Red YJ Build

[BigSouth]

It very well could since the lenses are from 94 and are already cracking. New ones are on order just in case. To gain the maximum clearance with the radiator, I’m actually going to be machining down the cooling fins on the back. These LEDs are too bright for what I’m using them for so I’ll use resistors and drop the voltage which will then mean less heat so less cooling needed. After the cooling fins are removed/trimmed, the pods will be much lighter.

All this sounds great in my head and on paper but we’ll find out if/how long they last.

I did something similar with the headlights on my old S10 build. You can always use the orange lens as a template to make something from steel.

 

[adamk]

There were plans made so that I would have worked on the Jeep yesterday, tomorrow, and Sunday however, Tuesday afternoon my wife had a doc appointment for our son who was due to be born April 7th. That appointment didn’t go as planned and resulted with us heading to the hospital for observation and ultimately starting the induced labor process. Early this morning my son was born and he and momma are doing great.

What this now means is the build is on hold until I can get the time to load it up and bring it back home. Once it’s back at my house, I can work on it as time permits and not need to worry about commuting 30 min each way to @tobaccoroad4wd shop.

I must say that Justin has been very accommodating and just down right awesome with allowing me to use his space, tools, and be a sound board for various ideas.

 

[adamk]

The YJ is officially back home. With the help of @tobaccoroad4wd, it was a painless move, even with it not running and no steering. Now I’ll work on it a couple nights a week as I have time and, hopefully, will get it finished in a somewhat timely manner.

 

[tobaccoroad4wd]

“Professional inoperable offroad rig maneuvering and transport”

 

[adamk]

So I think I've made enough progress to update this thread. Was really hoping to have the rig finished by now but I don't think it needs to be explained (see 3 posts ago)....

TC is now clocked. I had to modify a clocking ring I purchased because the increments were too extreme for my installation. There now is plenty of clearance between the front output and the crossmember.
Wiring has been slow but all the trans tunnel wiring is complete. I've mounted the Volvo fan to the shroud and the shroud to the radiator as well as determined where it will be mounted. A new T-stat housing was purchased so I could swivel the output to better fit the lower radiator hose to the radiator and also clear the coilover tower/frame rail. I also purchased a cable shifter for the TC, got the fuel lines made and run, and wiring to the fuel pump complete. Slowly it is coming together.

A couple other misc items like horsepower adders have been added to the rig. Also found out that Pull-a-Part now has golf carts that can be rented. Worth every damn penny when we went Monday to pull every Volvo fan they had.

I'll try to get more photos this evening when I get back out to the garage.

 

[adamk]

10 min here and 30 min there has gotten me to the point where all engine bay wiring is run and connected. Only a handful of circuits are left before I can call the wiring done. These circuits consist of the gauges, OBD2 port, fan relays, 4 low indicator and converter lockup control. Add a ground here and there and its ready for first start up. Of course, start up won’t happen until I have the motor primed/filled, trans and tcase filled, and exhaust made. It’s so close and I’m getting very excited.

I’ve also picked up some spare iroks (thanks @Chris_Keziah for picking them up) and some motobilt cowl armor (thanks @tobaccoroad4wd for being a dealer). The armor will get color matched like the rear corners. I’ll mount one of the iroks to replace the one I killed last fall and use them as my street tires.

 

[adamk]

Got another 30 min window to keep chiseling away. OBD2 port and TC lock up knocked out. Moved on to dash wiring items. MIL wired to keep the factory location and dash has been pulled apart to hide wiring and the Dakota digital signal converter for the tach and speedo. I’ve also removed the factory AC with plans of building a center console that will mate with the bottom of the dash.

 

[adamk]

Tonight more progress was made. Tach is wired and tested to be working. Speedo wiring with the converter was annoying me (unable to understand the instructions ) so I moved on to other items.

With the fuel cell now up in the tub, there’s more room for up travel. The rear shocks were pulled and bump stops adjusted to the lowest bump. Gained about 1.5” of up travel which I’m happy about. I thought I was going to need to swap the 12” shocks to the rear with this change but apparently, when I built this initially, I had already planned on the 14” in the rear at this bump location because they fit perfectly. I’m happy with how low full bump is and I’ve got more room to bring the front down another 1” or so with some changes to the lower shock mount.

Also tonight, I started brainstorming where to mount the trans cooler. I bought a cooler/fan combo and it’s much larger than I anticipated. At this time, only places I can locate it are the wheel wells and I’m not a big fan of it due to the exposure to mud/dirt. I’ll keep thinking on it but may end up buying a smaller cooler or remove the fan and mount it up front with the radiator.

 

[adamk]

Still slowly making progress. All wiring is complete minus the 4low switch, fan relays, and then looming everything to keep it tidy. The trans cooler has been mounted under the rear of the tub and lines made/run for it. The lower radiator mount is complete and a shock tower spreader has been made. It's a tight fit with everything but it works. Radiator hoses have been laid out and, pending the upper radiator mount, this whole rig is ready for fluids and first start up. I still have to build the exhaust and make up my mind on muffler/resonator combination that will fit and be mostly quiet. Outside of the swap, I also purchased a rear sway bar and need to get that glued in place.

 

[CasterTroy]

I still have to build the exhaust and make up my mind on muffler/resonator combination that will fit and be mostly quiet.

This x1000

I LOVE the freedom noises Derek makes, until I drove it for several hours at kairos. Ear plugs SUXOR. And the resonance is enough to cause fatigue.

I kinda liked the way mine sounded with the cherry bomb (only thing that would fit) but once Chris put an ACTUAL muffler on it and the loudest thing about my rig was the fuel pump, I was amazed at how much more relaxing wheeling was.

 

[adamk]

This x1000

I LOVE the freedom noises Derek makes, until I drove it for several hours at kairos. Ear plugs SUXOR. And the resonance is enough to cause fatigue.

I kinda liked the way mine sounded with the cherry bomb (only thing that would fit) but once Chris put an ACTUAL muffler on it and the loudest thing about my rig was the fuel pump, I was amazed at how much more relaxing wheeling was.

Exactly. I want to be able to have a conversation with my passenger(s) while cruising the trails or headed down the road. Additionally, I want to have my son in the rig but I will not jeopardize his hearing.

For freedom noises, if the room is there, I'll slap in an electric cut out for those "I wanna be obnoxious" moments.

 

[77GreenMachine]

Agreed on quietness. Ask @Curtis_H what he has, his has a tolerable idle that’s not obnoxious, and can cruise the trails and talk, but when he lets it rip it sounds great.

 

[rcalexander105]

Exactly. I want to be able to have a conversation with my passenger(s) while cruising the trails or headed down the road. Additionally, I want to have my son in the rig but I will not jeopardize his hearing.

For freedom noises, if the room is there, I'll slap in an electric cut out for those "I wanna be obnoxious" moments.

All of this

Cut out switch like Squatter (aka black Jeep) ftw!

 

[Curtis_H]

Agreed on quietness. Ask @Curtis_H what he has, his has a tolerable idle that’s not obnoxious, and can cruise the trails and talk, but when he lets it rip it sounds great.

Mine is a dual chamber flow master.

 

[adamk]

Mine is a dual chamber flow master.

Any chance you know the part number? Space is very limited and I’ve been looking at 1-2 small resonators and then a 4” straight through magnaflow.

 

[Curtis_H]

Any chance you know the part number? Space is very limited and I’ve been looking at 1-2 small resonators and then a 4” straight through magnaflow.

Not exactly. I think it was the 40 series but do not remember the exact one. I’ve had it close to 10 years now. Mine is a 2 in 2 out.

 

[gslander]

This x1000

I LOVE the freedom noises Derek makes, until I drove it for several hours at kairos. Ear plugs SUXOR. And the resonance is enough to cause fatigue.

I kinda liked the way mine sounded with the cherry bomb (only thing that would fit) but once Chris put an ACTUAL muffler on it and the loudest thing about my rig was the fuel pump, I was amazed at how much more relaxing wheeling was.

Yup! My transfer case and engine fan is louder than my exhaust.

 

[Monkeynono]

If it's too loud your too old..... I put the biggest muffler I could fit on mine and still think it could be a bit quieter

 

[BigClay]

Any chance you know the part number? Space is very limited and I’ve been looking at 1-2 small resonators and then a 4” straight through magnaflow.

I had a smallish flowmaster hush power series on my 5.2 ZJ and it was a really good compromise and I’m a tight space.

Speaking of I need to do something about mine, I just have a cat and a turndown and it is getting annoying

 

[BigClay]

If it's too loud your too old..... I put the biggest muffler I could fit on mine and still think it could be a bit quieter

How old of a man are you?

 

[orange150]

Agreed on quietness. Ask @Curtis_H what he has, his has a tolerable idle that’s not obnoxious, and can cruise the trails and talk, but when he lets it rip it sounds great.

All of this

Cut out switch like Squatter (aka black Jeep) ftw!

Anyone here have motortrend on demand and watch engine masters? Last season they tested cutouts; down low in the rpm range (while capped) they KILLED power, while up high it was negligible. Might not be too bad for most of our engines, but it still makes a difference.

 

[adamk]

So my wife and son left to visit family out of state for a week and a half. They flew out yesterday so today was scheduled to really tackle open items on the Jeep. @tobaccoroad4wd @Chris_Keziah and @Joe J. came up and put in some major sweat equity into helping me make some leaps and bounds on this project. Today the following items were accomplished

Intake fab’d up and finished
Steering orbital and resi mounted
All wiring under hood (except a couple circuits) loomed
Rear sway bar installed
TC filled with fluid
Trans filled with fluid
Motor primed and filled with oil
Cooling system filled
Trans tunnel cover installed
Center console concept sketched out
Motor started for the first time since it was pulled from truck in November

Items left to complete:
Exhaust
Fixed trans leak between trans and TC clocking ring
New fuel filter/regulator needed (cracked a brazed fitting on current one)
Build center console
Install new switch panel (panel being ordered tomorrow)
Power steering lines
Coilover springs installed
Shorten/convert front driveshaft to work with 241 flange
Hook up winch
Radiator fan wiring
Trans cooler fan wiring

While the to-do list is still lengthy, most of these items are quick jobs that I should be able to knock out after work this week. The goal is to have it at GER the weekend of September 16-18 for a shake down run.

I really can’t thanks Chris, Justin, and Joe enough for all of their help and hard work today. We made more progress in less than 12 hours than I have in the past 3 months.

Side note, my American staffy, Georgia, spent most of the day outside with us and, when the table was cleared, kept a look out to ensure no squirrels fawked with our progress

I couldn’t figure out how to add video so here are just some pics of the finished work

 

[adamk]

At just under 6 months to the day of pulling a running Jeep apart, it has now made its first drive down the road. But dyno says this is a touch more powerful than the 4.0

Still needs the following:
Radiator fan temp programming
Turn off Evap O2 stuff in the pcm
Correct wiring for OBD2 port - losing connection when engine running but have connection when not running and key in run position
Center console built
Trans cooler power wire
Headlights and headlight harness
Shorten front driveshaft

Huge shout out to @tobaccoroad4wd for letting me use the lift and @Chris_Keziah for building the entire exhaust

 

[adamk]

After my son went to bed, I got out in the garage for an hour. Knocked out the headlight, turn signal, rad fan, and horn wiring/looming. Stuck with the stock turn signal bulbs for now but will go to the surface mount leds later. Installed a set of Amazon special led headlights and they seem to work well.

The ranch trip is in 3 weeks so I’ve really got to get this thing buttoned up. Tomorrow I’m planning to take the front driveshaft down to @Chris_Keziah to have him shorten and install the TC side flange. Next weekend I’m hoping to get the center console knocked out and then it’s just some small things to be ready for this trip.

 

[adamk]

Picked up the shortened driveshaft from @Chris_Keziah and he did a fantastic job. He recently got some new stickers with his shop name and some more with his new slogan and made sure to doll up the driveshaft.