POS YJ

B_Thompson

Active Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Location
Harrisburg
I had a 2004 Rubicon for a couple years and damn was it nice, the payments were not. So I sold it and picked up a family owned Civic and a 1988 YJ. This thing was solid, not a spot of rust, ran great, rebuilt engine, stock as can be. The paint is in need of work, but I was ready to dive into a cosmetic restoration and a build project. So I drive it home 2 hours and about 3/4th of the way it rattles like nothing I've ever seen, I had no choice but to limp it the rest of the way. Then, she stopped moving like 50 yards outside my neighborhood. The revs went up and the tires didn't spin. I thought first it was the throwout bearing and then the clutch went out. I dove right into it and replaced the clutch, pressure plate, and slave cylinder/throwout bearing. I pieced it all back together and the sob still rattles like crazy. Anyway, it's been 2 weeks and I'm still working on it, so this will keep my progress of the entire Jeep. I've got a loose idea of how I want her built, budget allowing. I'm down to hear all kinds of cool ideas and suggestions and any advice on mechanical stuff if great too, I'm no professional.
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Shoot I'd trash everything but the frame and body if I could. It might even come down to that, but man I wish I could've whipped it around a little before it goes down for months.
 
I would trade it for a toyota!!!! Lol! Sorry had to do it!! On a serious note I would say get it running reliably and take it wheeling and get a feel for what you want to do with it. I.E Daly driver/ trail rig, full trail rig, (cringe as I say it)...mud rig.....ect
 
What engine is in it now?
 
Here is my '88 rust free wrangler when I brought it home. I post these pics cause they are both 88 models and black.

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Here is what she looked like finished with a few tweaks. It took a little elbow grease but I finally finished it.

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Whatever you do double your budget and time frame. Go ahead and put atleast a 5.3 in it since it sounds like you have engine problems.
 
I'm thinking it needs a new transmission, the sound stops when the clutch is pressed but everything in the bellhousing is brand new, I figure beat up input shaft or something along those lines. I want a 5.3 but it'll take some time to put all that together. It runs a 2.5 right now, so it's no surprise the ax5 is junk. Mine was actually red with a subpar rattle can job on it. You can see the red where the black is chipping. My plan is white with a khaki soft top. As the interior was painted black too, I'll vinyl paint it tan or khaki. I've already picked up some rio grande seats that are all torn to shreds, but my passenger seat's frame was so rusted it had no support, so I wanted reclining. I plan to remove the covers and get some nice similar style fabric sewn in to the cloth parts, the leather and backing is still good. Right now I want to get a cheap ax5 so I can at least drive it while I gather drivetrain parts. The big goal is 3rd gen chevy v8, 1 tons, xj springs rear and wagoneer up front. We'll see how long it takes to get there.
 
I dont think I said nice Jeep, I know mine will take a lot of elbow grease, but I'll get it there. Seafoam treatment got it running like a top, there isn't a rattle anymore, but it won't go anywhere. I'm officially searching for a new transmission. I'd try to do an AX15 swap, but that doesn't make sense if I plan to ditch the 2.5l down the road. I wouldn't want an AX15 behind a v8 anyway, I'd rather that be behind a 6 cyl.
 
I've been busy lately, but I picked up some stock sized mud tires on explorer wheels. Still isn't moving, but I'm going to attempt replacing the input shaft rather than waiting around for the right transmission to pop up. If anyone wants to buy some zj wheels, make me an offer
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Don't knock the ax15. I ran one behind my mild built 360 for a few years with no issues. Good looking ride. I would give you advise, but that would be the same as giving to my kids.....lol ( leave it stock and wheel it)
 
B_Thompson said:
I dont think I said nice Jeep, I know mine will take a lot of elbow grease, but I'll get it there. Seafoam treatment got it running like a top, there isn't a rattle anymore, but it won't go anywhere. I'm officially searching for a new transmission. I'd try to do an AX15 swap, but that doesn't make sense if I plan to ditch the 2.5l down the road. I wouldn't want an AX15 behind a v8 anyway, I'd rather that be behind a 6 cyl.
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Ax-15s are tougher than you think.
Same basic trans that is in 2jz supras.

IIRC you can use a Dakota bell housing to bolt to newer hemi.

Colorado/cts/sky/solstice bellhousing to bolt an ax-15 to a newer gm gen 3 engine ie: ls1, lm7, lq4, ls7 etc...


I've been running an ax15 behind a built 4.7 stroker since 05, and since 08 with tons and 42's.
 
I bet it is plenty strong, still the work to run an ax15 behind my current 4 cyl isn't worth it. Later down the road we'll see what happens, right now it will stay stock for a while. I want to get a feel for it before diving into anything.
 
Alright, progress has begun. I pulled the tranny out and cracked it open.
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The input shaft is shaved down to nothing and it beat the cluster gear up a little bit too.
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Both have been ordered and should be in by the weekend. I'll finally be able to drive it. On another note, I got a new coolant temp sensor to fix some startup problems I've been having. Well I found a whole other set of problems. What is this and why isn't it plugged in?
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Look at how bad the gauge wiring is.
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Is this supposed to run to a gauge because it looks like it's supposed to be where my new sensor goes?
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It's been almost a month but I've been dealing with a few idiots who sent me wrong parts, but of course I have to pay the return shipping. Anyway i'm not trying to rant, but the jeep still isn't moving
 
Been too long but it came down to a full day of working on it and she does run. I drove her around all day and got it on some farm trails. The hardest part is done now. I'm going to get a wiring harness in the next few weeks and then the brakes need some attention, but she is streetable now.
 
When I put the jeep back together I couldn't grab reverse. It didn't grind or slip or anything like that, the shifter just would not go into it. All 5 other gears work. I've taken it apart since then and dropped all of the detents and put them in, this time paying close attention to a specific diagram, thinking this would solve the problem. I put it back together again and it still won't grab. Anyone know what the issue is or could be?
 
I have no experience with an ax5 but have you tried spinning the input or output shaft? I rebuilt a np435 and couldn't get it into reverse until I spun the shaft and everything lined up right. This was with the transmission out of the vehicle so when I tried to go into reverse I couldn't get the required force to move the gears. Its easy now once installed since the tranny is mounted the force I apply on the shift lever is significantly more.

With that said I'd ditch the tranny and go to something else. I had the input shaft go out on my ax15, briefly though about fixing it then i decided wth and threw in a np435. Great decision, no loss in street ability since I rarely used 5th and the granny gear is amazing. Sort of choose my next motor for me as I'll end up going with a ford 5.0 stroked to 331 since I already have a ford transmission. Only thing required for the new motor now is a different bellhousing and clutch setup.
 
I looked into transmissions, but theres only so many options for the 2.5. I tried spinning the output shaft when it was mounted but the transfer case wasn't behind it quite yet, still nothing.
 
I didn't think about that, forgot you have a 2.5 for a min. Where does it stop when you're trying to get into reverse? Is it going over to the side or going down to mesh the gears? On the np435 if the reverse idler gears are on the wrong side of the shift fork it won't engage
 
It's like it isn't moving at all, which is why I originally thought about the detents. 5th is a little harder to get into so it'd make sense, since they on some of the same detents. I'm at a loss, has anyone heard of them binding or not being lubed enough? It sounds like a stretch, but anything could make sense.
 
Took the Jeep out on some real trails and was really impressed with it. Got it stuck because of lack of ground clearance, which is to be expected right now. I need to cycle through the transmission hopefully one last time and get reverse working. I'll post some pictures tomorrow. You'll see, but I hate mud.
 
Just realize I never posted the picture. The mud sucked, but it wasn't supposed to happen that way, it's just what happens when a Grand Cherokee is over confident and gets stuck right beside the already stuck YJ. The inside looked the same. Since then, the transmission is perfect, took me long enough, but for a first time rebuild I'm really happy with it. She's a ton of fun to drive and now I'm cleaning her up more.
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