oregonman Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 damn willy.its one of the best mj i have ever seen . go i need to buy a welder and move out of my apartments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 Once we made it to Trail Jamboree we still had one day left before the official start to the event. We found a couple of nice rock areas known as Funny Rocks and Moon Rocks. It was nice to finally play in the rocks again. I had missed that. Then this idiot asked me to spot him and proceeded to completely ignore me. :roll: That recovery was an unnecessarily stressful exercise in stupidity by everybody this guy was with. To start with he is lucky to still have his arm as he was trying to hold his Jeep up as it was going over as I was yelling at him to keep his arm in the vehicle. After that we hooked his buddy's winch up to him, but the idiot had is spooled on backwards. When we let off the button it wouldn't hold the Jeep upright and would want to roll back down the hill. We finally got a couple more winches hooked up to it and then he decided to walk next to it to steer it as it was being pulled up instead of getting inside of it. At this point I had stepped aside as neither he or his buddies were willing to listen to any reasonable suggestions. Afterwards I felt pretty crappy. I've been involved in many recoveries and I'm hardly ever stressed. Things break, vehicles roll, that's all highly possible engaging in these activities. No big deal. But so many things went wrong on this one that had so much potential for major disaster, the fact that they were all going on simultaneously, and that I couldn't control all of them left me pretty drained. But, at least their were consequences to their stupidity. He did some major engine damage when he attempted to start it while it was on its side. Once it was on level ground they pulled the plugs and there was oil in the last two cylinders. :shake: It was pretty much drug back to camp and loaded on a trailer. His buddy burned up his winch too. They completely unspooled it and attempt to spool it in properly but the motor would only work in reverse. :shake: After they finally cleared his Jeep out of the way I had to try it. It's amazing how easy it is when you listen to your spotter. :yes: We had beautiful weather for the rest of the week with some great views of Mt. Rainier and the surrounding mountains. Lots more pics here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
500 MJ Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 As always, very nice work on the MJ and thanks for the great reads. Looks like a great place to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Thanks for the compliments. :thumbsup: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Now that we have some accurate temperature gauges I noticed that we have some cooling issues. When making long climbs on the trail or highway the temperature really starts to climb. It's not an airflow issue as this happens when on long highway grades at 60 MPH. I think it may partially be the transmission. When I swapped in the automatic I never got around to hooking up the power/comfort switch so it was always stuck in comfort. I think this may be contributing to the transmission getting way too hot on hill climbs. With the transmission cooler in front of the radiator, I think it was then transferring a lot of heat to the engine which was causing it to run hot. I also think that honeycomb in the catalytic converter may be falling apart and clogging the exhaust. It has always rattled around and I just dismissed it as the protective cover rattling, but I think it may be more than that. The fact that the engine runs cool under normal load or idling also makes me wonder about this. As the engine starts to work harder and push more fuel and air through the engine this restriction could be causing quite a bit of heat build up. Now I have quite the list of things to work on before we take it out on the trail again. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 First thing to fix is the power/comfort switch. When I swapped in the AW4 I had also already swapped in the power/comfort switch from the donor XJ and actually plugged it into the appropriate wiring harness. I just hadn't attached the switch to a power source. It turns out it was just missing the transmission fuse in the fuse block. But, for some reason the metal connectors in the fuse block were mangled. :hmm: I was able to get a couple of blade connectors to make a descent connection, so I added an inline fuse that will hopefully work reliably. Now the power/comfort switch works. :yes: While I was messing around with the transmission wiring I also added a switch to power off the TCU. Hopefully this will allow me to switch off the TCU and hold 1st gear with the shifter in the 1/2 position. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Next on the list was hood vents. It seems like every time I'm at the junk yard I end up coming across a turbo Lebaron and come home with another set of hood vents. Now it was time to finally get around to installing a set. This really won't do anything for cooling at speed, but should help keep the temperatures down on the trail. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Next up are steering upgrades. Yes, upgrading my steering will help with the cooling issues. :yes: Here's how. The current TNT track bar that is supposed to be for 6"+ of lift is actually too long. This has resulted in some contact between the exhaust down pipe and the front driveshaft. :( I've actually got a Borla header and down pipe to replace it with, but I didn't want to install it until I fixed the driveshaft clearance issue. To fix the driveshaft clearance problem, I am planning to shorten the TNT track bar, mount it over the axle, and redo the steering with a crossover high steer arm. After that I'll install the header and redo the rest of the exhaust. Hopefully that will help with cooling and result in some power gains. :D Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Now on to the steering. I started checking clearance for the JB steering bracket I picked up a while back. It's designed for a YJ so I figured there may be some clearance issues with the coil spring...looks like I was right. My current plan is to ream everything for 1 ton TREs which I have left from my XJ and to mount the tie rod over the knuckle. I will most likely put a bend in the drag link to clear the coil spring, but I am also researching offset WJ TREs to see if that may be a better option. :hmm: I already knew I was going to have to relocate the sway bar brackets. I am hoping there will be enough room for them between the drag link and tie rod. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 My plan for the track bar is to use Ballistic's offset panhard bracket and shorten the existing TNT track bar. I was hoping to use the rod end that Ballistic designed the bracket for and thread it into the TNT track bar after I cut the bushing end off, but, I couldn't get any reliable information from TNT's website or by calling them to figure out what the inside diameter of the tube is that they use. Last night the track bar came off and I cut the bushing end off at the end so that I could measure the inside diameter. Looks like I got lucky. The ID is 13/16" which from what I can find I should be able to tap to 7/8" 14 tpi for the Ballistic rod end. Now I need to order some parts and see if I can find a 7/8" 14 tpi left hand tap. :yes: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Now I need to order some parts and see if I can find a 7/8" 14 tpi left hand tap. :yes: Willy Boy that doesn't sound cheap. Hopefully you can just borrow one. Nice work as always Willy, I wanna be just like you when I grow up. What do you do for a living if you don't mind me asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Now I need to order some parts and see if I can find a 7/8" 14 tpi left hand tap. :yes: Willy Boy that doesn't sound cheap. Hopefully you can just borrow one. Nice work as always Willy, I wanna be just like you when I grow up. It wasn't that bad. Found one at Enco for less than $35 with shipping. What do you do for a living if you don't mind me asking. Why, are you planning on stalking me? If so, you had better find a less conspicuous stakeout ride. :fool: I think I might notice a big red MJ following me. :yes: I am a computer programmer. I work for a company that develops healthcare software for physician's offices. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakjeep93 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 nice job on all the fixes once my mj decides to build itself/ me build it I'm gunna try someof those tricks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Last night I reamed the passenger side knuckle for Chevy TREs and swapped over the driver side knuckle left over from my XJ that was already reamed. I chopped off a few brackets that were in the way and tossed on the tie rod from my XJ to check for clearance issues. Looks like I've got plenty of clearance when turning left. I'm probably going to hit the coil on right turns, but it's just about at the same time that it reaches the steering stop. I was hoping to run the sway bar bracket between the drag link and tie rod. I don't think that's going to happen. I'm contemplating running the brackets under the tie rod. I've seen some do that before, although I never really cared for it. I just don't think there is going to be enough room to get it over the drag link. :hmm: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 The post man made a delivery Saturday. :D Swapped over the reamed pitman arm from my XJ and reamed the high steer arm. That took way too long. The reamer didn't seem to care for the harder metal of the high steer arm compared to the cast knuckles, plus I think the reamer is getting a little worn. Looking at it now there may actually be room to mount the sway bar bracket between the tie rod and drag link. :hmm: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 Put the track bar bracket in place. The track bar and drag link are pretty close to parallel. I've actually got a drop pitman arm on it at the moment. The angles should be even closer once I put a regular pitman arm on it. Boxed in the control arm bracket and added a few gussets for support. I was also able to find a place for the sway bar brackets between the drag link and tie rod. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 Installed the axle. I was hoping to remove the sway bar drop brackets, but without them there is some pretty major contact with the springs. The drop brackets will stay for now, but I eventually plan to remove them and build a bracket that moves the sway bar forward without dropping it lower. My reamer is definitely dead so the drop pitman arm is still there. The drag link and track bar angles are still fairly close. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 Installed the Borla header. I was surprised that the only difference between their Renix and HO header was the EGR bung. Everything else appears to be the same. :hmm: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakjeep93 Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 how does that work???? :redX: :redX: :huh???: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 how does that work???? :redX: :redX: :huh???: :huh???: What are you referring to? Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakjeep93 Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 the stock and after market headers being almost exactly the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1999MJ Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 the stock and after market headers being almost exactly the same? Read it again. They are both Borla headers. One is an HO the other is for a renix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted August 11, 2009 Author Share Posted August 11, 2009 the stock and after market headers being almost exactly the same? Read it again. They are both Borla headers. One is an HO the other is for a renix Correct, they are both Borla headers. :thumbsup: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted August 11, 2009 Author Share Posted August 11, 2009 Since the subject of the stock exhaust manifold came up, I took a closer look at it last night. I didn't realize how bad its condition was. There were cracks in three of the tubes as they meet the main tube - cylinders 2, 5, and 6. Cylinder 5 was pretty bad. It had cracked practically half way around the tube. Cylinder 5 Cylinder 2 Cylinder 6 I'm sure that wasn't helping the cooling problems. Also, when I removed the air box to install the headers, the air filter was almost covered in oil. :eek: Looks like the blow by got pretty bad. Every time I had checked it before this there was hardly any oil. After removing the rest of the exhaust I discovered that the honeycomb in the catalytic converter had fallen apart as I had suspected. Hopefully fixing all of these will make it run cooler. :D Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990 Pioneer 4x4 Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 the stock and after market headers being almost exactly the same? Read it again. They are both Borla headers. One is an HO the other is for a renix Correct, they are both Borla headers. :thumbsup: Willy plan on selling the one with the erg fitting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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