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To be honest, I would check out the harbor freight compressors. I have one and a few of my buddies have them for home use. Been working fantastically! Best bang for the buck imo
Originally Posted by Snajo
I have a small one, 1/3hp at 2 or 3 gallon. I'd recommend bigger. I could relax and drink a beer between tank refills. And the tank needs refilled a lot! It's better than nothing of course, but it's just another thing on my list now.
Awesome. Harbor Freight was my first thought if their compressors were alright. Thanks, guys!
Since I had been waiting around for the CCV crap for so long, I figured I'd do something fancy and paint the new valve cover. I did a good sandjob () with a red Scotch-Brite pad and used VHT engine enamel, primer, and clear. I actually liked the color, but I didn't like the way it turned out in terms of quality and durability. The paint had a few runs and I basically found out that I need to be more patient. I also realized that I should've put more thought and time into setting up a proper painting area. Putting your valve cover on some paper and cardboard on your garage floor and shining a bright light on it as you paint attracts flying bugs and allows dirt and dust to get kicked up on the wet paint. But hey, I learned a lot.
Despite all of that, the paint job still came out decent.
I decided to go with it and reinstall the valve cover. I got it on just fine without banging it against anything, but then I realized that I forgot to put the rubber grommets and washers in place. As I was pulling the cover back off, I scratched the **** out of it. Needless to say, I was pretty frustrated. Too frustrated to even put it back on after that. I obviously didn't wait the 7 days to cure (as instructed on the can), but I was hoping to cure it while on the engine. I don't have an oven to cure it in either.
Then I did what I should've done in the first place: powder coating. I took the valve cover to Snail Motorsports, which I heard nothing but good things about from several people. I'm pretty stoked on the result.
Story time takeaway: I'm getting parts powder coated from now on.
I still gotta torque everything down. I stripped at least one, if not both, of the bump stop bolts in the RE kit, so I gotta figure out how to solve that. They must strip pretty easily because the RE instructions even mention to be careful not to strip them. Oops. I also can't seem to make both quick disconnects the same length and also be able to lock them both in place on the axle mounts. What does this mean? The XJ is parked on an inclined driveway that also slopes to one side. Maybe that is throwing everything off. Will this work itself out after getting an alignment?
I'm going to replace the front sway bar bushings and some of the boots on the drag link and tie rod. As far as the suspension goes though, I think I'm done (minus the shocks, which I'll measure for later).
Next up is getting the new valve cover on and then doing the SYE.
I installed the new valve cover and Fel-Pro gasket today along with the new CCV/PCV parts. I also used new bolts, studs, and nuts on the valve cover because why not?
Shiny, new valve cover in a dirty engine bay.
Pretty stoked to have the Jeep back up and running even though it still isn't driveable.
Jeep looks great. Dig the valve cover too. How are the duratracs been leaning that way and love the way they look. Edit guess u haven't got to drive it yet. When you do let us know how you like the tires.
The Jeep looks awesome man! What shocks are you going to go with?
Thanks! Bilstein 5100s.
Originally Posted by niterider89
Jeep looks great. Dig the valve cover too. How are the duratracs been leaning that way and love the way they look. Edit guess u haven't got to drive it yet. When you do let us know how you like the tires.
I made some more progress on the XJ with friends tonight. We bled the brakes and readjusted the track bar to center the body back over the axle. Looks a lot better now except that the XJ leans a little to the passenger side. My friend did some googling and found that this is apparently pretty common, especially after installing a lift. However, the lean is gone now with the quick disconnects set to equal lengths, which brings me to the next issue.
It's impossible to adjust the quick disconnects to the same length and also be able to pop them on and off the mounts (which is obviously the whole point of quick discos). I think this is most likely due to the lean I mentioned above. We "fixed" this by setting the quick discos to the same length, putting the driver side on, and lifting the body on the passenger side enough to pop that quick disco on. The lean is now gone, but I don't see how I'll be able to actually use the quick discos.
I was planning on getting an alignment this weekend, but my tires are rubbing super hard on the fenders and front bumper end caps. Looks like fender trimming is next on the list.
I spent tonight removing the fender flares and bumper caps. I don't think the tires are rubbing on anything now. She might actually be drivable, at least to the alignment shop and to a spot where I can flex and take measurements for shocks.
I tried dropping the oil pan today to do the rear main seal, oil pump, and pan gasket. The bolts are off and the pan is free, but I can't finagle it around all of the other components. The Haynes manual procedure requires disconnecting the steering stabilizer, removing the starter, removing the lower shock bolts, and using jack stands with the floor jack under the axle to lower it. On a lifted vehicle with big tires, this requires taking the wheels off completely.
Well I did all of that work and lowered the axle as low as it would go, and I still couldn't get the pan off. There is a bolt on the transmission that seems to get in the way of the rear of the pan, and the axle and track bar keep me from lowering the pan any further. I really don't want to take apart all of the steering components just to drop the oil pan. That seems pretty ridiculous, and I'm sure this maintenance doesn't require that. So WTF.
I tried dropping the oil pan today to do the rear main seal, oil pump, and pan gasket. The bolts are off and the pan is free, but I can't finagle it around all of the other components. The Haynes manual procedure requires disconnecting the steering stabilizer, removing the starter, removing the lower shock bolts, and using jack stands with the floor jack under the axle to lower it. On a lifted vehicle with big tires, this requires taking the wheels off completely.
Well I did all of that work and lowered the axle as low as it would go, and I still couldn't get the pan off. There is a bolt on the transmission that seems to get in the way of the rear of the pan, and the axle and track bar keep me from lowering the pan any further. I really don't want to take apart all of the steering components just to drop the oil pan. That seems pretty ridiculous, and I'm sure this maintenance doesn't require that. So WTF.
How have you guys done this?
All I had to do was drop the track bar and starter on my stock XJ And the pan dropped right out. You need to make sure the axle is.drooped as far as it will go.
All I had to do was drop the track bar and starter on my stock XJ And the pan dropped right out. You need to make sure the axle is.drooped as far as it will go.
I did everything you mentioned from the manual. Should be easier with a lift, I'd think.
I disconnected the track bar at the axle as well as the drag link at the pitman arm, and I still didn't have enough clearance. Then I realized that I could pull the pan through the front if the pump wasn't in the way. Since I'm installing a new pump, I took the old one off and slid the oil pan out the front. Unconventional, but it worked.
I got the new rear main seal installed. It went pretty smoothly. However, I bent the upper seal too much while trying to install it, so I made a trip to AutoZone and bought another one. I used the dish soap trick the second time around, and it went in a lot easier.
With that done, I have to prime and install the new oil pump and then get the new oil pan gasket on. After that, I should be leak free!
I was planning on finishing the oil pan stuff tonight, but I realized after watching some videos that I'm incapable of installing the pickup tube into the oil pump. The smallest things seem to be the biggest obstacles. Pretty constant theme in this build.
Anyone have tips on doing this? Sounds kind of lame, but I'm considering taking it somewhere and having a shop install the pickup tube if I can't do it.
EDIT: I watched the Melling videos some more and ordered the pickup installation tool. Should be good to go once that comes in.
05-05-2015, 08:46 AM
) with a red Scotch-Brite pad and used VHT engine enamel, primer, and clear. I actually liked the color, but I didn't like the way it turned out in terms of quality and durability. The paint had a few runs and I basically found out that I need to be more patient. I also realized that I should've put more thought and time into setting up a proper painting area. Putting your valve cover on some paper and cardboard on your garage floor and shining a bright light on it as you paint attracts flying bugs and allows dirt and dust to get kicked up on the wet paint. But hey, I learned a lot.
