Documentary YJ Build

[Van-go]

Before I took a trip to Harlan I wanted to get my Winch working right. It was very intermittent if it would work at all.
I replaced all 4 Solenoids and installed an Optima battery to help get the m12000 going...

I cleaned everything up and replaced all solenoids. It worked great.... for one pull at Harlan.
I took it apart at camp the next day and 3 of the 4 of the solenoids had gone bad.
I guess I learned my lesson with DB Electrical solenoids...

I threw 2 of the old warn ones in and it reels in now, but you have to free spool it out.

I am trying to trade the winch for a lighter one, preferably with the Albright or Warn Contactor style solenoid.

It's something like $240 for a contactor pack and new remote from Warn... Trying to avoid that.

 

[DSM Turbos]

Somewhere along the way I picked this up. So far I love it. It's really easy to use and in the right hands (not mine) can put out some top notch work.

Gotta love the re-purposed cart.

I want that same welder bad!

 

[Van-go]

Harlan was an adventure weekend before last.

Didn't get to ride too much because people stuff kept breaking, lol
It snowed, and the trails were pretty slick, but we had rented a cabin with a hot tub, so we still had a blast.

Not pictured above are two Grand Cherokee's on 42's. They were broken. and the red jeep's motor blew later that night... that was a long tow out and back to camp.

Graham popped his cherry

I really need to get going on adding some safety features to the Jeep.
I can't decide exactly what I want to do about a cage.

I really want to build my own, or add on to my existing one and tie it into the frame.

That is next thing on the agenda.

 

[Van-go]

I want that same welder bad!

They were on sale at weldingmart.com this last summer for $800 or so.
I called them up and the guy knocked another $50 off and threw in a pretty nice welding helmet for $70

this is the same helmet.
(Bolle 40121 Safety Fusion+ Welding Helmet with Electo-Optical Filter, Black - - Amazon.com)

I was pretty happy to say the least.

 

[DSM Turbos]

They were on sale at weldingmart.com this last summer for $800 or so.
I called them up and the guy knocked another $50 off and threw in a pretty nice welding helmet for $70

this is the same helmet.
(Bolle 40121 Safety Fusion+ Welding Helmet with Electo-Optical Filter, Black - - Amazon.com)

I was pretty happy to say the least.

Yeah, I was going to get it this summer when it was on sale and never did. Now it jumped in price a decent amount. Cheapest places have it for 1k.

 

[Van-go]

Yeah, I was going to get it this summer when it was on sale and never did. Now it jumped in price a decent amount. Cheapest places have it for 1k.

If I had the money I would have gone with the miller that can run on 110 or 220..

Millermatic 211 Auto-Set 110/220 Volt Mig Welder Part#907614 (Formerly #907422) Plus free gloves!

If you want to try the ESAB out, just let me know. You're more than welcome to.

 

[Van-go]

I passed my NC inspection just the other day. I had to replace two tail lights, wiper blades. but I was pretty stoked cause I don't have a horn, e-brake and a few other things that should be red flags...

 

[Van-go]

I picked up a cage the other day off here.

I knew I would have to move the dash bar up cause it came out of a CJ 7 with no dash pad.

Once I got it home I realized that all the welds on the back half have been ground out and painted over.
I tried to clean them up and weld the tube back together but the metal was just too thin where it had been grinded. I have no idea why someone would just grind out the welds and part of the tube, but I ended up cutting out everything that was FUBAR'ed.
I will pick up some tubing this week and re-do the back half.

I finally made an extension cord for the dryer outlet at my house.
Now I don't have to drive 45 min hauling the jeep just to work on it at the parents where I had been keeping the welder.

 

[Van-go]

Here are a few pics of what I was burning through.
It is all cut out now. New tubing will be going in soon.

 

[Van-go]

The tubing that the seats were bolted to was not welded underneath so I finished the welds up.

All in all I think I got a well built cage, even though I will have to fix some things. It's just helping me improve and learn.

 

[Van-go]

Didn't get too much done this weekend. Helped a buddy who wants me to do a SOA and 8.8 on his YJ.
Got his front axle ready for him to bolt in.
Had to modify the spring perches to fit over the vacuum disco and the center section.

Went to the scrap yard where I got a bunch of grade 8 bolts for the roll cage ($5) and a bunch of box tubing to build a box to set my camper on. Also some other odds and ends that seemed useful.

 

[Van-go]

Got a little bit of time Saturday to mess with the cage before going to the truck pull in Salisbury.
I still have a lot to do on it but I got the dash bar tacked up, got some tubing welded in the back part of the cage. Still gonna add some more back there.

It takes a while to do anything without a notcher, saw and bender, but I'm getting there.

I am gonna have to do work on the seat mounts cause they sit too high. My head is almost hitting the cage when I sit in it.
Also, I still need to tie the cage into the frame...
Hopefully I can finish it up one night this week.

Also I need to install my new radiator and make a shroud for it.
Because my engine mounts are 2 inches forward from stock location, it is almost impossible to find room for everything up front.

I might use this sign as a shroud...

 

[Van-go]

Got a little more progress on a few things.
Got the plates cut/drilled out and mounted to tie the cage into the frame.

I also got started on the shroud.

Gotta get this jeep ready by the 25th. Going to Alabama to watch the Rock Bouncer's and check out the new Busted Knuckle off-road park.

 

[Van-go]

Radiator is in with no leaks.
Shroud turned out sweet. It should run a bit cooler now.

There is about 1/8 of an inch between the belt/pulley and the fan. This is because my engine sits about 2 inches further forward from stock.

 

[tlucier]

I assume your going to wrap those fan wires to prevent chaffing on the edge of your fan shroud? That's a tight squeeze in there.

 

[Van-go]

I assume your going to wrap those fan wires to prevent chaffing on the edge of your fan shroud? That's a tight squeeze in there.

Yeah, a lot of little details to finish up in the next week.

 

[Van-go]

I cleaned everything up and replaced all solenoids. It worked great.... for one pull at Harlan.
I took it apart at camp the next day and 3 of the 4 of the solenoids had gone bad.
I guess I learned my lesson with DB Electrical solenoids...

I threw 2 of the old warn ones in and it reels in now, but you have to free spool it out.

I am trying to trade the winch for a lighter one, preferably with the Albright or Warn Contactor style solenoid.

It's something like $240 for a contactor pack and new remote from Warn... Trying to avoid that.

So I convinced the girlfriend to buy me a new Warn contactor solenoid and controller for my upcoming birthday.
That was the easiest bolt on I think I ever did. Hopefully no more winch issues.

Everything is labeled. Warn didn't even send instructions cause it was so easy.

I don't like how sloppy it looks or where it is mounted. I'll clean it up and make a new bracket when I have time.

 

[Van-go]

Got the frame side brackets tacked up for the roll cage. One I fully welded, then I ran out of gas. Gotta go switch the cylinder out tomorrow.

Welcome to my shop.
Also known as the front yard...

 

[NickMaul]

So I convinced the girlfriend to buy me a new Warn contactor solenoid and controller for my upcoming birthday.
That was the easiest bolt on I think I ever did. Hopefully no more winch issues.
View attachment 245855
View attachment 245856
Everything is labeled. Warn didn't even send instructions cause it was so easy.
View attachment 245857
View attachment 245858
I don't like how sloppy it looks or where it is mounted. I'll clean it up and make a new bracket when I have time.

Relocate it unda da hood mon


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Van-go]

Relocate it unda da hood mon


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good idea, I'll do that eventually. I just don't have time to extend the wires right now.

 

[Van-go]

Cage turned out pretty sweet.

Alabama was fun. Broke a CV joint in the drive shaft so I had to cut and grind it to use one U joint on the transfer case side.
Got some body damage from trees as it was a brand new park.

Also, my transfer case is making a new noise when it is not under torque (coasting)

My cooling system is still giving me trouble. When i am going down the road or idling, it runs at a normal temperature. When I am on the trail, it stays on the edge of the red line. I don't have a digital gauge, but I can tell how hot it is, cause my fuel rail will start to boil and the engine sputters.

This also caused me to burst a fuel line which sprayed fuel all over the ground for a good while...

The only thing I can think of is that the air gap between the radiator and the shroud is not big enough (even though I can feel air pulling all around it) or that my fan is not pulling enough air. It feels like it is pulling enough when you put your hand behind it, but I do not know how to tell for sure.

I will probably post up in the tech section for help...

 

[Caver Dave]

the air gap between the radiator and the shroud is not big enough (even though I can feel air pulling all around it) or that my fan is not pulling enough air.

My $.02 is likely both, given the lack of airgap and cheesy fan

 

[Van-go]

My $.02 is likely both, given the lack of airgap and cheesy fan

Yeah, you're likely right. Any ideas on creating a bigger gap with the fan how close it is to the motor?

 

[Van-go]

took a trip to West Va to an old coworker's property.
found out the hard way why people don't love the Aluminum RCI fuel cells.
Weld cracked and leaked all my gas out...

RCI offered to repair it for free if i mailed it to them, but I was in a time crunch getting ready to go to the flats.

I sent it off to @hurt4x4 and he re welded the entire tank for me.
He is also going to powder coat the Artec mount for me.

Should have a good time installing it tomorrow morning at the Flats.

The truck did okay hauling all this for being bone stock with 3.55 gears...

Also made a spare drive shaft by sliding a Cherokee front into a grand Cherokee front shaft.

Going to pick up the new driveshaft from Oliver's today on my way up there.

This will be the first time using the camper and towing the jeep.

Should be a good weekend!

 

[Van-go]

The Flats was a blast.
Only broke a couple things...
First was the yoke in the front drive shaft. A rock knocked the snap ring out of the yoke and the cap pushed out, which caused the u joint to knock around and ruin the yoke.
Had a couple spares at camp. No problem.
Second, my winch gave out trying to flip a friends grand Cherokee back over.
My brake was not working so had to overwork the motor which I think burned it up... still need to test it.

Fuel cell turned out great. Got the mount powder coated gunmetal grey. Turned out a little brown, but no big deal.

Sorry for poor quality photo.

I was really impressed with how well she handled the beating.


There is another video of her on tank trap somewhere.

Still need to address the cooling issue.
I think I'm gonna ditch the shroud and go with a 16 inch fan mounted on the radiator face.