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Got around to messing with the stereo today. Kept blowing fuses when i hooked up the 12v switched power? Ran it to another source and smoke started billowing from my head unit -_____- Cool. Chased that issue for a bit till I realized it was a bad head unit. Plugged in another one and it all works perfectly fine.
Figured out the stereo and have that all sorted. Been cleaning up and painting a few trim bits here and there but nothing major, it's been cold at night when I get off work. I did install an aftermarket water temp gauge as mine went dead and I got tired of trying to chase the issue. It's nice to have a more accurate gauge anyways.
I do have a big project coming up this weekend. Should be a nice front end refresh.
-transfer case mount
-wheel bearings
-upper and lower ball joints
- U-joints
-Inner and outer tie rods
Hopefully it all goes smoothly and I'm hoping the u-joints are my clunking in 4wd issue. The rest is preventative maintenance. Brakes will be soon up next.
Interesting about the tires. I had a set of those Firestone AT's back when I was with my ex. They were siped, but did rather well on most surfaces.
Admittedly the tread is worn quite low and the truck does not have ABS. I'm a bit of a tire snob as I really value a good set of tires, especially good winter tires, I don't like driving without them.
I'm debating keeping the tire size the same. They are 31X10.5X15's and as far as I know, the truck isn't lifted and I don't really intend to do so. I like the way it looks but I do get some rubbing on full lock which is annoying. I may go with 235/75's on the same wheels.
Recently had the rest of the exhaust welded up. Some no name OEM cat I was given mated to a muffler of some sort to a tail pipe out the back. No pictures, it's just boring exhast.
The excitement is the truck passed Colorado Emissions and I've not got it fully registered and legal. Stoked on that.
Still haven't got around to the front end refresh. I've been diagnosing a bad 4WD clunk and isolated it to the t-case chain jumping. I found a replacement local for less than a chain and the head ache of replacing it. Went to drain the one on the truck....bone freaking dry, probably explains the issues. The drain plug is nice and moving free but the fill plug is seized dead tight. Once I got the drive shafts disconnected you can feel slop in the chain with your hands turning it and there's a crack in it, this one's got to go. Been fighting to get the 6 bolts off all night. How the hell do you get the top 3??!! I can't even get a wrench on it with any space to break it free!? Do I need to hire a midget or some one with tiny hands? Holy crap what a head ache. I left it for the night before I bashed my head in with a wrench as it has taken over the garage and kicked my BMW out while it needs some work.
Other fun projects have been refitting some OEM fender flares. The fenders were cut and rolled by the PO to fit the 31X10.5s and no lift. It looks cool but I was tired of water and everything else being flung all over the car. Found a set of factory flares local for $15 and scooped em up.
I knew they'd be a tight fit with the tires so I pulled out only the mounting tabs that were folded...
I later cut these down as slim as they could go. Went and grabbed some stainless hardware from the store and bolted them up! Repeat four times and you have this.
The fronts needed some trimming to clear the tires at full lock and I cut everything from the bottom edge back off. Rear were simpler only needing cut on the inside. Mind you I don't do extreme wheeling and don't plan to, but these fit just fine and haven't rubbed anywhere since. I really dig the wide and stubby look.
Next up was a quick aesthetic mod. The tail lights were dingy and cracked so I pulled them, epoxied up a few cracks and mounting points and decided to go all red. I really dislike the amber orange color. I think it looks tacky. Used Nightshades red tint on these.
Taped up being careful to leave the reverse lens white for looks and functionality.
Few coats later....
added a coat of a clear and will wet sand and buff next weekend when they're fully cured. Already look great.
This was one of those "while you're in there" things. I've always been a detailing fanatic and while a jeep is usually a dirty truck, I just can't help myself.
pulled the tails, looking dingy
quick hit of Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner, then a coating of Zymol Carbon wax, let it cure and wiped off. No one will ever see it but I now no it's been cleaned and treated and that's all that matters
Treated the rubber seals with Zymol rubber seal conditioner which helped but I still had to add a bit of foam to seal the gaps completely.
Gave the back carpet a quick scrub down too
Had both cars out. Guess I have a thing for red two doors
Hoping to finish up the t-case swap tomorrow and start the front end work. Then I'm adding a 16in electric pusher fan on a manual switch. The two 12" pullers work OK for normal driving but stop and go in warmer temps with the AC on are pushing coolant temps to an uncomfortable level.
Love the BMW, and the 2 door XJ, you look like you are doing it justice. The little things make all the difference.
If you can't get the carpet where you want it after cleaning I ended up dying mine black and it turned out like new, can't attest to longevity though as mine hasn't been reinstalled yet. I dyed my entire interior actually - check my thread if you are interested.
Thanks guys! Got the transfer case out tonight however I can't get the new one lifted up as I apparently have little girls arms. Going to borrow a friends trans jack tomorrow to hopefully get this wrapped up.
Got the old dirty broken t-case out last night. Old in the back.
The amount of slack in you could feel by hand was alarming, once I pulled the drain plug and nothing came out, you could see the chain was loose as hell and rusted badly.
My guess is someone went to change the fluid, drained it first without loosening the fill plug and found it to be seized and decided to run it dry. I bought a 30mm socket and couldn't get it loose even with taps from a 2lb sledge hammer. Whatever, it's out of the truck now. Picked up my buddies trans jack and will put the newer one back in tonight.
Yes I have carpet in my garage, lol. Makes working under the car quite pleasant.
Newer transfer box is in! NOT a fun task to do by yourself laying on the ground. Despite having the carpet down to avoid laying on the cold ground, I got some rug burn on my shoulder and back from moving around so much, lol.
Finally have good working 4WD again, noticeably quieter too, probably because the transfer box actually has fluid in it. I know ATF is the recommended fluid but I had read a few people who used straight SAE 30 weight oil with good results. Gave that a try and I plan to run it for a few weeks then drain and refill it again as a quick flush. This weekend I'll be tackling the front wheel bearing and ball joints. Should be pretty well good to go after that.
It squeaked occasionally when I bought it but nothing crazy. Then on the low setting it got unbearable, then the next. Then it sounded like someone threw some rocks in a dryer along with a screaming child and a cat being choked. Couldn't take it and didn't want to damage the electrics.
Picked up a new motor at Advance Auto for like $25. Removed the washer reservoir and 3 screws and it was out.
Old and crappy on the right. Fresh and new on the left.
The bearings were roasted in this thing. Could barely turn it by hand and had tons of play. Removed the C clip holding the hamster wheel on and gently pried it off.
Pretty gross.
Bit of cleaning and elbow grease later.
Doesn't smell like burning plastic and metal anymore.
The gasket was in good shape albeit dirty. Cleaned it up and gave it a quick treatment with my trusty Zymol seal treatment again.
Should be good for another 20+ years
Back together on the new motor
And a few minutes later back in the truck.
Seriously the easier to access blower motor I've ever seen. I need to do my BMW's also but that involves removing the entire intake manifold to gain access to it.
I checked all the electrics and the wiring was good and the resistors all looked perfectly fine. Seems like I caught this before it became a real issue.
Apologies to anyone looking for a 6in lift off road build, all you're going to find here is a normal dude trying to make this Jeep a decent daily drive that can ramp some **** from time to time.
Also trying to find a fold down hitch bike rack and a Thule box or basket for the roof. And it will need new tires sooner than later, not looking forward to that expense as I'm probably sticking with the 31's.
And I REALLY need to find new seat belts for this thing. The fronts are pretty sticky and it didn't even come with rears. If you got some two parts around shoot me a PM!
I suspect the E-fans are drawing current even with the car off as occasionally they'll be spinning very slowly even after it's been parked for several hours. Going to run a manual switch into the car so I can totally turn them off if needed.
