SoCalManche

Nothing new with Project Unicorn.

Let's not bring that negativity to @Piilgrim82's MJ. I have faith his issue will be resolved... Lol.

You know where I am! San Diego! So close, yet so far. I know of a guy that also has an MJ east of Bakersfield. Don't know if he is on CC or not; met up on Facebook. He's selling me a LWB roll bar.

Eagle and I have a massive text exchange we could probably dig up. It has just about every scenario of potential flaws your CC system may or may not have.

Just the orange corner side marker housings. They are slightly different as far as fitment goes compared to the MJ/XJ. No aftermarket manufacturing either. So they are hard to come by via part out only.

Bumping this thread to add that I'm looking for Waggy XJ side markers as well.

Honestly man, I've been down this rabbit hole a few times, and I was actually down it again last night because I'm trying to rid myself of California rent prices, and thought about building out a trailer sooner than later with a topper. That being said, a ton of threads on here talk about the long bed topper, factory and aftermarket alike, and really you just kind of have to sift through all of the info to figure out what you are looking for. I really want a canvas one, but honestly, I'll probably have to get a custom one made.

When in southern California...

So as I made mention before, when I first reinstalled the new rotors and then the second pair of new brake pads, the wheels were spinning freely and quietly. This was because I hadn't pumped the brakes yet to get the calipers nudged up against pads. Just got done doing the break-in procedure and threw her up on jack stands to see how the wheels rotated. This is resistance occurring, and my paranoia is getting the better of me, so I'm just seeing if this seems normal and adequate: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rceYc88_xlW5jZVzaT8v136XQuWoQU3a/view?usp=sharing

Yeah, I planned on doing the MC/Booster upgrade (the '96+ XJ dual diaphram I believe?); I suppose that upgrade will be coming much sooner than later now. That's also a-whole-nother issue I have to deal with, as some components are missing from it completely. I suppose I'm not asking my question properly. How can you tell if the hub is messed up? "How do I test for symptoms?" is what I'm asking. Do I just start pulling things apart?

And how does one determine which unit bearing might be an issue?

I'm going to stick my GoPro under the front end tomorrow and do a test drive so you guys can hear the sound produced. I really hope it isn't the unit bearing...that's not a cheap fix lol. How do I check for play?

So it doesn't sound like grinding; but more of a "wwooOOOooowwwwwwoooOOOooowww" noise if that makes sense. Sounds like someone driving a car that has bashed on the brakes for the last ten years and their rotor is about to go out. I can't tell which side it is coming from either; it's just happening from the front end. No, I don't have FSM; and yes, I'm glad I uncovered that crazy gunk at the bottom of the MC. Happy it's out! Dust shields are out of the way, and as I mentioned earlier, the wheels were spinning freely and quietly while she was still on jack stands. I need to go put each wheel back in the air now that the calipers have been primed and they are pushed up against the brake pads, and see if they still spin freely and quietly.

Sweet, I will do the break-in procedure and get back to this thread tomorrow. So it's safe to say that not doing this procedure will still transmit a sound that is similar to a wonky rotor? I spun the tires while it was still on jack stands after replacing everything, and they sound freely and quietly. This was before I pumped the brakes to engage the pistons and tighten the brakes. Once I did that, I took it for a quick test drive, and above 35mph, I hear the rotors still.

My goal down the line is to afford those for both the TJ and MJ; until then, I have to make due, especially during these times. Can you tell me the proper break-in procedure for brake pads? I see different sources saying different things, and you seem to know your stuff with brakes.

Yeah, I thought my TJ gave me a run for my money, but I tell ye' what....there's a new sheriff in town!

So update; My fluid was pretty bad, so I decided to clean out the master cylinder and bleed the lines before I continued on to cleaning the rust off the wheel studs and mating surface for the rotor. Good thing I did because wow, there are some nice chunks in there! Then I moved on to the wheel studs and gave them a good brushing with a wire wheel. Needless to say, the rotors mount flawlessly now, and uncovered another problem...a busted brake pad! Back to the store I go so I can get this taken care of, and then to see if I've taken care of the loud rotor problem and the floorboard-y brakes. Lots of lessons being learned over this past weekend and today...

Contact is pretty consistent. But with the new pads, resistance seems kind of high (in my opinion) when rotating the rotor.

I definitely did my best to take a wire brush to the studs, but I may make that my project tomorrow to hit even harder.

So I made a mistake on wanting to change my brake pads. As I pulled the calipers and pads, I decided to inspect the rotors as well; wouldn't you know it- the driver side rotor is practically fused to the axle, and the passenger side too some serious handling to remove as well. I got a fantastic deal on a pair of new Bendix rotors to swap in, so I decided to just knock it out. Upon installation of rotors, the new Wagner pads, and calipers, the rotors are loud and proud when I drive; I'd say it's more prominent with speeds over 40mph. Anyways, vibrations are now there as well, and I'm wondering if I just need to throw on a pair of fresh calipers as well? What is everyone's thoughts on this? My MJ is much less driveable now, and I'm just looking for some outside eyes to steer me in the right direction. Other notes: Brake fluid is dark and needs changing. Yesterday I swapped only the pads and the brakes stopped fine, yet today when I threw on new rotors, the brakes are floorboarding now. Oh, and after driving for a bit on the highway and checking the rims, they are cool to the touch.

Did you not see the second picture with the springs under load? Her caboose is sticking up a "tad" higher than the front end.

Such a fun development. Swapped these supposed 4.5" coils (PO claimed this) with 4.5" coils I purchased. There is a SIGNIFICANT difference, lol. Besides this development, this coil swap was much quicker and easier than expected, after reading so many other stories on the matter. Gonna need to go back to spring under axle now. Digging the gray though...

You guys are cracking me up over here. I meant who is drinking and wrenching simultaneously today! Ha!

Getting ready to attack the front end suspension with new coil springs. The sun is out and it's a gorgeous day here in San Diego today. Figured I'd grab some appropriate beer while working on the MJ. For those of you that have over a 3" lift and have swapped out coils...are you able to just drop the axle and let them pop out? Or is it closer to the FSM route? For everyone else...what are you drinking today?

That's good to know...I need one!