JeremyXJ

So the Jeep left me stranded on the way to work this morning. It just silently died and I coasted to the shoulder. It cranked and cranked, but refused to start. After paying too much for a tow home, I started doing some research.

At first, I was convinced it was the fuel pump. After doing some research, I thought it could also be the coil or the crank position sensor. Both of those would be easier to change out than the pump, so I picked them up at the local O'Reilly's. I changed the coil first, which was cracked and starting to rust, but still no start. I swapped in the new CPS and it started right up like nothing had happened. Success!

Any bets on when the OEM fuel pump is going to go? 220K on it so far. The lift made it easier to access, but I'm still dreading that one.

SteveMongr

The pinion vibes should be taken care of asap. The vibes will eat u-joints, but more importantly, it will cause seals and bearings to prematurely fail in the pinions and transfer case.. Lowering the transfer case is a band-aid fix.

What about the front pinion angle, was it corrected after lifting it more? Pinion should be perfectly in-line with drive shaft.
You can remove one drive-shaft at a time and drive it, to help figure out exactly where the vibes are coming from.

Our jeeps prefer OE Mopar sensors and often act funny on any others. Keep this in mind if it starts acting up again.

The fuel pump on the 1996 is used on that year only. Original replacement is non-existent. But it is made aftermarket. Do not have to drop the tank to replace fuel pump on the 96 and earlier.

JeremyXJ

I'm well aware of the potential issues with the vibrations. The front shaft is a little bit off as well. As much as I don't really care for the bandaid fix route, I'm going to do a TC drop for a quick and easy solution. Once I have the funds lined up, I'll swap it out for a proper SYE. I just don't have the time or money to tear into the transfer case right now.

The kit gave me about an extra inch of lift, so I wasn't planning to have to deal with the extra angles associated with a four-inch lift. I'm going to do what I can to have it fixed properly.

indeepwithajeep

Nice Jeep. I was looking for a clean blue one when I was looking awhile back. Vibrations typically have to do more with yoke angles not being set properly. You're more and likely going to need shims and a drop sticking with the stock shaft. If you were any closer I'd probably just give mine I just pulled off away.

More info here.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/ho...1214507?page=1

SteveMongr

Front pinion angle is easy to adjust.
Can also remove either driveshaft and drive it, to pinpoint which shaft is causing issues.

TC drop will increase the angle of front driveshaft at output yoke. Also causes motor mounts to wear prematurely, the tilt can cause fan to contact radiator, and makes oil flow to cylinder #1 more difficult due to the increased angle of engine block.
SYE (hack-n-tap) with stock front shaft will cost $150-200. I have had one for almost 4 years with no issues.

JeremyXJ

How do you suggest adjusting the front pinion angle? I am under the impression that I'll need adjustable control arms to rotate everything in place. When I took it to get aligned after the lift install, he said the caster was off, but he couldn't adjust it. I assumed that's what threw the front shaft out of alignment; the yoke no longer points straight at the transfer case.

SteveMongr

The caster can be adjusted with shims. This is how it is done stock. Shims go behind lower control arms, pushing them forward.
The caster adjustment is what also adjusts pinion. Pinion takes priority.
If caster is 5 degrees or less, steering and handling will be quirky.

GreenXJ98

Nice DD Jeep. Great color too. Hope you get all the vibes fixed and everything. Best of luck with the build!

SteveMongr

The best way to 'dial in' the jeep is with adjustable upper and lower control arms.
Lowers set the wheelbase.
Uppers set caster/pinion.

JeremyXJ

At some point, I will replace the stock uppers with some adjustable control arms to dial in the caster. I installed a Rubicon Express TC drop this weekend and the Jeep is so much better now. I was having really minor vibes at speeds below 20, but they're gone now. The awful noises coming from the drivelines are pretty much gone now, too. It feels excellent.



I also got rid of some terrible clunking that was happening in the front end. When I installed the adjustable track bar, the factory bolt and flag nut on the axle side were shot. Completely worn out and unusable. I found an ARP bolt and nut that were left over from an old project and almost the exact same size as the factory hardware, so I threw them in and thought it was done. I immediately noticed some loud clunks when turning at low speeds and I couldn't figure it out for a while. I would get underneath and pull on everything to see what was loose, but nothing budged. I even re-tightened everything at least twice, but no improvement. Finally, I had my wife turn it on and crank the wheel back and forth while I sat underneath and watched everything. I noticed the track bar was sliding back and forth on the axle side, which was making the racket. The bolt I used was too small.

After some extensive research here, NAXJA, and the JeepForum, I went to the hardware store and picked up a slightly larger grade 8 bolt (I believe it was 7/16), some nuts, and some washers. I also had to get a drill bit that was the same thickness as the bolt to enlarge the hole in the metal sleeve through the trackbar. I enlarged the hole, stuck the bolt through with the washers on either end, and tightened it all down. No more clunks. Plus, I got a larger, stronger bolt holding it all together.

JeremyXJ

So my headliner was saggy, filthy, and had a big hole in it from shoving furniture in the back while moving. I planned to cover it with bed liner, so I pulled it out today. when I removed the fabric, some of it didn't want to come off very well and ripped some of the under coating off, which helps to contain the fiberglass underneath it all. Long story short, I ended up removing the entire layer, instead of just scraping the foam off of it.

This left a bunch of uneven, yellow fiberglass. I don't suggest anyone doing it this way. There was no way to get any sort of spray-on finish to stick to it. I caved and bought some 3M spray adhesive (the good kind) and some black headliner material at the local craft store. I stretched it, glued it, and reinstalled it. Here are the results:





The pictures aren't great, but since the fiberglass was really uneven, the final result is pretty uneven as well. Fortunately, the foam-backed headliner material is pretty forgiving, so it's not terrible. Although, if this ever sags, I'm going to the junkyard, pulling a new headliner, and starting over.

JeremyXJ

So I've done a few projects lately.

I replaced my rear wiper motor and repainted the arm. No pics necessary. It's boring.

I replaced the shift solenoids in the AW4 in an attempt to remedy a shifting and lockup issue I was having. Here's a picture of the new solenoids installed:



I also installed a tranny cooler. I put it inline with the factory setup, after the radiator. I used a few how-tos from here and NAXJA. So far, so good:

ND_1990

Too cool man! I picked up a 96 DD the exact same color for practically free, 152k and i'm in Covington WA. Just bought a 2 inch lift for now on it as well, body isnt as good as yours though, good stuff man.

JeremyXJ

Congrats on the new DD. I just took this on a 170 mile trip to the mountains over the weekend and it performed really well. As long as the maintenance is kept up and fluids are clean, these things will go forever.

ND_1990

That's awesome man. Once I get some stuff fixed on mine I do GreenWater trips all the time, should be a good test for this one. Waiting for parts is the worst haha.