Rubicon Express RE8300 - Manual (Page 3)

Photo 3 Photo 4
C. Place 9-hole bolting strips on top of the pinch welds and clamp into position so the holes align with the holes in the uniframe
plates. Drill through pinch weld at front holes of uniframe plates and loosely secure up through the bolting strips with supplied
5/16” flat head bolts. Repeat drilling and bolting for remaining uniframe plate holes. Note that there are two holes in the
uniframe plates that can’t be accessed with cross piece installed, so remove cross piece to drill and bolt these. Reinstall cross
piece.
D. Loosely bolt side braces to uniframe plates with supplied 3/8” flat head bolts so that the notch in the outer leg surrounds the
gutter drain - refer to Photo 5. Place 3-hole bolting strips on outside of the pinch welds and clamp into position so the holes align
with the holes in the side braces. Drill through pinch weld at front holes of bolting strips and loosely secure through the side
braces with supplied 5/16 “ hex head bolts. Next, drill and secure back hole, then middle hole – refer to Photo 6. Tighten all
crossmember and transmission mount bolts at this time.
E. Weld the very front edge of the uniframe plates to the uniframe (edge at top of Photo 3). This is the thick area of the uniframe
where the factory control arms were removed. Also, plug-weld the 2 holes in the rear tab of the uniframe plate to the uniframe
(2-hole tab at bottom of Photo 3). The three sides of this tab can be welded to the uniframe as well. CAUTION - a certified welder
that can weld thick metal to thin should do this and care should be taken to protect wiring, fuel lines, brake lines, etc, and to not
ignite coatings etc. on fire.
F. If so equipped, the factory transfer case skid plate may be attached to the new cross piece.
Photo 5 Photo 6
Step 3 - Rear 3-piece frame crossmember
A. Refer to Photo 7 for exploded view of all the pieces of one end of the complete crossmember. Locate right uniframe mount
over uniframe rail with lower control arm mount open toward the rear and angled side brace mounting plate pointing out
toward rocker panel. Slide uniframe mount back until it stops against the outer unibody mount. Hold mount tight against
frame bottom and center punch frame through all five mounting holes. Remove mount and drill center hole only with a 1-
1/8” hole saw, then drill the remaining four with a 3/8” bit. Slide the 5-Pem-nut strip up into the 1-1/8” hole (with nuts on
top) and position so nuts align with the five frame holes. It may be helpful to hook a stiff wire or threaded stud up through
the center hole and pull down to hold the strip while getting the first few bolts up through the mount. Loosely fasten the
mount with supplied 3/8” flat head bolts – refer to Photo 8. Repeat for left frame mount.
RI8300 Page 3 of 7