Well i replaced all of my rear hard lines and wheel cylinders last night, due to a line breaking and the bleeders were stripped, and did not allow me to bleed my brakes. I also installed an extended stainless rear brake line (which is probably why the hard line broke, lol).

Now i should be all set for the spring convention next weekend. And i got some new IRO stickers on, and my Crawl for the Cure windshield banner. Its not until July, but i figured id do it while i as at it.

Now i just get to cut out another rotted portion of the rear unibody, and weld in a new plate, and ill be in business!

 

 

Hello Mr pinkyman I just read all your build thread from start to finish. First thing is that im jealous of your back yard I really love the lake. Second is congrats on your newborn I see he has grown. Soon he will be wrenching by your side. Next is that I like how you tackle every problem that arises from your XJ it seems like a never ending story but thats what jeeping is all about. Taking pride in your build making friends all the priceless smiles and living unforgettable memories with your partners in crime wife and son thats what its all about. Keep doing what you're doing life is short. Looking forward for more updates.

 

So today I tackled that stupid rust hole. I never claimed to have any welding skills, but there's metal where there used to be no metal, so it has to be better than it was. I'm calling it a win.

Then of course in typical Jeep fashion, my water pump went out when i was pulling it out of the shop..... Ugh.












At least it looks good sitting in the driveway lol

 

Well last night I started tearing into the water pump. I got the old one out, and it was stamped 3412-12, possibly the original? Maybe, especially from the looks of all the rust on that coolant pipe. I also realized how dangerously close I was to losing my belt on my drive home yesterday. That water pump was loose as a goose!

Tomorrow I'll get to putting it all back together, and hopefully finish it up. Then test drive it into the office for a day or two, and have it ready for the weekend!

 

Well I got the new water pump in the other day. No more leaks and growls, and man it pumps out heat. I don't know if it's the new coolant or what, but it seems to be working great! Even though it still only says it's running at like 170*, but I'll take that over overheating Hahahaha.

I think I'm going to take it to work tomorrow and see how she goes, since I'll be driving it like 8 hours on Saturday.

 

Well a few friends and I, and hundreds of other guys got to get out wheeling on Saturday. I made the trip down to Jakes place at about 8am, and we spent some time getting my new winch mounted, and meeting up with a couple of other guys.

All in all it was a great time with great people, and we all had an awesome time! The only casualty was my t-case crossmember that got all smashed up, but it still made the 3 hour (round trip) there and back and 7 hours of wheeling without any issues! Looks like ill be ordering the IRO crossmember pretty soon......

 

Heres a little video i put together from Saturday.

 

Great pics and video! As your neighbor over in SD, I'm excited to learn about that 4X4 park.

 

First post from lurking the forums. Went through your entire thread and just wanted to say that I enjoyed your post. Keep it up.

 

I guess i havent updated this in a while. Not much new with the Xj. Fixed a few odds and ends here and there.

I noticed that the rock sliders that the previous owner booger welded in are starting to rust off, so ill be installing new 2x6s in the next few weeks.

 

I also picked up a new trailer for the Xj. It will mostly be getting hauled to events from now on....

 

Went wheeling a few times, and managed not to break anything. Ill be welding on new 2x6 rockers in the next few weeks, along wil a new front locker, and installing the IRO hack n tap and new rear driveshaft. Then I get to put in the new crossmember to replace the one i smashed up last spring.

 

Which rear driveshaft ya going with?

Also, you may want to think about crossing your front/rear straps. Like the last pic of the guy with the blueish XJ.

 

Yeah, i thought about that after the fact. Ive been doing it that way since then, thats definitely a good idea!

Im just going with a stock front driveshaft for the rear for now. At least then I can get my replacement crossmember in, and lose the t-case drop.

My main concern is finding good metal to weld my new 2x6s to...... Im not excited to see what I find when i cut the old ones out.