I scored a few parts from a buddy of mine today. I got a new extended rear brake line, an adjustable track bar, and some 4" coil springs and 2" coil spacers. He went to a 6.5" long arm, so he is donating his old stuff to me. Now i just have to figure out how in going to raise the rear another couple of inches....

 

Well I sold my Grizzly wheels, and had to put my moabs back on until I get my new set of wheels and tires.

I also signed up for the Crawl for the Cure today. It's a big MN event 3 hours North of me on the range. My wife and little man are coming with, and my wife is super excited! Now I just have to get this thing trail worthy, and make sure it'll make it 3 hours each way hauling the camper.

I will be working on the following shortly to get it ready for July:

Extended brake lines
More lift (an inch or so) at least to make it level
Cb radio
Fire extinguisher
Install my front tow points
New wheels and tires
Possibly cut and fold my fenders
Replace radiator/do coolant flush
Install hack n tap
Weld in frame reinforcements
Possibly quick disconnects for the front sway bar
Install my cargo basket
New cat back exhaust


There's also a big Jeep swap meet next weekend that I will be attending. I'm hoping I can pick up some much needed parts there.

 

So i was curious about my overall lift height, so i took some measurements this morning.

Im at just about 20" Hub to fender on all 4 corners. Is it right that im only getting about 3" of lift in the front, and 2.5" in the rear??? Im at 35" FTG on all 4 corners.

My rear IRO leafs were 3.5"s, and i have a shackle on it that "should" gain me another inch. My current coils are 3.5", and I have some 4" coils, 2" coil spacers, and 1.25" coil spacers sitting at home. I just need to find out which ones i should install.

Its got some decent rake now, and i dont want to get a bunch of reverse rake where its taller in the front. I may need to find some longer shackles to try to get another inch out of the rear.


Picture of rake:

 

I went to the mn4wd swap meet today, and scored a brand new IRO hack n tap for $25!! I just hope my np231 is a 27 spline. If not, it's only $25 lol.

I also got a new track bar, longer rear shackles, 2" coil spacers, and 4" front coils for free from a buddy of mine that went there with me.

I guess it's time to break out the spring compressor and take some measurements to figure out the right combination to use, and get to work!

 

Well I made the few hour drive yesterday, and finally got to meet Mr. Xj-Jake, and pick up those wheels and tires from him.

On the way home, I stopped at caribou, and sat in line for like 20 minutes. When I was sitting there, my temp gauge kept bouncing between 0 and 210 for some reason. As I left, I noticed clouds of smoke coming off the rear, and it got what looks to be oil or something all over my rear hatch....

My coolant is in dire need of a flush, and it looks like mud. So I'm hoping it was something to do with that.... I need to get it in the garage and work on the lift, and swap wheels and tires and flush the coolant and see what happens.

Here's her new shoes




Here's the mess on my rear hatch....

 

i got my new tires and wheels on last night. I love how they look, but i kind of wish they were a couple of inches bigger.... I will rock them for the time being though, i think they might grow on me.










I also crawled under it and saw that its got a major oil leak. Thats more than likely where my puff of smoke was coming from the other day. I still dont know if something got hot and leaked, or if i have something pouring out somewhere.....














And im embarrassed to post this, but this is why my coolant neesd to be flushed asap....

 

Well I think I can safely say I've found my leak.... I checked tonight, and the drivers rear corner looks to have alot of fresh oil coming out of it, and dripping down the block, and under it, dripping off my bell housing and right onto the exhaust. It has also coated my front driveshaft in oil.

I guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend.

 

I got the valve cover off tonight. That thing must have been leaking forever! There's definitely a ton of oil leaking down the block from there. I'm going to get a new gasket set and a bunch of cleaner tomorrow, and goto town on it on Saturday.

With any luck, I'll be getting the lift in, and get the radiator replaced, and get the coolant flushed. And if I can find time, I'll be installing my rough country front tow points.

Here she is. It was leaking bad lol. It looks alright on the inside though.

Also, are my rockers supposed to have slight play to them, or should I snug them down?

 

I got the valve cover all cleaned up and installed. So far no more leaks, from that at least.

My AC still seems to be working well also, so that's good that hopefully that is taken care of.

I also got my shackles installed in the rear, and my 1.75" coil spacers up front. So far I'm pretty happy with how it looks.

 

I got a few coats of undercoating on my sliders last night. I may do a few more tonight in hopes that it lasts a little longer this time. Its just the cheap spray stuff, but it looks 100 times better.

I was thinking maybe ill tape it off and do from the door trim down.

 

I got my new CB today, but the antenna, mount, and coax won't be here til tomorrow. I tried to hook it up to the old (circa late 70s) antenna I have, but I couldn't get it to do anything lol. I'll have to try again tomorrow when I get my firestik and everything.

 

Last night i got my CB, firestik, and cargo basket installed. I need to find a more permanent way to mount the rack, but its getting there!

The only issue so far is that its really hard to read the display on my CB when its mounted where it is. I will have to address that.

 

Well this isnt what i was hoping for last night on my way home......




My lower radiator hose gave out and was shooting coolant everywhere. I limped it home, and now shes parked for a while.







I guess now would be a good time to replace my radiator finally, along with the upper and lower radiator hoses, and i will be replacing my electric fan that i got to work for 5 minutes a few months ago, but i think i need it now...

I also think i found out where my front end clunk is coming from.

 

So i got started on replacing my radiator and hoses, and flushing the system yesterday. Everything went well until the cooler line froze, and i bent it to the point of no return. I ended up cutting it, and now i need to find a way to make this work again without replacing the whole line......






I guess this is why my hose blew...... It was paper thin beyond all those cracks.






This is what i thought of for a temporary fix, but ill probably get a brass elbow and run rubber line.

 

Shes back on the road again! I drove it in to work this morning, and so far (knock on wood) no transmission or coolant leaks.

This is the highest that the temp gauge went, even with the AC on, while sitting in traffic.




All buttoned up and getting tools put away.





Its a relief having a good 50/50 mixture of coolant, along with new hoses and all that. Ill have to test it out over the next few days.