87Warrior

This is sitting in my driveway on an overnight test drive: Image Not Found Image Not Found 06 WK with the 5.7 Hemi and QDII. Seems like a nice clean SUV. The big kicker is the wife actually likes it. The 5.7 sure puts the power to the ground, the ride is smooth and the transmission shifts smoothly. 4-Lo even works. Has anybody here had any experience with these rigs, or with the drivetrain? Having never been real interested in the WK, I've done little to no research on them. I am turning for help and direction to better understand their quirks. From what I gather, there are a few know quirks with these rigs: - 16 spark plugs need changed about every 50K miles - Front diff bushings are prone to failure/wear - PCV valve likely needs replacing - EGR valve likely needs replacing and the 'bolt' mod performed :typing: Tips, tricks, or recommendations?

Yes. An AMC 2.5 is the same as a Jeep 2.5. The YJ cover will work.

Why walk past it and smile? Why not jump in and drive??? :???: :doh:

What an awesome project. I love seeing the old not-so-popular cars getting the kind of love they deserve. And I am more of a GM guy. IMHO that car would be slick with a fuel injected V6, air conditioning and a reworked suspension/steering built for road cruising.

The 86 AX5 will have the slave on the passenger side, and it is external. An 87 hose will not work. It is designed for an internal slave AX5 with the fittings on the driver side. The 86 AX5 clutch line is made of two parts: 1) Rubber hose from the MC to the drivers side of the transmission 2) Metal line that attaches to the rubber and crosses over the top of the transmission to feed the slave Your best bet would probably be to buy a rubber hose for a passenger side slave fitting, cut/bend the end of the hose and fit in a flared metal line to cross the transmission to your slave. I have a brand new 87 rubber hose I bought for my 86. You can have it for $5 shipped. I ended up going with a 94+ bellhousing with the external slave on the driver side and used the plastic hose designed for a 94. 87 vs 86:

That brace looks like the interior steering column braces behind the dash.

Yes. The non renix 2.5L motors generally had an aluminum valve cover. When you find one, buy a Fel-Pro Permadry gasket for a '98 Dakota 2.5. No more cork leaks. That said, I suspect the valve cover from a 2.5 Dakota should be aluminium and should work on the Jeep, but I do not know for sure. My '86 2.5L sports an aluminum valve cover from a '93 XJ and the Permadry gasket for a Dakota. No leaks :)

If you make the journey up here, I'll let you drive it :brows: Since the rain has kept me at bay from media blasting, I decided to start on another project that has been bothering me for a awhile, figuring out the shift controls placement. After several sketches, many cardboard cut outs and test fitting in the cab, I cut the template out on some metal and bent it (roughly) into shape. Here is what I came up with utilizing a XJ console: I am using a 97+ XJ shifter moved about 3" forward from the stock location. This provides room for the RADesigns shifter to be placed behind it with sufficient clearance for the shifting rod in all gears and clearance to actually shift it from the drivers seat. I will integrate a torque converter lockout switch and light next to the RADesigns shifter as well as switches for auxiliary lights and OBA. There is room for three, 2" gauges at the front of the console. Right now I am planning for transmission temperature, oil temperature and OBA tank pressure gauges. My biggest concern is the lack of a cup holder :eek:

:rotf: Brilliant!

Very cool. Thanks for sharing!

Water. This is my guess as to what happened: Newbie buys the brand new ultimate off road machine. Newbie plays in sandy river. Newbie floors his new Jeep as the front end falls in a hole filling the intake with water. Two rods snap in half and push through the oil pan, the other 4 rods bend.

Glad nobody was injured! Now, here are my thoughts: 1. Avoid the EX at all costs. They are just trouble. 2. Slow down when you can't see. 3. Buy some auxiliary lights if you usually wheel in the dark. 4. If you could make it in 2wd, it wasn't wheeling ;)

X2 Also, my feelings are not hurt if the other rig doesn't return the friendly acknowledgement. I shrug it off and return to my enjoyable drive.

No. It's a Ford Escort.

$15k. It was right at 1/2 the price for a used '03 at the time. I think I made out pretty well :) I can hardly believe I will have had this rig for 10 years this December :banana:

I would suggest a TJ, especially if you plan on daily driving it or wheeling it. My TJ Rubicon replaced this YJ: Image Not Found

Basic run down of the mod list Suspension: - RE 3.5" springs - Currie RockJock Front Trackbar - JKS Control Arms, Rear trackbar, Quicker Disconnects, and Brake lines - OME Long Travel Shocks with Terraflex shock relocators - 1" PA BL Drivetrain: - Cooper STT's (315/75R16) tires on stock Moabs with 1.25" Spidertrax Wheel spacers - 5.13 gears - ORO U-Turn Steering Upgrade - 16" Vanco Big Brake Kit - Dual Filter Cowl Intake (aka Macs CAI) - Griffin 2-core all aluminum radiator - Tom Woods CV DS Armor: - Jeep Medic Tummy Tuck and Engine Skid - Rokmen differential covers - Rockhard 4x4 Sport Cage - Olympic Rocks Bumpers - AtoZ Sliders - Kilby Steering Box skid Electronic: - Superwinch EPi9.0 Winch on a Rokmen Winchplate - Uniden Pro CB with a 3' Firestick - IPF H4 headlights - 6000K HID long range accessory lights (now on windshield brackets) - RB1 Factory navigation radio with Ipod Adapter and Bazooka sub in the factory enclosure - Viar OBA with 2.5gal tank and in-cab relay trigger/ gauge - Locker bypass mod Other: - Bestop spare tire carrier with Hi-Lift attachment - Viking Fastback Soft top - Rugged Ridge 7" Flares Waiting to be installed: - Rokmen gas tank skid

June 2009 I had 5.13 gears installed by 4x4 Land in Topeka, KS. Also had my parking brakes rebuilt and installed EBC yellowstuff pads up front. At his time I also installed the Moog V8 ZJ tierod. Drove the Jeep for 200 miles then decided to finish breaking in the gears out in Ouray, Colorado. 5.13's = My second favorite mod, behind the RB1 2011/2012 After a few years of "nothing exciting" happening to my Rubi, I decided to start giving it some love..... The list of stuff to be done: 1. Remove stock steering, brakes, knuckles and axle shafts 2. Remove ball joints and install new ball joints 3. Install axle tube seals 4. Install new Axle Shafts 5. Install 16" Vanco Brake kit and knuckles 6. Install U turn steering system I picked up from Phillip 7. Replace heim joint on RE ATB It came apart slowly, yet easily, even pressing out the ball joints. Installing the new ball joints was uneventful just a slow and tedious job. I clean the axle tubes out and push on the seals. I notice one of the zerks look cracked and sure enough it was. Luckily the axle going into the MJ has the same seals so I stole a good zerk and installed it. While I was dealing with Zerks I figure I should install them in the new ball joints. Straight forward and simple, right? 1, 2,3 go in... The the passenger side lower, #4, decides to play hard ball...and SNAP. The head of the zerk breaks off leaving the threads in the joint. 6 hours later the threads come out. It looks like the wrong zerk was sent with that ball joint and was too long allowing it to bottom out. Tired of looking at the passenger side I decide to start on the driver side brakes. Knuckle goes on, shaft goes in, unit bearing is ground down, rotor/caliper bracket/ caliper goes on, then I go to attach the brake line. Won't fit, the end of the Jeep line is a bit different than the Ford caliper. Massage the end and get it to fit. Torque the U-turn driver side bracket and attach the rod end at the Pitman arm. Griffin Radiator. Just by holding the unit and looking it over, it is clearly a very well constructed piece of art work. Almost a shame it will go in my Jeep....almost Vanco Brakes installed: And the U-turn: Then I installed the 2 row Griffin Radiator. This was surprisingly easy. The fan shroud required a hole to be drilled on the top driver side, about 1" up. Luckily, I already had this hole drilled. August 2011 I got the Jeep back from a week long Jeepin' trip around Taylor Park, Colorado. It drove 12 hours out there, ran 600 miles of trails, then drove 12 more hours back home! The Vanco brakes worked great, the U-Turn performs much better than the stock inverted y steering, the Currie front track bar was quiet, the Griffin radiator kept it at 210 all day and the Moog Ball joints kept it going straight. I did manage to sheer off the rear UCA/Trackbar bracket on Tincup Pass. Limped the Jeep down the mountain at a slower pace than I could have walked it. Loaded it on my buddies trailer and hauled into Gunnison for a local welder to repair. Summer 2012 It has been awhile since my last update. I haven't had to do much to the ol' Jeep since it has been running fine and nothing has broken. Sometime last summer my lockers decided they didn't always want to work. I could usually get them to lock the first time I tried while wheeling, but after that pressing the axle lock button did nothing. After probing the entire locker system with a multimeter I could not locate the problem. I suspect it may be related to a cluster bus code that has been pending for over a year now that I have not been able to isolate either. Enter, the locker bypass mod. I used the second method mentioned here: http://www.wanderingtrail.com/Mods/TJLJmods/Locker_Defeat.htm I located a junk piece of XJ wiring harness that had a matching set of plugs. Ran the wires through the dash leaving a plug terminal near the airbag module. I then wired switches in the console to operate the lockers. I have front and rear locker switches behind the shifter and a system interrupt in front of the t-case lever which is a pull-on switch. Since nobody wants to accidentally lock an axle at 70 mph I wanted the option to 'turn off' the bypass. Wiring all completed indoors: The piece of harness I used had more wires in it than I needed. I left pigtails for possible future needs in the console. Installed: To splice into the locker harness plug, I simply un-clipped the plug wire retainer from the back of the plug, inserted the proper wire for each locker and re-clipped the retainer. I did not ground the bypass back to the plug, but I did a chassis ground near the shifter. With the interrupt switch pulled on, I can lock either axle whenever I desire. I should have done this long ago :)

Here I am sharing a quick rundown of my TJ Rubicon build. December 16, 2003: -Picked up the Rubicon from Kalamazoo Michigan. It was at an IAA insurance auction place. I won the online bid :) -2003 Rubicon; 12,900 miles; 2 rods through the oil pan; 4 rods with perfect arcs in them; new car smell included Besides from a few crappy pictures online, this was the first I had ever seen my "new" Rubi Image Not Found Late December 2003/January-February 2004: - Pictures are self explanatory, I hope... Also purchased a hardtop. - Simple rebuild. Everything was checked for cracks and came up good. Even the crank was still true. Bored over .02 and had the head decked. Image Not Found Winter/Spring 2005: - JKS discos and Uniden CB Installed Image Not Found Spring/Summer 2005: - RE 4.5 superflex with 3.5 springs lift; OME Shocks; TeraFelx rear shock locators; Tom Woods CV; 275/75/R16 MTRs; Bestop cloth lowers; Olympic Front/rear receiver bumpers - ROF adventure in Ouray CO Image Not Found Black Bear Pass for the first time in a Jeep!! Spring 2006: -RB1 and iPod Kit Summer 2006: - A to Z Rocker Guards; Kilby Steering Box Skid Image Not Found - A little fun before Armor install Image Not Found Spring/Summer 2007: - 8 JKS control arms; JKS Rear trackbar [to replace failing RE SF components]; 1" PA BL; JKS BMML; Besttop Tire Carrier Fall 2007: - Jeep Medic TT and Engine Skid - Yakima Ski Rack Spring 2008: - Installed a Viking Fast Back top (the original frame less top) while living in Vail, CO June 3, 2008: - Finished Installing Rockhard 4x4 Cage. Painted with duplicolor truck bed coating. Texture almost matches the factory dash! June 7, 2008: - Living in Colorado put me very close to Utah. So I made a one day adventure to Moab!!!! August 11, 2008 - 80K Service: New Shoes!!!!! - 315/75R16 Cooper Discoverer STT First Impression: The Jeep rode a lot smoother home than it did to the tire shop :)

I completely agree with this. My TJ purrs like a kitten at 75mph at 3k RPM. It is set up with 5.13 gears and ~35" tire. That said, I noticed a drop in highway fuel economy when I went with the 5.13's. With 35's and 4.10's I could muster 16mpg on the highway with cruise set at 75 (actual speed) but required a lot of down shifting. Now with the 5.13's I get about 14mpg with cruise set on 75 (actual speed) and I can leave it in 5th on the interstate. In town with the 4.10's I averaged14mpg and now with the 5.13's I average 17mpg. Seems crazy, but I have reached these numbers at every fill up for the last 4 years with the 5.13's.

My TJ Rubi (4.0/5spd) came with 4.10s and ~30" tires from the factory. It was a perfect combination with plenty of power. I found the 285/75/16 (about 33x11.5") on the same Jeep to be decent for a daily driver/weekend wheeler. Smaller tires are lighter = less rolling resistance = better fuel economy (generally). I would not go with a bigger tire simply to go bigger. Not to mention, 6" of lift requires more than coils, especially on a daily driver. It doesn't sound like you really need bigger tires to meet your wheeling needs.

Being an '86, the header panel is different than the '87-'90. But I am sure you already knew that! That said, I found it to be a royal pain in the rear to remove the header panel on my '86. If I remember, there are a couple of studs mounted to the header that go through the fenders that have nuts attached to them. Those nuts need to be removed and are at the front/top of the fender and accessible from the opening between the fender and wheel well in front of the front tires.

Yes, if they come with the floor mount/bracket.

Progress has been slow the past few weeks. Picked up a set of tires and wheels. Stock 24 bolt Humvee wheels with rubber runflats and 95% 37x12.5x16.5 MTRs. I plan to rebuild each wheel with the Trailworthy PVC insert, rock ring and o-ring kit. The front axle has a WMS-WMS of about 65" while the rear has a WMS-WMS of about 63", so spacers will be needed. The rear axle swap kit from RuffStuff arrived. Diff cover, spring plates, ubolts and shock stabs. And then I started working on the floor pan and found MUCH more rot than I anticipated. I hadn't planned on media blasting the inner frame, rockers and floor, but it appears I have no choice. I hope to wheel the truck outside this week and hit it with the blaster. Another shipment of POR15 should be arriving any day to take care of everything. I pulled the bed off of the old 4.0 truck, just because I was curious. What I found was frightening. The passenger side frame rail is rotted out from the front spring perch to the rear spring perch. Poor uni-frame :(

Shoot, that truck is about what all the MJ's look like for sale around here. The value is what ever you are willing to pay for it.