Grayson's HDJ81 Build Thread (1 Viewer)

[kendgray]

Couple of minor updates:

Swapped out the standard acorn style lug nuts for some extended thread conical lugs to have better looking black lug nuts and to improve thread engagement with the studs. Check out this thread for more info but if you have aftermarket wheels it's worth checking your front wheel lug/stud thread engagement.

Replaced the fog lights with some amber H3C bulbs. I wasn't able to find many available options but I got these Nokya's.

Four of the five boxes for the 4x4 Labs rear bumper kit have showed up so I'll be building that up soon. I've spent a lot of time looking for mods to build into the bumper and would appreciate any other suggestions. Current mods planned:

• Side wing gussets
• Recessed 7-pin/4-pin combo trailer connector
• Additional internal spindle bracing
• License plate mount+lighting
• HDPE/Delrin pads for swingarm support
• Spare tire on right-hand side
• Rust-Oleum paint for easy touch ups
• Generic mud flaps
• 3rd rung for ladder
• hidden backup camera

 

[kendgray]

The 4x4 labs rear bumper kit showed up a couple weeks ago and I have been working on it when I have spare time. Started with pulling the OEM bumper, mud flaps, and cutting the rear cross member. Sheared 3 more bolts during the disassembly process due to corrosion.

The HDJ cross member has additional bracing compared to FZJ's making getting it out of the way slightly more challenging. The rear most exhaust bracket is also in the way and must go as well.

 

[kendgray]

Cut the exhaust just under the frame rail and removed the rear hanger along with the resonator/tip.

I cut the frame cross member out using a Sawzall and an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. Finished that with a flap disk on the angle grinder along with a carbide bur on a die grinder. Again, the HDJ differs from the FZJ when it comes to the placement of threaded inserts in the frame. The HDJ lacks a threaded insert on the rearmost position of the driver’s side (right) frame rail. I welded in a nut with matching threads to the factory hardware.

 

[kendgray]

Covered all this new bare metal with a couple coats of Rust-Oleum self etching primer and a couple coats of Rust-Oleum semi-gloss black enamel. Chased all the factory and my newly added threads with taps to clear out corrosion and paint.

With the frame rails finished I got to work on the main bumper build. I ended up placing the top tubes where they stick out a lot further than I see others doing. I set these up so they wrap from the inside of the wing to outside the wing as they go forward. I did this as an alternative to reinforcing the wings. Set up like this, it provides much more room for the wing to flex in toward the body before making contact. I was previously going to add a 2" strap inside the wing to help it resist flexing. The 2" strap others have welded in really only supports the crease just below the jack point, however, that crease is already reinforced by the boxing in of the bumper along the top plate and with the top tube. I felt that giving it a bit of room to flex would likely be more benefical than the 2" strap that may end up just being a protruding part that would contact the body earlier. I might be wrong about all that but it also made the top tubes line up nicely with he fender flares which looks nice at least.

 

[kendgray]

Tacked up the receiver, towing cross member, and recovery points and removed the bumper from the truck. The instructions recommend tacking up with receiver/cross member/recovery points with the bumper off the truck, however, I would recommend doing this while bolted firmly to the truck. Doing it this way makes assembling it more difficult but ensures that your cross member will be welded in with the perfect distance between the wings to fit between the frame rails.

Once the shell, wings, cross member, recovery points, and receiver were all tacked in place I pulled the bumper off the truck and went to town welding. I am far from a fabricator and haven't done any welding since high school welding shop, so I am pretty happy with how most of my welds turned out.

 

[kendgray]

With all my welds completed I used a 3/4" step bit to drill a hole for this backup camera to sit flush in. I then used CAD (cardboard assisted design) to cut a hole for this Hopkins multi-tow trailer connector. I was previously going to recess this connector into the bumper so it couldn't be damaged by rocks but decided against that. I don't think the extra trouble of recessing this and the extra difficulty of having to reach into a recessed hole to fumble around with the trailer plug is worth dealing with over just replacing this $30 connector once every few years if it happens to get smashed on a rock.

 

[kendgray]

With the main bumper fabrication complete, I moved on to the spindles and swing arms. This was the most difficult part of the build for me. As the welds between the swing arm and spindles cool, they shrink. It took me several attempts but after cutting out welds a couple times I finally managed my heat appropriately an got both swing arms to naturally rest level with each other.

 

[kendgray]

Just like the frame rails, I gave the bumper the Rust-Oleum rattle can treatment with self etching primer and semi-gloss black enamel. This will make touch ups quick and painless over the years. Also keeps it easy to modify the bumper down the road rather than having to sand blast the entire thing and have new powder coat applied if I just want to weld something on.

I scratched the bumper taking it down from hanging to paint. Great thing about spray paint finish is quick easy touch up right?

Wrong. I didn't give the bumper enough time to fully cure prior to attempting my touch up and got pretty bad paint fry up. I got pissed and forgot to gets pics before I sanded it down and repainted but these photos are after the re-paint.

 

[kendgray]

While I've been working on the bumper, I've still been daily driving this thing around without the rear cross member. At very certain RPM and loads I've noticed what sounds like the exhaust rattling against the frame rail, so I ended up chopping the exhaust back further to the point that it just barely misses the frame rail if I push up on it. I also added a second angled cut to the bottom to help with ground clearance and directing exhaust down away from the truck.

 

[duece71]

I always liked the 4x4 labs set up, if I could weld, I would put that bumper on my HDJ81. Nice work.

 

[kendgray]

I always liked the 4x4 labs set up, if I could weld, I would put that bumper on my HDJ81. Nice work.

Thanks! Wire feed welding is pretty easy to pick up and the Titanium Mig welders from harbor freight are pretty affordable and plenty good for hobby welding. I'm super happy with my unlimited 200 w/ a tank of C25.

Otherwise have you checked out The Cruiser Company bumper Long Range America is now selling in the states? Very similar design to the 4x4labs kit and pretty competitive on price to a built 4x4labs.

 

[kendgray]

After a couple production delays the DVS radius arms got finished last week. Mounted those up a couple days ago. DVS instructions were again super easy to follow along with and made it EXTREMELY clear which end of the bolt/nut you should be turning to prevent the flanges from damaging the frame/axle. The caster correction of these arms makes the driving experience great again. No more darting left or right any time I hit a small bump in the road. Suspension is now complete.

 

[kendgray]

I got the 4x4 labs bumper installed last week. Used it to do some shuttle laps in the foothills today and so far so good.

 

[Delta VS]

Looks SO much different than the first time you brought it by the shop!

 

[kendgray]

Created a custom harness using a Tekonsha harness and a Hopkins Multi-Tow kit to allow me to tap reverse, left/right turn signals, tail lights, and ground from the factory harness without any cutting or splicing. This runs both my backup camera and trailer connector.

Finished product:

Full write-up here if you'd like to copy my setup.

 

[kendgray]

Finally got around to building the tire carrier, ladder, and jerry can holder for the swingouts. The 4x4 labs instructions walk you through how to build the jerry can holder as a stand alone unit for the swingout but didn't cover how to build it to mount to the ladder. Rather than emailing Luke I just decided to wing it. I attached the provided C-channel as shown and then butted that against the ladder attachment bracket so that the top of both were flush.

 

[kendgray]

After paint, the clamp on the tire mount is EXTREMELY tight but at least there will be zero play there. Would recommend fabricating this with a piece of cardboard paper between the side and bottom of the clamp to allow clearance for paint/powder coat. Here are a few photos of the swingouts fully loaded down. Only going to have the spare tire mounted on here permanently. Will throw on the ladder/can holder/jerry cans/jack if needed.

I was left with a handful of extra parts. Not sure where these were intended to go, hopefully nothing important. If you know where I was supposed to put these parts, I would love to hear. The rear bumper is now complete, on to rock sliders.

 

[kendgray]

Got in on the White Knuckle Black Friday sale and ordered rock sliders. They got delivered a few weeks ago. It's been way too cold to get a decent paint job until today. I've ordered armor from several companies. The packaging for these rock sliders was impressive. Set on a pallet and encased with wood fence planks with heavy metal straps securing the whole thing. I doubt these sliders could get damaged in shipping but whiteknuckle took zero chances. Thanks guys, they arrived in perfect shape!

Also, nice touch on the red wrap on the hardware so it doesn't get thrown out. Lots of thought went into this packaging.

While it was significantly warmer today, it was still only a high of 58F so I used my diesel heater to get the shop a bit warmer for the paint to flow better. Also kept all my rattle cans in a bucket of hot water to help with flow as well.

I hung the sliders from the rafters and used this paint prep spray to get all the residue off the metal.

 

[kendgray]

I hit them with two coats of Rust Oleum self etching primer and followed with two coats of Rust Oleum semi-gloss black just like on the rear bumper.

And here is the final product. Pretty happy with how these and the rear bumper turned out for cheap rattle can jobs.

 

[kendgray]

After a week of paint curing it's time to install these bad boys. I pre-soaked the running board's mounting hardware with some PB blaster and the running boards came off without any headache. I re-inserted the mounting hardware to prevent water entering the rocker panel and to prevent rust.

The instructions don't include some of the HDJ specific parts like the exhaust hanger. I believe there are just blank threaded holes on an FZJ frame where this exhaust hanger mounts. I removed it and drilled new holes to account for the thickness of the rock slider's mounting plate.

After drilling the new holes I covered the bare metal with a couple coats of Rust Oleum. This will allow me to retain this exhaust hanger and keep it in it's original location.