'88 ResurreXJ -- the second time.

[a_kelley]

Well after twisting up my first '88/'93-'94, I am reconstructing another '88/93-94. After the gas tank, gas cap, and all that.. I have this to start on:

I was originally thinking 1/4 plate over the spring hanger, then thought about floor pans from rock auto, then about sheet metal, now I'm thinking about find an XJ to cut those sections out of.

Suggestions? ( I know its build threads but this is a rebuild, and this is only the beginning.. there are plans, though it may wind up only slightly different than stock)

Also in the forecast: Liftgate strut hood lift (with pictures so you can no longer need to fiddle with the hood prop to check oil!)

 

[a_kelley]

Driver's side almost ready to weld -- some grinding/sanding and I'll throw some sheet metal on it.. decided to skip plate.. but I may change my mind again.

 

[a_kelley]

Snow Day work..

Got the drivers side about done.. Some of the welds look like bird turds.. Wire feed too fast/work not clean enough? I have no trouble with thick steel, but this is like only the 2nd time I've welded sheet metal... more practice will ensue!

This surface was dirtier than the prior one.. and the welding isn't as pretty.

Thats 2003 steel from my wrecked Camry.. Recycling!

 

[a_kelley]

If those welds looked bad..

If those welds looked bad, these are horrid. At least I'm putting carpet back over it. I'm about 2/3 done with patching the floor boards.. Welder keeps jabbing the wire, so it needs a new liner I'm sure. I had it pretty loosely looped since I wanted to keep it out of the snow and my way in the trunk.. I'm going to try to get some flap disks tomorrow if the local hardware is open.. not driving to forest city in this snowy ice.

 

[caspers-flight]

Looks like its coming along.

 

[a_kelley]

Coming along.. two fair size holes on passenger side and one small hole on drivers side left..

Note to self: weave. don't burn through. keep pushing the weld, not pulling.

 

[a_kelley]

mostly done. small area left one drivers side but it can wait.. passengers side just needs grinding down where I left off this evening.. too late to be grinding. Cranked the jeep up and moved it out front and it is quieter inside the cabin for the holes patched -- big surprise there. I should put up some pictures of the exterior and rest of it. It's not actually an 88 injection system. I put a 93-94 harness and HO engine bolted to a '88 AW4/NP231.. kind of get funny looks asking for 2 different model year parts at the store.. everything chassis is 88, everything electrical is 93-94.. at least it starts right off, instead of turning over 15 seconds before catching

Notes: don't leave steel tools under two turns of welder lead .. will magnetize said tools.

 

[a_kelley]

Started on my hitch/bumper today..

Materials used..
2"x4"x3/16" - 1 piece 64-3/4", 2 pieces 24"
4"x3/16 - few pieces 2-3"

Cut open where the uniframe is to fit 2x4 inside, had to cut down last 11 inches of the drivers side to slip under the fill hose feedthrough.. marked, drilled, welded nuts inside the 2x4.. had to back out the shackle bolts (don't need to remove them), and drill a hole in the 2x4 to allow the bolt to be put back in.. cut and drilled plates to go where the stock bumper bolts up.. got 3/4 of the holes 1/16-1/8 off.. really annoyed me. bumper sticks out from the crossmember recess 7".. need to cut in the receiver tube in the middle, and weld it in, gusset it..

I messed up buying tube for the receiver -- 2-1/2" box 1/4" wall is not 2" inside.. the weld makes it too small to fit a insert. grr. that was $12 wasted. I think I'll try grinding the weld down to see if the insert will go in.. only need to grind like 6"-8" of it. and it isnt but like 1/16" to grind..

pictures forthcoming. I'll take some of the uniframe opened up and how the pieces that slide down in the frame look.. Need to cap ends, I need to remove bumper one last time to cut in the tube and weld it, and to weld the factory bumper mount location plates on.. Either need to make two plates to go on the bottom of the frame so the bolts don't tear out, though I just may go with washers..

Total bolt count: 14 - six through the uniframe(3 ea side), 8 stock locations (4 ea side)

 

[a_kelley]

It got dark on me. Ended up just finishing all the welds without removing the bumper. you can kinda tell how it goes in the frame. 4 LB hammer helped "install" 2x4 into frame. Ended up using the 2-1/2" 1/4" wall, just had to grind the weld down inside the tube.. wasn't too hard. may need a hammer/chain to remove the insert on occasion though. thought about putting a grease zerk in it, but grease attracts dust. also I noted I need to work on moving evenly.. some places look like I got wider/faster.. wasn't exactly easy to weld on the bottom side though, laying on the ground.. still need to cap the bumper tube and clean up the safety chain holes.. FC wire spattered quite a bit as I went on.. didn't have much spatter when I finished the front of the 2-1/2 but started after I did the backside.. I used nozzle dip.... torch might need a new nozzle? its kinda burnt on one side and pretty well spattered up inside..

on another note, got any testing ideas that hopefully wont tear the uniframe apart?

it passes the hi lift test, but of course so did the rotten stock bumper brackets...

try ripping a stump out with it maybe?

 

[a_kelley]

got a '97 motor for it.. went to put a cast aluminum valve cover on it, and wasted $6 of silicone! grr. the 95 and earlier cast covers will not fit a 96+ motor because of the cast ridge on the inside of the cover.. i mean i could cut the lip off, but i'd need $6 more silicone

found another difference -- no coolant temp sender in the back of the head. argh.

did some searching on that -- Jeep Forum --
"If you have a 4.0 TJ engine with a head that has no hole for the temp gauge sender, you'll need to measure the spot where it would have fit on the older head. You should notice that there's still a bit of a boss in that area and that's where you make the new hole. Use a center punch to mark the hole center (based on the measurements you got from the older head), drill a hole in this spot for a 1/8" NPT thread (use this link for the drill size) - keep in mind that this hole is tapered, so don't run the tap all the way down or you'll end up with a hole that's too wide for the sender thread. The 1/8" NPT tap is quite common, I see it as part of many general purpose tap & die sets."

So all is not lost.

 

[a_kelley]

93 motor is out.. waiting on the 97 to be prepped and put in... we shall get back at it.

 

[a_kelley]

Motor is in and running. Thing is its running 225-250!! air bubble? I changed over the rad to a new open cooling rad, redid heater hoses. Should've gotten a thermo gasket and put holes in the tstat.

 

[a_kelley]

well, got it in and buttoned up, runs good, I put in a new radiator+cap (no more pressure bottle), new thermoclutch, new water pump, new thermostat, and put two small holes in the Tstat, its running like 230ish, sometimes up to 250 and then back down to 230... cut it off, and wait a few minutes and crank it back and its at 210.. put neck side up on a ramp, bubbled it out.. to no avail.. filled through the rad outlet and the front of the head to begin.. what's your guess at it? fan is not kicking on which leads me to think that the front of the head is not reaching the same temps as the sensor on the back of the head OR the temp sender on the back of the head is faulty... I wonder if there's a way to boil water outside and stick the sender down in the boiling water.. should read like 212...