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Here are the last of the pics from this trip. I did the return journey of about 1600 kms in one day by myself driving the Jeep with no one else with me in about 23 hours. I did not have any sleep and did not stop for more than 30 mins anywhere.

One thing was pretty sure after the completion of this trip, the Jeep performed well but did not inspire confidence. I was unhappy with how soft my suspension was. The springs and shocks designed were for stock Jeep and I guess i had added lot of weight already. I had not even added the winch yet, thus there was more weight to come. I had decided while driving back I was going to research and change my lift/suspension.

@Gujarati - The evolution thread is very inspiring! I am very enthused by the commitment that you have shown while owning and then transforming your jeep and then using it the way it is supposed to be! Thanks a lot for sharing this journey of yours.

Best,
Kaustubh Vaze

Thank you Kaustubh!!

MORE MODS:
So after coming back from the mountains. First thing I did was change my suspension. This time i was going with a complete hybrid setup. I did more in-depth research including the spring rates etc. I choose the best spring rate based on my future need.
I was still going to keep the Old Man Emu springs but the springs where not designed for my Jeep instead they where designed for other Jeeps such as ZJ and LJ models. My model is known as TJ. Also I decided I was going to run with Bilstein shocks this time instead of OME shocks.

So as you can see in the below pictures the yellow shocks were gone and replaced with silver inverted Bilsteins.

From this:



To this:



Only problem was the way the springs were choosen that I would need to get the winch right away or my front end would look a little high. The front end would need the weight of the winch for the Jeep to look proportionate front and back.
So in order to make the Jeeps stance look completely even I decided to go ahead and get the winch.
I already had the WARN front bumper. To install the winch on it I needed a WARN winch plate and I also choose to get the WARN Winch/Grill gard to complete the look.
My local 4Wheel Parts Store manager had become a good friend and he made an awesome deal on a Warn 9.5ti winch. This is WARN's best selling and probably one of the fastest winch.







Here is the resulting look and I was really happy with the stance of the Jeep. As you can see in the below pictures the Jeep looks very level. Also the drive was much nicer firmer and I could take turns with much more confidence especially when going fast in turns. This is something very important on a lifted short wheel base vehicle.

Real nice stance. I like it. Looks the business.

Next upgrade was the front Dana 44 axle. The Dana 44 axle is strong but it still breaks especially when you are in a crazy situation (with or without lockers on and turning) and the joints are binding.

Here is a picture taken from JP Magazine.


So I upgraded the front Dana 44 axle with chromoly CV axles.

Wow not a single comment or question on the CV style axle shafts in a Dana 44:confused:

Here are some of the last mods I did to the Jeep and I consider them significant as this involved some fabrication and adjusting drive line angles.

For more clearance I installed Nth degree tummy tuck or flat belly transfer case skid plate. this required rear axle housing be rotated for proper pinion angle.

Rear drive shaft had to be changed to double cardan drive shaft.

The rear shocks had to be relocated and and while I was at it we also fabricated new rear spring purches for better angle of rear coil springs.

We also installed new Nth degree oil pan skid which allows me to change the engine oil more easily and allows access to change transfer case fluids without messing with skid plates.

After installing everything we checked the Jeep on the ramp to make sure nothing was binding.

In this pic you can see the transfer case skid plate and my old engine skid hanging low which can get hung on the rocks and takes away ground clearance.


Old factory skid plate taken off:


New Nth degree almost flat skid plate:


New Nth degree oil pan skid plate, protects your oil pan from rocks:

Hey dont feel bad... I guess winch is as faar as our understanding goes - everything went over our heads after that point, including this new spring weld job!! (just kidding guys)

PS - keep going, when we stop salivating we will come with comments or questions!

Gujarati,
I have a query regarding location of new leaf spring perches. Probably a noob queustion but here goes:
When you say you relocated the perches, how did you take ensure that they dont mess up the dricing dynamics of the vehicle? How did you (or the fabricator) ensure alignment.

I was asking this from a modification perspective - I have to convert IFS to Live axle with a coil over spring setup instead of leaf springs.
Hence this question.

PS: It would be great if you could show original against new position in a picture.
Regards,
Kaustubh

A beautiful thread. I read through it and can understand very well what you say about having to balance passion and life commitments. Hats off to you for balancing and living the same. It's motivating.

A great Jeep you have there!

WoW!! Gujju, what a story!!

Inspiring story of the bug-bitten jeeper:) Great to hear you are following your heart and seem to be enjoying the journey. The pictures, terrain and technical description are gripping!! I guess you get most of the things as kits, unlike many of the customization that has to be done here, importing it is another big pain, coupled with finding reliable mechanics who know their onions.

Waiting for the story and pictures to roll forward, you have a great looking ride there!

All the best,

--Ramky
=======

Kaustubh,
I do not have leaf springs on the Jeep. I have coil springs over the solid axles in the front and back. Sorry I do not have any good pics of my Jeep with spring perches as it came from factory but I got few from internet that will probably show you why they need to be moved.
The problem is the rear spring perches were designed for factory height. When you lift the Jeep there is distinct lean to the forward in the coil springs and this limits the travel of the coil springs. The limited travel of the rear coils also make your Jeep ride rough.
Most people even here in US do not have access to an affordable fabricators who know what they are doing. Fortunately I have access to a gentleman who builds professional race buggies for living. He is a master fabricator and can measure all the things. He has bunch of tools that he uses to do the job.

Here are few pics I got from internet forums that explains the issue. Pictures are from wranglerforum.com and links4jeeps.com

Thanks for the images Gujarati.
Sorry to bug you, but does this phenomenon occur only at the rear of the vehicle? Is there any reason why it does not occur on the front springs?

You are fortunate to have a master fabricator accessible for such jobs.

Regards,
Kaustubh

No there is no such issue in the front. It is just the way the rear springs were designed that is the issue. For this job you actually do not need a master fabricator. Just a good welder. The measurements etc is really simple just have to make sure it is the same both sides.

Hi Ramky,

Thank you, yes it is a hobby that keeps me young.
As far is kits go, most of the stuff that I buy is not a kit. However there are lot of bolt on parts available for Jeep Wranglers. Tons of options. Once you install one part you do have to tweak few other things.

Hi Gujarati,
Awesome Jeep my friend. You have customized to you needs, nice. I am glued to your thread.:thumbs up
Question: How would you compare coil Vs leaf spring for on-road performance? I understand that you never had leaf spring in your jeep, just in case if you had driven a leaf spring set up.
Thanks in advance