can use to secure the bar to with the pin and warsher

[@kiphenricksen4056]

Self clearance :)

[@ThePjpulvermacher]

Damn you can really see how much the vehicle moves when you speed up the video!!!

[@montanalowgear8258]

sweet! man I stand corrected that was a good job!

[@2121KJW]

Yeah buddy!

[@Jammer0825]

Matt is that a magna flow on the cheap Jeep? Can you get a specific part number for me?Love the sound , want to duplicate Thanks

[@bleepinjeep]

I'll have to look, I assumed it was a flowmaster.

[@MARINEforceRECONxx]

@Bleepinjeep Tighten that serpentine belt maybe it will stop squeekin. Mine was cause it was just loose. I bet you can relate, most annoying sound ever.

[@kevinknabe7252]

Guardian on a v8 zj that noise is usually the idler pulley.

[@MARINEforceRECONxx]

True. Its 1 or the other for sure. He prob knows what it is. Just figured people can relate its so annoying.

[@swedishrice]

why not cut and extend the track bar?

[@kotaman232]

Your jeep sounds really good. is that just stock?

[@troyguinn303]

Complete noob with jeeps.. and off-roading for that matter... But a proud owner of an 88 XJ with just over 100k for miles. Picked it up from a friend of the family, apparently it had been sitting in the police impound lot for quite some time. It could use some new paint as surface rust is beginning to plague the body, but luckily it seems like the previous owner was preparing to do just that. In the cargo bay I scored a Chiltons manual, Haynes automotive repair manual, all of the XJ's badges that i assumed were long gone.. $750, plus the cost of a new battery, and she was mine. I've put a little bit of work into her so far, and hopefully much more. No off-roading for me just yet, as it's my first vehicle I just wanna enjoy the daily drive. But every now and then I see a nice little patch of dirt and I simply can't control the primal urge to red-line in circular motion ;) Now that I've finished rambling about my love.. Back to the original reason for this comment haha. Why does one take off the track-bar when going off road? My caveman instinct tells me it's for slightly more ground clearance, but I'm probably dead wrong.