RockMJ Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Well, I guess it is about time I pulled the trigger and actually made one of these. Some of you guys have been on me for about a year now to actually make a build thread and now you got your wish. Happy?!?! Well, anyways the Jeep this thread is going to focus on is my one owner 1990 Eliminator. It is a 4.0L 2WD AW4 model with about 215K miles on it. I purchased the Jeep in March of 2013 from the original owner who was still driving it on and off. At one point in the Jeep's life the PO cared enough about it to keep up with the maintenance but much like most things of its age, its worn out and in need of repair. Drahcir495 and myself took a day to go look over the Jeep just outside of Orlando, FL with little knowledge about it and just a few horrible Craigslist ad photos. When I had called the phone number listed I was not able to speak with the actual owner of the MJ but rather his less than intelligent nephew. After getting the address and some money out of the bank we decided to make the 3 hour drive out there. The Jeep was listed on Craigslist for $1450 and we had no intention of paying that much from the start so I only brought $1100 with me (we can haggle, but don't tell anyone!). When we showed up at the guys house we found the MJ sitting in the corner of the driveway in a pretty sad state. Giving the Jeep a quick once over and checking the body for any serious signs of damage, rust, rot, etc. we moved on to starting her up. Prior to popping the hood I already knew if I saw a rats nest of PO wiring fixes I was walking away. I had dealt with several older Jeep's in the past with hacked up harnesses and was not looking to start the project off that far behind my goals. I was able to breathe a sign of relief opening that hood and seeing everything original or replaced with OEM parts. I am pretty sure the sun peaked through the clouds at that point and illuminated the Jeep like some holy relic, but I could be wrong lol. The guys nephew was running around trying to find the keys and was only able to manage finding one ignition key but no spare or door keys. Fun. We got to talking a bit after popping the hood I could clearly see that someone had power washed the engine bay. I was so tempted to face palm the kid after he told me he did it to get the grease off. I asked him right after if he was familiar with this era Jeep and he just replied "nope, but its basically a Cherokee right?" Yes, yes it is but its also incredibly temperamental when you introduce said water to said electrical connections. He then proceeded to tell me that the transmission was not shifting properly and he forgot to mention it on the phone. It slipped his mind. We moved on to checking all of the other electrical connections and making sure everything worked as it should and sure enough, everything did! Now obviously most of the interior bulbs were long since burnt out but everything functioned as it should, brakes, tails, etc.! I was so incredibly happy about this that I almost forgot about the transmission but I would soon be reminded when we went to drive it. So with the Jeep started and running it barely idled, was leaking oil profusely, and had the worst top end valve slap I have ever heard. I was in love... And onto the fun part we go! The nephew informed me that he had problems with his Chevy and had been driving the Jeep the past month or so and since the transmission wasn't shifting he had to mash the gas to WOT and eventually it would shift. He then proceeded to demonstrate it for me and I quickly told him to stop if he was interested in making a sale that day. I obviously knew what the problem was but I was not about to divulge that information to the backwards hat wearing frat brat so the price would remain what it was. No sir, that was not about to happen! So we got to talking and I laid it out for him clearly "The motor sounds like death, the transmission does not shift. It leaks oil and the cab is full of water. Half of the interior doesn't work and its filthy beyond anything I had ever seen before. I will give you $800 for it right now, cash, and we drive off right now." He thought about it and came back with "Can you do $1200?" to which I replied "No, the most I am willing to spend on it is $1000 and I am taking a gamble whether it will make it back home or not." We ended up settling on $1050 and after he was paid we took off in my new-to-me 1990 MJ. Now how to get it home... Me and Drahcir limped it to Advance Auto Parts where I was meeting a fellow VW owner to sell a set of wheels to. So after making a quick $700 I went in and bought a host of stuff, mainly oil. The engine was leaking oil so badly it would shoot a huge amount out onto the exhaust and a massive plume of smoke would follow. I was always able to tell when it finally shifted because of that plume of smoke lol. We tried to quickly diagnose the transmission issue but ended up just disconnecting the TCM and manually shifting the Jeep the rest of the way home. We periodically stopped to top off the gas tank and add more oil to the engine and transmission hoping both would not give up the ghost. The Jeep drove flawlessly on the highway and was able to do 70mph all the way back without issue. I was pretty damn excited at this and the feeling of "I think I made a bad decision trying to drive this back" faded away. On the drive back we started finding out some neat things about the Jeep! It had cruise control from the factory and it actually worked, and worked well! I was shocked but to top it off when we stopped for gas in the rain the security headlight delay shutoff worked. I was smiling from ear to ear at this point! Minus the drivers side seat being broken beyond repair, it was pretty comfortable driving it back the three hours. It was not until we landed back at our job that we were able to really assess what we had purchased. Once getting her back safe and sound and after jumping for joy a hundred times over, I started looking her over. Here was the initial tally of items needing attention: - All, and I mean all, of the door seals were completely shot - Drivers seat was broken and metal was poking through the cushion in spots - Locks didn't have keys and were actually broken - Steering wheel was shot - Shifter handle was broken - Headliner and mirrors were stripped of their fabric - Rearview mirror fell off on the way home - Interior lights were broken, burnt out, or missing - Rear slider center glass was missing. Replaced with plexiglass - Front PS marker lights went out (bad ground) - Huge dent in the ds rocker and front portion of bed. Kicked? - Fuel pump was incredibly loud and dying - Engine was leaking oil so badly it was undriveable without filling it back up - Transmission would not shift on its own - Moonroof was siliconed shut - Marker lenses up front were busted - Factory fogs were broken, not working and partly missing - Rubber line near fuel filter was leaking - Tires were cupped badly and not usable - Carpet was soaking wet - Interior was filthy and stunk of cigarettes and wet dog - Cigarette burns on nearly every interior panel and plastic piece - Grille was broken in some spots - Transmission mount was shot and rattled like crazy - Exhaust system was gone and needed replacing - Power Steering system leaked - Trans oil cooler lines leaked - Steering was shot and sloppier than, well, lets not go there - Trac-bar was gone and allowed the Jeep to wobble around on the road - Dana 35... Well, if you bothered to read all of that you are probably feeling how I was that day. Did I just throw away 1K? Nope, I knew all of this initially looking the Jeep over but the positives it had far outweighed the negative. The body was nearly rust free minus a ding here and there or on top of the bed rails. No rot what-so-ever and just surface starting in spots. And the fact that with all these issues it still ran and drove home three hours under its own power was its saving grace. Here is what she looked like the day we picked her up... Tailgate was removed to prevent would be thieves from getting at it And Drahcir thinking he is a funny guy days later... Then it was time to start attacking some of these issues and getting her road worthy! More to come... RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 So a few months went by and I slowly took time to fix what was wrong with the Jeep. Now some people would look at the list of what was wrong with the Jeep and think nothing of it. For those who have followed my past builds either here or other forums, they know I am very particular about my Jeep's. Everything needs to be cleaned and fixed and near perfect before I ever drive a single mile in it. It is just how I have always been and I can't seem to help myself. First steps were to strip the entire interior out and start cleaning each piece individually to remove the 20+ years of dirt and grime. Being as my MJ had the factory bucket seats I made it a top priority to restore them to their former glory. More on that to follow. Stripping the interior down was a chore in itself. Not for the difficulty of the task but for the sheer amount of cigarette ash and dog hair. I seriously could have pieced together a dog out of the amount of hair I found in the Jeep. Removing the ash and tar residue involved taking each piece and cleaning it heavily with chemicals and detergents to neutralize the stink. I have never smoked a day in my life and the stench was so horrendous I never plan to. The beautiful factory bucket seats were no longer grey at this point and were an off shade of dark southern mud. The carpet itself was not in all too terrible shape when we pulled it out so we decided to clean it with heavy solvents and stain removers to see if it would be salvageable. Sure enough after two nights of scrubbing, cleaning and scrubbing some more, it was! Here are a few pictures I managed to take of my personal hell lol Next steps were to get the floors rust proofed since they were in pretty amazing shape to begin with. Using the POR-15 kits I have used in the past we went ahead and got the floors coated thoroughly. The process is very involved so if you are curious, send me a PM. The first photos are after the Metal Ready had a chance to do its thing. This is obviously after heavy sanding, cleaning and degreasing. And how the Jeep sat up in the garage for quite some time while finances got in order... RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrz Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 nice jeep to start with, besides all the issues listed looks like a really good platform and clean body. Look forward to seeing this build as your previous one was one of my favorites :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Next things I began to track down were replacement OEM parts for the broken interior stuff. Big thanks and a shout out to Ben in CO for helping me out with this stuff. It is nearly impossible to find good condition plastics and leather/fabrics in Florida due to the weather. The horribly disgusting and shot OEM steering wheel... And its near mint condition replacement I also spent some time replacing all of the burnt out bulbs in the interior with LED's (194's and T5's) as well as replacing the broken shift indicator gate and shifter handle. Thanks again to Ben!!! These pictures and timeline are not accurate mind you. This has all been done over the past year and it has been very, very slow progress. I was finally able to score a mint condition passenger side seat bottom that had NO seat belt holster holes. Talk about a lucky score! Flipping it to the drivers side and there were no gaudy holes staring you in the face every time you opened the door. Color me happy! So after disassembling both seats, cleaning them down to the cushions, washing the fabric covers about five times each, and fixing the flip forward mechanisms I have these! In this last picture you can see how shot the drivers side seat bottom was. Burn marks everywhere and huge holes all over the place. Not going to fly! The seats are in near perfect shape except for the drivers side bolster. I kept the ruined the drivers side seat fabric so I will be taking the Jeep to an upholstery shop and having the bolster fixed once she is road worthy. The drivers side seat after being repaired is easily the most comfortable seat I have ever sat in and I have been in everything from high end sports cars to race trucks. Very pleased with the outcome on these! Still need some cleaning to the vinyl but they are near perfect now. More to follow! RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 :rotf: Glad to see another perfectionist. Great looking ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Next thing I got onto was fixing some electrical issues that needed attention. The PO had wired in a trailer harness out back and did a piss poor job so I was left with repairing nearly the entire rear harness. Took the time to clean all of the electrical plugs, remove the old dried out grease and replace it with modern grease. Refurbished the entire ground system in the Jeep from the front to the back and it made an enormous difference in every aspect. I was also having an issue with the reverse lights working on occasion so I tracked down the issue and cleaned and greased every connector front to back and everything was good to go! The problem I was having with the front passenger side marker light was a bit more of a pain to fix. Turns out (as most of us have dealt with) the ground system tends to corrode and break free of the housing causing grounding issues. I managed to salvage the strip of ground connection that goes into the housing at touches the bulb and after cleaning it, I connected it to a short jumper out the bottom and crimped a small connector onto the end of OEM bit. Greasing everything for good measure and she was working perfectly again. I proceeded to spend the rest of the day and thoroughly cleaned with electrical parts cleaner EVERY, and I mean EVERY plug and harness in the entire Jeep. Front to back with nothing being missed. Every connection and plug got a hearty coating of dielectric grease and the Jeep started working and feeling like a new rig again. Hell yes! Next item on the chopping block was to get the transmission working again. After going through and cleaning all the plugs the next thing was to replace the TPS sensor. Getting a factory replacement TPS and dialing it in to exactly 83% voltage, the Jeep fired up and shifted like a dream. A quick adjustement of the trans kick down linkage and the transmission was shifting like new. So very happy I did not have to replace the transmission. Also spent some time that day tightening down the flywheel bolts just as a precautionary measure. After the TPS I did an Accel tune up on the Jeep and she was back to running like a top. Still leaking oil like a pig, but that was coming next. Next was to address the horribly leaking cement mixer of a motor under the hood. The valve cover gasket was so shot that you could literally watch oil pour out of the top end of the motor when it was running. Something tells me that is not good for the valvetrain lol. Also spent some time cleaning up the top end of the motor as well as the CCV system and installing a K&N filter to replace the oil soaked old one. And my cousin finding himself neck deep in burnt and caked on oil... More to follow. RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Right about this time I replaced the idler pulley and found out the harmonic balancer needed replacing. The MJ surprisingly had a good amount of new parts thrown at it in recent years. The serpentine belt was new, radiator was replaced, brake booster was an OEM original replacement (single diaphragm junk), as well as a handful of other things. I also took some time to track down electrical gremlins and get my horns working, OEM fog wiring working, and the power comfort switch for the transmission. Just needed some time and a good voltage tester and all is well. So officially, everything in the Jeep electrically works as if it did the day it left the factory. Very, very pleased with that. I started stripping some of the windshield trim off to see if I could get a better look at why the windshield was leaking. This decision turned out to consume three full weekends of work in the coming weeks and ill explain why. The PO decided at some point that it was a good idea to thoroughly cake the windshield tracks with silicone to the point that the aluminum trim would no longer sit flush. They must have attempted to fix the leaking windshield two or three times given the variety of silicone I found. This was the worst PO mistake I have come across to date. After spending nearly three full days of removing all of the old silicone from around the windshield frame I was left with a rusty mess that needed serious attention. The Jeep God's must have been smiling down upon me as none of the rust had turned to rot yet. Just heavy surface rust that would have turned into a problem if I had not been a perfectionist. The windshield was sanded, cleaned, degreased, and hit with some heavy coats of POR-15. Worst part of the whole thing was cracking the windshield. It had a chip in the lower right corner and all it took was a slight bump and it split. Fun, fun, and more fun! These pictures were after days or removing silicone and the tracts were not even close to clear yet. Unreal... And after POR-15 and rust removal More to follow. RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 At this point the Jeep decided to test my dedication when it kept hounding me for a Leer camper. I kept telling her, in time, be patient! But she was having none of it. So I was browsing the Jeep Comanche page on Facebook and found a guy in northern Georgia that had what appeared to be a Leer SWB camper shell. The photos he sent me were not all that helpful and I looked at the map to see where about's he was exactly. I am just north of Tampa FL and the time to him was 9 hours and 23 minutes, one way. Now I have been looking for a Leer camper shell for one of my MJ's for the past four years and have never been able to find one. I proceeded to ask him a whole slue of questions "How is the glass? Anything broken? How well did it match up to the Comanche's body lines? Are you sure its for a Comanche? Is it missing any pieces?" He was pretty busy so his answers were quick "yes" answers. I made a few calls and got a trailer to borrow and two days later me and my cousin were in his Commander heading North. The entire trip up we hit horribly rain storms to the point where it was nearly impossible to see the road in front of you around the Atlanta area. Finally reaching his area around 10 hours after we left I gave him a call and got some of the worst directions I have ever received in my life. No offense to the guy, but I would have never found his house on top of some random mountain ten miles past the address he gave me. Really? Well, lets just say he ended up meeting us down in town and bringing us up to his place. Beautiful piece of property he had and more Jeep parts than you could shake a stick at it! Nice to buy Jeep parts from a Jeep guy for a change. After we loaded up the Jeep we were too damn tired to make the push back home so we stayed with family about an hour away from him. Next day we headed home back to the MJ to get fitted with her new Leer topper. Which btw, I emailed Leer and gave them the serial number and it was made in early 1989. Sweet! This is one of two photos I received. Not much to go on or gamble a 16-20 hour drive for... And boom! Ten more hours of driving disappears just like that! Sure enough, it was an MJ SWB Leer topper. And for the price of $75.00 plus fuel I was winning that day. Big time! Spray paint tint? Uhh... Just dirty, not scratched! And one more sweet shot. We have a Jeep'n problem! More to follow. RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Next things on the chopping block were to start replacing the worn out components on the Jeep. First up were acquiring some export XJ marker lenses and new turn signals. These are going to tie in with my bigger plan that will be detailed later on. I then placed an order with Team Cherokee / Team Grand Wagoneer for a multitude of parts. Ended up purchasing: - Prothane trans mount - Full door seals (4 per side) - Door locks - Replacment mirrors (DS+PS) - IAC motor - Oil pressure gauge sending unit - Brake pedal rubber pad - Replacement window cranks As some of you know I have not had a good experience this time around with Team Cherokee and I am currently still waiting on hearing anything about my order two weeks later. When I finally receive the parts I will make sure to update this with pictures as well as pictures of the parts on the Jeep! So this brings us to this point. The next things I am aiming to do to the Jeep are as follows: - OEM replacement upper and lower control arms - 2" BB spacer for the front - Bilstein 5100 or OME shocks - OEM trac-bar - New HD steering - New steering box - New power steering lines - New harmonic balancer - New OEM fan shroud - Repair vacuum system - New injectors - New exhaust system - 95-96 OEM brake booster. Will be purchasing new, not refurbished - Picking up a set of Moab's for $300 from a friend - 245/75r16 tires - Headlight harness upgrade - Delta Xenon H4 conversion - Delta Xenon Fogs - Repair my moonroof (new seal, new paint) - New wipers, possibly new wiper motor - New headliner material/visors - Replace visor bulbs with LED units (have the part number if anyone needs them) - Finish off interior LED bulb with one bulb for b-pillar (6 SMD) - New rear slider - New windshield - Stereo, speakers and speaker baffles - LED reverse lights (220 lumens) - Refurbish tail lights - Replace broken grille - Prep Jeep for paint and have it repainted the OEM color along with the Leer topper - Replace "Eliminator" decals with OEM originals (if possible) - New fuel pump - MORE motor mounts - New head and valvetrain - Replace coil pack with new unit - Rear 44 built fully Now all of this is not even including my future plans for a road trip warrior / light duty overland wheeler. Future plans include: - ARB front bumper - ARB snorkel kit - Warn M8000 winch with synthetic line - Rear 44 truss, chromoly shafts, gears (4.11, 4.56), disc brakes, ARB air locker - ARB HD OBA with reserve tank - On board hot water delivery system with 25 gallon fresh water tank for taking showers - Bed will be converted into a comfortable sleeping quarters with a drawer system below sleep deck - Rear tire carrier with integrated hi-lift mount, jerry can mount - The Leer topper will be sealed and permanently attached to the Jeep (all new seals, fully refurbished) - Inside of topper will get proper treatment of carpeting and creature comforts (LED lighting, hooks, etc.) - Roof rack system for Leer topper - Too much to list right now I am pretty sure this is all I am going to do tonight as I have been typing for what seems an eternity! Hope you guys who keep pushing me to make a build thread are happy! I will make sure to send you the medical bills for the pain I feel from sitting here typing lol. More to follow! RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 nice jeep to start with, besides all the issues listed looks like a really good platform and clean body. Look forward to seeing this build as your previous one was one of my favorites :thumbsup: Thank you! I have big plans for this one. Stay tuned! RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 :rotf: Glad to see another perfectionist. Great looking ride. haha, I don't know if it is such a good thing! I know it will pay off but damn, sometimes I wish I could just say screw it and drive it. Would never happen though haha RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 A couple of pictures of the cleaned interior parts as she sits today. Carpet has a few stains we were not able to get out but overall it came out pretty well. This weekend coming up I should be able to get a few things of my list done. Should be ordering the suspension components in the coming weeks to hopefully get her back on the road and driving. Not too much longer until I can really start putting her back together. Pretty excited to actually drive it for the first time. I also decided the tires I will be going with for the Moab wheels are 265/75r16 BFGoodrich T/A KO's. Should be able to clear them just perfectly with the budget boost up front. Test fitting a friends 33x13.50 on the rear I had plenty of room so a 31.7 x 10.50 will clear just fine and look absolutely perfect under there. More to follow. RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Hey everyone, just placed an order for a few things the MJ needed. Nothing super flashy or anything but I did track down the replacement seal for my CRLaurence AutoPort moon roof so I picked that up for about $37. Also placed an order for the LED lights for to finish off the interior lighting. Ended up getting some 6 SMD bulbs for the b-pillar lights and some 3 SMD bulbs for the vanity mirrors. The interior is officially complete lighting wise and the last few things I have to do are floor mats, headliner material, speakers and a stereo, and fix the ds seat bolster. On a similar note, I ended up getting part of my order from Team Cherokee that randomly showed up today. Of course it was missing parts so I had to call them and let them know I did not receive anything. The lady I spoke with said "oh, that is weird, it should have all been in there" and of course I informed her it was not. So short of it is that they placed an order for a few out of stock items that are to be drop shipped to me that I had to remind them about. This company really drive me crazy but I am glad the majority of my stuff showed up and I never have to deal with them again. Guess I will be wrenching on the Jeep this weekend! Next small items on the list are the Putco H4 headlight harness upgrade, Delta H4 Xenon conversion, and some fog/driving lights. Not sure which brand I want to go with but I am either going with IPF, Delta, or Light Force. Trying to find a 55W set of lights that have the amber and clear lenses is not easy anymore. Seems like every company has mostly shifted over to the LED setup, and for good reason. Still want to keep mine looking as classic as possible but with a modern twist. More to follow. RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 More to follow. :banana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 More to follow. :banana: LOL, when I looked at this the song I had playing in the background fit perfectly. RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrz Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Are those seats out of a 2 door? If not how did you get them to fold forward so much? Try some grease lightening on those stains, I've had yet to have a stain not come out using that stuff. Keep up the good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 Are those seats out of a 2 door? If not how did you get them to fold forward so much? Try some grease lightening on those stains, I've had yet to have a stain not come out using that stuff. Keep up the good work No sir! They are the OEM Eliminator bucket seats. I have just been tracking down parts to repair them back to as perfect condition as possible. I will have to try that stuff you mentioned. I used Mean Green, POR-15 Marine Clean, Oxi-Clean, Formula 88, detergents, and other soaps and nothing. The majority of the carpet came out clean minus those two spots on the passenger side floor. Really bugs me but my wife does have a small Bissell carpet cleaner I can use. I will give it another try with that stuff you recommended. Thanks! RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 Forgot to mention I am on the hunt for a single floor pan plug. Not really sure why one was missing but I am guessing there is a story behind it. Have not been able to find a single one as they are sold in kits, but I will continue to look. RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revmaynard Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Sweet score on that camper top! I really like the direction this is heading, keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Sweet score on that camper top! I really like the direction this is heading, keep it up! Thanks a ton! End goal is a Jeep that I can take on trips across the country and be as self sustaining as possible. That includes a fresh water delivery system for showering and cooking as well as incorporating a fridge/freezer, cooking station, and enough creature comforts to keep my wife and I happy. Also entertaining the idea of having some solar power for electronics but I am on the fence about this. I did end up making some progress on the MJ this past weekend. Spent most of Saturday doing the drivers side door seals and getting some of the interior panels back in. Also put in the new oil pressure gauge sending unit and I finally have a working oil pressure gauge! This coupled with the new IAC motor made me pretty happy and the Jeep idles beautifully now. Amazing what new parts will do right? I also took the time to put my new mirrors on which I was less than thrilled about the quality. They are Rugged Ridge replacements that I got through Team Cherokee not knowing they were Rugged Ridge when I bought them. The OEM ones are a heavy cast material where as the new ones are made of a flimsy cheap plastic. My plan is to take the guts out of the new mirrors and transfer them into the old mirrors. If that is not possible, I will be on the hunt for a pair of non broken OEM units. Unfortunately, both of my mirrors were broken, out of alignment, and barely hanging onto the Jeep so I really had no choice but to use them. Before I called it a night I put my new turn and marker lenses in and wow, what a difference. The Jeep looks a thousand times better just with those four lenses alone. Cannot wait to get the rest of it together! Sunday was a day of days I swear. I purchased a new Prothane transmission mount to replace the horribly worn out and broken OEM one. The old one would rattle around and bang back and forth when hitting the gas so it was time to go. Before I started doing the trans mount because I knew it was going to be a greasy job, I finished up doing the door seals on the passenger side as well as putting the new mirror on and putting the door panel on fully. At this point the Jeep was starting to resemble a working vehicle. Sweet! So anyways, onto the transmission fun. Me and my cousin started by removing the old trans mount where I discovered that the welded nuts that go into the flange plate that bolts to the transmission were snapped off. This in itself made it incredibly difficult to get the bolts out because the spot welds were basically on every corner of the nut so a socket was useless and an adjustable wrench would barely hold. After finally getting them out we spent some time cleaning the spot welds off so we had something that somewhat resembled a usable nut. Putting the Prothane mount together was straight forward but easily ranks as one of the worst designs. Instead of having welded nuts on the adapter plate where the bushing mounts to you had to try and snake a flat washer and lock nut into it while bolting the bushing to it. We found out the hard way that bolting it all together outside of the Jeep then trying to mount it up in that the bolts that hold the bushing on hit the OEM bolts so you have to partly assemble it outside and finish it under the Jeep. It turned out to be a royal PITA to get it all lined up perfectly but after an hour fighting with it, it finally went in. And you thought the fun was over at this point right? Wrong! So I go to start the Jeep to see if the rattling and noises are gone and sure enough they are! Hit the throttle and all the old rattling and clanking around is gone. Awesome right until I started smelling gas. Climb underneath and the fuel line that goes to the fuel filter ruptured. Now this was a new hose that we put on to replace the previously ruptured hose the PO put on. The PO used what looked like vacuum line and of course I replaced it with Goodyear fuel injection hose. Not really sure how the new line ruptured, but I ended up going to Advance Auto and getting some new line and replaced both sides. Only thing I can think of is that the line was old when I bought it. Something to keep in mind for the future for sure. After all that was done it was around 9 o'clock so I really did not get a chance to test drive it and see how well it did. A combination of being exhausted and not having eaten all day made me want to call it a night. Plans for this upcoming weekend are to remove the bumpers, un-dent them, sand and paint them to bring back some shine to the Jeep. I should also have my moonroof seal and LED's so I should be able to get the moonroof out, cleaned up and back in and working. Looking forward to that big time! Anyways, onto the pictures! Well start with the before pictures... And now the afters! And I could finally put the cleaned door panels back on. New window crank handles as well! New door to body seal. Also took some time to align the door properly and close up all the gaps. Should not leak anymore! More to follow. RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Forgot a pic of the Prothane mount. RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buxmj Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Hey Rockmj, how are you doin? So glad to see you have another mj. I can't imagine the work it took to get rid of the cigarette smoke. I used to be able to tolerate smoke but can't bear it now. Once in my bar playing days (glad those are behind me) my cymbals even reeked of smoke, I had even washed them with windex with ammonia! I can't imagine what my lungs took for punishment. I am very impressed you got the stench out, since you are a non smoker I am sure you would smell it immediately. Sorry I didn't know you guys were up this way, please let me know if that happens again. As always, your work is impeccable, keep it up and hope to see it in person soon! Buck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Hey Rockmj, how are you doin? So glad to see you have another mj. I can't imagine the work it took to get rid of the cigarette smoke. I used to be able to tolerate smoke but can't bear it now. Once in my bar playing days (glad those are behind me) my cymbals even reeked of smoke, I had even washed them with windex with ammonia! I can't imagine what my lungs took for punishment. I am very impressed you got the stench out, since you are a non smoker I am sure you would smell it immediately. Sorry I didn't know you guys were up this way, please let me know if that happens again. As always, your work is impeccable, keep it up and hope to see it in person soon! Buck. Hey Buck! All is well my friend! Yeah, I have owned this gem for almost a year now but due to finances and moving I have not been able to do much work on it. I kid you not when I got the Jeep the entire interior was coated in a thick coating of ash. The seats were literally black from all the ash and tar. Because of the PO's smoking habits the drivers side bottom fabric was burned beyond repair and the base was broken so we sourced a new one. Thank God for that. Most every piece of plastic in the interior has a cigarette burn in it somewhere so I will slowly be swapping all of them out for non burned pieces. One thing I am grateful for is that he never rested a cigarette on the dash pad and its still in perfect shape. Soft to the touch as well. I hear ya on the smoke my friend. It sucks and I did not really realize how bad it was until having it closed up for a week then coming back to it. The Florida sun really brought out the stench! He also had a Husky or similar dog because the passenger side was coated in a heavy coating of dog hair as well. The cigarette smoke and combination of wet dog stink made for an interesting plethora of nauseating smells thats for sure. I think in total, I have probably 10-12 hours worth of cleaning I did of the stripped interior alone. This does not include the cleaning of the plastics, seats, etc. That 10-12 hours is just getting all of the dog hair, ash, and dirt out of the nooks and crannies the best I could. Still has a bit of an odor but nothing like it did. Its tolerable now. We definitely need to get together one of these weekends and do some chatting and possibly some Jeep wrenching. Drahcir told me you and him had spoken not too long ago as well. Great hearing from you my friend! Hope to see you and your MJ soon! RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Small update on the MJ. In the next few weeks I should be picking up my set of (5) Moab wheels as well as ordering the ARB Snorkel kit, master polyurethane bushing kit, BB, trac-bar, and a few other things. Main focus right now is to get the interior finished off which includes the headliner material and speakers so I can put everything back together. This coming weekend I will be cleaning her up a bit more with some fresh paint on a few items. Should be driving her in the next month or two! RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMJ Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Checked the mailbox earlier and I received the CRLaurence 15x30 seal for the moon roof. Tomorrow I will work on getting the old one out, cleaned up, resealed and back in! Going to take a lot of energy to get all of the silicone off that the PO slathered on everything. Hopefully all goes well and after tomorrow I have a working moon roof! Pictures to follow RockMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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