86 XJ Project

[Greenjeans]

Tanned neck American hi-lift Jack 😃  Yes the pulleys and angle are all welded together.  It has one 3/8 bolt to keep it on the Jack lift pad/surface until the vehicle weight keeps it all secure.  This is an old S-10 factory jack, very sturdy.  $8 at LKQ!    **Edit:  I would never get under his vehicle with this jack in use.  This will strictly be used for changing a flat tire and nothing else.
 

Back when I was a kid, the only thing that had rear discs was a Corvette or some other car I’d never be able to afford.  This is the first project vehicle that I’ve put them on.  
 

air cleaner mostly done.  I’ll plug all the in necessary holes in it soon.  Otherwise it has pcv plumbed and I’m actually using the 2.8 air filter element that was in there when I bought the Jeep.  It was pretty fresh looking..

 

under hood is still in progress..the wiring is spaghetti.  It will be finished last in case I need to cut or add something…

[Greenjeans]

Small victories.  Driven three miles to the gas station 👍

[Greenjeans]

A couple shake down run notes…. It runs straight at 35 mph, no wandering in the road.  Only a “driveway alignment” so far but it seems ok.  However… at 45 mph it wants to cut off like it’s running out of fuel again.  The fuel pressure guage (when I got back) is reading 0.  It will idle and throttle up fine but I think it’s got a definite fuel pressure issue under load.  I have the fuel pump mounted under the hood ( I know it’s supposed to be next to the tank).  I’m afraid I’m going to have to move it to the rear. So it will push as it’s designed, not try to pull fuel.  More to come …

 

also the 700r4 shifts 1-2 at 15 mph which is fine.  The 2-3 shift is coming about 35 mph.  I’m not sure if I can live with a shift that late.  Vehicle weight, gear ratio etc can affect this.  As well as weights and springs in the governor.  After more road miles I’ll decide on whether I want to play with the shift speed/rpm.   And who knows about 3-4, I haven’t driven it over 45 yet 🤷🏼

[Pete M]

nothing small about that victory.   driving something you tore apart and then put back together is monumental. 

[Greenjeans]

5 hours ago, Pete M said:

nothing small about that victory.   driving something you tore apart and then put back together is monumental. 

👍Amen brother!

[Greenjeans]

I’m still doing shakedown runs as I get time and I have got it all the way through fourth gear and up to 60 mph but I was nervous I’m not going to lie. All old jeeps are quirky and I have had every nut and bolt off of this thing….. I was also sitting on a milk crate 😳

 

I’m going to call that good for now on the transmission and try to get a seat in so I can drive it safely. The fuel pressure problem has completely gone away and I attribute it to the return line that goes back to the tank. So currently I am running a weber with a Carter low pressure fuel pump, and no return line.  The pump seems to be doing fine now and holding just under 3 psi, which is perfect. We will continue to monitor the situation as we drive it more. The next problem we need to solve is with the right rear axle. From the first time of driving this thing slowly and then a little faster each time, I have noticed a sound in the right rear . I thought it was probably just a brake pad or some other small part that was installed incorrectly by me or something. Did not sound like major deal, and I was planning just to come back to it which I did. And I have concluded that the right rear axle shaft was slightly bent. It was causing a brake pad noise from the rotor turning in a non-perfect, or non concentric circle , so I went to the junkyard and pulled another rear axle shaft installed it and it looks to be doing the exact same thing. So I have to try and locate my tools to measure the run out on the axle flaming and see what is going on. I don’t know if people just bounce Ford Explorer 8.8 rear ends off of curbs alot or what (pick-n-pull 8.8 rear axle).  🤷🏼  or perhaps there’s an issue with my AutoZone rear wheel bearing and the axles are slightly bent, but still within spec, I don’t know yet.  But anyhow, I need to get a seat installed and the rear axle Mystery solved before I put many more miles on it. 
 

I am also still waiting on my locksmith to call me about that driver side lock cylinder….

[Greenjeans]

To add:  the lock up torque converter isn’t connected to 12v yet so it’s running 2500 rpm at 55 mph.  About normal before lockup.

 

I downloaded a speedometer app and the speedometer is dead on.  I guess I put the correct tooth count gear in the t-case 👍

[Greenjeans]

Pass seat bracket tacked on..  too much rake to the back like an arondike chair.  It test sits very comfy but I may need to level it just a bit.  The drivers seat has totally different brackets so maybe I’ll tack it up and see how it looks tomorrow.  These seats have heaters too, I don’t know if I’ll try to get that working on a toggle switch or something..  I’m in the South, so not a big deal on the seat heat… 🤷🏼

[Greenjeans]

It was a very long day, but I have both seat brackets engineered and tack welded together. The driver seat has the pump up and down mechanical function and it works. I’ll pull both seats out, pull the brackets off and burn in all the welds good this week.  They are even, level, and no more Adirondack angled chairs 👍

[eaglescout526]

Aww, I was beginning to like the milk crate seat. Haha. Looks good. 

[Greenjeans]

18 hours ago, eaglescout526 said:

Aww, I was beginning to like the milk crate seat. Haha. Looks good. 

It was alot of fun till I started driving it up to 55 😁

[eaglescout526]

1 minute ago, Greenjeans said:

It was alot of fun till I started driving it up to 55 😁

Lol. If it makes you feel any better, I was moving my XJ in and out of the garage without a seat when I was welding the floors hahah. 

[Greenjeans]

Went looking for a few parts today while doing more shake down runs.  Don’t ask me where I am, I’ll only lie to you 😎

[eaglescout526]

19 minutes ago, Greenjeans said:

Don’t ask me where I am

Ok. Where are you not at then?

[Greenjeans]

I’m not at Auto Zone or Advance Auto Parts where they know me by name at this point 😁

[Greenjeans]

I’ve been spending the last couple of days putting the tilt column in and fixing some electrical issues…. 
 

I put a toggle switch panel where the factory clock was.  All switches work now.  And I have an extra led that lights up in 4lo.  And each switch has a led light when that switch is on and all work.  The one marked “Aux Light” isn’t connected to anything yet, maybe an interior light will be added later.  The “TQ Comvertor switch is so I can turn off the lockup torque converter if I need to..

 

8.8 woes….  I have a junkyard 8.8 from a Ford Explorer.  I’m convinced my rear end needs a pinion bearing…. So I’ll be pulling the rear and putting a bearing kit in it soon.  I rebuilt the front axle so I have all the tools already…I’m not looking forward to it, but it is what it is..

 

I also figured out why my junkyard stereo has been acting weird ever since I installed it.  I had a microphone plugged into the back of the stereo for using the blue tooth for phone calls..  it seems that I had it plugged into some other hole on the back (don’t know what it’s for?) and the stereo was finding a ground there or something..  unplugged that in the back and the stereo works perfect (technology is not my gift 😁).

 

[Greenjeans]

Dash all buttoned up.  4 Cadillac horns in the garage are pretty righteous!  
 

now about that horn button….   I used to build Chevy hot rods before I took 20 years off to raise two kids. I went to swap meets went to junkyards, etc.  when I found the wheel it was in poor condition with no Jeep center logo, it was missing.  I cleaned the wheel up months ago, spray painted the black horn button and let it sit maybe 6 months to stabilize and dry completely.  When I found it, it had that sticky rubber thing going on.  While kicking around in a box of parts I’ve had for decades, I found that old Camaro horn button logo.  My XJ has a Camaro motor….  It was fate I guess.  I may swap it out one day, but for now the bowtie stays.
 

Last Sunday afternoon I turned on an old Edward G. Robinson movie and leather wrapped that steering wheel.  I used a cheap Amazon kit but it’s real leather and came out nice.  Another first for me but it was pretty easy.

 

 

[Greenjeans]

Relabeled the switch panel also…

[Greenjeans]

Removed the 8.8 rear, tire it down and found this on the inner pinion bearing.  If you put these together, lay them on the bench top and press down hard on them and rotate, you can feel it “grinding”.  Do the same with the smaller pinion bearing and it’s silky smooth.  
I checked the preload before I took it apart and it only had about 5 inch pounds rotating the yoke. And it’s supposed to have around 25….

 

tomorrow, I will put new carrier bearings and pinion bearings or at least see how far we can get with the set up.  I have only done one prior and that was the front axle in this jeep. Thank goodness for YouTube.!  Wish me luck…

 

update..  the bearing kit wasn’t delivered today 🤦🏼‍♂️

[Greenjeans]

Rear rebuilt, reinstalled and quiet as a pin now.  In fact, now I hear the exhaust drone more 😁. Another project….   I have drone about 2700 rpm but I don’t plan to spend alot of time in that rpm range honestly.  
 

my wife and her sister were trying to come up with a name, I guess that’s a thing. And I guess “the Cherokee” didn’t do it for them.  When I say XJ, they look at me weird because they don’t speak Jeep, and so they kept throwing suggested names out. I told them Mountain Dew or just “the dew” would stick better than the rediculous pet names they suggested. This Jeep was purchased for use on our mountain property, we’ll see if it ever gets there.. Here’s a cardboard cutout I stuck in the window, some trimming needed 👍

 

last notes:  still doing shake down runs, 10 or so miles at a time.  Notice first mud…. Up next:  fix leaking seal on trans selector shaft.  New windshield.  Fortify spare tire mount better.  Put driver door lock cyl back in.  Dig into pass door for lube of window regulator (brought the drivers side regulator back to life with a ton of grease).  Gosh it never ends 🏁

 

[Pete M]

it truly never ends, but in the mean time it's good to be driving the green caffeine machine    

[Greenjeans]

1 hour ago, Pete M said:

it truly never ends, but in the mean time it's good to be driving the green caffeine machine    

🤠 dream about driving this thing more than I actually dew 😁

[eaglescout526]

38 minutes ago, Greenjeans said:

dream about driving this thing

Every day and night with Chunk...I feel ya. Also;

 

4 hours ago, Greenjeans said:

When I say XJ, they look at me weird because they don’t speak Jeep

 

this is funny. I taught my wife all the Jeep vernacular and slang so she is caught up to par with us. 

[Greenjeans]

10 hours ago, eaglescout526 said:

Every day and night with Chunk...I feel ya. Also;

 

 

this is funny. I taught my wife all the Jeep vernacular and slang so she is caught up to par with us. 

My wife is 50 so she’s not real interested in learning much about Jeep’s 😁, however I can tell you that when we were newly married and very young…and living in a tiny apartment...  She kept asking me when I was going to get the “Muncie” (transmission) out of the living room…. (It was all cleaned up and someone would have stolen it off our front porch in that neighborhood 🙄)…. She still says DW-40 once in awhile 😁but I guess she has me trained because I know what she means.

[Greenjeans]

New windshield day! And new wipers…the wipers don’t “self park” but it’s the first time I’ve ever turned them on so I don’t know if that’s normal…anyway got 10 mores miles in and caught a rainbow..

 

**I don’t advocate for driving and using a camera 👍..  

 

tomorrow I’ll work on the door lock and window regulator more..