Got the head back!

 

oooooo purdy

 

 

Did the rear shocks yesterday, something doesn't look right:

 

Much better:

 

Those new shocks are HUGE! Can't wait to see the downtravel shots.

 

Heads Back on with the valve cover





Still got a lot to do

 

Yeah they look pretty funny sitting in the engine bay without the intake, huh?

 

Yeah, actually have enough room to sit on the fender and work like that.

Good news so far is Adam gave me a hand last night and we knocked out the left side of the motor. Last thing to do now is bolt the intake manifold back up with power steering pump, belts, fluids, ect...

 

IT LIVES! Took a few times to turn over but she's running good.

Still needs to have a few odds and ends tied up.

Little concerned there is a FAINT amount of coolant in the oil...
Finger crossed its just residual.

 

 

Sweet!

 

So Jeep has been down since March, here's a recap of what went down:

Went to Gulches in February where the Jeep preformed as it should:



However, the Ford Radius Arms did not let the suspension work as it should have forcing me to be off camber and take different lines. I was with a buddy who was also running a modified set of Ford Radius Arms and even they have no comparison to a 3-links control.

Therefore it was time for a 3-link...

So in Early March some buddies and I cranked out a 3 link in a matter of a week.
The results were impressive, also the new crossmember design allowed me to raise the belly 1":



That same day however, the Jeep had failed an inspection due to an exhaust leak.
This was caused by broken bolt in the back of head, only way to extract is to pull it.

So pulled the head and sent it off to the machine shop to get fixed. I used the down time as an opportunity to fix several other things:

New Electric Fan, Cone Filter Intake, Replaced ALL the Vacuum Lines, 13" Travel Shocks, Bumpstops, Tune Up, & of course New Gaskets.


Finally this weekend I was able to get the jeep reinspected and passed after 2.5 months!


But it was all worth it!
The 3-link makes the Jeep ride like a dream but the shocks are stiff enough to keep the body roll to minimal through the turns. (No Sway Bars)
The Flex is amazing as the front suspension does its share of the work now instead of the rear.
With no more exhaust leak the Jeep doesn't sound like a tractor going down he road has regained all the bottom end torque that it lost.

Therefore it was all worth it!
To celebrate I ordered a 42" light bar for the roof that I scored for $50 on ebay.

 

Great looking xj!

 

Thanks!