Disco Flip, my version
11-03-2013, 01:37 PM
#1
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Pioneer, CA
Posts: 415
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Disco Flip, my version
I decided to finally make my first mod today. I beat my rig up pretty good on the Rubicon and I have an endless list of mods I want to make, but I went ahead and did the free mod first.
I spent a couple hours under my Rubicon flipping my disco around dissatisfied with the end location based on the "just put in a longer bolt" method I've seen. I also didn't like how the rubber hanger was tweaked on the mods I've seen.
If you run a long bolt through the untapped hole you end up with it rotated so far down, the top of the disco wants to contact the radiator and AC condenser. If you put the bolt into the housing by pulling the short housing bolt out, it's rotated so far up, the plastic electrical connector is almost touching the AC condenser fins.
The perfect location is rotated between these two points. So after many ideas, I settled on this simple one. All I needed was a small piece of scrap 3/16" plate, and a nut.
To rotate the disco, I had to unbolt the sway bar from the frame completely, and remove the long bolt going through the rubber mount. It was fairly easy to accomplish. I did not need to remove the stock bumper to do any of this mod.
I was able to reuse the stock bolt, and I just found a nut to fit the end of it in my "coffee-can-o-nuts" organizer. I mounted the bracket to the housing by removing a housing bolt, cutting off the washer, then reinstalling it with the 3/16" plate bracket I made.
Anyway, here is how it looks during test fitting.
As you can see it looks pretty clean. The rubber mount isn't tweaked, it reuses the proper bolt that fits perfectly so I'm not reengineering that and possibly over-stressing the rubber mount. And it's holding the disco firmly in a nice position not too close to the radiator/AC condenser.
I took it back off to spray it with Permatex undercoat so it won't rust, no pics of that. It's just wrinkly black now is the only difference.
Since I found the nut and steel, this was a free mod, and it goes down in history as my first.
I spent a couple hours under my Rubicon flipping my disco around dissatisfied with the end location based on the "just put in a longer bolt" method I've seen. I also didn't like how the rubber hanger was tweaked on the mods I've seen.
If you run a long bolt through the untapped hole you end up with it rotated so far down, the top of the disco wants to contact the radiator and AC condenser. If you put the bolt into the housing by pulling the short housing bolt out, it's rotated so far up, the plastic electrical connector is almost touching the AC condenser fins.
The perfect location is rotated between these two points. So after many ideas, I settled on this simple one. All I needed was a small piece of scrap 3/16" plate, and a nut.
To rotate the disco, I had to unbolt the sway bar from the frame completely, and remove the long bolt going through the rubber mount. It was fairly easy to accomplish. I did not need to remove the stock bumper to do any of this mod.
I was able to reuse the stock bolt, and I just found a nut to fit the end of it in my "coffee-can-o-nuts" organizer. I mounted the bracket to the housing by removing a housing bolt, cutting off the washer, then reinstalling it with the 3/16" plate bracket I made.
Anyway, here is how it looks during test fitting.
As you can see it looks pretty clean. The rubber mount isn't tweaked, it reuses the proper bolt that fits perfectly so I'm not reengineering that and possibly over-stressing the rubber mount. And it's holding the disco firmly in a nice position not too close to the radiator/AC condenser.
I took it back off to spray it with Permatex undercoat so it won't rust, no pics of that. It's just wrinkly black now is the only difference.
Since I found the nut and steel, this was a free mod, and it goes down in history as my first.
11-03-2013, 05:14 PM
#3
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Pioneer, CA
Posts: 415
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Skid plate was going to be my first option, but it was going to take a good bit of steel to fab one, and I didn't really want to spend weight if I didn't have to. Weight adds up fast when you add skids, bumpers, etc. I don't like reengineering things unless I feel good about the long term durability, which is why I didn't like the long bolt/tweaked mount mod.
03-24-2014, 02:51 AM
#5
JK Newbie
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Greater Vancouver area
Posts: 81
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Looks good
Everything fits well in your mod, Nice. I just flipped the e disco, put a long bolt through the threaded hole and its nice and firm and tight. The rubber hanger sits just like stock and I make no contact with the radiator. I think different years have slightly different set ups.
