gvns8

Haha If you are talking about the trail- I have done some crazy stuff but there were parts on that trail where there was a 5 foot drop on one tire into a hole with a ledge off to the side that was a 200 foot cliff basically. The traction on the trails out here in Texas is also not like Colorado where you can just drive over obstacles slowly and grip onto stuff like its sand paper. Loose rocks/gravel is slippery as heck haha. You need wheel spin when you are goin up hill I am still not used to it. I'll go out there on that trail close by again soon though and try some crazier lines when I am not alone like yesterday. Dang I am seriously tempted to either get a Beater xj to build up with 40s to do this type of stuff or sell my xj and build a buggy.

Haha seriously. They are good tires though from what I have seen of them so far.


Other small updates on the jeep:

- I FINALLY installed my transfer case skid today that I pulled at a junkyard like 6 months ago. I have so many little things on the jeep to do that was burried in my to do list. Here are some pics of that below.

- I bought a dang fuel pump assembly off amazon so once I get that I will hopefully get some better gas mileage due to my check valve being broken.

Captain_America

Pretty sure the check valve only helps with faster start ups, unless there is something I am unaware of...

gvns8

Yea my main problem is that the line doesn't hold pressure after I turn it off (verified with a fuel compression test) so I have to do the "poor mans prime" and first turn the key about 3 times when I start up from cold. After that it also drives poorly for several blocks though until I get the engine warm. During this time I am thinking it may be burning up a lot more fuel than it should. Since most of my driving is short distance low speed from a cold start, this would place a toll on my gas mileage. Plus I have done just about everything else to troubleshoot what might be causing my jeep to drive worse and get less mpg's than it used to so I am hoping this helps.

Moparboy01

On page 14, I'm digging that CRok spare tire carrier. I might have to order that for my XJ. Awesome build by the way.

gvns8

Thanks man, and yea I like that thing a lot, but I am not a big fan of the bumper they have it mounted to. I am still thinking I want to buy one and either bolt it or weld it onto another company's fold and tuck rear bumper.

Captain_America

Nothing to do with the check valve... I installed a aftermarket pump in my tank (140LPH flow) and there is no longer a check valve in my system. Only takes 2 or 3 seconds more to crank up. But that would not cause the poor running or gas mileage. I get 15-16mpg in city with stock gearing and 32's

Have you checked the O2 sensor? That's the first thing that causes poor mpg... Makes the Jeep run rich when the sensor fails

gvns8

Why did you go with a high flow pump? Did you put an adjustable regulator in also?

The oxygen sensors are brand new. I also fixed a leak before the cat at the connection to the exhaust manifold which did nothing to help the issues. I also checked/fixed at least 20 other things I thought may be contributing issues over the last several months, but it still doesn't drive as well as it used to. There is a noticeable lack of power with acceleration at lower speed almost like it is running lean. I have heard that when the pump regulator goes or the checkvalve goes it can cause a dead spot with acceleration. I may also have a dirty filter which I will be replacing with the assembly.

The fuel pump assembly is kind of the last item on the list of fuel and ignition system that I have gone through and was not functioning properly. I am hoping the fuel pump fixes my problems because if not then it is probably a compression/head/valve type problem.

Captain_America

Went with the high flow pump because it was free and it is almost exactly the same size and shape as stock.

Oh yeah i remember reading that. My bad. How many mile have you put on it since all that work?

Can you check fuel pressure?

gvns8

Gotcha, I was just curious about the fuel pump because I had never heard of anyone putting a high flow one in an xj. But its probably the same for you performance wise without changing the reg right? I have done about 5000 miles since I put the O2's in.

And I have checked the fuel pressure and it was 47psi so I am good there, but it is supposed to drop no lower than 30 psi after the car has been off for 5 minutes. Mine was at like 18 or 19 so its the check valve or leak in the line or injectors. I tried swapping my original fuel injectors in and that helped just slightly with 2-3psi increa, so I might have had a very small leak in one which was adding to the problem. I left the old injectors in so I could rebuild my 4 holes injectors.

Some other slight updates on my jeep:

-I tested my TPS and found the voltage reading kind of off. It is supposed to be at .26V or greater closed throttle and 4.6V open.

Here is my closed:



And Open:



The transition between closed and open seems smooth, but its kind of hard to tell not using an analog voltmeter. I decided to replace it though yesterday:



I tested the new one and found that it was about .8 closed and 3.98V open. Still not up to the 4.5-5V range yet, but above the 3.8V which is supposed to be the minimum. I have to troubleshoot that it may be bad wires. It made a noticeable difference with a smoother acceleration so I am still happy I replaced it, but I haven't driven with the new tps from a cold start yet which is when I usually have the issue with bad acceleration a low speeds. Hopefully it solves that problem when I try it out today. I am still going to replace the fuel pump/filter/reg to cover all my bases though.


-I also noticed my power steering pulley was loose and when I shook it around it sounded like this:


I used a power steering pulley installer yesterday to tighten it enough to where I broke the bolt on the p/s pulley installer. It is a much better now, but still a tiny bit of play.



-One last update: I finally found a diff cover that is short enough to fit below my beefy 1.5" tie rod , so I bought one off quadratec. It is made by Four X Doctor. I can't fit a thicker diff cover on my axle due to the tight clearance. This should do the job though.

Jeepfreak1020

Thats exactly what I was going to do since I had to have the stock one on. Or get this one. Im running this one now with my set up to clear my OTK tie rod and it works great

http://barnettperformance.net/index....roducts_id=955

gvns8

I thought about that one too but decided it looked ugly haha and was twice the price, so I just went with this cage one. It looks like it will hold up.




I also went wheeling at that local spot a few miles from me. Just enough belly clearance to not get high centered here:



I figured I would also post up some better pictures of some of the rediculous lines that are definitely giving me some motivation to start emptying my pockets a little more . I had my buddy get in the picture for some perspective.





5 foot wall:



So back to my build:

I am trying to make some decisions on the direction to go with my jeep. I have a decent amount of money coming in now that I am finally done with college and working. But I also don't have a ton of time.

Here is what you could call my "Phase II" to do list:

-3 link front. I could spend some time to build one using DOM and ballistic fab stuff, but I also have the option to buy a Clayton 3 link setup for $675 (with a 25% off certificate I have that expires in after dec 31 2011.)

-Plating the unibody

-Roll Cage- hybrid interior/exo cage with A-pillar exterior going through front fender corner, and a halo style roof rack with the rest of it interior.

-Steering box brace and rear steering plate bracket

-Front and Rear Bumper and tire carrier

-Rear upper quarter panel protection/light box replacements

-4-link rear- however I am sitting on fairly new RE leafs so not sure. I could use that certificate to get 25% off those from Clayton for like $1100 too. Not sure if its worth it though.

What are your guys' thoughts on what I should do first? I am trying to decide if I should go for those long arms even though I wanted to do plating and bumpers first so that I can save $250.

Captain_America

Yeah no performance improvement other than my fuel system will now support 400 horse power haha

I would Get the chassis stiffeners first!

Then bumpers

Then 3 link front. Claytons is good ****!

Then cage/exo. I love a clean exo on a XJ

Jeepfreak1020

Dude if you can ge the 3 link for that cheap then buy theres. I built my own, everything. And still have the stock crossmember, just welding the brackets to the frame, and it cost me almost $600. And alot of dam time. I say just buy it if you can get it that cheap bro

gvns8

Yea I was adding up the cost of the 3link brackets and I was up to like $450 no shipping or DOM tubing. The Clayton setup still requires welding the UCA mount bridge, but much less time&hassle compared to building from scratch. That coupon will save me $250 off the normal price if I buy from Clayton this month.

That brings up another item holding me up-whether I should get the 4 link clayton rear upgrade this month too since the coupon I have would save me about $400 off the normal price of those too (final cost of $1100).

And one last major thing that is keeping me from moving forward is that after adding up all the stuff I listed to do this year plus a couple small things, it totals up to $6,500 if I did them the way I want to. So I am seriously considering taking that money and parting/selling the jeep to buy a buggy instead of just a moderate offroad daily driven xj. I will have to think about it.

Jeepfreak1020

Ya just buy it from them. DOM isent cheap, I spent $120 for my 3 links. And alot of time fabbing. It turned out great, but still lol.

I wouldent link the rear man. I have been in the same debate, and after seeing a jeep with the right leaf/shackle angle go against a coiled rear jeep, both did the same, but the leaf XJ ran way better on the road and wasent so much all over like the other one. I would say stick with leafs and the relocation box for now bro