Congrats on the new rubbers. You should just ditch that rear sway, man. That was the first thing to go on mine. I didn't notice a difference in handling at all.... just an increase in rear articulation.

I probably will, just to make it more "up country" like—I'm going to wait until I get new rear leafs, they're so bad they're nearly bending back, and it looks like the bar is helping keep it up…


https://i.imgur.com/B0DPI2Mh.jpg

This is the source of my "tick" which I suspected but didn't know for sure.

I wasn't looking for that kind of damage—never seen it. Always looking for cracks at the collector, so I threw that OEM header on. I'm running out of time on the temp permit, so I paid a bit more and got the Dorman, improved design, header from NAPA.

So sippin' smooth now.


Got a P0141 pending, but no more signs of the P1282 and no CEL after a good 30 mile drive last night. Going to check resistance on the downstream O2 sensor resistance and if that fails, I'll pop in the new one.

One thought I had was that since I took the front pipe bulge out (which I'm told is to heat the cat up faster) that might be the cause of the disparity in the O2 sensor heat timeframe. But maybe it's just bad Attachment 406988

Have you checked to see if you have power and ground at the o2 sensor?

lol no. I'll add that to the list. is there a good write-up on that procedure? I'm searching but not finding anything specific; it's more things like what a scantool should read as far as voltage from an O2…

Here is a diagram (from a 99). It should be the same thing for yours. And no, a scan tool wont help you for this. If the heater in the o2 isnt working, the o2 will still read but will pulse slower then normal. Most of the cheaper scan tools cant read the voltages switching fast enough anyways. I know mine cant. I have to put it on graphing mode and its still pretty slow at responding.

Edit - Just to make it easier, there are 2 grounds, one positive and 1 signal.

On the o2 connector, each pin is labeled 1-4.

1 - Positive (for heater)
2 - Ground (for heater)
3 - Ground
4 - Signal

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...b049c4e46d.jpg

No codes. No problems :) with the power train anyway. I went to take out the downstream sensor out and the"stem" broke off while just putting on the socket... Turns out it just needed a new one, no other issues.

The doors are my next problem to tackle. The driver rear lock actuator has power, I can hear it, but it's not moving the lock, either way.

The front passenger regulator needs that repair/mod kit to the window glass bracket. I tried a new regulator and motor set but it was garbage. NEVER BUY THE CABLE-PULLEY-BASED KIT. It's inferior to the original, screw/helix design. Right now it just holds the window up. And knowing if have to get into it again, I didn't bother/just plain forgot to re-attach the interior handle... So all my passengers feel like they're being chauffered for the time being.

Summer wrap up
 

I've had the project going for 11 months to the day and it's been rolling around for a little over 3 of those months. All I can say is that's faster than my first XJ, so there's progress made.

I guess I haven't made updates here at least since I got the O2 sensor installed and passing emissions. What have I done?

1) got a plan laid out for the following:
- rear disc conversion (all the miscellaneous bits including e brake cables)
- new leaf springs (old ones are flat and nearly bending backward)
- block lift removal

2) Spare tire cover off a ZJ: the black leather matches the black parts of the trim in my highline saddle interior much better than the pre-97 "tan" leather. Ended up gifting that one to my friend to whom I sold my first XJ

3) As covered in this thread, the biggest lesson in "tighten down the nuts and bolts, dummy!"

4) Bought a new latch rod for the rear gate which is threaded instead of ribbed, so the mammajamma will open reliably now.

5) Because of the need for #4 I needed a new rear fin for the liftgate which had obviously been used as a pressure point to get it open. Finally cracked and found one from a part-out locally, which was nice.

6) Still deciding if I'm going to DIY the eventual paint job or take it somewhere to get a semi-cheap touch-up job

Assembling the final bits list for the rear end overhaul. Using Quadratec as a base price calculator. I won't push the button until after I've sold that 1st batch of my UCSG decals most likely.

What I need:
Crown brake cables for disc conversion (F & R) $42
Crown HD leaf springs (2x) 185.98
Bushings $26
u-bolts $30
Grade 8 nuts $5
LubeLocker gaskets (D30 & C8.25) $44

Backing plate nuts & bolts—?

What I got:
ZJ Backing plates
Parking brake kit
Rotors & Pads
Gear oil
Wheel studs (Dorman 610290)

a drastic exterior rethink
 

I got inspired by TwistedWrench's new paint job. Since I live in a relatively hot summer place, I thought I should ditch the black paint in favor of a lighter tone to beat the heat a bit better.

It's also inspired by some slight laze, as I don't want to paint all of it… ha. My interior is the "highline(?)" trim which is a combo of black and saddle/camel, so my thought was to keep some the trim elements black, the flares, bumpers, rack, and paint the main body camel/saddle …means I'd have to ditch my gold wheels so they don't clash too much maybe.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...221e9f4490.png

And the front clip/grille—excuse the quick-n-dity photoshop job. Gonna leave the louvers black.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...9de4199422.jpg
leaving the light cutouts black
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...e265610a5f.jpg
or painting them camel

Paint the entire inserts the same color.

Jeeps need the light bezel and grille to be black.. really sets it off.

Ew. I think it look so plain

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...b6bccc6205.jpg

Something more like this. I guess the OE design cue was that way

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...2b915a09c8.png

Classic and limited trim levels had same colored inserts as the rest of body

I did notice that in the '98 "jeep book." I think I'm going to break with my 100% OE just so I can get away with being somewhat lazy: not painting the jambs and what not, or the plastic trim that will just rub off over time without good paint prep.

https://i.imgur.com/bfdr8NCh.jpg
this is actually a pic of my interior (contrasting the pre-97 sand or whatever tan color that was), and since it's Black & Beige I want to break the classic trim protocol and have it on the exterior as well.

I'll be sure to match the interior and not just willy-nilly choose a beige when the time comes. I took samples of interiors and averaged the color to get the one on my 2-d mockup.