JandDGreens

As a landscape/maintenance guy, that brought an immediate smile to my face!

That Jeep Guy XJMJ

hahaha, Some close friends of mine had some field stones at their grandparents house and shortly after moving into our home i figured i could spoil myself with some landscaping stones... or a potential rock pile parking spot...

JandDGreens

I am so tempted to follow your lead and actually put in something very similar I just don't want to ruffle my next door neighbors feathers.

TwistedWrench

AWESOME build man. An MJ has long been on my wishlist, this has me really wanting to pick one up.

That Jeep Guy XJMJ

Funny you mention neighbors. I was actually out there condensing the rocks and my neighbor was hanging out on her deck (old granny). My wife was mowing the grass and when she stopped we were talking about something Jeep related and the old granny started chatting with us and basically saying, her and her husband think its pretty cool "it livens up this old neighborhood". They like seeing all the different jeeps i bring home and mess with. usually when there's a bon fire the driveway is full of them and they will stop over and meet everyone.

I've adopted the, always wave and be cordial with all your neighbors, don't be a menace w/ your jeep either.

Thank you! They aren't too hard to come by around me (usually about $500-$800 runs n drives) just gotta be patient for a rust free frame and start from there. This stuff definitely doesn't happen over night so just have fun with it!

That Jeep Guy XJMJ

So the latest is dealing with the very common issue of a split frame rail by the steering box...



so i opened the frame up to find the factory "spacer" inside the frame was broken which led to the frame flexing and splitting. Ive had a small crack in the bottom of the frame years ago which i simple drilled a hole at the end of the crack to keep it from spreading and then welded and ground it back down like it wasn't even there. No big deal, but this one needed some more attention.



With one of the spacers inside the frame missing, 1 broken and barely hanging on and the last one just fine. I replaced/repaired the 2 with some steel tubing spacing the frame and welded in place... also drilled a hole in the center most section of the steering box location and welded it through like a gusset. Then plated over the top and inside of frame with 1/8" sheet metal.

Final result of all the repairs is unfortunately 2 blown steering box's... Im currently running a newer WJ power steering pump which now (with the frame strong and no steering deflection) over powers the system and blows the bottom of the box out...

Looking into either setting up the ram assist "kit" i had bought last fall or just going for the full hydro setup as a single ended ram and orbital. I'll update more later as i dive further into steering options.

That Jeep Guy XJMJ

So it was a relatively short lived repair, no worries it didn't brake. I merely decided that it was time to freshen up and properly repair a few things.

So out comes the wiring harness, dashboard, airbox, motor, trans and tcase.

The cab was filled with botched wiring ends from countless attempts to keep odds and ends working. Starter wire was on a push button, blower motor was on a toggle, cab lights on a toggle, brake lights are hardwired through the brake switch, turn signals don't work (not a huge deal but i'd like them functional). So an unmolested complete harness will give me a good base to trim down the unwanted items and keep all the essentials in my cab working properly.

Deleting the airbox to remove the constant heat i'm having to deal with (i don't do much winter wheeling with this rig so the need is no longer there) and i also want to run the intake into the cab, no airbox gives me plenty of space to play and mount the new filter setup.

The motor runs great and has treated me very well despite how bad i've treated it in return so i'm gonna give it a break and put a freshened up motor w/ a nice cam in its place. The trans has been feeling "weak" for the last season, it gets hot and doesn't stay/hold gear well and it gets sluggish. Luckily a friend of mine was parting out a cherokee w/ a "low" mileage drivetrain (under 100K) and the trans will be mine. Also buying a new torque converter while im at it.

Steering setup will go to either a hydro assist (finally) or i might bite the big one and go full hydro.

To protect everything underneath myself and the MJ's new drivetrain i'm going to re-pair a few bad spots in my floors, seal them properly this time. Undercoat the complete underside of the trans tunnel and build a b!tch!n belly skid to keep the rocks off my goodies. A new exhaust setup from the manifold back should sound pretty nice compared to my current setup and will mostly round out the repairs.

rolling shell pictured below with stock coils and 2" spacers up front. Had to remove the full coils so the front end was low enough to get the engine/trans out in one piece.

That Jeep Guy XJMJ

Floors repairs are finished. Just need to prep the floors inside and out for bed liner. Going the Raptor liner route; i've been told and have seen it applied and it looks like some good stuff. Both sides were pretty bad, the drivers side was much worse!


Before


During


After. prior to primer

Just waiting on decent weather to finish prep and spray. Then comes the new driveline and a few other goodies.

That Jeep Guy XJMJ

Floors are coated, spent a good 3 days wire wheeling, buffing, sanding and scotch bright scrubbing the inside, outside and underside of the cab. Fully seam sealed all the butting surfaces between sheet metal surfaces inside and out. Sprayed 2 healthy coats and let it set for 3-4 days and I'm amazed at the final product. Looks excellent and feels excellent. Glossy finish should help keep mud, dirt and watery grit from sticking.


Next came the new drive line back story on the engine- friend of mine had an XJ he was building years back, rebuilt the motor put some miles on it, had a healthy cam installed, put some more miles on it and began to build the jeep bigger and then...... lost interest. Then sold me the motor. Trans is just a stock low mileage pull out; less than 100k miles.

I've had this idea and desire to run the intake into the cab for a couple different reasons. Also ditching the heater box as i don't wheel this in the winter too much anymore and am tired of the constant heat "bleeding" into the cab, Its a major hot box in the summer. By ditching the heater box it gives me a lot of space for an intake. Soo i'm giving this a shot with some PVC and exhaust tubing. I know about the potential cab noise which is why i'm just giving it a shot. If i dont like it I can simply remove or re-route/setup the intake.



Little side project, new tcase shifter i thought i'd share

That Jeep Guy XJMJ

So we have our first of the year wheeling trip this weekend and i've been messing around with some things here and there. Ive been missing my windshield washer reservoir since last summer. With space a little tight under the hood because of the intake the original reservoir wasn't going to fit in stock location. I didn't like the thought of extending wires and routing more tube for the sprayers so i needed a compact and adaptable tank.

I've searched all over for smaller or aftermarket tanks and found nothing i liked so while a buddy was over and we got to BS'n I came up with this!









Now it doesn't hold as much volume but it fits ever soo nicely in the factory location with zero mods to wiring or hose.

Basslicks

Nice!

Hey, that just means you have to fill it more often... no big deal there.

Esechuy

Just read the entire thread ive been trying to find an MJ but most i see cheap dont have tittles and the ones with tittles are over priced. Good job man you have excellent fab skills. The floor really came out nice too how is that raptor stuff holding up?

That Jeep Guy XJMJ

Surprisingly after a few outings dealing with dusty and muddy trails, the tank actually lasts a while. Not re-filling it no where near as much as i expected.

Thank you, i tried being a bit more patient with it this time around, Its the 2nd/3rd time i've repaired them. Tried to make it the last time!

The raptor liner is for the most part holding up great. There is a small spot nearby where the exhaust runs close to the tunnel (passengers left foot area) that it has flaked up. Im sure related to heat, but otherwise its still beading water when i spray it down.


In other News


Feeling ironic that with all this tube work.... my fender, hood and header panel get destroyed and tube work-hardly even scuffed. It will be interesting swapping this fender out

Basslicks

I dunno man, I kinda like the trail rash. Definitely ironic though.

That Jeep Guy XJMJ

Its almost spring time again and its about that time to start catching up on those neglected repairs from lasts years wheeling. Rear shock mounts need addressed, water pump is squawking, some wiring gremlins for the electric fan, tired fuel pump and gonna play with the long arms some. BTW I have yet to touch the fender, hood or header panel - it prolly wont get changed as this whole jeep will be facing a make-over as soon as this fall.

I'm now a father to a little boy and as I'm sure you can imagine, a family of 3 will not work in a 2 seat MJ. BUT I have a plan! I won't elude to what it is exactly yet but I will say there will be some cutting, bending and notching involved