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Need some inspiration....

Cherikon

NAXJA Forum User
Location
San Diego, CA
..... to finish the Jeep.

My Jeep has been sitting on jack stands since Feb, I have most if not all of the parts (TnT Customs Coil Conversion Rear, Y-link with belly pan for up front). My D44 and D30 are both regeared to 4.88 and the D44 is trussed up.

I found out that my garage isn't wired to support air tools and such, so doing all this by hand is taking a toll on my motivation.

I still have to install my SYE and Tom Woods drive shaft....

I have my new HD motor mounts.......

My frame stiffeners are welded on (thanks Rick!) and I have almost all of the lower control arm brackets cut off (again lack of superior tools is killing my motivation) and I need to cut the rear seat belt brackets off in order to install the rear coil conversion plates...

I might need to organize a beer/burgers/wrenching party or something..... any thoughts? :helpme:

Would need portable generator (due to stupid wiring in garage) to run power tools, but I am definitely one hell of a cook.
 
I'm not sure how many people would show up to a wrenching party that's in "A Whale's V@&!^@"







I'm just saying....


:D


I'm kind of in the same boat. I've been trying to get my XJ driving smoother for the last year. I thought I made some progress in the last couple of months. I lowered it from a 4.5" of lift to a 3" of lift - It drives A LOT better. It feels more stable, but I still had vibes. I got the rear pinion at 3* and it drove A LOT better, but it still had some vibes. Then I removed the rear drive shaft and... VIOLA.. most of the vibes vanished. So, I swapped the front drive shaft into the rear...... Tonight, I was doing some more tweaking and decided to measure my lower control arms. (I have drop brackets on it.) It turns out that the control arm is pointing upward a tiny bit. The front control arm bolt in front is about 1/2" higher than the rear.. :flamemad:

I could put a 1" space up front, but that totally defeats my goal of getting a lower center of gravity.. Now, I have to remove the drop brackets. But, I need to weld up the holes that were drilled for the drop brackets. :flamemad: With all the work, I might as well lower it stock height with 33s, or do a 1" or 2" lift... :gonnablow


So, the moral of the story... How about I take my Jeep to your place so we can set them on fire?????????

E
 
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So what does your garage need to run air tools? A 110v air compressor can be bought cheap off of craigslist, and if you already have a 220v air compressor you can sell it. Or, it's pretty darn simple to wire up a 220v outlet.

But, a lot of beer and a good wrenching party should definitely get some motivation going. :)
 
E-

Sounds like you are having about as much fun with your XJ as I am with mine at this point in time.

Fuel Massacre would be a very valid option, but in my wife's words "You'll just buy another one and have to lift it too, so why don't you just get this one done and keep it for a while" rings very true. This is my third XJ and by far the most intensive lift kit I have ever attempted to put on.

Goat- I am pretty sure that my garage is strictly wired for 110v, due to a recent experience I had with renting a plasma cutter and compressor. I had both plugged in to the same outlet and every attempt I made to use the plasma cutter after it was fully pressurized resulted in having to reset the circuit breaker for the garage. The people that owned the house before me were "handyman" types that probably didn't have any electrician skills whatsoever. The garage passed code for our inspection, but I don't believe it's wired for heavy duty compressors or the like.

Me and electricity don't get along too well, otherwise I would DIY it my self. I will have to search around for a 110v compressor though as that might work.

Thanks for the insight.
 
You could have just a weak breaker on your garage, in the fuse panel..What size is it ? These are very easy to changed..To make it even safer, you could turn off your main when you change the breaker out..
 
You could have just a weak breaker on your garage, in the fuse panel..What size is it ? These are very easy to changed..To make it even safer, you could turn off your main when you change the breaker out..

Scott- that very well might be the problem. I believe it is a 20 AMP breaker (for the entire garage!) so what would you suggest?
 
I wouldn't go no more than a 30 amp..Is it a single pull or a double pull breaker?Can you see the wires without tearing it apart?Too much.. This would tell me how big of a breaker you could install..
 
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Don't swap the breaker for a larger one unless you verify that the wiring installed is rated for it. If the wiring leading to the garage is 12 gauge, your max breaker rating is 20 amp; if it's 10 gauge you can go to 40 amp and 8 gauge will do 55 amp but probably wasn't installed unless it's going to a subpanel in the garage. Just swapping the breaker is like putting a larger fuse in the fuse box or sticking a penny under it, works for now but it's a great way to find out what your house smells like when it's on fire.
 
I wouldn't go no more than a 30 amp..Is it a single pull or a double pull breaker?Can you see the wires without tearing it apart?Too much.. This would tell me how big of a breaker you could install..

Scott- I will have to look at it when I get home today, but I am fairly certain it is a double pull and I can't see the wires at this point in time.

Are you electrically inclined?
 
Don't swap the breaker for a larger one unless you verify that the wiring installed is rated for it. If the wiring leading to the garage is 12 gauge, your max breaker rating is 20 amp; if it's 10 gauge you can go to 40 amp and 8 gauge will do 55 amp but probably wasn't installed unless it's going to a subpanel in the garage. Just swapping the breaker is like putting a larger fuse in the fuse box or sticking a penny under it, works for now but it's a great way to find out what your house smells like when it's on fire.

That all sounds well and good, but what does it mean basil?

I am tentatively offering beer for discussion on this topic this weekend if anyone is interested...
 
Don't swap the breaker for a larger one unless you verify that the wiring installed is rated for it. If the wiring leading to the garage is 12 gauge, your max breaker rating is 20 amp; if it's 10 gauge you can go to 40 amp and 8 gauge will do 55 amp but probably wasn't installed unless it's going to a subpanel in the garage. Just swapping the breaker is like putting a larger fuse in the fuse box or sticking a penny under it, works for now but it's a great way to find out what your house smells like when it's on fire.


This is why i asked if he could see the size of wiring..But it sounds like he has a double pull 20 amp, which would make me think he has only 12 gauge wire.. It sounds like his breaker is weak..You can remove the cover and pull the garage breaker to replace..<<<<<DO NOT LEAVE THE COVER OFF THE PANEL WHEN YOU GO TO STORE>>>>>>When you remove the safety panel you can see the wire on the breaker at this time..There is a number on the wires, but you need to look real hard to find them..Like i said you can turn off the MAIN breaker so you don't get shocked..

I am to far from you to drive over to look and fix it for you..Sorry..
 
X2 on what Scott said. Can always hope for 10 gauge but my bet is 12 gauge and a worn out breaker. Sometimes there may not be a number on the wire, a lot of Romex/NM-C I've seen only has it on the outer sheathing not the inner conductors. I've done enough wiring that I can usually identify gauge by sight now, my bet is that Scott can too.

Also, don't leave the breaker you've got turned off alone and then go work in the garage... people have been killed when they left an unattended breaker turned off without flagging it and someone else turned it back on without realizing what they were doing. Tape or lock the breaker into the off position and tell everyone in the house to not mess with it.
 
This is why i asked if he could see the size of wiring..But it sounds like he has a double pull 20 amp, which would make me think he has only 12 gauge wire.. It sounds like his breaker is weak..You can remove the cover and pull the garage breaker to replace..<<<<<DO NOT LEAVE THE COVER OFF THE PANEL WHEN YOU GO TO STORE>>>>>>When you remove the safety panel you can see the wire on the breaker at this time..There is a number on the wires, but you need to look real hard to find them..Like i said you can turn off the MAIN breaker so you don't get shocked..

I am to far from you to drive over to look and fix it for you..Sorry..

X2 on what Scott said. Can always hope for 10 gauge but my bet is 12 gauge and a worn out breaker. Sometimes there may not be a number on the wire, a lot of Romex/NM-C I've seen only has it on the outer sheathing not the inner conductors. I've done enough wiring that I can usually identify gauge by sight now, my bet is that Scott can too.

Also, don't leave the breaker you've got turned off alone and then go work in the garage... people have been killed when they left an unattended breaker turned off without flagging it and someone else turned it back on without realizing what they were doing. Tape or lock the breaker into the off position and tell everyone in the house to not mess with it.

Thanks guys... very good advice for a new home owner. I will do a little research and try to determine what guage wire I have and also how to fix this problem, now that I have a little info on what I need to look for.
 
This is why i asked if he could see the size of wiring..But it sounds like he has a double pull 20 amp, which would make me think he has only 12 gauge wire.. It sounds like his breaker is weak..You can remove the cover and pull the garage breaker to replace..<<<<<DO NOT LEAVE THE COVER OFF THE PANEL WHEN YOU GO TO STORE>>>>>>When you remove the safety panel you can see the wire on the breaker at this time..There is a number on the wires, but you need to look real hard to find them..Like i said you can turn off the MAIN breaker so you don't get shocked..

I am to far from you to drive over to look and fix it for you..Sorry..
My neighbor once asked me to find out why her lights were flickering. I looked in the breaker opanel and someone had left the cover off of the panel. There was a very crispy little possum smoking inside there.
 
I don't see how this is a problem. It ensures there won't be much force transmitted to the frame when you hit bumps and such. I would leave it like it is.


My first concern is safety. Ideally, the lca should be parallel to the ground or close to it. I measured my stock XJ and the rear of the control arm is .5" higher than the front. Some people say that it will nose dive when hitting a dip. I've been driving it around town and have't had any nose dives.

E
 
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