thecodemonk

Must have been an option. My 91 has headrests and is also a pioneer. Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

FYI: Novak's adapter kit for the 4l60e to NP231 modifies the transmission. Advanced Adapter's kit modifies the transfer case. The t-case is WAY easier to work on, so that'd be my recommendation on that piee. Otherwise, it looks like Derf has you covered. The guys at Novak were very helpful when I called them up (it's not always easy to get a hold of them, but when you do, they have a lot of pretty good expertise).

This is going to happen this year for me. July 4th is just around the corner and just one town over lights up fireworks EVERYWHERE. I usually just go there and watch from the pickup bed. This year, I'll be sitting in comfort. :)

Oh yeah...forgot to get pictures, but I'm also doing the WJ booster upgrade at the same time. The poor single diaphragm booster just wasn't able to really push the brakes on the one ton axles as easily until the pedal was almost all the way to the floor. So...upgrade time. Thankfully, the parts for this are cheap and should be a huge upgrade from what everyone says. I'll report back on that once that's complete. In the meantime, here's a quick video of lowering it down onto the tires and checking the stance (also proving that the axles looking off-center in some of the above pictures is just the angle). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv7au5nLWsQ (In case anyone was wondering why I didn't get lug nuts, I figured the inexpensive stuff they would be able to grab locally would be easier and cheaper for now and I can always upgrade to something fancy later)

It's all coming together and I'm learning more as we go. First off...axles are under the jeep and the 35s from the wrecked XJ fit great! On the front axle: In the air: On the ground: 4.5" of backspacing is about perfect...I don't think I could go any more to suck the wheels in farther without hitting something (not without going to GIANT wheels anyways). On the rear axle: In the air: That's the new tailgate...it's straighter than the old one was even before I made my big mistake and doesn't look half bad. The 4.0 sticker is a lie now though...I think I need a 5.3 version of that to stick on there. Underneath: That pinion guard should help protect it on the rocks. :) Since the axles fell out of the truck, the hubs were messed up. True to the jeeper's creed, never just replace...always upgrade. So we put on some warn hubs instead of the OEM ones. I like this new style over the older ones I had on my wagoneer axle. Less turning and easier to get a gloved hand in there. Once it was on the ground and flex tested though, it jumps into the fenders real quick. So I needed more bumpstop. I had some daystar 2" extended bumpstops from previous build plans, so we got those in but even then, it still wasn't enough. I needed something to build up from the bottom and that's when I remembered that I had the JKS bumpstops on the old XJ still (just a bit dirty). So I went home and, sure enough...here they are. I grabbed them and they should help finish that up. This is what it looks like at ride height currently (waiting on driveline updates, since the u joints for the axles are a bit bigger than the old ones). It's wide, but not as wide as I worried it would be. Mudflaps are next on the upgrade list though...then maybe some flares in the future.

I love seeing this come together! I can't wait to hear what you think of the dual triangulated setup once you get it rolling. :)

Didn't I hear a rumor that MJs were just inserted into the XJ line when they had orders? Probably resulted in a lot of inaccuracies and inconsistencies as they swapped back and forth.

Woo! I miss playing some good DnD style games with friends...a bit harder until baby is a bit more self-sufficient.

Looks awesome! The Zone MJ is what got me inspired too (though I'm not quite as dedicated as you to taking all of the pieces of it). Your work looks awesome!

Designing things for 3D printing is a bit of a pain...since you have the pieces all laid out, it might be easier to carve something out of wood to get your initial dimensions to make sure there's enough room for what you want to do. From that, you could probably get dimensions to someone with a larger 3D printer to get it made our of something other than wood if you wanted (sounds like you mostly just want something brick shaped with circle cutouts for cup?)

Hah! I guess I have no excuse now. Just need to figure out how they're doing testing in this new environment

Were you a scout per chance?

Do you usually keep them all behind the seat? Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

I...wow...that was really interesting and educational. That's cool! Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

Mine is a play on my favorite DnD class (Monk) and Code Monkey (since I was a comp sci major). Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

I keep meaning to take the test but never quite get around to it. Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

I decided my direction based on the things I learned and regretted in building my XJ. So I don't really have any regrets yet. I like an in-between mode right now...something daily drivable but still off-roadable (largely because I don't have a tow rig anymore, even though I have a trailer). I like mine to be pretty enough from 60 feet, but not so pretty that I'm hurt when it gets scratched. ...that said, even though I'm 100% satisfied with my truck, I would love to be able to justify a second one.

Drive in theater seats! That's brilliant! I even have a donor XJ sitting in the garage for this. Hmmm

So...beautiful...

Dude! This is amazing and immensely helpful! I can't wait to do this on my MJ, since I have donor 01 XJ doors ready for me

Most cost-efficient for any engine swap is going with the same engine you already had in there. like the others said, finding the actual root cause is probably the cheapest and least effort route, followed by swapping in the same engine from another of the same vehicle. A cracked head gasket isn't too bad...I'd want to know what else is going on though. It's not too bad to take the head off if needed and take a look.

I'm excited to see this! Looking awesome already!

Update time! I stopped by the shop last week and they were working on cutting all the brackets off the 60 and had disassembled both axles to prep for welding/cutting. They'd gotten most of the brackets off of the Dana 60 but cutting the cast portion down was a lot of work (pictures below are before they finished on the cast side). The passenger side was nice and shiny though! I saw the work they were putting into it and I'm glad I trusted them to it, rather than try and hack at it myself without the right tools (no plasma cutter). Fast forward to today, I stopped by again to drop off a few other small parts I found while cleaning the garage (might as well finish a few small upgrades while we have things apart) and they've made a lot of progress! The 14 bolt is shaved down and the plate welded up (using all of the proper warming and slow cooling procedures, of course). Gears were checked and everything is looking good! Man, it's easy to forget how ginormous these axle tubes and housings are...all my time in the past was spent around dana 30 and dana 44 housings, so I'm just not used to the dana 60 and up stuff. Speaking of dana 60... The artec truss really made everything come together easy. If you look close, you'll notice that it's even welded to the housing (again, using the heat and slow cool down process before/after welding). This thing looks like it was made to come this way! For a size comparison, this is my fist through the hole left by the unit bearing. I've never seen so much room to work in! Lastly, and the artec weld-on high steer arms look plenty strong for anything I want to do with them later down the road, much less what they'll be doing now. Plenty of room for future hydro assist or even full hydro if things get really crazy (doubtful, but you never know...I didn't expect to be driving a LS MJ on tons anytime soon either, but here we are).

Looking good! I've never seen that Mazda truck around town...that thing looks awesome too! How do you like the rear trim? I've been meaning to do it, but not until I am ready to build a rear bumper (hopefully later this year). Welding is fun! You should totally invest in one!

This is awesome information! Thanks for all the detail!!! Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk