kryptronic

Gjeep operates on a whole other level. Between his build and yours I've got tons of inspiration once I get to the MJs. The plan is to do them the same way (at the same level) as the YJ, so keep an eye on those build threads when they heat up at some point. Hopefully soon. Already making plans. I thought everybody re-blued their axles. I have a handgun that I had to re-blue a while back, and had what I needed on hand. So after I cleaned the axles up, I figured what the hell. It took all of 20 minutes and they looked almost new when done. I did four axles, but only took pics of the fronts - before: After:

I started vaping a couple weeks back in an effort to cut down on cigarettes. I was inspired by this post as well.

Fall 2017: The Drivetrain I ended up working on my 1991 MJ, Silver Star, over the spring and summer quite a bit. When I first bought the truck it was a basket case with a bunch of issues. It took a few months to get to driver status, which took focus away from Old Blue. In the early summer I had swapped the 4.0L High Output engine, AX-15 manual transmission and NP231 4WD transfer case as a single unit from Old Blue over to the new chassis. The drivetrain sat there until the fall, when I decided to break it down and clean and refresh it. Due to the low mileage on the engine and other components, the plan was to refresh everything, as nothing needed to be rebuilt. I broke everything down and cleaned the engine thoroughly. Then I painted it with Hemi orange engine paint from VHT. I would have done AMC blue, but the YJ is practically that color already, so I went with orange for contrast, and picked a Chrysler color. I really liked how it turned out, and will probably do the MJs the same way. I also blasted all the aluminum brackets, valve cover, intake, etc. and then cleared it with Diamond Coat HT Clear. Same treatment was done to the AX-15 and NP231. Everything was properly sealed up before blasting to prevent any damage to any and all areas which needed protection. The engine got all new Felpro gaskets all the way around, a new AC Delco water pump, new thermostat and housing, a Banks revolver header for the exhaust manifold and a new distributor and wires. And then the electrical harness was gone over and put into perfect shape again. With all the wiring set and other items like the fuel tank and skid installed, everything looked like this: That pretty much took then entire fall up until the holidays when it's always tough to find time to work on projects. In the winter of 2018 I took a short break to build out my 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon (JKUR). Might post a quick build thread up on that at some point. Then I came back to the YJ in the spring of 2018 to do an SYE on the transfer case (instead of the previously installed transfer case drop) and to start work on the tub. More on that in the next installment. Thanks for reading.

It's the square headlights. Plus I've got a really awesome period correct Minuit Enhanced Radio for it and new speakers for the dash and soundbar. So there's that, too. Thanks. I've really enjoyed following yours, too. Means a lot. I'm a software engineer, so I can't help but label and organize everything. I've got issues. It's bad. I just realized that if you watch the garage over the course of the build you'll notice more and more shelving and shuffling around of things to optimize space. It's a two car oversize garage, and I have room enough in it to line both sides about 30" deep and still get an MJ and the separated tub and frame for the YJ in there. It's not big enough, though. If I ever move, I dream of a setup like Alexia just built.

The plan is to make the LWB rollbar a SWB rollbar unless a SWB rollbar of equal condition magically appears before I do it. Funny enough, I bought the 3.55 LSD D44 from Cody and Dom for one of the MJ builds back in July.

November 2018: Getting Started I'm between major phases on my 1995 YJ build, so attention is getting turned to Ghost. I need to get this truck tagged and registered in Pennsylvania and inspected. So I'm going to start the process of fixing it up to achieve those goals over the next two months. Ghost has been sitting dormant for a while. I used him to store some MJ rollbars, factory bumpers and Dana 44 rears for about a month in the garage. I rearranged the space in the garage a bit so I could store the axles. I have too many unused axles right now - a MJ Dana 44 rear in 3.07, a MJ Dana 44 rear in 3.55 with LSD, a YJ Dana 35 rear in 3.07, a late YJ Dana 30 Front in 3.07 (for parts), an early XJ Dana 30 Front in 4.10. Parts from each (except the Dana 35) will be used on both MJs. Once I was able to store the axles I found spots for everything else and then got Ghost into the driveway - to collect leaves. I've set my goal to get parts for Ghost over the next few weeks - in order to start meaningful work on the truck as soon as possible. I'd like to get it cleaned up and ready to pass inspection so I can register and get it inspected within the same couple of weeks. I found a guy on the local Craigslist parting a white XJ, so I grabbed the doors off it for $20 a piece. I've nicknamed the truck they came from Swamp Thing. The door panels are grey, and in perfect shape with standard arm rests. I'll use the entire passenger side door, but may only use the window regulator for the driver side. I'm pretty sure the current driver side door can be straightened out (it's got a small crease on the leading edge where the hinge broke previously). I'm keen to retain the original build sticker on that door. Ghost has late XJ style mirrors that were swapped on at some point, and I want to go back to the early style, but unfortunately the mirrors on both these doors are busted. I still have to go over the truck to figure out everything that needs to be fixed up. I drove it up here from Maryland earlier in the Summer and it's been started only three or four times since. From what I can recall: The driver window regulator is a must fix item. I'll want to install a new Minuit radio that I picked up from Jeremy's Radio Emporium earlier this year. The starter needs to be replaced, the rear brakes are soft, and I need to do a full battery of tests on the engine. Plus run through the Pennsylvania inspection myself. Right now the hood is stuck shut and will not release. I need to replace the front grill with the original black that came with the truck and locate a driver side fender. Probably a new power steering bump and internal slave replacement. Cleaning, rewiring, etc. Maybe some initial bodywork and cleanup, just so it looks decent. I want to get this truck to the point where it's a reliable driver with it's current 2WD drivetrain. So I'm moving in that direction. When the YJ is ultimately done I'd like to be able to look at both MJs in full working order and then make the best decision as to how to best build them. I'm so anxious to build an MJ that when I get into a situation like this: I can't help but want to take that fresh 36k original mile 4.0L/AX-15/NP231 and slam it into one of them. It's really tempting. The trucks will get the same treatment, though. One day...

87-95 Wranglers use the same steering wheel as well.

Summer 2017: The Point of No Return (Disassembly) After the rolling chassis was finished (or at least together), it was time to turn direction to the drivetrain. It was as good a time as any to fully break down Old Blue, so I started the process one weekend during the summer of 2017. I had torn down three YJs previous to Old Blue, so I knew what I was doing, but I didn't trust myself to get everything back in the same spot when final assembly would occur (whenever that might be). I started out with the fenders and marked everything with high visibility tape, clearly labeled before disconnecting. Then just worked my way around the engine compartment, then removed the hood, fenders, etc. High visibility labeling on everything! I got everything clear of the firewall, removed the top, removed the interior, then started working on the interior harness. You can see the one spot on the floor that has rust in the pic directly below. Afterwards, I removed the rollbar, every bolt, bracket, wire - everything. Old Blue was clean under the rollbar feet - very uncommon for YJs. Then I lifted the tub off without too much trouble. At this point I had one rolling chassis in better than new shape, and Old Blue's rolling chassis with the drivetrain on it. I had the two side by side for a moment before I flipped the drivetrain from old to new for a test fit. I flipped the tub on it's side for easy storage. I put it on a couple of spare tires on top of dollies so it can be moved around with little effort. I switched the drivetrain from old to new. It fit perfect. Engine mounts were located exactly right - everything lined up. The drivetrain wouldn't stay there long, though. This was test fit territory only. In another installment we'll go over how the engine, transmission and transfer case were gone over. The final step was to cut Old Blue into little pieces and make him disappear. I saved the axles for spares and the frame went into storage for when I need good metal. You could really see well at this point how bad the frame had gotten over time. Within a couple of weekends Old Blue had disappeared, the tub was on it's side in the garage ,and the drivetrain had been fully swapped over, ready for the next phase. More to come next time. Thanks for reading.

Spring 2017: Rolling Chassis Assembly I was so wrapped up in assembling everything over the course of the weekend that I did it, I didn't really take any pics of the process. Everything went very well, with the exception of having the wrong shocks. The recipe included: a Dana 30 front axle geared 3.73 with all new u-joints, hubs and brakes; a Dana 35 rear axle geared 3.73 with limited slip and ZJ disc brake conversion; Old Man Emu 036R (heavy rear) leaf springs at all four corners; Old Man Emu HD greasable shackles and bushings; Skyjacker hydro shocks; Daystar greasable main eye Bolts; Rancho u-bolts; All new hoses, lines, etc. I initially was going to do a transfer case drop, as can be seen in the pic above, but plans changed and a SYE was done on the transfer case instead. At full droop the front shocks were too short (so I needed to go with the next size longer for those), and I ran into an issue with the shock body contacting the rear axle. Longer shocks fixed the front and Teraflex shock relocation brackets fixed the rear. Also got rid of all the shock boots. All in all I didn't really run into any problems other than the shocks during assembly. I had everything prepped, purchased or otherwise ready to go. At some point during the spring of 2017 I got my 1991 MJ, and inadvertently ended up taking the last pic of Old Blue before disassembly when taking a pic of the underside of the MJ. He was sitting in front of the garage ready to be broken down. In our next installment, Old Blue goes through full tear down. Thanks for reading.

At this point the heater blower doesn"t come on, and the electric door locks unlock but will not lock. Both are residual electrical issues due to a prior PO installing a radio. Probably will ask around $3500 when done for it.

Took this nice fall pic the other day. Left to right: 92 MJ, 98 XJ, 91 MJ. Not keeping the XJ - just fixing and selling it - so it won't be here much longer.

Winter 2017: Axles and a Whole Lotta Painting Going On With the frame done I turned my attention to getting the axles ready. This is a mild build, so the Dana 30 front axle and the Dana 35 rear axle that came with the California frame would be plenty sufficient in stock for to handle intended use. Both axles are geared at 3.73, the front has the large 5-760X u-joints and the rear has factory limited slip. When I cracked them, they both looked great. The Jeep they came from was never offroad or ridden hard. I had already removed the track bar mounts from the frame, and needed to remove them from both axles. Track bars cause binding and other issues on leaf sprung suspensions, and nearly everybody agrees YJs without track bars ride way better than stock. I needed to remove all evidence of them. The Dana 35 rear was a simple cut and clean affair. The Dana 30 front took a little creativity. In stock form the track bar bracket is molded to the casing that holds the central axle disconnect (CAD). It needed to be removed, but in a way so that you'd never know it was there - that also didn't weaken the CAD housing. After clearing the axles of track bars, they underwent the same blasting treatment that the frame got in the fall. I also cleaned and restored everything else including the axle shafts, steering knuckles, etc. The hubs and ball joints for the Dana 30 were trashed and new replacements were ordered. All the seals were good and the axle internals needed no work, as mentioned before. I even re-blued the front and rear axles. Then it was time to get a whole lot of painting done. I needed to paint basically the entire frame, both axles, all brackets and more. The Dana 35 was getting a disc brake conversion so that needed new calipers, etc. The plan was to get everything painted then have everything ready for assembly to do that all in one shot. Basically I was getting a completely restored rolling chassis ready for the second phase, which would be the drivetrain from Old Blue. I used four base coats of Chassis Saver in Satin Black, and topped that off with three coats of Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black in Satin. Inside all frame rails was done using a 3M undercoating wand hooked up to a shutz gun used for spraying undercoating. All other paint was applied using a cheap HVLP gun run by my 60 gallon compressor. Lots of painting. Spring plates, bolts, slid plates, the front bumper (which I cut from a stock YJ bumper and welded half an MJ bull bar onto), gas tank skid, transfer case skin, gas tank straps, etc. If I wasn't painting it black, it typically got painted with Chassis Saver Aluminum, which has real aluminum flake in it. I did things like the ends of the axles, sway bar links and diff covers in the aluminum color. It was quite an undertaking, I had to clean and clear the center caps for the wheels and paint and rebuild all four calipers. These wheel center caps were a rusty, nasty mess inside and out. The disc brake conversion for the rear axle is the ZJ (Grand Cherokee) setup. All that was done in an effort to get everything together to build the rolling chassis over a week or two. Everything came together very nicely and at the end of it, I really felt like all the prep paid off. Before I started assembly, I felt like a kid on Christmas about to play with a bunch of new toys. New Timken hubs, Spicer u-joints and ball joints, Old Man Emu Springs, all the disc brake conversion parts and more. A freshly painted frame, and all new brakes and rotors. The CAD system was redone and every part was cleaned and painted and brought back to better than factory goodness. All ready to put together. Don't mind those rock sliders - they weren't touched yet. Hadn't done anything with the rear bumper (got a tire carrier bumper from a TJ). More on those later... In our next installment we'll take a look to see how everything fit together. Thanks for reading.

Make sure your gas tank is no more than half full before you pull the sending unit assembly. This vital piece of info somehow slipped my mind when I replaced my pump.

I was going through it in my head and that makes sense. The shifters are located differently but essentially push/pull the lever the same way. On the YJ the shifter bolts to the transmission. In my pic the mounting point is the three bolt holes on the AX-15 just forward of the tcase lever.

You need a vacuum tester. The auto parts store should have one they can loan you. Or buy one - they're inexpensive. Your target is 18 in-Hg. If you get anything below 17 in-Hg, look for cracked or disconnected lines.

Your build thread says you got OBDI code 51 on Oct 28. Did you resolve that? I'm guessing not. Check engine vacuum to be sure that's good before you replace anything. Symptoms point to the regulator and/or the pump, but you've got more testing to do to narrow it down.

OP said its a 91, so it's multiport injection. Could be the fuel filter, pump or pressure regulator. Based on the fact that it's not holding pressure after shutdown, I'd vote fuel pump.

Although I just noticed the shifter arm on yours are positioned down and on the YJ it is up. So maybe somebody needs to look at an XJ/MJ for you. I tried looking at my 91 MJ just now but it's dark and raining cats and dogs out. I can't tell on the MJ right now.

The arm is vertical (toward the rear) in 2WD. Like in the pic on the right. Front yoke will spin freely. When in 4WD the fron yoke is locked and spins with the rear yoke. Just checked my YJ to verify.

Just read and learned that the YJ needs the mode selector plate in the transfer case modded or replaced to achieve true neutral. Wish I knew that when I had my YJ's case cracked to do an SYE a couple months back. I had no idea.

The YJ ran 1987-1995. There were no 1996 Wranglers. The TJ ran 1997-2006. I own a 1995 YJ and a 2004 TJ. Other than the output shaft boot, they have the same NP231.

I highly recommend BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2s.

Wow. I hope somebody from the club.picks this one up.

Thanks. I'm going to look into it. Only about an hour from here.

Where is this yard? I might want to swing by if it's close. Thanks.