A Humboldt-Cherokee Blog.

[srmitchell]

Front-
Room was made with the rigidco bumper. Great clearance.

Before sierrafest last year, I noticed that the new 32's were rubbing, so I did a hack, cut n fold job on the front fenders. (Spent 15 min each side at 10pm, the angle grinder was way too loud so I did it quick.)

This gave me about 1/2 inch of clearance.

Then the rear of the fender was trimmed. The long arms put the front axle 1.5 inches forward (I had to space it out because my track bar bracket was hitting my tie rod, which is flipped.) No rubbing in the back. (Used to run on short arms)

I ripped the fender liners out 2 years ago. Bad idea. Hinges started rusting, and there was always sand in the door check mechanism. It's always wet up here, and a pool noodle didn't work. So, I put liners from a 92 xj in, it keeps everything drier. This covers up the hack tim job too. You can also see that the flares were trimmed on the inside for clearance.

And finally, daystar extended poly bumpstops, and 2 inch rubicon express extensions on bottom.

After all this, I'm pretty much ready to run the 255/85/16 tires I want next. (33x10.4)

Oh, and take note of the rust I'm getting. GAh.

 

[srmitchell]

I dont know if anyone read this thing, but oh well.

I'm doing an E fan conversion. Dual 97+ fans.
So far I'm only $50 deep. And I have almost everything.
Stock shroud is toast. Those alone are 25+ to replace.

Current clutch fan. It is removed, and on road I have yet to need to turn the E fan on. (it's on a switch)
The ram air on the highway is enough for cooling. It feels a bit more powerful.

Removing the pulley studs.

I'm making a trick mount out of aluminum for the bottom of the 2nd fan.
More later.

 

[shortbussrydah]

just scoped out your build, looks nice! i love this kind of build, clean and very functional.

let me know how that E-fan conversion works for you, im interested

 

[srmitchell]

Thanks man.

I made a TON of progress. The new fan is installed, but not wired.

I forgot to snap a pic, but I used some 5/16-24 bolts for the fan pulley. It clears with about 1/4- 3/8ths of an inch.

I used a piece of angle aluminum, slotted for the fan tabs, and screwed into the old radiator mount.

It uses the right most (passenger) side fan tab, and then the other side for structure.

I then used a piece of steel, normally used to tie wood pieces together, to hold the top on.

I had to remove the top radiator support (PITA without removing the front clip), in order to drill the bracket.

And done.

I'm ditching my KC lights, and I'll just wire the fan to that switch, until I figure out a temp switch.

 

[playwithit]

Nice work Sean.

 

[Letterman]

I dont know if anyone read this thing, but oh well.

I might read it, only if you called it a thread and not a blog! :kissyou:




:roflmao:



I know :gag:

 

[jimbosz07]

That dual fan conversion looks awesome. I've been thinking about doing the same thing. Are you going to put the fan on a switch so it automatically turns on at a certain temp? (I'm guessing yes). If you do please post up how you did

 

[srmitchell]

Haha Letterman- I'd like to change it!

Kelly and Jimbo- Thanks.

For right now, I'll just use 2 switches, and watch the temp, but when $ allows, I might hit up dirtbound offroad, (webdog) and try to wire up one of his controllers.

 

[american_zero]

Let us know what you see for MPG's. I've been eyeing this mod for a while.

Clean install!

 

[shortbussrydah]

that looks clean man, im going to have to do that pretty soon.

 

[srmitchell]

I will. Thanks.

I finished today!

I went to Oreilly's and stumbled upon a Hayden fan controller, part #3657.
It uses a probe that is stuck into the fins on the radiator. I like this, because I didn't have to do any plumbing, so it's more reliable. I really didn't expect it to be in stock, but there it was.

It is also adjustable, from 90-210 degrees. It has a little dial that can be turned.
All for $35 out the door. Not bad.

Right now, the fan kicks on below 210, runs for about 20 seconds, and turns off. It doesn't run hardly at all when there is decent airflow in the radiator.

I also wired it to a switch, so now I have 2 separate fan switches, as a fail safe.

The controller.

My favorite part- I used the factory pigtail from the junkyard jeep, and wired it to the controller. I also drilled the shroud so I could use the factory harness clip.

And my 2 switches.

It works well, but the controller is wired to the battery. This mean that the fan can kick on even when the key isn't in. I will fix this soon, by wiring to an ignition (on) source.

I also don't know how long my fan will last. It's old!

Comments welcome!

 

[srmitchell]

I've been cruising around today, the controller works great. It kicks on right below 210, and keeps it cool. It actually only runs for about 15-20 seconds.

 

[srmitchell]

So just to update, the fans work flawlessly.

I never notice it working anymore, and it doesn't go past 210 in normal driving.

The junkyard fan was noisy at first, but it seems to have quieted down a bit.

 

[srmitchell]

I'm definitely the only one that reads this thread. haha

Anyway...

Picked up the cage.

Test fit the dash bar. The real install will be later this week.

 

[Fat Rat Ent.]

I know you have your work cut out for you!

 

[XJensen]

That cage will be a nice addition. i like the e-fans too. I put my in cab winch switches in the same place looks good. Keep yours pretty, mine is going down hill fast.

Josh

 

[american_zero]

Any chances to check your mpg's after the fan conversion? And any more feedback on engine response or power? You mentioned you noticed a little bit at first, just wondering if you've noticed the change more now that you've had a chance to drive in different conditions.

 

[srmitchell]

I'm trying to keep it clean, but the constant moisture up here says otherwise.

And yeah, it looks like I gained about 1 mpg.

Honestly though, that's just from the few trips I've made. I have yet to fill the tank and use the whole thing. A tank of gas here is over $70.
That's about how much I have into the fans. LOL

 

[american_zero]

1mpg seems totally possible and reasonable. I certainly would notice a consistent 1mpg increase.

 

[srmitchell]

Yeah. The overhead console seems to stay between 17-20 mpg on the freeway.