TDi MJs Alaskan Highway Rebuild and Remodel.

[TDI_MJ_17]

I'm sure many of you at one point, came across my grandfathers build thread on the TDI Comanche Conversion (86 Diesel MJ to VW TDI conversion) Some of you may know, the one thing my grandpa wanted to do, was to take the truck an epic roadtrip onto the Alcan Highway. My grandfather got the opportunity to complete that roadtrip, from the truck being stolen, to loosing the Wilderness topper, from mechanical break down in El Cajon. When he passed, i knew one thing that i needed to accomplish was to see this roadtrip through. My energy this passed year has been put into my Jeep Cherokee. The end of that build is coming to an end with its built, Forged stroker engine being completed, matched with a skankfoot racing turbo kit.

 

With just a few finishing touches required on ole Blue, its time to focus on what I'm going to be able to accomplish on the TDI MJ from now till my mom retires and we get to fulfill the goal, of the Alaskan roadtrip. I am in the planning stage for the build, the drive train, besides maybe a few beef ups, it will stay AHU/AX15, except it should in theory be gaining a few hundred pounds, in a four wheel drive swap. I unsure of what parts are going to be used, it would be nice to do a JK swap, to gain some width and have a wide selection of products available, around here a set of JK44 is usually around 5k. So for now, I ponder which transfer case and axles I need.

I have a set of PRP seats picked out, carpet sourced, new headliners stowed away, dash pieces, the only thing I'm really missing is door cards, but i will be getting rid of some of the classic "Porno Red" from the inside and will likely try to find some black or gray door cards to replace my worn out red ones. After learning a few things on the Cherokee, i am hoping to program and build a display similar to the Pi-Dash to transfer data from the VW computer onto a display that i will have made to fit in place of the MJs, using a GPS module to add speedometer, it should work just like a holley dash, except with the dash reading all the factory sensors on the TDI.  Kaden has the retro pieces to get rid of the Vacuum powered HVAC system. We will also be going through the stereo to be adding a few more components to the system.

While the drivetrain is still unknown, as far as axles go, i have been looking at the SFR Long arm kit with the trailproof crossmember to go with it, to keep my drive train mounting spots in the same position but still be able to have a good riding long arm suspension on the truck. The biggest goal is for the truck to still ride as good as possible, so i will be looking for a dual rate spring to go upfront. Probably going to go with the Deavers and shackle boxes to get the rear to ride good once we have it weighted down with all of our gear for the 8,000 mile trip. 

I will be starting the thread off with some before pictures and stats of the truck to give the bench mark condition of the truck, I'm kind of expecting the need to do body work, as the cab corners are crunched and the paint is showing rust bubbles. Hopefully mid January i will be able to get this started and begin moving forward.

[Comanche SS]

Following along, you probably don't know but I'm the guy he drove across the country for the wildernest topper. I live here in Socal, but I was in Georgia for school when the purchase went down.

Let me know if you need any help, sorry to hear of his passing, John was great.

Glad to see his family is continuing his legacy.

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[TDI_MJ_17]

Comanche SS, Thanks for that info, i was not aware of that. Would love to find another one so it would really show grandpas build.

 

[Comanche SS]

Comanche SS, Thanks for that info, i was not aware of that. Would love to find another one so it would really show grandpas build.
 

I'll keep an eye out. If I had another I'd give it to ya!

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[A-man930]

Wife and I have recently began discussing doing the Alcan trip in our Jeeps some day but man, it's a loooong way from St. Louis!! 

 

Keep us posted.  

[MiNi Beast]

Much respect. 

[TDI_MJ_17]

Hey Fellas, Time for an update!

With the Turbo Cherokee nearly completed (Tuning appointment coming up on the 23rd! )

 

Its time to start making changes on the MJ. I have since changed a few things for the better. Hit up Kody and got some all black door cards, repaired tweeter mounting location, installed the new headliner, broke a visor clip, broke the clutch, repaired the fuel supply system (temporarily) had the clutch and transmission fixed, and no moving onto the brake system. 

     


 

 

The new to me black door cards were SUPER clean and per usual communication and buying from Kody was awesome. 

 

 

 

The beautiful new Centerforce Clutch with their 41Lbs billet flywheel. With this new clutch set up and transmission fluid changed out, this thing is operating insanely well. Before getting it serviced, if you applied any sort of throttle with signicant load (RPM too low, but not worth a downshift) it would vibrate the entire cab violently, and make all sorts of noise untill there was enough boost to push through. Gears were really starting to grind before this service as well. Now it shifts about as good as some cars that ive driven, no more major noises or vibrations during low RPM high load accelerations. Grandpa would be so happy with this as i know before he passed away he was having trouble with the slave cylinder getting murky and gross and loosing drivability. Just really wish he was here to see his truck.

 

So now onto the brakes today.
Going to look and see if my local oriellys can get me XJ or WJ booster and master cylinder, brake line tee, brake line. Also need to get the leaf springs and shocks replaced here pretty soon, the truck has started to sag more and more, even with nothing in the bed it doesnt look right, granted it does have the camper.

The next major project in mind is going to be completely stripping and refurbishing the topper. Going to sand down all of the paint, remove all of the windows and all of the rotten rubber moldings and start patching up some of the damages found on the top and add something some strength to a few of the weak points. Gonna add some of the bed carpet material to the inside and also mount some light around the top. Once most of the repairs are made, were gonna take the topper and the truck to body shop and get as much of the metal work repaired and straightened out. We will be paint matching the topper to the truck, which we will be keeping it in the burgundy/maroon red, more closely to the newer dodge line up which is paint code PRP. 

Well, looks like O' O' O'riellys should be opening up right about now, so ive got to hit the road for now. 

Let me know what you guys think, or if you have any recommendations or questions. I'm gonna try to come back and post some pictures of the process later today. 

 

[Comanche SS]

Nice looking tweeter location

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[A-man930]

What flywheel was being run before?  By memory, the stock Jeep 4.0 flywheel is already heavier than the OE Jetta unit so I was considering not going the Centerforce route as many have done... your description makes me worry.