shoggoth80

Lol.
I dunno if this quite fits under the build category or not.
I have been doing a fair clip of maintenance on my Jeep. Easy to get sucked into it. It's practically all stock, but I would like to get at least some minor stuff completed on it. Over the past few months (and much more recently) I have replaced:
Light switch, water pump, battery, serpentine, tires (just slightly taller), air cleaner, MAP, TPS, cap, rotor, pick up coil, put a set of Bosch platinums in, and a new set of plug wires as well. This is all stuff that I feel I have neglected, but due to lack of money and time. Recently got steady employment, so I am taking care of what I can, as I can.

Got a crank sensor on order, and a "Mind Blower" performance chip (it's a resistor in a box, I know). Just doing the "chip" to see what happens, because it was rather inexpensive, I have a neighbor who recommended it because he apparently got good results.

Pretty sure that the differential is a limited slip. I recall it looking a little different inside than a "normal" differential when I swapped out the gear oil several months ago. It's a Chrysler part, though it is larger than the standard rear end on the 4cylinder model (because I bought two gaskets...neither fit... so I cut my own. So at least somewhere, the previous owner did some upgrades when replacing stuff as needed.

Stuff I still want to get to:
New shocks (anything that I can add a couple inches with, without lift kits? I am totally new to trying to jack a car up in the air. Lol).
New set of front end bushings (I think there are a few sizes of front roll/sway bar..but new bushings would help cure a little higher mileage slop).
Wheel bearings (cheap insurance).
...and eventually a nicer set of brakes...as well as eventually get a couple spare wheels with full size spares.
Might get a set of ball joints, and do the u-joint out back.
When it comes down to it, swapping this stuff out is cheap insurance in my mind. Especially now that I can afford to do a bit here and there.

I am pretty sure there is more than one set of replacement injectors. I'm not trying to turn my Jeep into something it isn't. I understand that there is only so much that I am going to get out of the 2.5L 4-banger in there. Are there any that come recommended than others? Just looking to get a little more oomph out of it. The 2.5 will never be the 4.0. But it's not a bad engine, even if it is a smaller displacement model. It's always started, always ran well save for a few gremlins I am chasing that came up recently, and it has never left me stranded anywhere yet. Little tank.

Are there any mods that could be called "mild" or sensible? Mostly small ways to get performance increases without having to have a machine shop at my disposal? Practical ways to get a little more lift, without using kits to get it up in the air? I am new to the idea of doing more than just replacing parts as needed, and keeping on. I know there are H4 halogen conversion kits, though I need to do some research on who sells a good one. Bash guards for the lights would be a nicer touch. I don't crawl 4x4 trails... but I do take my car up into the hills, and utilize logging/forest service/"primitive" roads (the private road my folks live on is worse...).

Dunno... just thinking that with as well as this car has served me, it deserves a little attention now that I can throw a little money at it here and there. Is there one place that would be better served by starting with first than the others? I remember I did a Halogen conversion on one of my motorcycles, and it was pretty easy, not too expensive, and made a decent difference in terms of visibility.

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions? I call my car ugly... and on the outside it is to most people. This has some advantage in itself. Lol... but I do plan to give it some kind of paint in the near future. My Jeep is a '93, and the early-mid 90's models apparently have a rep for poor finishes. It shows on my car. Not looking to do anything fancy... as it is destined to get rock chips, scratches from brush etc. It's my DD, so I wouldn't mind it looking a *little* better.

I know I am still a n00b in terms of Jeeps, and this forum...though I am not a n00b in regards to mechanical procedures. I have been maintaining my own vehicles for many years now... and there has been little that I could not tackle with time, tools, and a decent manual.

XJ BoSS

lol
you may wanna get a decent amount of pics by the way. that way people can give you feedback suggestions, etc.
it sounds like a good start,

shoggoth80

Lol... yeah...I know I need to get some pics up. Been needing to do that for a while.
There is some level of logic behind most of the stuff that I want to do. Replacing front end bushings... because some of mine are pretty worn, and I occasionally get some wobble if i hit the a bump right. For example. A lot of it is stuff that should have been done some time ago, but couldn't afford it due to lack of steady employment. Part catch up, part fun.

I'll work at getting pics up. I know that forum users like their pr0n. I'll try and get some from different angles/perspectives as well. I've been meaning to do it for a while anyway. Lol.

XJ BoSS

just trying to help ya out lol. any plans for lifts?wheels?tires? etc,

shoggoth80

I actually don't know a whole lot about lift kits. I know it is possible to get a little more lift using taller tires, and I think in theory, if you used taller/stiffer shocks, you would also gain some marginal lift. Though, I certainly wouldn' mind some taller tires (than what I have now), and giving it a few extra inches of clearance.

XJ BoSS

More lift allows for bigger tires and more ground clearance from ur diffeentials and the ground. If u didn't have a lift and u put bugger tires ud probably have some rubbing unless u cut the flares. I suggest lifting it than bigger tires

Gee oh Dee

Moved to chat.

That's alot to sift throug. Why not try tackling one project at a time?

shoggoth80

Thank you Gee oh Dee. If this thread is better suited to the general chat, then all is well. Either way, it makes for a good spot to talk Jeep stuff.
Snapped some pics right quick... so, better late than never...

General view. If you can see the scratches on the driver's door...someone threw a set of snow chains at some point in time. Nothing that won't clean up when I get around to putting some new paint on.


Front view. Probably can't see all the cracks in the windshield. Lol.


General engine bay.


Crummy lines that need replacing.


MAT sensor... this is where the resistor will get spliced onto.


My rear differential. Snapped the part number. Anyone know what model this originally came off of? Or is it the original part number for the car? When I replaced the diff oil, I picked up 2 gaskets that were specified, one was for a Dana, the other was for the Chrysler part. Neither fit.


U Joint. I think this is still serviceable, but in as I get more paydays under my belt, I don't see the harm in swapping it.


Bad bushing. Gotta replace.


Tie rod end. No noticeable slop, but dirty as all get out.


Sway bar bushing... still good...but might want to swap for a urethane one for longevity sake. How many different sizes were there? I have seen two 20-something mm, and a 1" one just parts surfing.


My tires... I think they are 165s. On stock rims. Ugly as can be. Very tempted to sand and paint these.


I know it's a lot of maintenance stuff to jump on at once. Probably should tackle the front end stuff first. Bushings, ends, etc. Might need to find someone with a press in my area, so I could do the ball-joints. Once the front end is tightened up, I can move on to other things. Having a non-sloppy front end is important. I like to plan stuff out, and write it down, so I can cross things off a list as it gets done. Helps me stay organized. This also works with any recommended mods/procedures, as I can easily reference it later (and write in parts numbers).

Gee oh Dee

Forget the sway bar stuff for now. Those lines, get them replaced first.

shoggoth80

Yeah, those lines are pretty janky. They should be cheap, and quick to swap out. Can't find a part number on Autozone... but there is a store really close to where I live. So, I might have to pop in there to see what is up. New hoses would probably cure a lot of minor headaches along the way too. They should be cheap, so if I can figure out my front end bushing sizes, I could knock a lot of that out next payday.

Gee oh Dee

I wouldn't waste much time on sway bar bushings, but others wouldn't be a bad replacement.

I have no sway bars. At all.

shoggoth80

Apparently my rear diff is an 8.25" model. That is about all I could find by googling the snot out of the part number. I don't know if it came with that rear end stock or not. It is highly possible that the parts counter guys just couldn't read parts numbers right, or that the computer system was incorrect. I guess I can email Jeep with my VIN, and see if I can get any information that way. I also read that the 8.25"s are pretty tough, and can compare to the Dana 44 rear ends... any truth to this?
I like to think that my rear axle is overbuilt for my powerplant... but I have nothing to substantiate that with, aside from knowing there were also 7.25" rear ends.

Gee oh Dee

Yeah, you prolly have the 8.25, and its realky just as strong as the D44, just less aftermarket availability for it.

There are also two versionsof your rear, a 27 and a 29 spline. The 29s are a bit stronger.

shoggoth80

"There are also two versionsof your rear, a 27 and a 29 spline. The 29s are a bit stronger."
-Is there a way to identify this without yanking the diff/axle out of the car?
Is that designated in any way by the preceding numbers on the housing?

Gee oh Dee

Sorry. Not very familiar eighths down and dirty details of the 8.25

I've got the D44.