Red YJ Build

Got the spacers cut quickly and then made short work of knocking out both bumps tonight. Total time in the garage was 20 minutes but it was so humid, my shirt made it look like I’d been working outside all day. Screw this current weather, when’s winter getting here?

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Guess I can update a little bit. Nothing has been done to the Jeep since limiting the bumps. Driven it some into town and took it to the web wheelers weekend we’re I proceeded to have too much fun and paid for it on the drive home Sunday with frequent stops to vomit. I did kill one of the iroks while racing down Daniel so it lives on the stickies now.

I’ve also started planning the next steps for this rig. Last weekend, @tobaccoroad4wd and I took a ride up to Virginia to pick up a donor vehicle. Plans for the drivetrain swap are looking like mid February it will begin.

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tobaccoroad4wd said:
That bastard tailgated us all the way from VA to my house!
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KG wanted a better look at that sweet ass DODGE (not calling it a ram...no matter what Capt Pedantic says)
 
adamk said:
Guess I can update a little bit. Nothing has been done to the Jeep since limiting the bumps. Driven it some into town and took it to the web wheelers weekend we’re I proceeded to have too much fun and paid for it on the drive home Sunday with frequent stops to vomit. I did kill one of the iroks while racing down Daniel so it lives on the stickies now.

I’ve also started planning the next steps for this rig. Last weekend, @tobaccoroad4wd and I took a ride up to Virginia to pick up a donor vehicle. Plans for the drivetrain swap are looking like mid February it will begin.

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Looks like way to much tongue weight. That poor Dod-gay (made in meh-heeco)probably barely survived the beating. @tobaccoroad4wd :flipoff2:
 
jeepinmatt said:
Looks like way to much tongue weight. That poor Dod-gay (made in meh-heeco)probably barely survived the beating. @tobaccoroad4wd :flipoff2:
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It was rough! Truthfully, if that truck hadn’t blocked my rearview, I might have forgotten it was back there.

StretchASU said:
I wondered where that black shitbox came from when I drove by the other morning :laughing:
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She’s a fine specimen!
 
It looks like an intense trail adventure, one jeep was down. Cool shots that you have here.
By the way, which off-road tires do you have on your ride? I am checking 4wheelonline for options because I am planning to purchase a new set during the Black Friday sale.
 
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adamk said:
Can it be called a shit box if the body is so rusted that it can’t even hold shit? Most of the body panels are held in with bailing wire
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Fine. A shit sifter. Like me at deer camp after a handle of whiskey and jalapeño poppers everything would run right through it.
 
No major updates lately. Work travel has picked back up and a pregnant wife at home has me working around the house so we're ready for the baby.

I did make a deal to get a different winch. Really wanted something faster so a trade was worked out with @tobaccoroad4wd and a Warn 9500 HS was installed on the YJ. It’s tight but it does fit and I’m very happy with it.

I've also picked up an NP241 and LS headers from @Chris_Keziah. While I'm still parting out the truck to recoup some cash, I figured I'd go ahead and start gathering parts. I'm tentatively planning to pull the drivetrain from the truck the week between Christmas and New Years. The it will be off to the scrap yard with whatever remains.

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adamk said:
No major updates lately. Work travel has picked back up and a pregnant wife at home has me working around the house so we're ready for the baby.

I did make a deal to get a different winch. Really wanted something faster so a trade was worked out with @tobaccoroad4wd and a Warn 9500 HS was installed on the YJ. It’s tight but it does fit and I’m very happy with it.

I've also picked up an NP241 and LS headers from @Chris_Keziah. While I'm still parting out the truck to recoup some cash, I figured I'd go ahead and start gathering parts. I'm tentatively planning to pull the drivetrain from the truck the week between Christmas and New Years. The it will be off to the scrap yard with whatever remains.

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@Jody Treadway would be proud
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adamk said:
No major updates lately. Work travel has picked back up and a pregnant wife at home has me working around the house so we're ready for the baby.

I did make a deal to get a different winch. Really wanted something faster so a trade was worked out with @tobaccoroad4wd and a Warn 9500 HS was installed on the YJ. It’s tight but it does fit and I’m very happy with it.

I've also picked up an NP241 and LS headers from @Chris_Keziah. While I'm still parting out the truck to recoup some cash, I figured I'd go ahead and start gathering parts. I'm tentatively planning to pull the drivetrain from the truck the week between Christmas and New Years. The it will be off to the scrap yard with whatever remains.

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What are your plans with the rear axle in the parts truck?
 
adamk said:
@Chris_Keziah has already laid claim
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Awesome!
Those are the best things to use. Disc brakes and the stock shafts are in every junk yard. I may already have 6 spare sets.
The newer cab and chassis and van axle shafts are the same length as those ones.
 
With the help of Justin, the motor, trans, and wiring were all pulled from the donor truck and the engine was loaded up and taken to my house to be freshened up. Once I started cleaning the motor, it became apparent that this motor was not original to the truck. It has iron heads and a long crank which were only used in 99-00 2500 trucks.

Tear down of the motor started off with some terrible surprises. The drain pan was filled with metal and I have no clue how the truck ran with 6 of the 8 spark plugs having a gap larger than the grande canyon.

Digging deeper, I found that the rod bearings were in pretty decent shape. They have some scoring from trash being run through the motor but no excessive play on them or the mains. The cylinder walls looks flawless and all piston skirts are intact. My best guess is that this was a reman motor and someone swapped the original components to this motor without cleaning them. Also should note that the truck ran and drove just fine and oil pressure was perfectly fine at idle and under throttle.

So, this motor will get a few new parts and then sent in the YJ for some beat downs. Should it go quickly, it’ll just get rebuilt and some 5.3 heads thrown at it and sent for more beat downs.

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Knocked out a few little things today. Got a new oil pump installed, new gaskets for the front cover/crank pulley, and new valve cover/valley cover gaskets. Also extracted the 4 broken header bolts. All came out without issue. Waiting on parts to show up (should be Monday) so I can finish off the rest of the seals/reassembly. Then it’s time to inspect the trans and hopefully just freshen it up with new fluid and filter.

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Just got back from Vegas attending CES which was pretty cool even though a ton of exhibitors backed out last minute. Once I got reacquainted with this time zone, I knocked out a little more work on the engine. Got a new oil barbell and rear main installed. Then installed the oil pan, intake, throttle body, and water pump. It’s starting to look complete again.

Tomorrow I’ll get the injectors cleaned, new orings on and then fuel rails installed. Will also start the fitment of the TC steering pump on the factory accessory bracket. Hoping I’ll have the motor wrapped up by Wednesday and start on the trans Monday.

Engine’s nothing special to look at but gives me some motivation to keep moving along.
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No red valve covers? Lol


Are you keeping the AC?
 
77GreenMachine said:
No red valve covers? Lol


Are you keeping the AC?
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I thought about color matching them to the rig but they’ll be covered by ugly coil packs so I left them blank as to not draw attention to the coils.

For now I’m keeping the ac components but I’m starting to think about letting it go. It’ll all be determined once I have the motor and trans mounted in the frame to see what kind of room I have. I also need to account for a larger/thicker radiator.
 
adamk said:
Knocked out a few little things today. Got a new oil pump installed, new gaskets for the front cover/crank pulley, and new valve cover/valley cover gaskets. Also extracted the 4 broken header bolts. All came out without issue. Waiting on parts to show up (should be Monday) so I can finish off the rest of the seals/reassembly. Then it’s time to inspect the trans and hopefully just freshen it up with new fluid and filter.

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Hey Barkeep, put a head on this! :laughing:
 
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