Rymanrph

I recently replaced the brake master and booster in my '97 swapped truck. When the truck is off, the brake pedal is firm, but when the truck is running, there isn't much resistance. It will stop, eventually. I bench bled the master before installing it and I've bleed the entire system twice. I double checked the rear drums to make sure they were adjusted properly and I can't find any signs of a leak in the system anywhere. I tried to find someone near by that has a pressure bleeder, but haven't had any luck. I need to get the truck inspected, but I'm not really comfortable driving it, so I'm kinda at a loss as to what to do at this point.

I added a Mopar add on kit for my MJ ('97 conversion) and it works fine, but I think if I were to do it again, I would just run my own harness to a factory switch. I think I found a dummy pigtail behind the dash that I was able to use. When I wired my roll bar lights, I used a factory switch and an aftermarket harness. I actually prefer that because I can turn them on whenever I want. The way the add on harness is wired, they only work when the parking lights/low beams are on and turn off when the high beams come on.

I'm curious too. I also have a list of things I need from Summit Racing that I'm a little hesitant to pull the trigger on right this second.

I've had 4 TJs and I sold a '97 earlier this year. I know my market is a little different, but I'll give you my circumstances and what I paid/sold for reference. Mine had slightly more miles, needed a new top, tires and I had to have the doors and the hood repaired and painted. I paid $5500 for it and after taking care of that said list, sold it for $6500 - made about $300. Mine had zero rust issues and no leaks. I think you're probably pretty close with your estimate just based on what it needs.

My biggest pet peeve with the Brute double cab is the rear doors. I've ridden in my brothers JKU plenty of times and getting over the wheel intrusion in the back door on a lifted vehicle is not the easiest thing to do. With the extended length, the door intrusion isn't needed anymore. I understand that it would be a lot of extra work to fix that, but these things are already crazy expensive.

I have a build thread on the A body forums here, but I occasionally will upload some pictures in our other ongoing projects thread here as well. There are a bunch of ways you can do it and I will say overall it wasn't too bad, but I think it would be difficult to do well by yourself if you've never done it before. I was glad to have a helping hand to stretch the leather and hold things tight while I threaded.

I got a chance to inspect the rear wheel cylinders today and they seem fine. The brakes were way out of adjustment (which is odd since I just adjusted them when I swapped axles last summer. After adjusting them, the pedal isn't much better if at all, so I'm just going to see if I can find someone near by that can pressure bleed the system.

After some more research, those numbers aren't supposed to match until 1969 and mine is a '68, so all is well. Whew.

I got ready to send the blue car to the paint shop to have the engine bay painted and some rust repaired and then I discovered a major problem. I found out that the VIN tag on the dash does not match the fender tag or the serial numbers on the rest of the body (radiator support and under the trunk weather seal). The reason this is a problem is because I have already applied for a title, but I have not received it yet. Since the car was purchased from out of state, the North Carolina DMV License and Theft Bureau has to complete an inspection of the vehicle. You have a year to complete this and they won't issue the title until that happens. The title that I turned in matches the dash and not the rest of the car, so I foresee some major headaches in the near future. Needless to say, the car did not go to the paint shop today.

The best way to fix wiring issues is to just get rid of them. The '97 conversion will solve all of your problems lol. Have you tried an eraser wheel for the decals? It works really well and doesn't burn through your paint.

One of the first vehicle maintenance projects I ever tackled was replacing a seized caliper on my '91 YJ. I had the same issue trying to bleed the calipers mounted upside down. I haven't inspected the rear wheel cylinders because I ran out of time, but its not a bad idea. I still have the rear prop valve.

I did. Its possible that I didn't get all the air out, but I kept compressing the cylinder until I couldn't see any more bubbles and then I did it several more times.

I installed the new master and booster and I still have the same problem. Firm pedal with the truck off, but as soon as I turn it on, there is very little resistance. Its possible that I still have air trapped in the system somewhere or it could be something entirely different. The brakes work sorta so I may just have to drive it gingerly somewhere to have a vacuum put on the system to make sure its been bled correctly, but if that's not it then I'm a little stumped.

Keep an eye out on craiglist for XJ donors. The newer '97+ ones seem to be pretty expensive at times, but I was able to get my 2wd donor for $1k. I made all that money back selling stuff I didn't need.

Welcome from a fellow NC member. If you do decide to tackle the '97 conversion I'm pretty close by (Albemarle and Charlotte) if you have any questions.

Well, I do have brake fluid in the booster. I read somewhere that when that happens, the booster will go bad. Is there anyway to test the booster by itself? I'd rather save the $85 on the booster, but I don't want to have to bleed the brakes twice either. Edit: I just decided to replace the booster as well. Its got over 200k miles on it and my time is worth something so if that means I only have to bleed the brakes once, that makes me happy. I hate having to do the same work twice.

I hadn't driven the truck in about a week and when I went to drive it last night, the brake pedal practically went to the floor. It was firm with the vehicle off, but as soon as I started the truck, it got soft. When I checked this morning, the reservoir was empty. So, I obviously have a leak somewhere, but I can't find any indications of a leak. All the lines appear dry, the front calipers and bleeders are dry. The bleeders in the back are dry too, but I haven't have a chance to take the drums off to inspect the cylinders.

That is a great looking truck. It reminds me of mine at one point in its various lives. I think that's the first time I've seen a column shift with a center console. What takes the place of where the floor shifter would normally be?

I think you've been having your truck painted for as long as I've owned mine. I'm glad to see that its finally going to be put back together.

I think you win this thread lol. Very cool sighting. The SUVs are most likely the new Macan (baby Cayenne).

I love the idea of the removable bed sides. Very nicely done! Welcome to CC.

Looking good! What color are you going with? The original gray with the red pioneer graphics looks good.

From one Ryan to another, congratulations!

Sorry, I didn't see this before. The blue one is in MUCH better shape than the red one. The only rust on the blue car is the floor patch I showed and a softball sized hole on the rear quarter that can be patched pretty easily. The red had been hit on the driver rear which would have been a lot of work. The floors on both side needed to be replaced. There was rot in both rockers, the truck, pan extensions and there was some damage to the rear valence. The front fiberglass fenders were cracked. It was so un-original that working on it was sometimes a lot of guess work since parts changed every year. The blue car still needs work, but it will save me a lot of money in the long run. Its a lot less molested too.

I've been working on the rear spring relocation to fit the fat rear tires from the red car. Everything is mocked up. I'm just waiting on a helping hand to measure everything so that its all square before I weld it up. In the mean time, I started cleaning up the 360. I still need to strip and repaint the oil pan, the pulleys and several brackets. I'm also going to repaint the valve covers. Here is the before: And here's the halfway done: