FINALLY!

I found the short in the driver's door speaker wiring. It was up past the boot near the clip behind the kick panel. I cut the spot out, stripped some insulation off, and just quick-tied it to the wire setup for the speaker. Plugged it in, turn the key, and MUSIC!! Pic of the spot:



So I'm fellin oh so proud of myself since I have the wiring capabilities of a stump. However, with a combination of a friend showing me the basics of wiring as well as my own research, handy dandy Haynes manual, and forum member's input, I would say I am much more inclined to wire up crap than I was before. Aside from my friend helping me wire the drivers speaker the first time (when it wouldn't work), all speakers (and shorts) were installed/fixed by me. I have become even more as one with my Heep lol.

For giggles, this was my office for the day. The extension cord ran to plug my phone into as it was dying. The nylon string was to hold my door open since the hinge thing doesn't work anymore.



Got me through the repair though lol.

All wiring done and mounted in the door!



With all door panels reinstalled and hatch panel reinstalled (plus some serious clean up)!





No rattles, everything works great, sounds awesome, hits nicely. I am thrilled. Total investment:

Front 5.25" Xplods = FREE (from friend)

Rear 6x9" Xplods = FREE (from another friend)

Connectors = $3

Dremel Cutting Wheels = $5

= $8

Not too shabby lol.

 

Nice job especially for only 8 bucks. Awesome. I did the same thing going larger in the doors and I'm happy I did. I'd like to go larger in the cargo area like you did for some extra sound as well. I'd like to get a subwoofer box that goes in the cubby on the passenger side. Maybe one day I'll make one. I had a bass tube in there for a little while but my amp was going bad and is completely shot. Not a lot of power either but enough just to make it sound really nice. Good deal man, enjoy your beats!

 

Maybe someone can help me out here. If I wanted to run 5.25" in the rear doors as well, how would I go about the wiring? Just splice into the front door speaker wires?

 

Been gone for way too long!

Put in an order for some new parts, including the O2 sensor, T-stat, and a few other routine maintenance parts. I also ordered MOOG sway bar bushings and new sway bar links. The suspension overhaul has begun. I will slowly work my way from front to back.

Also, a paint job is in the making. Just deciding on colors and approach. Rattle can with wet sanding a heavy prep is seeming to be the obvious candidate here. Anyone have a good pic they want to throw in of their red rattle can job?

 

any updates? ever get those H4s yet?

 

Not much to update other than maintenance. New power steering pump, sway bar redone (stripped and repainted with new hardware), rear brakes, etc.

Wife did get me some seat covers, and bunch of awesome tools and what not AND new shocks for when I do my lift. I'll post pics tomorrow.

Also did CAD lock. Damn thing failed during a snow storm. Figures lol

 

Found your build googling some stuff for my Jeep, and I have to say, I love seeing a build where things besides lift and tires and then more lift and more tires happens. Nice to see some restoration happening. Hope your Jeep is doing well.

 

I've got to say, I honestly enjoy reading my build thread from start to finish, and here is why. I started this build thread when I was 17 years old, had barely any mechanical know-how, and while it is only 5 pages worth with little done compared to the other INCREDIBLE builds on CherokeeForum, this is basically a mini-journal of my one big hobby that honestly kept me sane through some not so great times in my life regarding family, jobs, etc.

I got this Jeep in October of 2010 not long after my 17th birthday. I was a Senior in High-school with a part-time job at a deli/catering joint making something dismal like $100 (usually around $85) a week at the absolute best to cover my Jeep's expenses, coverage, gas, etc. I sold my favorite hunting rifle (Marlin 30-30 with a beautifully ingrained stock and leather sling, shined like a pearl) for money to replace the water pump and few other things. The gas gauge in my Jeep has been on the last line many times with the light on. But I love it to death, and it has survived with me through my last year of high-school, a year of college, a year of waiting/paperwork/craziness for a job, and sits out back of our apartment as I type this. I didn't always get to do all the upgrades/basic maintenance/work I wanted to my little pride and joy because money was tight (really tight towards the end), but it was mine and she always putted me around so long as I kept some gas in her tank.

I have carted my little sister (13 now, but always little to me!) to and from school anytime I could. She always loved riding in the Jeep. Now I am soon to be 21 in just a couple weeks, am married to a wonderful lady, have a great job as does she, and we just recently got her first new vehicle ('13 Chevy Sonic). I commute in my '12 Kia Optima. The Jeep is still my pride and joy, and I am grateful that my wife supports my habit/addiction with the Jeep. She also loves to drive it. Our children will ride in this Jeep one day. This will always be the snow warrior and grunt vehicle. I drive her to work every now and then. This Jeep is my one great hobby, and I am glad through the worst and most frustrating moments that I bought her.

With all of that said, I thank everyone who has commented/watched/followed this thread. I thank all the wonderful and great members of the BEST Cherokee forum on the interwebz for always helping me and expanding my knowledge twenty-fold from the first time I logged in while giving me many chuckles along the way. I hope to meet some of these fine fellers at a off-road meet one day.

Sissy-tear jerking/sentimental moment over. I promise this thread will start seeing some more updates. If anyone ever has a question to ask, please never hesitate. I will always be glad to help with what I can.

God Bless all ya'll. Keep Jeepin'!

In the future:

DISC BRAKES BECAUSE DRUMS SUCK TEH NUTZ!

A rear main seal to fix the last leak on my Jeep!

A select-shift transmission shifter (Baja II if I recall) for my AW4.

Rear door speakers!

Re-doing some interior colors. The carpet-siding on the door panels and hatch panel will be getting a make-over. Rear cargo area will have carpet cut out and rhino-lined.

Paint!

Will be restoring/painting my stock wheels.

TOO MUCH TO LIST! My wife gives me Jeep allowance when I do good things and stay clean, so I have to be patient! Lol

Edit: And yes Rooster! I will def be doing that H4 upgrade! Compared to standard lights on new cars, the Jeep headlights kind of suck! Haha.

 

Update time!

As a contractor who has been forced to take vacation due to our most 'intelligent' individuals in Congress (thank God I had PTO), I have had time to fiddle with the Jeep... except when my wife leaves me a chore list.. I hate chores

So, thanks to some wonderful users on this forum I am about ready to do my rear disc swap as well as FINALLY swap out that junked/busted front grille of mine. Big thanks to:

-Jeepsk8 for the calipers, hardware, softlines, new pads, and parking brake actuators for the backing plates!

-jwilson2598 for the backing plates!

-smokerkenny for the chrome grille in great condition!

Also a big thanks to all those who helped answer my questions (more to come) regarding this swap and the likes. As for the folks who I have purchased from both present and prior, I recommend all of them.

On to pics!

For an up to date, I had an issue with my brakes months back. A scraping and grinding and shaking. Replaced front rotors and pads. Very little change, plus I noticed a caliper bushing was VERY seized. Replaced calipers and straightened out dust shield. Vibration gone (kinda) and no noise except a grinding in the rear. Wth, since I replaced the drums/shoes/hardware/wheel cylinders months back brand new. Pull them apart, and what do I get on the driver's side?











That peg is the brass colored cylinder that is supposed to press into the shoe. That bent pathetic looking thing is the auto-adjustment lever. The hold down spring for that lever was chewed on one end. All because that peg failed.

 

So, I replace all the hardware for the drums and put it all back together. Low and behold, now the PASSENGER side drum seems to have a malfunction at life

After tearing it apart three times, I was done. Fed up. No more. I already had the backing plates and convinced my wife to let me get the rest of the stuff for the disc swap. So, here is my amass of parts:









Some rust and crud, but overall very good condition and solid where it matters. The caliper bushings slide like butter and there are no holes or weak areas in the backing plates or soft lines. Good to go!

 

First step to me was prep and restore. I wanted to strip all the little rust and lots of crud off and give shots of flat black high heat enamel to the backing plates.



They are finishing drying as I type. I also cleaned up and taped up the calipers for shots of paint:





I was too ornery to take off the soft line lol. I am not too worried about the soft-line bracket.

Still a work in progress. I will have a pic up when all parts are painted, including the parking brake armatures.

BRB!

 

Another 'forced' day off from work... Hopefully these fools get their heads straight today. I'd like to go back to work and not burn up ALL of my PTO...

Anyways, will be painting the calipers today! Need to order the brake rotors and parking brake hardware. Ordering most likely from RockAuto.

I'll get pics of the calipers up once done as well as the new grille. I'm going to clean it/shine it up first. I'll also snag some shots of my re-done valve cover and fog light wiring harness!

 

On a side note while I wait for the weather to warm back up and the dew to evaporate, I need opinions on wheel ideas.

I have this stock rim (borrowing pic from google):



I need to clean it up and fix some slight rub damage from the PO eating a curb or rock, and I want to apply gloss black paint. I have 3 ideas.

These are the three ideas I have (cheap paint mock-up, I know). The black shows what would be covered in black. In all ideas, the center cap and 'JEEP' logo stay clean and shiny.



^ This one pretty much only paints the 5 spokes black.



^ This one also paints the inside lip of the outer rim black with the spokes but leaves the outer 'face' of the rim shiny.



^ This one basically paints the entire wheel gloss black except center cap, 'JEEP' logo, and the little inside portions of the spoke.

I am leaning more towards option 2 or 3.

 

I am back with the finished product, but first... really guys? Not one single opinion for the wheels?

Anyways, painting is done. I will likely do the install next weekend, giving everything a week to dry.



^ Calipers being painted..

AND....









Viola! I am very pleased with the outcome. Don't let the angle of the sun and therefore its light fool the pics of the calipers. The red is phenomenal and sharp. Love it!! Now for the fronts. Wondering if I can do that without disconnecting the brake line. I don't mind taking off the pads, just really don't wanna bleed again...

 

You know those little things that nobody else likely would not notice? My grille was one of them, and I was glad to get this 'new' one to replace my busted one that the PO left me with.

It's the little things folks!!

Pics:

(Broken)



^Crappy pic.



That has annoyed me FOR YEARS. Got the new one for $25 shipped. Cannot complain at all!





The last pic also shows what I did with my valve cover when I re-did the gasket. I was pleased with how it came out.

'Til next time!

...and hopefully I can go back to work soon...