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Figured I might as well start a build thread to chronicle my progress, or lack there of at times. I'm naming the Jeep "Bi-Polar" because of the dual nature of my idea. I would like it to be a capable off-road trail rig, but remain capable on the road as the Jeep will be my Daily Driver.
So lets get the specs out of the way 1991 Cherokee 4.0L HO, AW4 Trans, NP242 TCase. Sitting on stock suspension currently, with 245/75/16 Tires and grand Cherokee 16 inch wheels.
Now that the veggies are out of the way onto the meat and potatoes.
Pics to follow when I get home and upload them.
First modification was a hidden starter switch to start the motor when the NSS is being a pain in the ***. Its a toggle and push button setup hidden inside the center console, flip the toggle to engage the circuit and push the button to fire the starter solenoid.
Second mod was a custom roof rack made from salvaged 1 inch thin wall and an old steel crib frame, large enough to hold a 35 inch tire and a couple of ice chests. It's mounted on top of the factory bars with a 4 point hook bolt down system. Spare tire is tied down inside the rack and 4 LED off road lights are mounted to the front of it with a quick disconnect wiring harness. Plan is to add 2 more LED floods to the rear of the rack as supplemental reverse lights, stocks currently do not work, again caused by the NSS.
Finishing up my wiring for the rack lights this weekend, as well as upgrading the headlight harness to a relay system.
Ultimate goal is 4.5 inch LA Lift on 33/35 inch tires, D44's with lockers front and rear. Custom steel plate front bumper with winch and 2 Spot lights, matching rear bumper with swing out tire carrier (I want 2 spares). Recovery tabs and hooks in appropriate locations and strengthened and reinforced for anything that happens. Body armor and rock sliders in appropriate locations.
Ideas, thoughts, comments? Any help is appreciated.
Finished the wiring for the front off road lights this weekend, only issue I ran into was reinstalling the headliner with my wiring bundle in the way. Made it work and I'm the only one that can see it really, it blends pretty well. Drilled a hole right to the inside of the factory roof rails and used a large rubber wiring grommet and copious amounts of black RTV to seal the hole. It is completely water tight and looks pretty good, wired up to a Carling Contura V "Roof Lights" switch.
Also finished the headlight harness install and my god does it make a difference in the headlight output.
I had posted in my Intro Thread an issue I have been having with knocking on startup and at idle in gear. I fixed it, on a hunch from searching this forum for similar problems and their solutions, I took a look at the trans mount and sure enough it was blown completely. Bought a new mount and took the old one out and found that the exhaust pipe had been rubbing against the cross member causing all the clattering. It had worn a smooth spot on the pipe and cross member. Compared the mounts side by side and the old mount had collapsed a full inch compared to the new one. Installed new mount, issue resolved and the Jeep sounds much better.
Edit:
Still having an issue with low idle and feeling like its stalling at stop. I cleaned the IAC but it made no difference. I'm thinking either the IAC is shot or its maybe my TPS.
Rear floods and switch got delivered today, really don't wan't to tear the headliner out again to route my wires, I wonder if i can route under the carpet and side panels and bring it up the rear pillar. Gonna put a quick connect on this one as well, not sure if I will route the wire or drill another hole in my roof.
So I'm realizing nobody is gonna read this without pics, I swear I will post some tonight.
Replaced all 4 speakers in the Jeep with brand new Kenwood's, sounds a lot better now. Finally got the rest of my switches for the 5 bay panel, got them all wired up and installed in the front pocket of the center console, also added some cup holders. Wired the panel with a 2 wire disconnect for the power circuit, gets its power from the radio turn on lead, and a 6 pin molex disconnect for the switch signal wires.
Trying to track down an idle overheat issue after long drives. Found a leak in the overflow tank, which was causing low coolant, replaced it. Found another leak on one of the heater hoses, contributing to low coolant, cleaned the connections up and put a new hose on. Aux cooling fan is not coming on with high temperature, comes on with AC, but when the jeep starts to overheat the electric fan does not start. Sounds like I need to replace the temp sensor.
One of my switches is for the auxiliary cooling fan, gonna wire it up for automatic/manual control when I get the chance. That and a new temp sensor should fix the fan not coming on issue.
Ya and I've gone through the whole system, the radiator is brand new 2+ years, the fan clutch on the engine fan is less than 6 months old. The engine fan pushes air hard so I know its cooling the motor. I have no major leaks in any of the hoses, the few minor leaks I have found I fixed, listed in my post above. The only thing I don't know the status of is the temp sensor that's sticking out of the Thermostat housing. Would be a cheap replacement and if it fixes it great.
Thanks man, I had spent around 2 hours under it last night replacing the Neutral Safety Switch. Had no issues replacing it, found a new one on eBay for 50 bucks versus 150-200 at parts stores. Sprayed the old one down with PB Blaster and it came off like butter. Used this link http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoNSSrebuild.htm to remove and reinstall, also cleaned up and repaired the old one so I have a spare.
08-14-2015, 02:59 PM
Project Bi-Polar
