thecodemonk

Speaking of work on the MJ...yesterday morning I got some bonus time to work on things with the jeep... I got the NP231 out of the 01 XJ to be modified to mate up to the 4L60e. I went with the AA adapter kit over the novak one because it'd be easier for me to open up and work on the NP231 than the 4L60e. The new Input gear looks a lot longer than the old one...but it fit just fine all together (no finished shots since it doesn't really look different other than the longer input shaft). That said, the swap was pretty straight forward (I double checked against the bleepinjeep video for swapping a NP231 input to make sure I didn't miss anything). I also got the new intake test fitted on the engine...it sits nice and low and should clear the hood now! However, it looks like I'll need to tweak the fuel rail input to clear the coil packs...a few places indicated that going with aftermarket rails eliminated that problem. I'm going back and forth on whether I should do that or just tweak what I have. Hopefully, I'll be able to make a bit more progress on Saturday. In the meantime, I'll be trying to think of the best way to handle the gauge cluster problem. Nobody really makes a cluster for the older style...but dakota digital has a few that look promising (potentially small enough that I could fit it in the existing mount if I did a little careful dremel work). The clusters I'm looking at so far (with plans to mask/paint the front chrome to something more dull and fitting of the rest of the interior). http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=211/category_id=233/mode=prod/prd211.htm http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=846/category_id=69/mode=prod/prd846.htm I'm leaning toward the digital one as it's just a hair less tall and will be easier to fit.

Wow this build got quiet... Minor update/excuses as to why it dropped off the map: - Made a bed rack...went camping! Drove great to Banff and back in June 2018, so I figured we were good for a drive down the west coast (through OR and to SF, CA and back up). In between trips, I bought a pair of sliders from @krustyballer16 and got those welded on. They work and look great! On the west coast trip, we made it down and had a blast camping with the jeep. The bench seat is surprisingly comfortable for a long trip! On the way back home...it made it most of the way but developed a REALLY loud knock on the way back...about 300 miles from home. So there I was...loud as hell knock in the engine, almost no oil pressure (dipstick still showed plenty of oil), and the old 4.0 was down on power with 300 miles to go. Also, my wife was with me and was pregnant. With all of that, the jeep still powered through and made it home on it's on power. However, it wasn't going to be going anywhere for a while. So...it sat...I ran out of time to work on it (prepping for baby, grandma's funeral...life stuff). Then...about two weeks before my baby's due date, I got t-boned in my XJ. The damage was....extensive. The front driver's side frame is pulled in significantly... The unibody is separating from itself under the rear seats... and it mostly ripped apart the lower control arm mount, and a bunch of other things. Needless to say, that XJ is totaled and now I'm borrowing my wife's car to commute to work. The silver lining is, my wife said it'd probably be better to get the blue MJ back up than for me to go buy another car for my commuter. So this project will pick back up. The downside is...with a newborn, work responsibilities ramping up, and other things...I won't get to do most of the work myself (mounting the motor, wiring, etc). I'll be doing as much as I can to prep the motor, trans, and t-case (donated from the wrecked XJ), and then it will go into Hazzard Fabworx next month for the actual engine swap. Once that's done and things settle down again, I should be back to modding it.

Hey Alexia, did you ever test the CAN to CCD box in the vehicle? I didn't see an update to that. If so, how'd the testing go? (I assume no news means it probably went great).

He's back on the ground and driving around! I got the front brake lines installed and bled, found that even at almost 5.5" of lift, the 33's rubbed the front of the wheelwell. I moved the axle back and then it rubbed the back AND the front of the wheelwell, so I returned it to the original position. Once I buttoned everything else up, I broke out the painters tape, marker, cutting wheel, and large clippers. My wife took lots of pictures while I was cutting but this is all pretty standard stuff, so I'll just include one that highlights the experience (no lights in the shop so I just have my battery powered flood lights and the glow from the sparks to go off of): I still haven't cut off the old control arm brackets, but got the Bilstein 5100s installed. Man do they ride good...this jeep rides better and absorbs the bumps way better than my XJ. I should probably go back and work on that. Now that I can daily drive it again, updates will probably slow down again as my bank account recovers from all the parts buying (though I do still have the RuffStuff steering kit to install).

Bending and flaring hard brake lines are a lot scarier in concept than practice, it turns out. Got the rear hard lines in and bled...no leaks! One step closer to being back on the road. Here's the old lines out on the ground and a few pictures of the new ones after install. The ebrake cables are long enough to get into the bracket but I'm not sure that they'll withstand much flex...probably need to think about how to extend those before doing any wheeling. Tonight: Front brake lines and bleeding those...hopefully the shocks will arrive today or tomorrow and I can start driving it again!

Whew! What a week...why does it feel like it takes me 50 times longer to do anything than anybody else? I got around to measuring the angles and tacking up the leaf perches, then dragged my axle over to a buddy's place and he burned them in (along with shock tabs). They should hold nicely now! Next we got it home and lined it up...and found it wouldn't go in. While I test fitted the new center pins before welding, something about them was too snug afterward...so I drilled them out a smidge bigger and it went right in. Next up...new rubber (and wheels). The old wheels seemed to be too snug around the hub nub and were difficult to get off (and nearly impossible to get back on once off). So it was time for new wheels (and with new wheels, comes new rubber...because why not?). Got some 33x12.5's that should fit nicely. With the rear on the floor...it certainly added to the rake haha! Now that the rears are done, time for the fronts! It's a good feeling to have it all supporting its own weight again...after seeing the rake (not near as bad as the picture makes it seem), I realized I still need a bit more in the front, so I've got a small spacer coming to help that (I still like a little rake in my truck). That said, the rear brake line hates me and won't come loose from the splitter block...so I guess I'm learning how to make hard lines afterall for the axle side. On the short list of things to do before I take it back on the road: - New Shocks all around - Front brake lines extended - Rear brake lines extended (and axle hard lines made) - Bleed Brakes - Front coil spacers (the 0.75" ones from Daystar) - Remove or relocate front sway bar with extended lines - Cut off stock control arm brackets Tomorrow, I'll tackle the brake hard line...and if I get too frustrated with that, I'll start cutting the control arm bracketry (laying towels/blankets over the nice new control arms to protect them from the sparks since all I have is an angle grinder)

Sure thing H0rnbrod! Fun fact: They clear the stock control arm mounts even with the suspension fully compressed. (I haven't cut them off yet...may do that tonight while waiting for the paint to dry, if the welding goes well for the perches).

Got the rear off yesterday evening...so far the simple things that should be easy have all been a pain in the butt and everywhere I expect difficulty, things just come off easily (rear leaf spring bolts and u-bolts came right out without any struggle, but all brake related items took way longer than they should have). Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Some new goodies came in today...they won't get put on for a bit but I got the parts at least! T&M stiffeners and a headliner board and fabric from SMS (getting tired of hearing the rain and hail at max volume and of the heat coming off the bare metal roof). I'm not a proficient welder and certainly not good enough for welding upside down or all along the MJ so I got on the schedule at Hazzard Fab for early June for that. Once I get the SOA done, I'll get to work on the headliner. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Yeah! That's a good point. Most of the lines don't seem like the runs are too convoluted to me...just that one spot. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Well, the front 3 link went in like a dream! Huge props to Iron Rock Off-road on their three link system and how easy it was to install! It tucks up pretty well underneath: As for the lines, there's enough give for them to just sit out of the way for now (after pulling away their plastic mounts from the uniframe). Even at full compression, it doesn't interfere with them and doesn't seem to rub much so I'll leave them this way until I can get to a shop to get those lines replaced with new ones (I don't feel comfortable enough to bend new line myself). Here is how it sits with just the front lifted with the Rubicon Express 4.5" lift coils...seems smaller than I expected but bigger tires may help with that feeling. Now to move onto the back and I already encountered my first problem...oi! Minor update on the V8 engine: It looks good...I forgot to snap pics from the borescope but the crosshatching is still there and it turns freely. Once July hits, I should start digging into that and this thread will be a bit more active. Until then, the plans are just to get this lift done and a bed rack done for the roof top tent. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Man I am horrible at keeping this up to date... Not much had changed...but I've been slowly taking the suspension apart to install the iron rock three link kit (looks great). That said, I found something different about MJs than XJs...the fuel and brake line routing around the extra brace for the cross member! The brace comes right off but the hard lines are formed around that shape still. Passenger side brace as an example: The lines on the driver side with the brace removed: If they we're flush along the rails, it wouldn't be an issue but since they're not, they're right where the upper link mount goes...any thoughts? Can I just pushthem out of the way? Is there another solution I am missing? I'm thinking I can just pull the clips that hold them to the frame and pull them so they go around the link for now (and redo them completely during the engine swap later). Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Ditto the last few posts ^ :)

Wow...5 years later! Glad you're still keeping the truck and am picking up the project again. There's a lot more information on the LS swaps so I think you're in a much better place with the new plan. I'm in the process of doing the LS 5.3 swap too! Excited to see how the project progresses!

Gorgeous truck! Glad it's still being used the way it's meant to! :)