It does

 

We used to stock them with bearings and seals. But back then, that little cabinet could store 80% of a shops needs.

Times have changed.

 

Yeah, that’s all that’s in there. Just bunch of bearings and seals. There was also a crayon in there, not so sure what that’s about

 

I finally got my pistons installed to my rods, and I did it the redneck way of heating the rod to cherry red and installing the wrist pin bushings. All 4 went in without issue.

I also ordered an AX15 out of a 97 Dakota, as well as an adapter bushing to fit the input shaft to the pilot bushing so I can continue using the XJ clutch that I just replaced. It’s supposed to come in tomorrow, and I got it for only 300 bucks at 160k miles.

I also got my spray paint for the block and head, and I’m waiting on some more high heat primer to come in, which should be here tomorrow.

As far as instillation goes, I’m thinking about bolting the transmission up to the engine and installing it as one piece, but I’m not sure if the transmission mount is different or not. Someone told me it is different, and if it is, I need to know if I need to buy a mount for an XJ AX15 or a Dakota AX15. I’ll probably look at part numbers tonight or tomorrow and see. But if someone knows, then please tell me.

If everything goes according to plan tomorrow, I should be able to assemble the bottom end as well as paint the head and block, and maybe assemble the head. I still have one more batch of parts to order, which is the belt, water pump, thermostat, fan clutch, pulleys, spark plugs, distributor, power steering pump, steering box, and some connectors to fix the broken ones.

 

I got a lot done today, but not as much as I was hoping to get done.

I got a bunch of other brackets spray painted as well as the intake, and I went with black all across the board. I got my lifters installed (with plenty of lube) and I painted my block as well.

I also got my transmission in yesterday, as well as the adapter bushing. Im about to order the last batch of parts today, so hopefully in the coming week I can get most of the engine assembled. The very last step here is to get the right length pushrods, since my block and head were decked about 8 thousandths total, and the cam kit has a little bit higher of lift.

Anyway, here’s some pictures of what I think is a beautiful little four banger

I’m liking the “wet” look this paint gives off. That’s what I was going for in the beginning and I think it turned out just right



My “new” ax15. Now i no longer have to worry about if my transmission is ever going to go out again.

I think the black will contrast very well with the blue. Plus, white gets dirty really easily and it doesn’t want to bond to aluminum very well

 

Yes, beautiful. And I see saved spare parts. More my kind of shop

 

Actually, my boss saves parts to build statues out of whatever he can find. He’s built alligators, towel racks, some sort of demigorgan looking thing from stranger things, all sorts of bugs and insects, and he’s even built Jesus keeling with the Cross that’s behind our shop. We also frequently make tools out of these old parts, and they only really get used once.

 

It was somewhat of a productive day for me. I got my head installed, but in the process of torquing down my head bolts, the cheap 12 point socket I bought from Autozone cracked on the 3rd head bolt. It’s no biggie as I can get a new one, but it’s kind of sad that a socket would break under that little of force.

Regardless, I got the oil pan bolted up, the timing cover installed, the head painted, and some brackets assembled. I ordered the last batch of parts for my engine, and all I have left to order is a flywheel, ignition coil/wires, and a steering box. But at least everything I need to fully assemble my motor.

I still do have to measure my pushrod length, but I’m thinking that my stock pushrods might suffice. I’m not 100% in my reasoning, but I have a feeling using my stock pushrods will work out okay.

It’s finally coming together as a functioning rotating assembly. My boss said I’m about to have the most expensive 4 banger on the road. Also don’t mind the painted sealing surfaces. I will clean that up and I’m not dumb enough to try and let that seal with paint.

 

Looks great so far... You can assemble it with the stock pushrods.. Just check your range of motion across the valve to make sure it's not riding off the edge too far...

 

Yeah, I plan on putting some paint on the tips of the valve and see where the roller ends up at. I want it to be as center as possible, and I’ll take a little on each side as long as it’s not putting too much stress on one side. We shall see soon

 

I’m so sorry it took me this long to update this thread. I’ve had a busy last month and a half and have had no time to work on this little beauty.

Anywho, I’ve gotten most of the engine assembled. I ran into some trouble trying to torque down the new head bolts, and they ended up stretching before I could get the final torque down of 110 Ft/Lbs. I ended up cleaning up my old head bolts and using those, and they worked just fine.

I checked and made sure my rockers weren’t about to roll off the valve tip, and using the old school marker trick, found out that it’s nearly perfect. I guess the added lift plus the 7 thousandths of material that was lost ended up compensating.

I also got the oil pan, valve cover, timing cover, brackets, intake/exhaust, and mounts bolted up. I just need to install the power steering pump, tensioner, and a few other “loose” items, and she’ll be ready to go back in. Once it’s off the stands, I’ll do the rear main seal and put the flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate on, and drop her in!

I also got the engine primed, as I was told to use 4 quarts of 15w40 diesel oil and 1 quart of Lucas, and primed it by taking a drill and a flat blade adapter to spin the oil pump. It took a while but eventually the top end got its oil after about a minute of priming.

I still need to install the distributor, and I’m waiting on an “upgraded” (mostly just “upgraded” because it’s blue wires with a blue cap) ignition kit, and at this rate, I should be installing it this coming weekend.

I am worried about the driveshaft length, as the 2wd AX15 is slightly longer than the AX5, (I think), so I’m not too sure if it’s going to fit or not without a reduction or extension. I’ll take some pictures tomorrow and hopefully by Thursday I’ll have the engine completely assembled

 

As promised, here is ol’ blue




All that’s left to do now is get the cap, rotor, and wires installed. I’ve been chipping away at repairing the connectors, and I’ve found that quite a few had wires exposed and some were cut about half-way. Mainly the fuel injector connectors were the ones really messed up, and that’s what was causing a misfire at the most random of times. I’m also re-doing the ground wires, since I forgot about the dipstick ground and snapped those.

More to come!

 

Well, I’ve got both good news and bad news.

First off, good news is, I got the engine and transmission bolted up. I had to modify the crossmember by moving it further back, taping the already pre-drilled holes in the frame. I also had to modify the transmission mount by drilling new holes for the mount to bolt onto the transmission, but it wasn’t that bad. I also had to drill out the clutch pressure plate bolt holes to fit the flywheel, and I had to enlarge the hole where the pilot bearing goes in the flywheel.

Aside from all of that, the transmission and engine went in without issue. Once the trans was bolted up, I tried fitting the driveshaft, and it didn’t fit. The end that comes out of the driveshaft is smaller than the XJ driveshaft, but the junkyard was nice enough and provided me with the input shaft, so I’ll just take out the u-joint and transfer it over to the XJ driveshaft, and then I have to shortened by about 2-3 inches. I’ll take some measurements and have someone professionally shorten the driveshaft.

The only thing left to do after the driveshaft is to get the starter bolted up, alternator bolted up, recharge the A/C, put the belt on, fill her up with coolant, and let it rip!

Sadly, it’ll be awhile before I get her finished, as I’m going on a much needed vacation for a week. But once that’s said and done, I’ll have her running and driving by the end of the month

 

She runs!!

After dealing with my crappy grounds, I got her running!

I started her up and was greeted with a bunch of noises, that were to be expected from a rebuilt engine. It quieted down after 2 seconds, and I had really good oil pressure within a second. Before, it would take a few seconds to gain oil pressure, and now it’s almost instant, which is to be expected from a rebuilt engine.

Anyway, right out of the gate, I had to rev her up to 2.5k and hold it for 25 minutes, but I only got 8 minutes out of it.

First off, for my “driveshaft”, all it consists of is the output yoke that’s just put into the end of the transmission to prevent it from leaking. I didn’t know this, but the transmission will spin the driveshaft in neutral if it’s not attached to anything. So, at 2.5k RPMs, it made the whole damn Jeep shake like it was going to take off into outer space. I tried to “tie” the driveshaft down to stop it from turning, but it would just work itself loose and then dump gear oil on the floor.

I opted to stop the initial break in for the cam because of that, and that I keep hearing this really weird bearing noise, like a pulley is screaming. It’s also nerve wracking being the only person in the shop, because I’ve got to hold the gas and watch the gauges, but I can’t look and see if I’m pissing oil or coolant. It also was running a little on the hotter side, at about 220, but I’m not 100% sure if everything’s bled right.

Other than that, there’s no leaks, except from a slight seep from the front timing cover because of a bolt I didn’t tighten.

It’s also doing this weird thing where if I’m holding at 2.5k, it’ll “lope”. I’m not sure if it’s the cam or if there’s a sensor that’s being weird, but it hasn’t happened before.

Aside from off of that, the computer seems to like the cam. I was a little worried the computer would have trouble with the cam, since it was a higher lift and duration cam than stock, but the computer so far seems to like it. I won’t know for sure until I drive it, but it seems to be working for the time being.

Another thing that I’ve noticed is that the AX15 transmission sits a little lower than the AX5, since I had to move the crossmember back. If I try and go to 2nd, 4th, or reverse, it doesn’t lock fully into gear, and I think that’s because the shifter is hitting the carpet or the tunnel. I’ll dive a little deeper into that when I get the driveshaft cut and fitted, and the engine broken in.

I also should note that in order to get a 2wd AX15 to work, you need to change all of this:
-The hole where the pilot bearing fits into has to be hollowed out a little. A Dremel and some patience goes a long way here. Reason being, the pilot bearing on the AX15 is bigger, and so is the pilot tip.
-The Dakota 2.5 clutch pressure plate is just slightly smaller than the Jeep 2.5 pressure plate, and 3 of the 6 bolt holes for the pressure plate don’t line up. All you need to do is drill out the bolt holes a bit and it lines up.
-The crossmember has to be moved back, but there are already pre-drilled holes that just need to be tapped.
-The mount has to be modified some in order for it to fit. I’m sure there’s a mount or kit out there to make it work, but the mount won’t line up with the transmission without drilling new holes. All I did was paint pen through the holes in the transmission and onto the mount, and drilled through them, and attaching a through bolt.
-The exhaust has to be changed a bit, since there is a “hump” for the stock exhaust to fit over the stock location of the crossmember. I haven’t modified my exhaust yet but I’ll do that soon. You also to fabricate a new exhaust mount, since the AX5 exhaust mount is built onto the transmission plate.
-You might have to modify the carpet or tunnel opening, but that’s TBD.

As far as the connectors go, they plug right up. I’m sure the speedo gear is different than the one that’s in the AX5, and I’m sure my speedo will be messed up for a bit, but that’s still TBD.

Im really happy with how far this has come, and it’s been a crazy learning experience. I know some people don’t understand the concept of me not swapping in a 4.0, but I wasn’t ready to undertake that, not with how much money and time I would’ve spent making things work.

Im happy this worked out the way it did. I’m extremely excited to start driving this again, and using it as the good Lord intended.

 

Today was a productive day. I got the cam broke in, which, I have to say, was nerve wracking. I ran it for an additional 15 minutes on top of the 10 I already did, and discovered an oil leak around my oil pan. It looks like the gasket got shoved back some? I’m not really sure, and I’m gonna take a look at that when I get the driveshaft installed this weekend. I dropped it off at the driver shaft shop to get chopped and to have the other yoke installed.

As far as the break in goes, it went smoothly aside from the oil leak. It’s not a major leak, just a slight drip every now and again. It maintained really good oil pressure, and the temps seemed to equalize. My boss said that since everything is brand new, it generates a bunch of extra heat since everything’s gotta find its “home”. Once the break in was done, I changed the oil and filter with 15w40 Shell Rotella, as well as half a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer, per the break in procedure for the cam. Once I get my driveshaft on, I’ll take it down the road and back once or twice and change the oil and filter again, and then take it out longer and change it all once more, and then change it at about 500 miles after that. Maybe that’s too much? Idk. No one knows really.

I also let it idle for the first time today, and, well, I might of gone overboard on the cam. It was idling really low, but not loping. I ended up plugging the CCV hose with my finger and it seemed to like that better, and it really showed it colors with how it loped. It barely maintained an idle, but would instantly pick back up after you bump the throttle. I’m actually concerned with vacuum now, and I might have to install an electric vacuum pump if it comes down to it. I did, however, have two vacuum ***** hooked up before I rebuilt the engine, because I wasn’t generating enough vacuum for one. Maybe this’ll work? I’m not really sure, but we’ll find out!

Another side note, why would my engine idle lower if the CCV hose was plugged? I had it secured pretty well to where there’s no vacuum leak at that fitting, but once I plugged it, it seemed to idle better if that make sense? Is it because it’s pulling the crankcase vapors and combusting it, making it idle slightly higher? I dunno.

Anywho, more to come soon!

Side note, again, my Jeep is far from done. I’m not gonna stop at just rebuilding the engine, I’ve still got a lot of work that needs to be done. So don’t fret, this isn’t just an engine rebuild thread. This is my entire journey from start to finish.