Just Another 97+ Swap

[bluenotenick]

Your truck is looking great. I'm inspired by all the work you have been doing.

[Dzimm]

3 hours ago, bluenotenick said:

Your truck is looking great. I'm inspired by all the work you have been doing.

Thanks!  It's definitely a lot of work but well worth it.  

[Dzimm]

Well my usual luck struck again.. On my way to the Jeep show I started getting banging noises over bumps and found a fluid leak at the end of the Dana 30.  I chose not to run the truck in the event so I could figure out the issues without damaging anything.  

 

Turns out my front driveshaft contacts the exhaust.  It doesn't make much contact with it but it's enough to make a terrible racket, similar sounding to grinding gears on a standard trans.  

 

As for the leak, I initially thought it was coming from the caliper but on further inspection I realized it was coming out of the axle tube.  So after just redoing the pinion seal and servicing the diff, I have to pull it all apart again.  So far I've got the drivers side shaft pulled but the passenger side hub bolts are full on seized.  I'm waiting on a 12 point socket and swivel to use my impact to hopefully break them loose. 

 

[Dzimm]

I am still waiting on my new seals to show up but I finally received the front clip stickers from Spencer. He did a great job making these based on some rubbings and pictures I sent him. The lower part of the J is just slightly short on my set but he knows about it and tweaked it so any future sets he makes will be perfect.

If you want a set of these for your 97+ front clip (they go right onto the factory lettering) get a hold of him and he'll get you some.

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[Dzimm]

The new seals finally showed up and I started really tearing the axle apart last night. I got up to the point I was putting the new seals in and just couldn't find anything around that was the right size to use as a pressing tool. I finally gave up and went to bed frustrated.

I started on it early this morning and was completely finished by noon. First thing I did was look for something to use as a seal pressing tool. I ended up finding some steel already cut in a circle and only slightly bigger than I needed. I spent about 30 minutes grinding it down on the bench grinder until it was the right size. I then took a bolt and various washers to have something to pound on. It took way more force than I expected to get these seated and I never could have done it without this tool.

After the seals were in, I cleaned everything up and put the carrier back in. I bought some of those aftermarket outer axle seals so those went on next followed by inserting the axle shafts. I made sure and used a ton of antiseize so they come out easy next time.

After getting everything back together I bent the exhaust away from the front driveshaft so they no longer make contact unless the truck is under some crazy flex.

I had to test everything out by cruising around the acreage and of course I took some pictures along the way.

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[Dzimm]

Wow I can't believe it has been almost 2 months since I've posted anything about the truck.  In all honesty I haven't really done anything to it since the last post but enjoy it.  I do want to quickly mention something I had forgot before and just realized.   At the beginning of September I received my new wheel stickers from Lucas7667 and they look great.  2 months later they are still holding up strong.

 

 

 

Anyway back to what has happened since the last post.  I have really only been driving and enjoying the truck.  About a month ago we had a few days of heavy rain that a few buddies and I took advantage of one night.  We went mudding on 6 different level B roads and the truck did fantastic.  I could hardly see where I was going between the foggy windows and the mud and heavy rain on the windshield but it was an absolute blast.  The good that came out of it was that none of us got stuck or broke anything, a guy in a super built Wrangler JK at a gas station thought my truck was awesome, and I learned all the areas and crevices mud finds its way into.   At one point I did end up having a waterfall inside the cab coming down right onto the center console behind the shifter.  It only happened for about a minute and only during an absolute torrential rainfall, like hurricane level rainfall.   It obviously leaks and the dirt trail led back up to the windshield so I will have to reseal that at some point.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures.  It was dark when we were mudding and I was more worried about getting the truck washed the day after.

 

Other than that it has gone around out on the property a few times, I was driving it to work pretty regularly for a while, and I used it to help some friends move to their new house last weekend.  I have decided to put it away for the winter because I am not about to take a rust free Comanche out on salted roads.  I will take it out to play in the snow on the property however so there may be a post or two about that but don't expect much until Spring.  I do hope to get some work done to it over the Winter but I do plan on hitting it hard in the Spring and get some major work done to it.

 

 

[Dzimm]

The truck hasn't really left the shed in about a month and today I decided to bring it out to fill the tires up and to run the engine. Started up just fine and only needed about 10 psi in each tire.

I did discover some antifreeze dripping from behind the bumper and upon closer inspection noticed the upper rad hose was leaking. Not a really bad leak but it is enough I don't want to drive it until it's fixed. When spring rolls around I will throw some new hoses in it.

The hood latches are sticking pretty bad as well. It took a ton of force to get the hood to pop. Next time I go down there I will bring some WD-40 and see if I can't get it freed up.

I can't wait for spring so I can get this thing torn apart and more work done!



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[Dzimm]

I finally braved the cold and got the leaking rad hose fixed as well as lubed up the hood latches in preparation for late muzzleloader season. The 4-wheeler won't start when it's this cold so I will be using the truck to haul the deer up to the barn. In the last 4 days I've counted 53 deer total, all too far away to take a clean shot. I did however get to enjoy the truck in the snow!

Started off with some donuts at the bottom of the lane a few days ago. It was quite a bit of fun but didn't compare to driving down in the bottom.

Yesterday I finally got time to drive it around and have some real fun. There is a steep embankment near the burn pile that is fun to climb. I didn't realize there was big rocks in it until the snow made them extremely slick and I struggled to get up it until I found the line, then it went right up. After that we crossed the creek and went up the back side of the valley to the edge of the beanfield, where there weren't any stalks, and did a few donuts before coming back down to take another run at the embankment. Picked a steeper spot this time and made it up easier since there was no rocks.

We went back up and over to the other side of the property and down the sledding hill. My gf was freaking out the whole time going down it because her uncle got his silverado stuck down there last year and couldn't make it back up without the help of the tractor, which also struggled. At the bottom, near the creek there is a hill that's super steep but short and has a narrow passage between 2 trees. Had to take 2 runs at it but it made it scraping branches all the way.

This is where the real fun began, rather than heading straight back up the sledding hill, I have a path between a bunch of cedars that I like to climb back up the hill. Problem being that it's a fairly steep hill and driving up and across it when there is snow gets a little sketchy. On the way up I went between a couple cedars going across the hill while trying to turn up the hill. Traction wasn't good and the drivers rear about dumped into a cedar. Took a different line on my third try out of the tree and made it up around the slick spot. The only casualty there was some branches, short cedars, and maybe some scratched paint. Sounded like I was knocking whole trees down going through it. After she was done freaking out thinking we were gonna roll down the hill or crash into a tree, we finished up going through the wooded trail and coming out behind the silos and put the truck away.

She took some videos from inside the truck I'll try to post later.

I'm extremely happy with the truck but will have some work to do come spring. I tried to shift into 4lo a couple times and it didn't act right. At first it just didn't want to shift into 4lo at all, then it wanted to grind like crazy trying to go into 4lo and continue to grind back in neutral. I also had to shift the transmission into park to get the t-case to shift back into 4high because it wouldn't do it in neutral!??! After trying a few times it finally went into 4lo and seemed to work fine but I didn't use it more than a few minutes because I didn't want to get it stuck in 4lo or something. I know I was doing everything correctly and the engine was at idle so I'm not sure what is going on. I'll be doing some research and any ideas from you guys are welcome!

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[Dzimm]

Well its finally starting to warm up around here so I got the MJ out and stretched its legs this weekend.  Looked over it real good to make sure all was well from sitting most of the winter.  Everything checked out OK so I loaded it up with everything and took it down to the valley for some plinking and clay shooting with the 12ga on Friday and then to sight in my new scope for the AR today. 

 

 

In the coming weeks we will hopefully start seeing Temps in the highs 50s and into the 60s so I'll be doing oil changes all around and start back up with the MJ build. 

 

 

[Dzimm]

Wow time flies.  So it's been almost a year since the last time I worked on this truck.  Will be the first time in the new shop.  I finally got around to pulling the dash to replace the heater core.  I'm really kicking myself for not doing it when I first built the truck.  Such a pita. 

Currently I've got the heater box put back in the cab and just need to reinstall the dash.  Only took about 2 hours for teardown, replace core, and to reinstall the heater box.  It should only take about an hour to put the dash back in so I'll have about 3 hours into that job which is much quicker than I had anticipated.  It's gone way too smoothly so far.  

 

In the coming days I will get that finished and then pull the steering wheel off to try and repair the clock spring.  

[Dzimm]

I tried to repair the clock spring while I had everything apart.  I found the break in the wire tape was close to the end so I cut the last 3 inches off and tried to resolder it to the contacts.  

There was a couple other spots that looked a little brittle but I didn't want to touch them because the copper strips snap very easily if bent back over itself.  Unfortunately the repair didn't fix it so I will need a new clock spring..  I'm torn between buying new aftermarket or used factory.  They are really expensive for what it is.

 

Dash is put back in and the truck is complete again.  Put about 60 miles on it yesterday afternoon and had no issues other than no steering wheel controls still.

[Pete M]

 proof that even the best Jeep projects are never finished.   

[Dzimm]

6 minutes ago, Pete M said:

 proof that even the best Jeep projects are never finished.   

Indeed.  Would rather be doing upgrades than repairs. 

[Pete M]

wouldn't we all   I hate fixin' stuff

[Dzimm]

Long time since I've done anything to this truck but drive it.  Unfortunately got off work at 2:45am and made it a mile and the truck died.  Cranked and cranked but didn't do anything, let it sit for a minute and it fired right up, went about 10 feet and died.  Tried this a few times, even let it idle for about 5 mins but it would always die while moving regardless of throttle input or just moving at idle.  Checked everything and determined the fuel pump is dying.  After it stalls, the pump won't prime unless it sits for a minute, then it will prime.  Everything else checked out okay and I swapped all the relays around to rule that out.  It will idle all day but seems like it won't deliver enough fuel pressure to move it more than 10-50ft before dying.  

 

Since I work 45mins from home at 3am and strong freezing winds, wife in Indiana, this is what I had to do...

 

 

 

Luckily only 1 company had a guy who could do it and he was there in 30mins.  $230 for the tow home.  At least the guy was cool and easy to have a conversation with.  Got home at 5am.  

 

I will be doing testing on it this weekend to make sure it is in fact the fuel pump but based on it being a factory 99 Dakota fuel pump, I'm not surprised it finally died.  I ordered a new Delfini pump from Amazon for $160 that will be here Monday.   Main priority is finish the XJ asap because of the impending winter weather but this will be at the top of the list as well.  Not a hard job just a pia.  Didn't really want to spend this kind of money but having some extra money yet from the wedding makes it not too bad.  

 

[Pete M]

dang fuel pumps   

[Dzimm]

I took a gamble tonight.. I've only ever been able to have 2 out of 3 of my Jeeps working.  As soon as I fix the 3rd, one of them breaks.  They are all 3 now fixed so fingers crossed this time one of them doesn't break...

 

This truck has been sitting in the shop since October and I haven't really touched it.  I had ordered a fuel pump and sat on it for a couple weeks and decided to return it and not to mess with it yet because I wasn't fully convinced that it was the fuel pump and it was winter so the truck wouldn't be driven anyway.  

 

This last month I've been thinking about it again since spring is coming, and decided that it was more than likely the CPS over the fuel pump.  I ordered a Mopar replacement and just installed it tonight.  I'm positive that was my issue now because the one that was on it had the wires melted through by the exhaust.  It must have been touching and grounding out that night I got stranded.

 

It took a minute to start up because it hasn't been run in 5 months but it's fixed!!  After getting to operating temp and reving it up a bit it ticks around the bottom end of cylinder 5 or 6.  I'm hoping that it's just a lifter that needs some time to get oil in it again.  Tomorrow I hope to get the truck dug out of the shop, since it's buried in the back, and do some test driving!

[JMO413]

Good to hear your got it running again.

[Dzimm]

Its back on the road!  Took it out and filled the tires and gas.  Drove for about 20 mins and didn't skip a beat. 

 

It definitely power steering work as it's leaking pretty good and has a lot of play in the steering.  It also could use a good brake bleed but it's fine to drive again.