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MJ Prerunnerish 5.3L Swapperoooo


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Alright, cooling system question. I am running a Cherokee radiator which does not have a fill on it. I am using the factory overflow/fill container from the same year Cherokee. For simplicity's sake I ran the heater hoses directly to the overflow. I need to figure out a new way to route coolant to the overflow/fill because the thermostat doesn't like the way it is setup now. I also need to look into why the fans aren't cycling on when they should, do some PCM output diag. I have been doing other things though, got the front shaft in and bought a tailgate off of a guy who stopped by the shop. He came to drop a friend off to pick up a car and I asked if he wanted to sell the gate off his truck. I showed him mine and he sold me it for $30. I took the mounting brackets as well as mine were long gone. I also swapped an adjustable proportioning valve in, which helped my brake bias greatly. My pedal is softer due to the larger piston size on the calipers, but it stops well and locks up all four at once instead of just the rears.

 

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Some more bling as well.

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3656lbs and 62/38 bias.

 

So after obtaining some info on weights I talked to some shock people. Because I live in the Northeast there aren't areas where I can cycle the suspension rapidly through its full travel so I opted to save some money for more dimple dies and ordered up some emulsion coilovers. From what I heard from Poly Performance and Dirt Fab Racing I shouldn't see any shock fade with the type of wheeling that I am doing. I wish I could say that I am going to be smashing through whoops at 60 MPH for 30 minutes but there just isn't that kind of terrain around here. They didn't have any 14" travel bodies in stock so after talking about it I went with a 16" Fox 2.0 coilover with some springs that were spec'd for my weight and intended purpose. I know I won't be able to use all of the shock, but this way I can have the coilover hoops pop out of the hood just a little bit, which is something that I have had in the back of my mind on this build. I will be limit strapping and using Fox 4" air bumps to limit up travel, thus using getting about 13" of useable travel. I'm running 12" Fox shocks in the rear as the leaf springs won't be providing much more travel than that. In comparison JEEPspeed rigs are limited to 12" front and 10" rear shocks and they jump awesome! I doubt I will be able to get my suspension dialed in that well, but it should be a huge improvement from my last setup. Can't wait until Friday when the big box comes!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Time for an update, sorry this is actual work.  :(

In order to keep the jeep as low as possible and still have uptravel I redesigned my track bar.  It needed a bend to fit between the drag link, oil pan, diff and tie rod.
 Threw some 1.5" solid stock in toeachtheirown's tubing bender and ended up with a cute little axle centering piece.

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In preparation for the coilover hoops I plated the front unibody rails.  Just cut some 14 gauge, threw some holes in it and welded her on.  

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Oh then I started on the roll cage. Toeachtheirown lent me his notcher and I put the thing to use.

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I have never done tube work before, any tips, suggestions or downright hate is welcome.



 

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I love the taillight boxes/plates. Were you able to match the radius on the rear of the bed.

Alright, cooling system question. I am running a Cherokee radiator which does not have a fill on it. I am using the factory overflow/fill container from the same year Cherokee. For simplicity's sake I ran the heater hoses directly to the overflow. I need to figure out a new way to route coolant to the overflow/fill because the thermostat doesn't like the way it is setup now. I also need to look into why the fans aren't cycling on when they should, do some PCM output diag. I have been doing other things though, got the front shaft in and bought a tailgate off of a guy who stopped by the shop. He came to drop a friend off to pick up a car and I asked if he wanted to sell the gate off his truck. I showed him mine and he sold me it for $30. I took the mounting brackets as well as mine were long gone. I also swapped an adjustable proportioning valve in, which helped my brake bias greatly. My pedal is softer due to the larger piston size on the calipers, but it stops well and locks up all four at once instead of just the rears.

10873_577210235391_1963134763_n.jpg

166761_577210250361_1860536269_n.jpg

64417_577210220421_1720658101_n.jpg

Some more bling as well.

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I love the taillight boxes/plates. Were you able to match the radius on the rear of the bed.

 

Alright, cooling system question. I am running a Cherokee radiator which does not have a fill on it. I am using the factory overflow/fill container from the same year Cherokee. For simplicity's sake I ran the heater hoses directly to the overflow. I need to figure out a new way to route coolant to the overflow/fill because the thermostat doesn't like the way it is setup now. I also need to look into why the fans aren't cycling on when they should, do some PCM output diag. I have been doing other things though, got the front shaft in and bought a tailgate off of a guy who stopped by the shop. He came to drop a friend off to pick up a car and I asked if he wanted to sell the gate off his truck. I showed him mine and he sold me it for $30. I took the mounting brackets as well as mine were long gone. I also swapped an adjustable proportioning valve in, which helped my brake bias greatly. My pedal is softer due to the larger piston size on the calipers, but it stops well and locks up all four at once instead of just the rears.

 

10873_577210235391_1963134763_n.jpg

 

166761_577210250361_1860536269_n.jpg

 

64417_577210220421_1720658101_n.jpg

 

Some more bling as well.

Haha, mega quote. I was able to get the radius pretty damn close. I put a piece of tube in my press brake and it came out pretty sweet.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My brother's Lincoln was having problems so I bought a blue welder.

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And I have to say, watercooled and powerful is pretty convenient.

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Welded on my bumper plates so I can remove the damn thing when I need to pull the radiator or whatnot.

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Plated the passenger side as well.  I was very close to TIGing that on but ended up using the glue gun.
 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I haven't been slacking I swear.

I put the tailgate on after I powdercoated it, it barely fit in the oven and it made the worst smelling smoke pour out of the oven but it's done now.  Then with the help of some great friends I managed to stuff some coilover hoops in the b*@$£.  I use that term based on my own faults, the truck has been great.  So it's sitting on coilovers with tacks and temporary top mounts.  It's a bit high, but I'm sure  there are ways to remedy that without changing the mounting locations.  I flexed it out and I don't have any clearance issues!! It's a miracle, it's so damn tight yet doesn't hit. I hastily shot photos, don't hate.

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I'm aware the windshield is broken, if I had a dime...

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What up node?

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Prerunner stance. Is stance a naughty word now?

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Rexy chillin in the shadows.

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I mocked up the TJ flares a bit more permanently.  Not entirely sold on them but it's pretty legal. I wonder if I should paint dolphins on the hoops as if they were jumping out....

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I am not building this thing for max flex but it has some.

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Halfass plastidip test. Do I go white or black on the flares?

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I'm not sold on the flares, especially the front ones. Maybe I could go fiberglass front fenders, but they are easy to crack in the tight wooded trails near my home. I had an exo/tube fender setup on my XJ, but I didn't want to do that to this rig. What do you think would look good?

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