(Re)Build of LIttle Bo Jeep

[LittleBoJeep88]

I purchased this MJ in March and have been doing a lot of (little) things to keep her trail ready.

 

A post on each to follow soon!

 

[LittleBoJeep88]

Radiator cleaned (Prestone Flush & Cleaner), distilled water (3 x fill & drain) and new antifreeze (Peak long life pre-mixed).

 

Seemed that the only way to install a new water pump gasket was to remove the serpentine belt and move the fan shroud out of the way. Needed to remove the flashing that held the radiator in place which, of course, resulted in a bolt braking free from the rubber, radiator isolater and started spinning, so I had to cut it away (thank you dremmel). Replaced both of those in the process.

 

Lots of air in the radiator, tried all of the different "burping" techniques on this website and other xj sites. None worked quite as well as taking off the upper radiator hose at the water pump and filling through there. After that, it was possible to fill the rest of the way through the expansion tank.

 

And installed a new, much quieter serpentine belt by continental.

 

As I was reinstalling the upper radiator hose on the water pump, the old rubber cracked (of course); so replaced that hose. Bought a lower radiator hose, but wasn't keen on having to drain the radiator again so I tossed it in my box of spares in the truck in case it needs to be replaced in the future.

 

 

 

 

[LittleBoJeep88]

T-Max winch wasn't working and synth line looked faded, so time for a new winch: Smittybilt X20 Gen 2, 12000 with synthetic line. Along with a Smittybilt aluminum shackle.

 

Instead of the smittybilt hawse fairlead that came with the winch, I installed a roller fairlead with Daystar synthetic rollers which will keep friction of synthetic line under load to a minimum through the fairlead.

 

(pics to follow)

 

Upon the recommendation of an offroad instructor, kept 45' of the line on the winch (fewer layers makes winch more effective) and turned the remaining 45' into a winch line extension.  Factor 55's fast fid was worth every penny; made creating eye splices ridiculously easy. Brummel eye splice instructions from new england rope as well as a modified version when can't pass the second tail through the first due to the installed thimble. These were also helpful from samson class 2 eyesplice video & pdf but ended up avoiding this method to remove the necessity of a locking stitch.

 

Outfitted my recovery gear with arb's rk9 recovery kit mostly because it comes with synthetic pulley snatch block and all the straps one would need in a well-organized bag.

 

And rounded it out with 2 x Bubba Rope gaterjaw soft shackles (soft equals less weight flying around were a line to break during recovery).

[LittleBoJeep88]

Front and rear diff fluid change ( valvoline high performance gear oil 80W-90) with new gaskets (Lube Locker Dana 30 & 44).

 

Change oil ( valvoline  high mileage synthetic) and filter (Bosch 3401 Premium).

[LittleBoJeep88]

The current exhaust was part of a previous owner's build; but wanted to share since it does seem to allow a 33" spare to fit underneath.

 

With an aftermarket bumper, access to the crank down was blocked so I'm guessing that's when the spare was moved into the bed.

 

(additional pics to follow)

[LittleBoJeep88]

During my first trail ride, engine started to overheat. Under heat and pressure, it seems the expansion tank develops a leak. Replaced with an aluminum one from Mac's Radiator.

[HOrnbrod]

Almost (but not quite) makes me want to have Renix closed system just so I could add-in the Mac's bling tank. That sucker is pretty.  

 

[Pete M]

such a gorgeous truck