Drahcir495's Build-up

[Drahcir495]

I took out my courtesy lights to test them. They work great, so the lack of light in the cab it is a part of a larger problem :headpop: . Before I placed them back home, I realized how much I hate the chrome trim. I decided to try and change that, so I stripped the old chrome coating off and really cleaned out the old lenses ->

 

I cleaned up all the contact points, and then lube them up with some dialectic grease. I painted the light housing with some black trim paint and reassembled it ->

 

Used some more dialectic grease on the connector and put them back in the Jeep. They look much better in black ->

[jtdesigns]

They look much better in black

 

:agree:

 

Much better.... I bet you end up with this truck!!

[Drahcir495]

I was starting to believe that I was going to have to pull another wiring harness out to replace mine. I decided that today I would try everything I could to repair the existing harness, and if I was unsuccessful, I would pick up another from the pick-n-pull next weekend. Nothing in the cab was working except what was needed to start-up and run the Comanche. I never had interior lights, dash light, buzzers, tail lights, radio, clock, etc. Well that is not entirely true – I had a functioning clock up until 3 weeks ago??? The PO had a hot wire running to the brake stop switch, and a few unknown wires and splices underneath the dash. I quickly learned that most of my problems were caused by the leak in the fire wall above the fuse box. I spent a good deal of time removing rusted fuses, repairing corroded connectors, and installing new fuses and relays with dialectic grease.

 

Now I have functioning courtesy lights ->

 

My map lights work in all three position too ->

 

I was also able to get my radio to power up and blast out some tunes (Back to Black by Amy Winehouse)->

 

It is absolutely amazing to see the light in the glove box turn on, the windshield wipers start moving (I wasn’t aware that they did not work, lol), and a screeching buzzer sound-off when I turn the key! I am really excited that I may be able to repair all this myself, and keep the original harness. I am going to work on getting the tail lights to work tomorrow. The blinkers work, and they light up when the headlights are turned on, but nothing happens when I apply the brakes. I have a new brake stop switch ready to go in, so that may fix the problem? There is a rats nest of wiring out back for several trailer light connection tapped into the rear wiring harness – not good. After the taillight problem, I will just need to complete the CB & Eaton locker wiring and I am done. - Rich.

[james750]

how do u pull the dome lights (mine have issues) b/c i am a :dunce: and can't figure it out. thanks in advance. :cheers:

[Drahcir495]

how do u pull the dome lights (mine have issues) b/c i am a :dunce: and can't figure it out. thanks in advance. :cheers:

How do you keep yours in :laughin:, mine just fall out!

 

I seemed to have luck pushing them towards the front (direction of windshield) and then using my finger nails, or a small screwdriver, and carefully prying it out. These were dome lights at the Pick-N-Pull, so I wasn't too concerned with damage :brows:

 

I guess you could also take the top screw out of the trim piece and pop it out from behind? - Rich

[BLHTAZ]

Excellent job Rich :cheers: . You are fortunate to find Comanche stuff at a yard around here. I have called a few and only ever found one MJ.

[Drahcir495]

Excellent job Rich :cheers: . You are fortunate to find Comanche stuff at a yard around here. I have called a few and only ever found one MJ.

Thanks BLHTAZ! Just let me know if you need me to keep an eye out for something :thumbsup: . I am down there a lot. -Rich

[BLHTAZ]

Well...I finally got my gray bucket seats so the only thing I would still like to have is a D44 rear. I am not in any big hurry and I really want to find one out of an MJ so I don't have to worry with cutting and welding. ;)

[Drahcir495]

Well...I finally got my gray bucket seats so the only thing I would still like to have is a D44 rear. I am not in any big hurry and I really want to find one out of an MJ so I don't have to worry with cutting and welding. ;)

I will let you know when a MJ with the Dana 44 pops up :cheers:

[camjeep3]

You have the same electrical problems as me. before i bought it the seller said the clock just stopped working and after i had her a while the buzzer did as well. how bad of a job was it really?

[james750]

i didnt even know there was a buzzer b4 97 xjs. i guess its the luck of the draw, the one in my mj apparently doesnt work and neither does the one in my previous 92 xj. :hmm:

 

where is the buzzer located?

[WahooSteeler]

Drachir, if you find Taz a 44 and it happens to have MT spring packs on it, I'll take 'em for sure...........assuming Taz did not want/need them. :brows:

[Drahcir495]

You have the same electrical problems as me. before i bought it the seller said the clock just stopped working and after i had her a while the buzzer did as well. how bad of a job was it really?

I hate that, but I am not going back in there for awhile. It can be frustrating, but when things start to work it is a great feeling. I am not done yet, so it was not as bad as I thought (up to this point) :cheers:

 

i didnt even know there was a buzzer b4 97 xjs. i guess its the luck of the draw, the one in my mj apparently doesnt work and neither does the one in my previous 92 xj. :hmm:

 

where is the buzzer located?

I don't know where that thing is :???:. Luck of the draw is on your side, it is a bit annoying :cheers:

 

Drachir, if you find Taz a 44 and it happens to have MT spring packs on it, I'll take 'em for sure...........assuming Taz did not want/need them. :brows:

You got it Wahoo! They don't come through often :rant: .

 

Correct me on this - did the D44 rear only come with the Metric Ton kit and springs? - Dra(H before C)ir :roll: :brows: Just busting your chops because I know you will appreciate it. :cheers:

[WahooSteeler]

DraHHHHCCCula, I mean DraHCir (LOL), 44's were available w/out the MT package, as my MJ can attest too. I believe if you ordered the factory tow pkg, which I fortunately also have, then you got the 44. I also have the factory off-road pkg, which you could not get if you had the MT pkg. Not sure why...........

[BLHTAZ]

If it has the springs...I won't need them ;) . My Hell Creek springs are great :cheers: .

[SuperWade2]

DraHHHHCCCula, I mean DraHCir (LOL), 44's were available w/out the MT package, as my MJ can attest too. I believe if you ordered the factory tow pkg, which I fortunately also have, then you got the 44. I also have the factory off-road pkg, which you could not get if you had the MT pkg. Not sure why...........

 

I got the factory 44 without the Tow/Offroad or Metric Ton package according to the spec sheet that I was sent from Chrysler (if it's indeed accurate).

 

I haven't pulled my carpet up yet in this one to see if I can find the build punch sheet thing...

 

SW2

[WahooSteeler]

Yeah, sorry, should have clarified that you could get it on it's own, w/out any of the other options, but that it was "STD" w/tow pkg.

 

BTW, scored my MT springs today!!!

[Drahcir495]

BTW, scored my MT springs today!!!

Wa-hooo, he scores! I can take that off my list then! - Rich

[Drahcir495]

I spent a few hours today changing out my old 7 piece grill ->

I am going with the 3 piece style grill off a 1993 XJ. The grill looks like the old one on the MJ, but it is all black and in better shape. There are a few slight differences in the way the two mount, but it was almost a direct swap. The inner grill used the same original mounting points, but these side pieces ->

There were two screw holes on the side light covers that have no place to screw into on our older headers, so I place a nut on the back of two filler screws to keep them in place. I also had to drill two small holes into the header (per side) to keep the side pieces snug up against the header. You can see the two holes openings in the picture above - far left side along the edge.

 

There are two spots of fiberglass that needed to be ground downfor the side lights to sit flush ->

After grinding ->

 

Here I am test fitting the DS piece ->

 

I also touched up my bumper and attached the brush guard and fog lights to it. Here is the converted front end with the bumper and brush guard on ->

I am still working on getting my parts from the painter, so I am missing the badges, new side lenses, cowl part behind hood, and the list goes on :headpop: . -Rich

[Drahcir495]

I get the front lift done on the MJ a few weeks ago, and I immediately notice that there was a problem ->

:headpop: :mad: :headpop: :eek: :cry: :nuts: :headpop: :cry:

I jack the axle up at the center section and the tires spring back into place. I am thinking strange, but it looks fine now. After finishing the rear axle, I take it down for a four wheel alignment. According to the manager at TK, the Camber is off -1.5 on both sides. Shiite! He suggested that I get some new adjustable ball joints. These are brand new ball joints, on a brand new axle housing – just my luck :mad:. I am pretty upset, and I start thinking what is wrong, and why does this seem to only happen to me. Every frickin write-up on this 44 swap touts that it is a simple bolt on project! Never once did I read about the $50 bucks in specialty bolts and nuts for the lower control arms :nuts:. I didn’t hear that I may need new extended sway bar brackets, because the drag link/tie rod is hammering the stock bracket. And they sure as heck didn’t mention this! I figure it is two late to go back now, I better just get the new ball joints. They are pricey; at around 1 hundred a piece on top of the specialty tools needed to press everything off and back on. Then I came across this post by xxmidianxx on NAXJA - http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.p ... all+joints. This would allow me to keep my new ball joints, and cut down on cost and time :roll:, and hopefully correct the situation. I ordered the kits from Napa, now I just need the 4 prong spindle nut socket to arrive from Snap-on. I will post up picture of the install, and if it is successful, after I get it installed. :popcorn: - TBC

 

7/03 – I got the special camber adjusting kit from Napa (264-2072) ->

 

And the special 4 prong socket from bwatsoncj at Gear Works :cheers: ->

.

 

I spent a couple of hours each night after work taking the front end apart. I supported the brake calipers up and out of the way like this ->

.

 

Use the 36mm socket on the spindle nut ->

 

I had to run out and pick up a few of the tools that I had borrowed the fist time I swapped out the Dana 30 knuckles - the 33mm socket for the lower nut on the knuckle, a new ball joint fork, and a 12 point 13mm wrench and socket to get the bearing off ->

.

After I removed the bearing from the knuckle I was ready to pull out the shaft (EDIT: the axle shaft :oops:) ->

.

 

bwatsoncj called me later that night to see how I was coming along, and to remind me to expect gear oil to pour out of the axle now that the axle shafts were no longer there to contain the lube – a bit too late ->

I had to use my shirt to stop the flow :nuts: . On the other side I just ended up plugging the hole back up with the shaft - FYI. – and avoided ruining another shirt.

 

I removed the knuckle and secured it in the vice. The directions say to run the insert towards the inside of the knuckle (basically tightening it out) like this ->

 

Thank god for bwatsoncj and Snap-on tools, and my personal favorite; PB Blaster. The DS was a biatch, but the PS was easily removed. Here are some comparisons of the inserts. Top view ->

 

Side by side ->

 

I screwed in the new insert from the bottom in ->

 

The adjustment piece snaps in like this ->

 

And when you get it all back together it should look something like this ->

 

The after shot looks pretty good ->

 

I had it aligned last night without any problems ! So I guess that this does work :D . Now I can get the tires on and complete the write up on the suspension lift. - Rich

[SuperWade2]

I get the front lift done on the MJ a few weeks ago, and I immediately notice that there was a problem ->

:headpop: :mad: :headpop: :eek: :cry: :nuts: :headpop: :cry:

I jack the axle up at the center section and the tires spring back into place. I am thinking strange, but it looks fine now. After finishing the rear axle, I take it down for a four wheel alignment. According to the manager at TK, the Camber is off -1.5 on both sides. Shiite! He suggested that I get some new adjustable ball joints. These are brand new ball joints, on a brand new axle housing – just my luck :mad:. I am pretty upset, and I start thinking what is wrong, and why does this seem to only happen to me. Every frickin write-up on this 44 swap touts that it is a simple bolt on project! Never once did I read about the $50 bucks in specialty bolts and nuts for the lower control arms :nuts:. I didn’t hear that I may need new extended sway bar brackets, because the drag link/tie rod is hammering the stock bracket. And they sure as heck didn’t mention this! I figure it is two late to go back now, I better just get the new ball joints. They are pricey; at around 1 hundred a piece on top of the specialty tools needed to press everything off and back on. Then I came across this post by xxmidianxx on NAXJA - http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.p ... all+joints. This would allow me to keep my new ball joints, and cut down on cost and time :roll:, and hopefully correct the situation. I ordered the kits from Napa, now I just need the 4 prong spindle nut socket to arrive from Snap-on. I will post up picture of the install, and if it is successful, after I get it installed. :popcorn: - TBC

 

I thought Tie-Rods were supposed to be straight...your appears very much un-so...

 

Sw?

[89eliminator]

yeah, i noticed that too, wade.

[Drahcir495]

I thought Tie-Rods were supposed to be straight...your appears very much un-so...

 

Sw?

That is because of the 97 ZJ V8 assembly that I am using. More pictures of it on page 4. - Rich

[92comanche4x4]

can't wait to see that thing done!! its lookin great

[Drahcir495]

can't wait to see that thing done!! its lookin great

Thanks, I can't wait either. :cheers: