Project Cheap Xj

[Pinkyman]

Well, to keep this thread updated, we went out to the Crawl for the Cure a couple of weeks ago, and had a great time! I got my new stainless extended brake lines in, and manages not to break anything lol.

Ive now pressure washed it 3 times, and i still cant get rid of the red Iron Range mud that worked its way into every single orifice :banghead:

Some pics from the crawl just to keep it in this thread.

 

[Pinkyman]

 

[Pinkyman]

My next step, other than pressure washing it once a day for the next few weeks, is going to be possibly cutting and folding the rear fenders, and either welding some reinforcement on the frame where it is rotted, or getting frame stiffeners and welding them in.

I also need to add some r134 refrigerant with some UV dye, so i can track down my AC leak and finally repair that. Im tired of adding refrigerant every few weeks

Oh and my exhaust seems to have sprung a leak... So i may be replacing that coming up soon as well.




And it kind of makes me sad, that no matter how many times i wash it, it will probably never be that clean again lol

 

[Pinkyman]

I got my new (to me) quick disconnects today. I traded them for 200 rounds of .22..... Not too bad of a deal.

Now i need to get home and get my stud for the old links out, and get some new hardware and clips for these, and ill be in business.

 

[Pinkyman]

Well here goes nothing lol. It only took me an hour to get this far. I've got a ways to go, but so far it's not horrible. I got stuck at the point where I needed the AC line disconnect tool deal. I'll have to pick one up in the next day or so.

 

[Pinkyman]

Ok, so I agree with everyone else. This job blows lol.

I got everything out, and found my AC leak! I also found my heater core was pretty much rusted shut, so that may explain my low heat issue.

 

[Pinkyman]

It's starting to look like a Jeep again! And I'm a moron.... My ground issue with my tach not working and everything, ends up that you need the dash bolted in so that it's grounded.... Long story short, everything works as designed now lol.

A few more hours of putting it back together, and I can move on to getting my quick disconnects in.

 

[Pinkyman]

I took a break from the dashboard to get my sway bar back in today. I got my QD's in, but there's an issue.

On both sides, if I tighten up the top nut (above the sway bar link, the link sits at an angle. It makes it so that if I pull the pin, the bottom of the link shoots off the slide that it mounts to, and I can't get it to connect again without loosening the top nut again. What am I doing wrong??

 

[Pinkyman]

Well it's all back together and back on the road finally! The AC is working great, and I think I have almost got all of the mud from the crawl off the outside, and cleaned out the inside. Now I just need to figure out my low speed wobble.... I may need to look into new tires.

And I finally relocated my switch for my light bar. I think it will work alright there.

 

[Pinkyman]

I'm definitely chalking it up to the tires being my vibration.

I just rotated them, and replaced my bacon shaped front rotors, and the vibration/wobble moved to the seat/rear cargo area. It's weird because it does it when I'm braking, but it also does it when I let off the gas, so I don't think it's the rear drums....

Knock on wood..... But I think it's about ready for deer season!

 

[Pinkyman]

I finally drove it to work today for the first time in a couple of months. It seems to be running and driving pretty well. I did notice that my RR brake is sticking, so i may have to take that apart and make sure i didnt lose an axle seal or anything....

Oh, and my speedometer is off by a liiiiitle bit at 70mph lol.

 

[Pinkyman]

I decided to do a tune up today... Needless to say, the plugs I took out were at almost .090!! Wowza, so I replaced them with some champion coppers, gapped at .035, started it up and all went well, and it ran smooth as butter......

I then went to clean the IAC valve, and I ended up breaking it Now it won't idle, and won't start unless I give it gas. Even then once it starts, it dies. Ugh, I guess s I'll be picking up a new iac tomorrow.

 

[Pinkyman]

I just picked up my new shoes!! Man i cant wait to get these on, hopefully its a night and day difference.

The DOT is 4213, and they are a 4PLY, Load Range C.

 

[Pinkyman]

I got my new duratracs on today, and WOW! I never thought I could enjoy driving the Jeep this much! It's smooth as silk, and no more super loud howling down the road. Man it's incredible what a new set of tires will do for ride comfort, it's a night and day difference!! I replaced all the lugnuts with 1 piece chrome ones also. No more fighting 18 and 19mm due to those dang cap nuts.

And no more orange tires!

 

[Pinkyman]

I got my Xj all washed and waxed, and we went to the Jeep show for Eppilepsy. They had some nice rigs there, along with the guys from Iron Rock and Dirt bound. Momma and little man and I had a great time!

I found a deal on a bumper that I couldn't pass up.... The guys from dirt bound said I could have this DIY bumper that was already tacked together for a whopping $200! We decided it was too good to pass up, so tomorrow and during the week, I'll be finishing up the welds, and bending a stinger for it.

 

[Pinkyman]

I started on my new bumper today. I came to the conclusion that I suck at welding, but I'm good with a grinder lol. I got it all welded up, and got the welds ground down. Now I just have to figure out what bedliner I'm going to use.

 

[Pinkyman]

Well thanks to the help of Brent (Choogala) we got my stinger bent up yesterday. I still need to mess with the angles, but im pretty happy with how it turned out!

Now I just need to trim it up and get the angle i want, and get it welded on. I also need to drill and tap holes for the light bar mounts, and drill a couple of holes so i can run the wires through it.

*This is just mocked up. I will be moving the light bar further back on the stinger.

 

[Pinkyman]

Well i started working on my fenders last night. I only got 1 done, and i taped the rear one in place. I also still have some trimming to do, but man, im really glad they are going back on, 1, to help with rain and snow flying everywhere, and 2, to cover up the rust on the rear lol. All together it raised the front almost an inch and a half, so hopefully that eliminates any rubbing. The rear i cant move much higher, but im ok with that.

 

[Pinkyman]

I finally got my fender flares just about finished, just needs a little more trimming. Now hopefully i dont rip them off next weekend lol.

Next will be the bumper!! Im welding the stinger on and finishing it up on Sunday, then Friday it will be coated. Hopefully i can get it installed Friday night, and still be up early enough for deer opener on Saturday, then wheeling in the afternoon!

 

[Pinkyman]

I finally got my bumper done. I like how it turned out, although I wish the stinger were a little higher up, so I could put the light bar on the bottom. The way it sits now, the light bar would interfere with the fairlead.... I may drill and tap a couple more holes, but the light would need to sit way far forward if the stinger.....