project "no use for a name"
 

figured since i am starting to get more work done on my 1995 Sport 4-door, i might as well start my build-up thread here.

so far what has been done is some of the basic things, like new plugs, wires, rotor and distributor cap, straight piped exhaust through a magneflow 2.5" muffler, a 160degree thermostat to take care of over heating issues, new valve cover gasket, and that's pretty much it to date. the current axle set up on it is the Dana30 front and Dana35 rear.

today i took my XJ into the shop to have them put on a "new to me" 231 t-case, because something caused the chain in the old one to slip off and actually grind a big hole in the side of the outer casing. on saturday, my cold air intake came in the mail, but i'm waiting to get it back from the shop before i install it.

the other things i want to do with it as i get the money and time is as follows:

Iron Rock Off Road 5.5" lift
33" Mickey Thompson tires
62mm throttle body
possibly a greater cam profile and intake modifications
Lock Right for the front and rear

i don't plan on anything to wild for now, since money is relatively tight (college :cursing:), but once things get more comfortable, things could change to make it a beefy rig.



here is a pic of that hole in the t-case (i can literally fit my hand into the hole):
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs182...._6641275_n.jpg

That sucks about your t-case.
Good luck on your build

it'll all be good to go tomorrow when i get the call that it is in :thumbsup:

i just want it back really bad though, i'm sick of borrowing the evil mini van, lol.

the "new to me" transfer case is in! one of the guys at the garage was telling me about how everyone was looking at it asking "wtf happened?" long story though.

i'm probably going to part out the old case to see what is still salvageable from it and start a stock pile of parts. next i want to get the intake kit put in sometime this week. know it's not going to add much in ways of performance right now, but at least i can squeeze another mile or two per gallon.

well give us a short version lol , im interested how that actually happend:dunno:

i let my sister borrow it last summer to go to her bf's house and it started raining out. she put it into 4Hi and drive straight for awhile like that and the rain had cleared up a few more miles down the road. she forgot she even had 4WD engaged and went to take a turn, and the driving chain just came out of place. she didn't say anything until we had our first snow here in the metro detroit area, and when i tried putting it into 4WD, this horrible grinding sound came from right under my seat. i get home and tell the family what the problem was, and she goes "oh is that from when i..." you get the idea. so i've been driving it like that since then, and it just eventually wore two big holes like the one in the picture above, and needed it replaced.

i told this to the guys at the shop i had put in the new 231 for me, and he just says "jeez, as if women were not bad enough, but then your little sisters have to break your **** as well, eh?"

have the new air intake installed! it's the aFe Stage II kit with the oil based filter element. super easy to install.

the only main issue i found during installation was that the 1/2" heater hose section that comes with the kit struggles to fit over the outlet of the intake tube to the PCV elbow on the valve cover. to make this fit i used a file and took a little off the lip of the outlet. slid on fine after that. everything else went together with ease.

here are some pics of the engine now to show the intake and other pieces i had put on in the past:
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs162...._6711308_n.jpg

and of the air intake itself:
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs162...._8252432_n.jpg

you'll probably notice that the second lenght of hose coming off the intake tube is not connected to the cold air intake for the A/C (hence the small bit of tubing next to the filter that doesn't look like it is hooked up to anything). i actually cracked the plastic elbow that was originally on that section of tubing, so i need to head to the parts store and find a hose connector or elbow that fits the 1/2" heater hose length. but for now, it doesn't hurt anything, because who seriously runs the A/C in the winter?

another picture i felt that is necessary to add is a picture of what my jeep looks like:
http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs149...._5817062_n.jpg


so far that's it for now until i get some bills payed off and find time to order and install more parts.

been putting together some stuff i want to do in the spring. basic maintenance for the most part. i ordered a LubeLocker gasket for the rear axle, because i need to change that diff fluid come spring. i installed one awhile ago on the front, and it makes installation that much easier, and not waiting around for sealant to set properly. also, picked up the gear oil for that, and two gallons of Mobil 1 and a larger filter for an oil change i will need to do in a few thousand miles. i rack up miles quick, being that it is a daily driver, and i can easily do 40 miles in a day between school and work.

also today, i ordered the BBK 62mm throttle body that i've been looking at for the longest time now. 4WD.com had them with a 10% off offer they were doing, so i got it instead of $229.99 like they had listed, i got it for $206.99. that was the price before shipping, and because i ordered the gasket at the same time, i ended up spending less money than if i went to another site, or didn't get the 10% offer. normally on other sites, the throttle body costs about $279.99, so i think i got a good deal on it.

other than that, nothing else new to report that has been done other than shenanigans in the snow. i'm going to try to gets pics of the install as i am doing it which i will post here.

word of advice if you go with the mickey thompson baja claws. they are not dd friendly. they wear down quick. just my .02

^yeah, the more i look into them, the more i don't want them. obviously i still want something that can go from the street to the rocks or mud and back again. i figured a set of BFG's, or even the General GrabberAT2. Yokohama Geolander M/T tires from what i hear are a good balance of a claw tire and still able to ride on the street with no problems and normal wear.

the goodyear mtr's are a pretty good tire and they de very well on and off road. BTW judging on the name of your build is it safe to assume that you are a fan of punk rock?

punk rock: you know it:walkman:

Goodyear is always a good brand to go with; kind of a fail-safe standard. my only issue with them though is every tire store by me gouges prices hardcore, and the only place that sells them for a respectable price is at Sears. i tend to be wary of the local sears, because last time my brother took his Grand Cherokee in for service he went there, and they messed all kinda of stuff up.

Amazon, as usual, has some good deals on them, si i may just poke around on the site and see what else i can find.

ma every where you go the sell good year they gouge the price.....since that isnt an option I would go with the geolanders I have heard good things about those and from what I have seen of them the tread looks likes a good all around pattern

nice valve cover. i want to paint mine lime green. or yeller

^thanks. lime green? i didn't know they made that in an engine paint color. defiantly be unique under the hood.

the new throttle body is in! it came yesterday in the mail, but since i had a friend over the other day to help me homebrew some beer, it didn't get installed until today. very quick and easy install.

here is a pic of the throttle body and all that came with it: gaskets, mounting bolts, instructions, and even the always appreciated free sticker
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...1_990554_n.jpg

when i pulled the old TB off, i didn't realize how filthy that thing was! i knew how most of that caked oil had goten into it, from before replacing the PCV elbows and vacuum hoses, but had no idea it was as bad as it really was.
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._4044898_n.jpg
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._5312206_n.jpg

swapping over the TPS and IAC is easy, but did run into a bit of a snag when the small screws holding them in place didn't want to budge. a little bit of back-and-forth with the driver released them and then they came out easy enough. mated them up and with the new gasket on the IAC, the new TB was ready to drop in.
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...65_10869_n.jpg

something i didn't expect was that the old gaskets were still in great shape!. they are not a felt or paper gasket, but instead are made from a heat resistant plastic. because they were actually still in great shape, they were stored away with the old TB and the old mounting bolts.
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._2923756_n.jpg

when installing the new one, i thought about reusing the old mounting bolts, but realized that the new TB has counter sunk holes that require that only the new ones that come with the TB be used. the new ones actually are installed using a 5mm allen head, which i had the socket extension for that making torquing it to spec even easier. the old ones used a 10mm socket to remove, and do not fit into the counter sunk bolt holes on the new TB. after getting the new gasket and TB on, refitted the air intake tube and checked all my fasteners and bolts. prior to install, i disconnected the battery, which is mandatory before starting the engine back up after install. the engine needs to idle until it reaches normal operating temperature without any input from the accelerator. this allows the computer to refigure it's settings to accommodate the new TB.
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._1692671_n.jpg

after letting it idle and get the engine warm, i shut it off for a few minuets and fired it back up again to make sure it had adjusted correctly. started up much smoother than with the old TB on, and now it was time for a test drive.

my butt-dyno could feel a little more pep as i stepped on the gas. it had a little more power through the RPM range, got up to speed quicker, and even added a smoother tone to the exhaust. at speed it help cruising speed and RPM much better, and if i needed to speed up a little, the boost was almost instantaneous. for a little fun i had to see how well the stock rubber got smoked when i stomped on it. let's just say that even the guy in his riced-out Honda behind me was confused, yet impressed.

overall, i am very pleased with how this turned out. BBk has defiantly got my vote for affordable and well designed equipment that requires little to no adjustment to the unit straight out the box.

got a few rattle cans of DupliColor spray on bed liner. i want to keep the stock bumpers on because i personally prefer the look over some after market ones. i also plan on ripping out the carpet and want to bed line the interior. with the two cans i got, i want to spray the front bumper some time in the next few weeks to test this product out. i've used Duplicolor products in the past, and they really work great. i'd figure i'd give their spray on liner a test to see if i want to use that or go with another brand like Herculiner.

didnt know a tb could be so fun. haha

new parts are always fun :thumbsup:

no name project
 

I have a year on my goodyear Duratracs and have loved them for pretty much everything other then sand. If I remember what retail price is they are only a little less then the MTR's. Still have tons of tread left on them and my XJ is my dd. Figured I would give you an option.

^hmmm... good to know.

one of the things i would like is a tire though that can handle sand. here in MI, there are a few places along Lake Michigan that you can 4X4 at. the big one is Silver Lake, which my brother and his buddies are planning a trip for next year. i'd like to try to have something that can sit on the sand without sinking, yet offer pretty good traction on very loose and dry sand. thinking though, if i do go that route with the Duratracs, maybe getting a wider tire would still allow for relatively good traction when aired down, yet still be decent enough for a DD.

take a look at the BFG km2's. i got a buddy who swears by them. hey said the biggest problem with M/t's are they act like skates on ice. i dont know from experience because it doesn't snow in south florida.they arnt aggressive enough for me as my xj is a mud only truck. then agian im looking at agriculture tires.

I like the CAI:head:

no use for a name...
 

I tend to run 35 psi all the time even when i wheel. Depending on what your rim is you can run the duratrac's down pretty far with out too much concern. I went winter wheeling in SE MI this winter and took my tires down to 15 and they did fine on the trail and weren't to bad on the road back. Silver Lake recommends you air down to around 20 psi if I remember right. Last time i was there i was in my stock tj before i really got into wheeling. I have heard good things about BFG All Terrains being aired down and being decent of into sand.

sounds like BFG's are going to be the way to go. for the few sand runs, DD'ing, and not to mention that slushy winter driving we get, that is going to be my best option.

omg... RUST GALORE!!!
 

so, today i decided to do some more detailing on the interior of. had a couple of stains on the rear hatch area to clean out, and when i went to go scrub the cleaner in, my hand pushed the carpet downwards about an inch! i stopped, saying "wtf," and pulled some of the trim off so i could see under the carpet, and a full 1/4 of the floor in the rear is GONE! i don't mean just a spot here and there, i mean completely gone! from the frame rails to the outer fender have deteriorated to nothing, the open tops of the rails are exposed, but everything from the inside of the frame rails to the center is solid. the wheel tubs are still solid as well, so at least nothing needs to be reshaped. looks like another set back, because i don't want to add more stuff to my jeep if the body isn't going to hold up. i guess now is a good time to learn how to weld. :furious:

very nice so far. really like the cai i plan on routing mine the same way only keeping the filter up by the master cylinder so as to get extra space for a 2nd. battery. but anyway. BFG's are like the standard for meats they last great and wear even if rotated and aired right but i'm running maxxis AT's 32.5x11.5 on stock 15"alloys and i love them so far. read a lot of good on them and so far i've wheeled in mud water and sand then drove from nc to tx. really quiet on the rd. look good clean well and hook up in slop. wild country is an off brand of maxxis and they have a really good at with a little better sidewal grip i had them on at first same size but blew out a side wall pulling out of the shop and went in and had them swap me out. supertrucks shout out. but as for a dd i would defenitly recomend the maxxis at as it was recommended to me. ooh yea and they're about $25 (each)cheaper than the bfg's as well. that's a benjamin