Basslicks

Well, nothing new done on it.

Still waiting on time off from work to be able to work on anything. Now, thanks to gear oil leaking in the back of my jeep, I get to pull out that carpet that I custom cut, soak it with degreaser and hope that the stink comes out of it or it's not going back in.

Yay.

Moral of the story: don't store opened gear oil in your jeep.

tssguy123

Damn, that stinks...

PocketsEmpty

That hood light looks awesome. I recently put one in my DD that was out of a Buick that I found at the junkyard. Glad I did, but the reel idea is perfect. Is this a factory option on GMC trucks? Where do I find one / what years/make/model should I hunt for at the JY? Damn, I need dat!

As for the carpet...man...just ditch it! You'll be much happier

Basslicks

Literally

Just look for late 80's - early 90's full-size GMC pickups... may have been available through the entire run of that body, but I'm not sure. I got mine on ebay - just search GM truck underhood light

Yeah, carpet is getting ditched... the temp rug is in there until I can patch the floor and get the insulator/deadener and bedliner.

Basslicks

Just went outside on my break and folded the rear seat down, move all my cargo forward, took the spare out, and yanked my temporary carpet out of the rear. Just couldn't stand the gear-oil smell anymore. Hopefully I can afford to get what I need to patch the floor and everything soon.

Basslicks

***UPDATE WITH PICS***

Got the windshield replaced... Safelite tech was cool. Told him I wanted to paint the dash while the windshield was out, said wasn't a problem 'cause he didn't have any appointments for the next 3 hours. Got 3 coats of paint of the dash and we sat there and BS'd back and forth for a while about wheeling. The guy also put a rubber strip around my windshield so I could get rid of the AL trim... looks much better

Before:


After:




Still have all the trim and clips so if I change my mind I can just cut the rubber off and put it back on... I don't think I will though - Trim will probably be put up on eBay.

Also took all the carpet out... been driving around like this all week:









Hard to tell because of lighting, but here's some shots of the black dash:





Kinda weird driving around without a passenger seat... even weirder now that I've removed the center console to take out that carpet section. Can definitely tell a difference with the noise level, but it doesn't bother me. I'm just wondering what the summer heat is going to be like... thank God for working A/C. Feels more like a jeep should without the carpet, I will say that much.

Basslicks

Fixed my dome light from sagging. A year or so ago, i had to pull it down to replace one of the map light bulbs and I didn't take the time to investigate how it goes up in there so it has been sagging ever since. Figure out it's because it's held up there with metal posts screwed into the cross beams on the roof and then uses the press on "screw retainers" for lack of knowing what it's actually called. Took those out and replaced them with actual trim screws... looks much better.

Don't have a before shot

Basslicks

Also... here's a little preview of coming attraction:

Basslicks

FINALLY got the motor mounts in. Huge difference in driving around an XJ with shot mounts vs. one with new mounts. I'll try to word this differently 'cause when i said it on FL4x4 on facebook, they gave me a hard time thinking I was comparing the Brown Dogs to OE mounts. I noticed an improvement in torque, throttle response, and the transmission shifted better (vs. wore-out mounts). When I say it shifted better, I mean before it wanted to play gear-hunter and would take longer than it should to shift up... which is exactly what happens when the motor is not solidly located where it should be. Again, I said this on a facebook group and they practically laughed me off the site... I think it's 'cause I didn't specifically word it that I was comparing the shot OEs to the Brown Dogs.

The exhaust also sounds better 'cause it's not clanging and vibrating against the crossmember... still needs to be replaced but much better that it's not doing that.

I got the rubber mounts, not the poly. As far as vibes go, they're not bad at all. You notice them on startup, on low idle, and when the compressor kicks on or you lug the motor.... but they're not bad at all. They're not annoying, just noticeable. If anything, I like the difference 'cause it feels like the motor is part of the jeep.

Here's a shot of the old mounts... notice the pass side still has quite a bit of life left in it but is also starting to separate



"exploded" view of the DS mount (no pun intended)






Gotta "install" the sticker when you do the mounts


Also ditched the broken power antenna and put in a cheap fixed-mast from Vatozone... finally have radio reception after 3 years of ownership lol.

Nice to have radio and music after having the player out all week. I was doing the antenna work while on my lunch breaks at work a little at a time along with other interior work.

I also have most of the interior trim pieces out and am painting them black w/ red accents.

I'll be finally buying a welder to fix my floor pans too

Basslicks

Welp.... not much done on the jeep lately. Finally bought my first welder. Chicago Electric (HF) flux welder. Nothing special... it was cheap, it fills a need, it gets me practice in. I figure by the time I get decent looking welds with this, I'll have enough practice that the high-dollar welders will seem like childsplay welding with them.





Also bought a DD car to be able to set the Jeep aside and do some work on her. Plus save money on gas.

2003 Pontiac GT

Basslicks

Some crappy first welds using my FCAW...

Only scrap I had at the time... The steel screw strips that hold the flares on the pre-97 XJs. As you can see from the pics, I didn't do much prep... just brushed them off for a clean surface to weld on. I was really just testing out the welder to make sure it was functional before the return period expired... plus I couldn't wait to play with a new toy.


Thought maybe thicker metal would be a little easier to work with. What I wound up with was a little too thick for the size wire I had, but it still worked... plus, it was needed for the project I was working on... my trailer.


...as you can see, I'm still getting used to it. Trying to take a technique I saw for thicker metal onto thinner metal and concentrate more of the bead onto the thicker stuff..


I didn't take a whole lot of pictures... but here's after I got a bead on all 4 sides and then started grinding away the excess... to wit, there was a lot of


Here's the finished product all ground, well filed down, and painted:


The whole purpose of this was to get the holes for the tilt release pin to line up so that once I get a load on the trailer, I don't have to lift the trailer to get the pin out:




I know it's not part of my "Jeep build" per se, but I use the trailer a lot and ONLY use it with my jeep.... so ya know... it's legit.

Basslicks

So I sold the Grand Prix. It was a sweet ride, but we needed tires and brakes for the van, we needed to catch up on our van payments, AND my jeep really needed a battery and front tires.

Well, 3 out of 5 ain't bad. Got new tires for the van, caught up with our payments, and got a battery for the heep.

Duralast Gold group 34. Before anyone says anything, yes I know... Diehard Platinum, or an Optima would have been a better battery. But for 110 bucks, I really couldn't beat the CA or CCA ratings of this battery.



Only thing that surprised/disappointed me was that it didn't have a yellow top. There were batteries there with a yellow top, but they didn't have any in the group 34. I know, big whoop, right?

I also met up with a guy here in Ocala that is the founder of an organization called "Jacked Up for a Cause" which raises awareness about bullying. Bought a couple of decals to help support the cause and threw 'em on the jeep.





In other news... I think I may have a lead on a set of axles and driveshafts... that's right - FULL SET! 29 spline 8.25 rear, HP D30 out of a '98... I think he even said the rear has LSD - can't remember for sure though. 3.55 gears (which is what I have now). So fingers crossed, I should be 4wd by Jeeptoberfest at the latest this year.

PocketsEmpty

Nice job to the fact that you're getting into welding--many people don't even take that first daring step. You'll get better with practice. I haven't even been welding a year yet but I feel that I can lay down some nice beads (I've had a lot of practice).

Also, in regards to the battery...I'd love a Diehard Platinum, but dang they are expensive. I'd be fine with a standard lead-acid as long as it has both the top and the side terminals, which seems harder to find.

Basslicks

Right on. My biggest problem is that I have so little time to dedicate to practicing. There was a metal fab shop next to where I work that recently moved though. So every now and then I'll go over there and sweep the ground for scraps to practice on... so far I've got a 5 gallon bucket full of steel and about a coffee can full of aluminum (for when I get the equipment for that).

Yeah the Pontiac had a die hard in it. I was really debating on whether or not to yank it before I sold the car, but one day I popped the hood and saw that the battery ONLY had side terminals... that ended the debate real quick.

The DLGold has been great though.... thing powers everything in the jeep just as if the motor was running. I'm really pleased with it.

Not having carpet paid off yesterday. I had some empty gas cans in the back of it so that I could fill them up on my way home from work in the morning. I didn't want my jeep to smell like gas when I got out so I had the windows down about an inch and a half without knowing that it was going to rain. Inside of the jeep drained out fine. No smelley odors to contend with.

Basslicks

Just realized I forgot to post this. Just a little sample of what I'm planning for the interior. Painting all the plastics and vinyl black with a red stripe for accent. Hoping that subtle bit of red will kinda be just enough to give it a nice look.



More recently though:

Broke the friggin' headlight housing!!!





Luckily the bulb was protected by the deflector so it didn't break.