GM 5.3/4L60E/Klune/Stak 300

[YEAGS]

WOW Jeff. This thing is Awesome. You have some amazing ideas. It was great meeting you this weekend down here in AZ. Wish we had more time to chat. Come down again when this is done to test it on the rocks. Crown King was only a mild version of some of the trails we have. Sorry to hear about things with the personal life. Ill keep you in my prayers. Sean.

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

I haven't done much on this never ending project until just recently, so here's an update and a bunch of pictures. This sub project was to build a shroud and fan mount for the radiator. First, I attempted to build a cardboard template for a radiator shroud.

Bent up it looked like this:

I designed it to mount a cut down Ford Taurus fan in the lower drivers side region. Here it is transferred to a piece of aluminum sheet:

Here it is bent up on a friends 3 in 1 Enco bender/shear/roller. I also cut out the hole for the fan leaving several tabs to be bent up for attaching the fan to the shroud:

Here the fan is sitting on the shroud.

Here is the fan in place with the tabs bent up. BTW, I kept a little metal lip between the bent up tabs for the fan housing to sit in.

This photo shows the overal look from underneath.

This shows a half inch clearance between the fan blade and a line across the shroud (where the radiator cooling fins with be.)

For those sharp eyed readers, one can see a spot or two where I screwed up on the actual aluminum sheet. Oh well, I'll just have to fill the screwed up gaps with a piece welded in since I was going to get the corners welded anyway!

I'll show it mounted in the project in the next post. Jeff

 

[cracker]

Woot!

Keep it up Jeff!

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

When I slipped it into the Jeep, I noticed some but not a lot of clearance between the fan motor/ housing and the front of the engine. I went through other threads of LS motors in XJ/MJ's and it sure looks like I have less room in this region than others and I cannot figure out where they are getting the extra room from. I'm running Corvette accessories which place the water pump pulley and the crank pulley as close to the engine block as possible yet others are running truck accessories which stick forward over an inch more than my arrangement! Oh well, this is my project and I've got the room I've got and no more!

Lighting sucks in this picture, but here's what I've got.

There's about 3/4" between the water pump pulley and the fan motor.

There's about an inch between the crank pulley and the fan motor.

Here's a view from the passengers side from above.

Here's a view from the passengers side from below.

After deciding that I'll be able to live with this arrangement, I found out the intake elbow and filter will not fit with the shroud as it sits.

Here are a few shots of the clearance issues from a little closer in.

Sharp eyed readers will also notice that getting some sort of an upper radiator hose to fit on the water pump and pass in front of water pump pulley yet behind the fan housing is going to be another issue. I have not figured that out yet, but watch for the next post for more radiator stuff! Jeff

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

So, I got out the marker and cutoff wheel and chopped a big hole in my nice looking shroud!

Now the intake fits good!

I then cut and pounded some patch panels and taped them in position.

The intake and filter fit fine over the patch panels.

Finally, here is the start of what I've decided to do for a lower radiator support and front crossmember.

I'm planning to drop the radiator and shroud off at the radiator guys place this afternoon and hopefully he'll be able to weld this thing all together. In the mean time, I get to cut my steering box mounts out of the frame, move them forward a half an inch or so and redo them!!!!!! Oh well. This is necessary to provide all the clearance I can between the tie rod and the oil pan...which I found out was TIGHT to non existant in ONE spot with the passengers side stuffed and the drivers side drooped. The way the radiator mount is coming out, I can move the box forward just a touch which helps immensely. Jeff

 

[RCman]

Not much room in there for the air cleaner huh?

Looks great!

 

[beakie]

wow, updates worth waiting for, your attention to detail and patience is beyond my comprehension.

nice work.

 

[John D]

your attention to detail and patience is beyond my comprehension.

X2, I guess that's why we have to wait 4-5 months between small updates.

Just teasing Jeff, it looks great :kissyou:

Are you going to drive it this year? What else do you need to do?

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

This is just for fun and no, I don't ever plan to have it done! Who knows. I peck away at it a very little at a time...and then I end up redoing shit I thought I already had done. Oh well. Good thing I have something else to drive...nothing to wheel though...although my full sized Dodge 2500 could be pressed into service as could my all wheel drive audi! Jeff

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

Hey, here's another tiny little update with a few pictures! I am trying to get the front axle together enough to put the tires and wheels on it so I can roll it out and then move it over to the other side of my two car garage...which hasn't seen two cars in 5 years! I welded some bump stop cans in place previously, and positioned them so the steering links would clear the oil pan...even with the axle flexed. These pics show the axle sitting on the bumps with the tires on and I'm a little surprised they don't look like they are more stuffed into the fender, but whatever, I'm just trying to roll it right now. Oh yeah, I need to finish the drivers side and I need to rig that tractor axle in the rear temporarily! Jeff

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

Well, I got both hubs on with the rims/tires and fabbed up a stupid looking rear axle to allow the thing to roll. I rolled it out of the garage, snapped a few pictures and rolled it back into the garage on the other side. Finally I have a free stall to actually park a car in. I'm really concerned about how high this thing looks at full compression. It really looks like the tires should be much higher in the wheel well. They are 40's after all! Oh well, it does look pretty cool from the front. Sitting on the bump stops, the tires will contact the frame when turned full right and left but not much surprizingly. They both clear the back of the fenderwell easily! They both get into what remains of the front inner fender though, so that's definitely going to require some cutting and probably not being able to run the full narrowed header panel. Jeff

 

[cracker]

Looks good. It does look a tiny bit tall but wait until you get some fenders on there before making that call.

 

[JOSEJALAPENO]

WOW! That looks so good. Great work..

 

[John D]

You could definately trim some more in the back...

Are you going to drive it this year?

 

[MoparManiac]

Before you think its too tall, droop one side all the way out and stuff the other side while turning lock to lock.

I'll bet it wont look too tall then haha.

 

[Exxon Valdez Jeep]

Going to have it in Moab next year for the 30th anniversary? :greensmok

 

[DeftwillP]

Necro bump.....
Jeff, do you still have pics of your crossmember and suspension link setup?

 

[beakie]

ah dangit, had my hopes up for an update.

easily my favourite build.

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

Here's an update: I stripped EVERYTHING from my garage and moved 45 miles away where I put EVERYTHING into the basement of a rented house! My marriage has pretty much ended and I moved out. I tried to find a place with a nice garage, but instead I found a place further north than I wanted with a full unfinished basement with tall cielings and two 8' sliding glass doors on the ground level. Something like 30 x 50. The upstairs is pretty nice too with another set of 8' sliding glass doors opening onto a deck. Turns out a high school class mate had the house built and then moved before moving in. They never finished the house or the yard or anything and it wouldn't sell for the time they had it listed. So, after eying up that large basement in lieu of a garage I offered to rent it and they accepted. As for progress, I did fab part of an inner fender on each side and tied that into some of the stock stuff and welded it all solid so I could bolt on the narrowed front fascia. I also welded all the tacked together shit for the trailer ride to the new place. That's about it.

As for wheeling, I wheeled my dual sport DRZ 400 motorcycle up in Gilbert MN at the Iron Range OHV park this past weekend and found out the handle bar bark busters were a good investment and my elbow bruises and scrapes easily! I rode shotgun in a friends Jeep on day 2!

Oh yeah, what pictures would you like of the crossmember and suspension link setup would you like? All the original pictures should still show in this thread I think. Here is a link to a photobucket album of the suspenion: http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z94/fourliter/MJ Suspension/

Jeff

 

[Vanimal]

looks good dude. is that a wj steering box?