LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW

I guess I'm the odd guy out... I HATED the Trxus.

Thanks! :cheers:

If you look in the first picture you can see the GPS receiver under the software. Also if you look in the photo's of it installed you can see it hanging right above the rear view mirror. Microsoft sells 2 versions of the Streets and Trips software; 1 with the GPS receiver and one without. We got the one with.

I wanted a way that would allow me to completely control what gear my transmission will be in on my AW4. Knowing that my XJ had a Transmission Control Unit lead me to believe that it would be possible to "fool" it into thinking other things. I also did not want to spend the money on the AW4Shift kit as I think it's way over priced for what it is. NOTE: This mod works on ALL year XJ's or MJ's, however on the '97+ it sets off your check engine light on your gauge cluster. This can be easily removed with a code reader or I believe with 50 key on-key offs and it goes away. Parts Needed: 3 Pole Switch Wire Wire Tap After taking out the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) and doing a few test, I figured out what wire did what. The TCU is located under the dash on the passenger side under the glovebox. It's behind the plastic panel there. You'll only be using 2 out of the some 16/18 wires coming from it. First off you need to snip the yellow wire, this is the power wire for the TCU. You'll also need to locate the purple/white wire and tap into it. I used a wiretap that goes over the wire found from Radioshack. You than will send the TCU side of the yellow wire to position "A" on the 3 pole switch. The other half of the yellow wire will go in position "B". The purple wire that you tapped into will go to position "C" on the switch. I added wire to the ends of the yellow wire as I located my switch in a switch panel by the shifter. Here is a diagram: Just remember where A, B, and C are in relation to the switch. This is how your switch will now work along with your shifter for the desired gear. When the switch is left in the position C, your transmission will act like it would stock. Also, if as long as the switch is NOT in the position C, the TCU will remain OFF and your torque converter will never lock up. So now you want a switch to control the torque converter? You can rig up another switch to control that. Parts Needed: 2 Pole Switch Wire Wire Tap You will now need to locate the white/black wire. You need to tap into it. I again used a wire tap from Radioshack. You will also use the yellow wire again. You need to tap into that wire again, but make sure you take power from the yellow wire BEFORE the splice for the first switch or it will not work. Here is a diagram: Be careful not to stop with the converter locked up, or you may stall your engine. I don't think the converter locks up when the transmission is shifted in 1, but I havn't tried to stall it yet (need to go out and wheel and figure it out). Also, make sure if you're wiring up both switches (one above) that you take power from the yellow wire BEFORE the splice for the first switch (this is key!). Now you can engage the lockup at redline and delay your shift! I LOVE IT! EDIT: A bit more info on the AW4 and doing this. Two things control AW4 shifting: 1) Shift lever (lever position controls tranny valves mechanically) 2) Transmission Control Unit (TCU) The shift lever makes a very positive move in control, the only weak point being there is no separate position for 1-2, as they are combined. Position 1-2 holds in 1, provided there is no TCU connected. If you have the TCU connected, you'll get a 1-2 upshift at about 4800rpm. The shift lever does do one thing that the TCU cannot accomplish however - ENFORCING compression braking via transmission's internal overrunning clutches and sprags. But besides this, all other transmission controls are performed by the TCU. The TCU monitors throttle position, ground speed, and shift lever position (switches in the console) to select the gears appropriately. It also monitors position of the POWER/COMFORT switch (for those of you who have it) to change upshift and downshift points and TCU lock parameters. The TCU's outputs are very simple, only three wires. One for Tranny Solenoid 1, one for Tranny Solenoid 2, and one for Tranny Solenoid 3. Solenoids 1 and 2 perform ratio selection as follows: Solenoid 3 is very simple. Put power to it, and the torque converter will lock. (what we did above with the 2nd switch). As far as the torque convertor Lock goes. Solenoid 3 is unique, in that it only controls torque converter lock functions. Being able to lock up a torque converter awards you with improvements in fuel mileage, a cooler-running transmission, less cabin noise from the tranny, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, it has the ability to multiply torque from the engine.. It's in esance like having one more gear. Although it's possible to lock the torque convertor in EVERY ratio, it really only works consistantly in 2nd, 3rd, and OD. Anyways, Locking it in 1st is pretty much worthless, and is not too good for the torque convertor. When you come to a stop, either the torque convertor unlocks itself (by nature of how the hydraulic plumbing works) or it will bang a bit, and then stalls the motor. I'd just flip the switch and not worry about it. NOW, giving it to much throttle with the torque convertor locked will give you a quick wake-up call. The torque convertor lock is not intended to handle full engine torque (remember where your peak torque occurs, fairly low) and it will give you a quick jolt if you forget to unlock before feeding too much throttle. Besides, the torque converter is your friend, it multiplies torque output in exchange for higher engine RPM, so only lock up when you know you don't need much "oomph". Also, The TCU is programmed to force torque convertor lockup when engine RPMS's are above a certain point (not sure exactly what RPM though?), and you're at wide open throttle (WOT). Why? easy, top speed. The AW4's torque convertor has a very high stall speed (translates to high torque multiplication factor, and higher RPM off the line). If you allow 2500rpm of stall, that means the transmission's input shaft speed will be quite a few RPMs lower than crankshaft speed when you're under one "quick launch runs". At WOT, you're going down the highway at 75, and the torque multiplication factor really isn't required, thus you need more tranny RPMs. And lastly, remember how I said the torque convertor lockup mechanism wouldn't handle full engine torque? Well, when you're screaming down the highway at WOT, engine RPMs are usually well above the engine's peak torque point (by nature) it's not developing peak torque output (although it may be generating peak HP). Locking the torque convertor here doesn't put it in jepoardy, but it does eliminate slippage that may be costing you MPH and/or MPG. (and we all know with big tires and a lift we need all the MPG we can get!). For those of you interested, here is a wiring diagram of the AW4 I based the switches off of. http://www.greatlakesxj.com/tech/TCU4.jpg

I decided to take the hood off and do it off the vehical. After some debate, I decided it would be better to draw the lines on the bottom side so I knew exactly where I was cutting in relation to the supports. I decided to go with Chrysler LeBaron Turbo vents. These are very common on the XJ's, and I liked the looks of them more than any other's that I had seen. I used the same paint (semi-flat black) that I used on my rock rails, and rear quarter guards. I stripped the hood of the material on the inside, and removed my engine light. I than placed some tape in the area I was going to be working in. I did not want to scratch the hood (yes it's the inside but still...). This would also allow me to draw my lines where I needed to cut. I than placed the vents where I thought they looked and fit best. I than placed the vent on the hood, and traced it with a pen. Now, you'll NOT want to cut on these lines, as if I did I would of cut to big of a hole. I measered aprox 3/8" inside of this line and drew another line. I also decided that since I was going to be cutting from the backside, I probally should place some tape on the other side to help prevent chipping. It's no turning back now. :thumbsup: I started out with a dremel tool, but it was just not going fast enough. So I turned to the jigsaw. One side done, one side to go... And the other side done. I had to make up some brackets. I ended up using 1/2 x 3/4 angle, and aprox 1.5" long. I than drilled a hole in the center of the 3/4 side for the bolt. I used stainless hardware, to prevent rusting in the future. One side installed. Both installed, a view from the top. And than re-installed the hood. Overall I'm pritty happy with the results. This should work good with my new cooling system I'll be putting in. I did ditch the hood spacer's for the moment. They will probally go back in once I start trying to fit the supercharger in for clearance.

This is copy/pasted from another one of my posts on another forum, but I figured it was good info to post here as well. I got a few things in today from Hesco. :D BRX Hose Kit: Hesco High-Flow Waterpump: Hesco High-Flow T-Stat Housing: Mr. Gasket High Performance 180deg. T-Stat: Also have the CSF 3-Core Rad. already. Well I was able to work on it a bit today. I know some of this is pretty basic, but I decided to document it as much as I could. First we are going to do the radiator removal. You will need to remove you front header panel to get to the radiator. To do this first you will need to remove a few pieces from your grill. You first need to remove the 4 screws that hold the headlight bezel on. You than need to remove the bezel, and the side marker. Once you have those removed you will need to remove the side marker bezel as well to gain access to the 2 bolts that hold the header panel on. You will need to remove 1 screw, and 2 bolts from the side marker bezel. You than will be able to remove the 2 nuts that hold on the header panel. Next you will need to remove several bolts and nuts from the radiator support so you can remove the header panel. Their are 3 large bolts on each side, as well as 2 nuts in the center. Their are also 4 nuts hidden on the back side of the header panel at the top. These need to be removed as well. And lastly, their is a single bolt hidden on the bottom side that holds the bottom in. This can be accessed from underneath. Once you have all the nuts and bolts removed, you can pull the header panel out and than remove the radiator support. You do not need to remove the aux. fan (however disconnect it) as it will pull out with the support. You now have access to the radiator. To remove it you will need to undo the upper and lower radiator hose, as well as both transmission lines. You will also need to remove the rubber isolator on the top of the old radiator so you can use it on the new one. Their are than 1 nut on each side that holds the radiator to the ac condenser. Once you remove these you can pull the radiator out. Here is a comparison of my old CSF for the closed loop system beside the new CSF for the open loop system. Notice the only real difference is the filler neck. Also notice that the thermo switch is on the radiator on the old one, and their is no spot for it on the new one (we'll talk about that later). I also at this time decided I was going to change the t-stat housing to a new Hesco high flow housing as well as change the t-stat. To remove the t-stat housing you need to disconnect all the hoses (3) going to it, as well as remove the 2 bolts that hold it on. Once you have it removed, you need to scrape off the old gasket and remove any RTV that was their prior. A razor blade works well. When installing the new t-stat and gasket, I used a bit of RTV to make sure I got a good seal. I than installed the new Hesco high-flow t-stat housing. Notice that the new Hesco unit has hole at the top. This is due to the fact that the newer open loop system's from the factory have a thermo switch for the aux. fan. I have yet to decide what I am going to do with the aux. fan (put it on a switch, or use a thermo switch in the t-stat housing), so I placed a plug in it for the time being that can easily be removed it need be. I next changed the water pump witch I will document at a later time. Now is a good time since you have the radiator out to do this job since you have room. I will update this post with a detailed write-up on how to change the water pump at a later time. Next I reinstalled the new CSF 3-Core radiator for the open loop setup. And than installed the new lower BRX radiator hose. This was honestly probably the hardest part thus far of the install. The BRX hoses are much thicker and thus less playable. I ended up getting out some hose lube and it than slipped right on. I ran out of day light, so I will update the rest of the install at a later time with pics. I was able to finish things up today. First off I ripped off the hose setup off of the '96 for the heater control valve etc. Here is a picture of the difference between the 2. The extra hoses on the old one go to the pressure bottle which has now been eliminated. I had some problems with the Hesco High-Flow T-stat housing sitting so close to the valve cover. I know Hesco sells a spacer for a few bucks, but I decided that I would just force the hose on and clamp it best I could. Notice the hose clamp on the upper Rad. hose is just a bit higher than I'd like. I may down the road get the spacer and put it in thier. Here is a picture of the new heater control valve installed. This part is a must for the conversion. I stole it off of our '96, but it can be purchased at the dealer if need be. The part number is 56005900. And lastly a pic of how I routed the hoses. I did notice that the hoses between the early (closed loop) and the hoses between the newer (open loop) are a bit different. I had to route my hoses over the top of the AC pump, whereas before they were routed behind it. I don't know if it was due to my BRX hoses, or if this is the way they are. Oh how sexy those blue hoses are... :thumbsup: Thier are 2 things that I have yet to address. 1) Overflow bottle. I currently just have a hose running to the ground. I have an overflow bottle on order and will get it installed ASAP. 2) Aux. fan. I plan on using a stock thermo switch on the t-stat housing to run it. At the moment I have the hole plugged. And the total cost of this project. CSF 3 Core Raditator - $180.00 Hesco High Flow Waterpump - $150.00 Hesco High Flow T-Stat Housing - $33.00 T-Stat - $13.00 BRX Hose Kit - $150.00 Overflow Bottle - $36.00 Clamps - $12.00 Fluid - $12.00 Misc. & Shipping - $24.00 Total - $610.00 I saved myself probally $50-$80 being able to steal parts off of the '96 for the heater control valve. I know many of you will say what a huge waiste of money. My responce is I should NEVEr had an overheating problem again. I know this project can be done for MUCH less as well; I just decided to go all out. Future plans: Temp Sensor w/Gauge Hesco T-Stat Housing Spacer Aux. Fan setup

We've got it already (see green cord going into head unit). It's nice however to have the directions told to you threw the sound system. :D However we have a ipod so it's really not necessary for the music.

My wife had been asking for some sort of GPS for quite awhile now for her XJ. I have it in my XJ and she's always wanting me to take it out and put it in her's (can't cause it's hard wired and perminatly mounted). We had looked into new GPS units that we could swap between vehicles, but for what we wanted we were looking at $500+. So we had held off as it wasn't an immediate need (though she tried to convince me it was). I have a good friend, and fellow Jeeper who's a State Trooper and one day I rode with him in his squad car and he was running Microsoft Streets and Trips on his laptop. I had seen this program before but never had the opportunity to play with it. After about 10 mins I was hooked and decided that this was what we were going to do. So we asked for it for Christmas and got it. Retail is $99 on it with the GPS receiver (not badly priced if you ask me). We went with Streets and Trips 2008. Everyone I read online said it only works with Vista, but I checked the box prior at a store and it says it'll work with XP on the box. We got it installed and it's working fine with XP Service Pack 2. We than decided that sitting the laptop on our lap just wasn't going to cut it. So I looked into several options for a laptop mount. I saw anything for the $20 cheapo on eBay to the high dollar units at $1000+. Spent a day doing a lot of research and finally found one I liked that was very reasonably priced. So it showed up less than 24 hours after I ordered it (ordered it the day after Christmas, showed up the 27th). I was anxious to get it installed. So we got everything layed out. Mount unassembled, streets and trips software, GPS receiver, power inverter, and of course the laptop. Next step was to assemble the new laptop mount. It went very easy for the most part and I was surprised at how stout the unit was for what I payed for it. Looked like it was going to suit our needs just fine. Next was installing it. I spent a lot of time holding it up with the laptop on it and adjusting it to make sure we got a prime location so that we could easily adjust it for different situations. I didn't want to hinder leg room for the passenger, I also wanted to make sure it could be moved so that it sat over the passengers legs if they wanted to use it. And also wanted to make sure it could be easily placed for the driver to use it but not hinder the line of sight and also not hit the gear selector. After messing with it for awhile I found a good location for it. Installed it by simply drilling 4 holes in the transmission "hump" and putting in 4 bolts with fender washers and lock nuts on the back side. It's very sturdy. A few installed pics. Overall we're very happy with the setup and have less than $300 in it total (not including the laptop of course). I'd highly recomend all the products we used and it's a cheap alternative to the high dollar GPS units if you already own a laptop.

EDIT: Nevermind, wrong MJ. :roll:

IF you can get them to balance out. If you do go with the Trxus I'd highly recommend buying them locally so if they have problems balancing a specific tire you can have them just grab another one and try it. They are notorious for having balancing issues...

I absolutely hated my Trxus (sold them for 1/2 of what I had in them a month later). I absolutely love my Bighorns. My vote goes for Bighorns or if you can afford them the Iroks.

I agree it looks really low, however compression checks really don't show a whole lot in my opinion. I'd do a leakdown test if your really worried about it. Anything over 20% shows a lot of wear...

Check the TPS. http://www.greatlakesxj.com/tech/TPS.html

You can tell if it's a HO by looking at how many bolts are on the TB.

My wife's parents just bought a new car and got absolutely no info on it's history. So I thought I'd see if I could find out some info for them. Anyone have a free carfax account?

Dave, Lets just go look at it... Heck you pay for gas I'll even drive the XJ up. Oh wait, the SSF Nazi won't let you off work. ;) ;)

GLXJ is hosting it's 2nd Annual Winter Wheeling Fest on Saturday Feb. 16th at Haspin Acres in Laurel Indiana. ALL JEEPS ARE WELCOME!!! Admission to Haspin Acres is $15 per person. In addition, each person must make a one time purchase of a "Liability Waiver Card" for $1 that is good for 1 year from day purchased. Entry fee allows you to be at the park until 9am the next morning. You can visit Haspin Acres website at www.haspinacres.com Flags are not required, but if you want to run one your more than welcome to. Also PLEASE have some sort of recovery (either front tow hooks, or rear hitch). Also please bring a tow strap (no hooks, looped both ends). We are planning on meeting at the gate/staging area at 10:00 AM. If you plan on attending please let us know for sure so I can get a head count. I will also note that this is open to supporting members as well as non-supporting members. However thier will be several giveaways at this event of items for supporting members only. The giveaways are well worth your member fee's. Additionally, ANY JEEP's ARE ALLOWED TO WHEEL WITH US (even if not a XJ or MJ). This event is made possible by our sponsors. Be sure to check them out 1st if your looking for a new product or service. For more updates please visit the thread located on our forum by clicking here: http://greatlakesxj.activeboard.com/for ... D=14662424 Hope to see you there! Adam Hanson GLXJ President www.GreatLakesXJ.com

You need to measure from flange to flange, NOT the case itself. The case length is kinda irrelevant in the matter as the flanges are where the DS connects to.... When I swapped a 242 into my old MJ I recall it being aprox. 1" longer as stated above.

Novak SK2X - http://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/kit_sk2x.htm

The biggest problem with the turbo is location. Thier is not really any good place to put it. But what do I know, I spent like $1500 in everything to just get my blower mounted so I could shut my hood. :roll: You have a few option, the best one would be a remote mounted turbo. But their are several draw-backs to doing this. The other location is on the drivers-side under the intake manifold. Problem is clearance and the issue with the steering. Lastly the option I would choose if I was going to do is is on the pass side around the ac compressor and bat. Get a bat. tray from a diesel XJ (moves it to the driver side) and ditch the AC all together with a pully from a non-ac XJ/MJ (kinda hard to find). Only problem with this option is running the piping to the intake (3" pipe is a REALLY tight fit over the valve cover). Than what do you do with getting the exhaust routed? A turbo that will spool in the lower RPM range (what you want if you actually wheel it) will not produce much boost and heat up rather quickly. So you need to adress cooling the turbo and I'd recommend running a intercooler somewhere as well. Anyways, you know how to get ahold of me. :brows: P.S. I'm working with a vendor as we speak about making a supercharger kit available for the market based on my setup. We'll see what (if anything) comes of it...

I'm running a supercharger on my 4.6L stroker. I don't have more than 15 mins on it with the blower as I'm still finishing up my engine management install to run it fully. It is correct that the Renix blocks are stronger. They have an added ridge on the blocks that that HO ones do not have. My recommendation would be to run a Renix block with a HO head from '95 or '96. I have almost 10K on my 4.6L without problems but I am also running upgraded everything in the motor. I dyno'd right at 290HP with the stroker and plan on breaking the 400HP mark with the blower. If you have any questions feel free to PM me as I've done a TON of research and have 1st had experience with building a 4.0L. My only question is why a turbo?

It is a known issue with the Rusty's tracbar to break at that exact point. Rusty IS aware of this as I can dig up several threads on other forums where the people have contacted him and sent him pics. So my advice is to contact Rusty (talk with him directly) and don't take less than a full refund. He typically will only offer you a store credit but like I said DO NOT take less than a full refund in $ form from him. He'll do it after you threaten him as he has for others. If he won't budge on it, threaten to contact the BBB. I'm typically not this way with vendors, but they owe me over $200 still over failed parts and I won't ever give them another dime of my money. I've went as far as contacting the BBB and unfortantly they (Rusty's) lied about it all... -Lead_"still bitter about my Rusty's transaction"_Follow

DHL

The rear leaf mounts are not to far from the rear in the SWB. Taking 12" out of it will most likely put you in front of the leaf mounts.