RegularGuy

Just looking at the front grill, its impressive what just some paint can do! it really made me realize how faded out the plastic was...

Let me wash this thing up and take a few glamor shots. well, about as glamorous as it can be with the wheels mismatched and rusty.

RegularGuy

I got a lot achieved this weekend.

As I mentioned earlier, here are pics of the painting process. I'm not the best at this so please try not to cringe at the final result

First i scrubbed them with Simple Green and a scotchbrite pad. Then it took a good long while to tape off right up against the fender flares and the small moldings on the fender (they were solid so i saw no point in pulling them off). Took a while still to tape papers up on there for more protection.

Then i rubbed them down with another coat of alcohol. Im not the best painter in the world but i gave it maybe four or five even light coats of the paint. while that was drying i pulled off the headlight bezels and grill (SO MUCH EASIER than the '96 and earlier style!) scrubbed those down and painted those as well. it was this time that i removed some of the paper to get a better look at what kind of job i had done.


Looks good so far! i only had a bit of overspray on the driver fender, and some alcohol cleaned it right off.

I pulled the rest of the tape off, cleaned off the remaining adhesive from the door panels and carefully laid the new adhesive down. it was kinda a jerk to work with but it wasnt all THAT bad i suppose. eventually i got all the moldings back on and it seemed to be holding. added back on the grill and bezels and then started to clean up when i noticed someone at some point had written "Help" or something similar on my hood. it must have etched the clearcoat or something because it wasnt coming off

went down to the car wash and lightly sprayed the sides and tried to scrub the hood, but it didnt come off. the jeep looked pretty nice though! even with just the grill and wiper arms painted it made a lot of difference. I used two cans of Krylon Dualbond (im thinking they replaced Fusion with it?)



Yesterday i attempted some more to get the o2 sensor off, but not even heating it would help. plus from squatting up and down all day Friday working on the moldings, then being stupid and playing tennis that evening, my legs and back were making the job even more miserable. So i called my neighbor for help. the actual "big boy torch" made the job go a lot smoother. in about 15 minutes the sensor was out and replaced. While under there he also noticed that the source of my transmission fluid leak seems to be the bottom line into the radiator. He even buffed the hood so the graffiti was no longer visible! its nice to have a neighbor when you need backup.

funny how much different the jeep drives now. idk if being richer gave it a slight bit more pep sometimes but it idles much more smoothly and at a slightly lower rpm now. and no gas smell from the exhaust, or bucking and complaining a minute or so after you start it up!

So, in a weekend, i got the moldings painted, wiper arms painted, grill and bezels painted, changed the oxygen sensor, and identified the transmission leak as being not as bad as a leaking seal. all things that have been nagging at me since i bought it. Cool Deal!

RegularGuy

well the moldings must not have stuck too well, or i washed it too soon, because they are starting to pull off again.

I might just pull them off for good and bedliner the area but im not quite sure yet.

RegularGuy

today i'm going to go pull that 28mm sway bar. I already checked the boneyard earlier for the ZJ tie rod, but i must have misremembered it, it isn't a V8.
I did find some skids on two different ZJs though....

EDIT- Well i might be a bonehead myself, somehow i must have misread the calipers when i first measured the bar because now that i've pulled it off and brought it over... its the same size, or well maybe one single millimeter thicker.

at least it was free.

Basslicks

Front skids or gas tank skids?

RegularGuy

I found all three, front and transfer case skid on the Limited, and the fuel skid on another one. I made a thread about fitting the first two, as i see its a fairly common practice to fit the fuel skid.

Currently investigating what "Heavy Duty Cooling" exactly is. The parts jeep has that on its build sheet, but i'm not sure if i found a dual-core sort of radiator, or a radiator and transmission fluid cooler. It runs the while length of the radiator like the second picture in this thread.

Basslicks

Okay, in THIS picture you see the AC condensor and an aux trans coooler with the radiator missing...



In THIS picture, you see the radiator and the AC condensor only...



I don't see any "Heavy Duty Cooling" in that picture. It sounds like, the HD part they're referring to though, is in relation to the transmission... and really just an auxiliary transmission cooler.

The aux cooler on the XJ looks like the one in this pic:


Click for full res

RangerWeaver

Sorry to read about your old XJ man. But you have a great start so far man!

RegularGuy

Thanks. I dont want to say i came out ahead, but... Looking back now, being Jeepless for four months, then having this fall into my lap... I'm lucky.

HURRR DURRR i feel like an idiot. It hadn't occurred to me the AC condenser looked like that, let alone that the 'radiator' didnt have a friggin cap or anything.
I'm assuming the Xj condenser is just about the same?

So, disregarding my lapse of intelligence, if i cant find the trans cooler from the part out, i should swoop in and grab the cooler off that green ZJ?


Its hot out today. Speaking of AC components, I think i'll grab a can or two of R134 and see if i can get the AC to hold a charge.

If i can get it on good authority that i can get a ZJ front skid to mount onto here, i might go pick those skids up this coming weekend. Assuming a ZJ fuel skid would be better off that one from a 95 XJ going onto a 98.

Basslicks

Lol... I figured you had a brain fart. No worries man.

Yeah, the XJ condenser spans the full width of the radiator just like the ZJ condenser. If you have an aux cooler, be it for trans fluid, motor oil, or power steering fluid, it's just going to be a little thing... between 3 and 10 rows max, I'd say.

RegularGuy

I dont have one. But if i can get that one off the ZJ i think i'll grab it when im able.

I assume i could flush it out pretty well with some fluid and hose it off before testing it for leaks and installing it?

RegularGuy

Well, here seems to be the first issue popping up with the jeep.
As soon as I get to work and put it in reverse to park, it made a funny sort of noise as I backed up. Put it in park and fine. When I shut it off it made a strange sort of 'thump' at the end.

Went back out after opening up the shop and started it back up. There's a faint, but definitely there, vibration. It's a deeper sort of sound so it 'feels' like something large. I went out and gave the motor a few revs but it didn't seem to move too awful much. Went back in and shut it off, the 'thump' at the end happened again. Started it a third time and drove it around the parking lot, realized it really only does it on startup and shutdown, plus in any forward gear, only with the foot or emergency brakes applied. Let go of those and nothing.

I'm thinking motor mount?

Basslicks

Definitely grab it if you can get it for cheap. If not, Hayden sells a small aux cooler with everything you need brand new for 32 bucks....

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...366&ppt=C0331#

If you go with the JY one, if it's been closed off from the elements, it should be fine. Tranny fluid has a TON of detergents in it. Shouldn't really be crudded up too much, but it wouldn't hurt to run some trans fluid through it just to clear out any water or contaminants. Shouldn't need to go too nuts with it though.

Yes. Check motor mounts, transmission mount, and the exhaust hanger that runs through the cross member there.

RegularGuy

well the motor mounts i ordered came in today. they ARE both the same part, right?
They certainly aren't Brown dogs, but i figure if this fixes it for now, this should hold her over for a few months at least when i can get the nifty yellow buggers.

it doesn't look too hard to do by yourself, so i may attempt it Sunday if the weather cooperates. It hasn't really made any more noises since then besides a THUNK sometimes when it starts up. I'm thinking its kind of always been like this, and i hit a pretty big bump the other say so it was shifted or something then, that's why it made the vibration noses at work. driving it home 'settled it down' or whatever.

in any case, i guess we will see.

LACK

Yes, they should be the same.

You should replace your trans mount while youre at it though. They are pretty cheap and typically youll want to replace them as a set.

Reason behind it is that if your trans mount is worn out it will prematurely wear your motor mounts out, and vice versa.