Been some time since I've shown this thread some love. Havent really done anything besides odds and ends. I got rid of the roof rack, tire carrier, and rear seat. I'm having some issues here and there. Some aren't actual issues but things that I want to improve. Here's my to do list

Durango steering box
Factory pitman arm
Valve cover gasket
Heater control valve
Trace down gas vapor leak
SYE
Shackle relocation brackets
Possibly the rear main seal
cowl induction

This is quite the list and will take some time to get done. Now that I'm graduated from college and working full time, I can afford to do these things in a more timely manor

 

A good list there! Let me know if you ever need some help. I'll be glad to lend a hand when I can.

 

Well the immediate issue to address is a fuel vapor leak. At Uwharrie last weekend it got bad enough to where I had to shut down the rig and sit out in the fresh air for some time because I gained a head ache from it. Funny thing, it hasnt done it since so I'm kind of at a loss.

 

Maybe all that jarring around the XJ did, the top check valves on top of the tank got stuck open and some fuel seeped out?


The vapor vacuum line is a hard steel line (same size as brake line, IIRC) and it runs along the driver side frame rail. The rubber lines that attach from it to the top of the tank are notorious for dry rotting over the years and developing crack, rendering it useless. Same goes for under the hood. Could be the issue, also. Or, the grommets for the aforementioned check valves could be bad. That was the case on my MJ.

 

Well if the check valves were open, the pressure in the tank would drop. In my case, the pressure within the tank was so high that when I opened the gas cap, it sent fuel flying out of the filler tube. But, it hasnt done it since. No smell, no excessive tank pressure.

 

Perhaps the opposite is happening, and the excess pressure was forcing out the fumes. I guess finding out from where is the question haha.

 

Haha yup. Just gotta find the time to do it. I'm working 12 hour shifts from now until next thursday and then headed to Charlotte Friday to Sunday and then back to work. I haven't had much time to really investigate and wont for a little while

 

Is this where everyone from NC is hanging out?

Nice looking build man!

 

haha a lot of us were from the charlotte area so we all met up on here. Now were all scattered around the state

 

Well I just ordered the following parts and they should all be arriving by the end of next week.

RC Shackle Relocation Brackets
Exhaust Tail Pipe
Tail Pipe Hanger
Valve Cover Gasket (the good permatex one, not the ****ty cork)
Heater Control Valve
Driveshaft Ujoints
Gas Cap

Still left to purchase:

Durango Steering Box
Factory Pitman Arm
Nut Strips
SYE
Cowl Intake

Also, Ive been doing a little research on dual battery setups. I've got a spare battery that was bought for my sisters car the day her transmission went out so it's brand new because we sold the car for scrap. I'm going to run a solenoid that is energized when the key is in the on position. That way the two batteries are only connected when the key is on and when the key is off, I can still run all my accessories and not drain the main starting battery. Also, because the battery I am going to use is larger, I'm going to use a 100A diode in line with the positive connection from battery to battery to prevent backfeed due to the different amperage ratings. This set up was tested on my buddies boat and is still working flawlessly 4 years later.

 

Iirc in order to have a dual battery set you have 2 of the same battery set up (specs.) and both brand new in order to have the correct set up....

Unless there's another way to set it up....Like you mentioned above
But someone else with experience can chime in....

 

A battery isolator can be used. It just prevents back feed from the aux battery to the main battery. That's essentially what I'm doing with the diode. It will only allow current to flow one way

 

Got the shackle relocation brackets and exhaust installed Wednesday. Waiting on doing the valve cover gasket because I'm debating on ordering some HS 1.6 roller rockers and dont want to have to pull the cover twice.

So the relocation brackets raised the rear at least an inch or two so now I have a slight rake and the drive shaft angle is worse. So, to fix this, I just ordered a SYE which should be here next week. Then I've got to go scout out a front drive shaft to use in the rear so I'll be hitting some JYs on my days off next week.

I'll post pics of the rig as it sits on my lunch break in a couple hours

 

Got the jeep inspected, exhaust is 100% done, and TC is out and disassembled for SYE. I've got pics of everything but the uploader is being dumb and not working for most of the pics. Only ones I can get to work are the pile of parts pre-SYE and, what I think, is a funny pic of my 3 year old cousin playing in the cooler.

 

Finally got the SYE done. Ran into some issues with the tail housing and the plug that goes over the shift fork. PORC is sending me a new tail housing and plug but I was impatient and made my own solution. Taped the housing for 3/8 npt and put a steel plug in it. The aluminum plug just destroyed itself and the threads of the housing.

While the TC was out, I replaced the front output seal, rear output seal of the trans,and the trans mount.

I was also finally about to get some pics up through photobucket because the uploader here keeps failing. They are in no particular order