hey y'all, i'm conner, i drive a 1998 xj lifted on 33". i've been meaning to start a build thread for quite some time but just now pulled the trigger. anyways, i recently got stuck in a mudhole right before finals week so i had to leave it there for a few days so i could get some studying in. but since then, i've decided to rebuild alot of the jeep and try and make it as solid as possible and maybe throw some 35" lockers, 4.56's or 4.10's in there with some chromolloy shafts during the summer. Heres how it looked the day i drove her off the lot. and i'll post a few pics of the different mods/replacements that i've done thus far.

 

my pinion yoke straps got the bolt heads sheared off them not too long ago so i got a new yoke and did a u bolt conversion on the new yoke.

 

heres a picture of the u-bolt conversion on the yoke

 

oh and i also forgot to mention that i did the doorless mod on the front two doors. gotta love the feeling of the wind flowing up your shorts in the summer. just wish it was warm enough to be able to take them off now.

 

You're the Connor who bought my doors, right?

Need to come wheel with me!

 

yes i am! haha i gotta work out a couple odds and ends. like welding in some metal where the ******* PO cut through the rear wheelwell pinch welds, and i need some engine mounts bad (its bucking uphill and when i put my foot on the floor). moneys a lil tight now but i'm gonna get on it asap. i'll for sure be down for wheeling as soon as i get those two fixed though!

 

one of the alternator bolts was an absolute pita to get off ans i ended up stripping it so i had to get a little creative...
and you can actually see the corrosion on the bolt...
so out with the old and in with the new

 

and i also had to haul a few trees today. gotta say im gonna miss the nice smell of pine in the house. till next year, trees.

 

Nice. I need motor mounts bad too. I have brown dogs on order, but they take forever to ship.

 

my serpentine belt has been squealing like a pig lately. went to tighten it up today, took a test drive, still squealed. took the belt off, cleaned it, checked the pulleys to see if any of them had seized for some odd reason. its almost gotten to negative temperatures in hotlanta so all kinds of weird things are happening .... none of the pulleys were seized, they all rotated pretty easily. and the harmonic balancer isn't the problem because i replaced that about a month ago... i'm thinking it may be one of the pulley bearings. anybody know how to check for bad pulley bearings?

 

oh, and note to self: pb blaster oddly works wonders for cleaning dried mud off door panels. i'm convinced this stuff can cure cancer on top loosening rusty bolts... is there anything it can't do...?!

 

WD-40 works well for stuff like that too, just smears the mud lol.

I could just tell my idler pulley was the one going out a few years ago. It made some horrible noises. Take the belt off and try to move each of the pulleys around in every direction and see if they have any play in them near the bearing races.

 

will, its not doing it on startup or in idle. its only when i get to about 10mph+. that sound like what was happening to yours?

 

Mine would do it a little at idle and just got louder as i went higher in the RPM's. I would suspect an idler pulley, but i cant tell without putting my hands on it.

 

ill check it out. thanks for the help!