Minor Set Back

Luck finally caught up with me today. After 17 years riding I finally encountered a situation in which I couldn't avoid collision. While commuting home from work I was t-boned by a Ford Expedition resulting in a little hospital time and a totaled bike. It'll be awhile before I'm able to use the left leg again which means the Jeep (an automatic) will now take the roll of daily driver. I'll reprioritize projects to get it into commuting shape. Just need to get a little recovery under my belt to do the work. Happy to be alive :)

Making Friends...

Rain in the forecast again providing good excuse to leave the bike at home and take the Jeep for a stroll onto post. Idaho requires a VIN inspection for title transfer and the MP station on post provides just such a service. New battery provided lots of amps to fire the engine at a touch of the key, old xmas tree strapped to the rack for delivery to the local recycling center, and bluetooth speaker on the dash providing some Tom Petty for the commute.

All was well until I see the motorcycle cop coming on in the opposite lane paying too much attention to the black beast. Usually when I see this guy I'm on the GS and we exchange a biker wave - guess he didn't recognize me in a cage. Or he did and wanted to say 'hi'? Either way the blue lights came on and I quickly navigated to the nearest parking lot to have a chat. Turns out the TX registration sticker is expired (I knew this) and because it is so prominently displayed provides an easy target for the boys in blue.

Now I know the guy is just doing his job so I'm not complaining. And when life hands you lemons... I explain my situation and how I'm just trying to get a VIN inspection in order to facilitate the Idaho registration process. He gets it an says I'm just getting a warning. Cool. And BTW, since we're on speaking terms here, would he be so kind as to sign this little document (ID VIN inspection form) since he already ran my VIN through dispatch to make sure the rig wasn't hot or something. He waffles a bit so I sweeten the pot by suggesting that if he signs it I can turn right around an park my illegal rig back at the house until the new registration is received. I'm not trying to be a PITA, just looking for an assist :)

Fancy little handheld device he had printed out a warning that I'll cherish for years to come I'm sure.

So yeah I got pulled over for the first time in a very long time. But it worked out in the end as I ended up with a VIN inspection 15 miles closer to the house than if I'd have had to go all the way to the MP station.

Now what personalized plates for the XJ? MTNCRLR? SLWCRLR? BIOMAN2? MTNGOAT is already taken :(

Test Drive and Photo Op

After bolting up the new shoes into the freshly shorn wheel wells I decided to take the XJ out for some gas. Also wanted to see how she performed on the highway with the new additions.

Over all very pleased. Wheels/tires feel well balanced. Intake is hardly noticeable under normal acceleration. Yeah she's slow but I'm not building a race car. Engine/trans/gears appear to function fine with the current configuration. For any long highway trips we'll just throw the XJ on a trailer and motor along in style with Marge the Barge doing what she does best. Tow.

Front end needs work and that will be next on my to-do list. There is a bit of play in the steering and general loose feeling from the front. Bad ball joints, TRE's, etc all add up. Going to throw on a junkyard Grand Cherokee tie-rod and adjustable track bar when I do the ball joints and u-joints. Should help to tighten things up.

The good news is no rubbing so far. Yes the front sway bar is still attached limiting travel. Not much flexing here but small steps... Here are some glamor shots:

Wheel Well Trimming Part 3

Lazy morning. Decided to make a Home Depot run for a few goodies (new cut off wheel included) and stop by Sears for a battery. Found a giant wood beam @ 70% off. Combined with military discount I think it cost me around $5. Pierce (Wife's old CRV) is a parts running champion.

For a battery I picked up a DieHard Group 34 AGM. No more dead battery delays :)

Finally back to work. Made short work of the rears. There is no liner to mess with and I haven't decided on rear flares yet. Will run flareless until I make a decision.

First, mark the pinch welds:

Next I made pie cuts back to where the two pieces of sheet metal meet. I didn't want to cut further and expose the gap between the sheets. This happens to be right at the body line so no marking necessary. After the cuts are made then its just a matter of banging away with the dead blow hammer. Added bonus - the dent in the rear quarter panel (see pic above) popped out with the first couple of blows. Finished with a flap disc and paint.

End product with new wheel/tire installed:

Project Cost: $163

Total Build Cost: $3,818

Wheel Well Trimming Part 2

Dead battery. Again. I really need to put a new battery in as this one was known to be bad. My battery charger has been working overtime this month. Even with a full charge the battery is good for maybe 2 starts and won't last more than 1 day between charges. But for now it's in the garage so I can start cutting.

Safety first! Hearing and eye protection in use throughout the rest of this post. Some who read this may recall a time many years ago when I failed to use eye pro when grinding on the frame of the Goat. Ended up with steel slivers embedded into my cornea. Optometrists are still asking me about the residual scarring. Never again.

For this project my intention is to cut as much fender away as possible. For the front I will retain the inner plastic liner. This is key to keeping the elements away from the door hinges which would otherwise be exposed. Some folks just stuff a pool noodle in there. Let's see if I can make the liner work first.

Here's a few pics showing why trimming is necessary. Plenty of room at the LCA thanks to the 4.5" backspacing with the rims. This is on the drivers side.

First I started by masking off the area I'll be working with. Since I'll be retaining the liner I've also removed that before starting.

I like the TJ fender flares the PO provided with the rig. Figure I'll cut back as far as the inner lip of the TJ flare. To do that I've clamped the flare into place and marked off its outer edge.

First cut is to remove some excess sheet metal around the fender. A 4" cut off disk on the old angle grinder made short work of the thin sheet metal. I just followed the factory body line to remove about 1" around the opening. Also went ahead and made my pie cuts in the lip that stick down into the middle of the well. Caution! there are pinch welds in this lip - make sure you identify them and don't cut through them. I used a dead blow hammer to knock these pie cuts flat. Also note that I've cut the shock boots off. I belong to the club that thinks shock boots are bad, mmmkay?

Next I made ~2" pie cuts on the outer fender up to the inner flare mounting line circumscribed earlier.  Here is where things became time consuming. Making small adjustments I cut the fender liner to fit the new space as best as possible. The pie cuts will be folded over the liner to provide an outward mounting point. Standard body trim push-type plastic retainers were used elsewhere to hold the liner flat against the wheel well. Again using the dead blow hammer I knocked the pie cuts flat. Everything gets hit with a 60 grit flap disc followed by a coat of rattle can black. 

Taking way too much time at this point I skipped pics. Suffice to say I fit the TJ flare to the body lines of the XJ using a long, slow process of sand/trim, test fit, repeat. I used the existing mounting holes in the flare and attached using push-type plastic retainers. Feels stout.

Update with photos.

Liner result:

Cab-side front passenger wheel well. You can see the result of the cut and fold:

Bumer-side front wheel well passenger:

I plan to fill in the marker light recess to create a smooth flare. Then everything will be hit with some bed liner to include the rocker panels and flares to give it a more consistent look and added protection.

Repeat for the drivers side. Long day...

Tomorrow I'll tackle the rears.

Project Cost: $0

Total Build Cost: $3,655

Cowl Induction

Ok so I want to cut this weekend but it's going to rain. In order to work in the garage I'll need to run the motor. Given the dirty state under the hood I'd rather not do this without an intake filter in place. So before the sparks can start flying I'll need to address the intake issue.

This is another project that has been thoroughly written up elsewhere. After relocating the windshield washer reservoir (Wheel Well Trimming Part 1) into the space previously occupied by the stock air box I needed somewhere for the little 4.0L to get air. This modification allows the dry side of the cowl to act as an air box. The benefits are twofold: 1) ambient temp air is collected vs hot engine bay air (hence the term 'cold air intake') and 2) the set up acts like a snorkel by relocating the intake to the hood level allowing deeper water crossings.

Finished product:

Parts for this project:

-Spectre 3" OD intake flex tube (linky)

-Spectre 3"OD x 6" intake tube

-Random air hose connector I had laying around

-AirRaid cone filter (linky)

-Frost King EPDM 1/4 weather seal from Home Depot

-Door edge trim from Auto Zone

Not many pictures on this one as most of the work was done at night. Pretty straight forward though:

1) Remove wiper arms and cowl cover. Notice the passenger side has a solid plastic backing creating the 'dry side' of the cowl. The reason for this is the cabin air intake vent is located over here.

2) Cut out the rectangular depression to allow access to the cowl. Should be about 5" wide to allow the filter element to fit. In hindsight I should have taken the extra metal out of the windshield side where there is a giant rubber gasket to provide cover. As it turns out I went towards the hood creating a small exposed gap. This will be addressed with the weather seal later.

Gap where I should NOT have cut:

Here the hood (top of the pic) is in the up position partially blocking the shot. The actual cut out extends towards the top of the picture a bit more than shown:

3) Cut a 3"-ish hole in the firewall. Widen just enough to pass the flex tube through. Hit with some rattle can (black truck bonus!) and trim out with the door edging to protect the plastic tube.

4) Connect everything. The outer diameter (OD) and inner diameters (ID) don't match up well. I used a couple turns of Gorilla tape around the OD to make up the difference then tighten everything up with hose clamps. 

5) Line the outer edges of the cowl cover with the EPDM weather seal. This is just extra protection from any water that may try to get into our new air box. Rain, snow that intrudes on the drivers side will flow out without (hopefully) wetting the filter. Also why I chose the oiled over dry filter in this application.

Here's a shot of the weather seal installed:

6) Drill a hole for the air hose fitting into the solid tube. This will be your new CCV tube connection. I used some random tubing I had laying around cut down to size. Fits tightly over the air hose connector and inside the existing CCV tube.

The additional interior noise from the intake is minimal at low throttle. I only hear it with the windows up, radio and fan off. Even then it reminds me of having static on the radio at a low volume. No whistle that I notice. Now, when you lean into the skinny pedal there is a very audible roar. I think it sounds beastly. ROAR!!!

Project Cost: $100

Total Build Cost: $3,655

Mounting Wheels and Tires

Sorry, no pics for this one. :(

The wheels and tires showed up earlier this week. Bought some valve stems at the local Auto Zone and took the whole assembly to Sprockets auto skills center for mount/balance. It's $4/tire if you DIY.

I went with new wheels for the backspacing. Really liked the look of the Ravine rims and would have even been ok with the OEM steelies. Either option would require wheel spacers to keep from rubbing on the inside. Good wheel spacers cost nearly as much as cheap steel wheels making this an easy decision.

Parts for this project:
-33x10.50R15, Mud-Terrain T/A KM2 purchased from www.4WD.com ($716 after discounts)
-Pro Comp Steel Wheels Series 97 Wheel with Gloss Black Finish (15x8"/5x4.5") from Amazon.com  ($260)
-Slime 2080-A Rubber Tire Valve Stems, 1-1/4" TR 413 from Auto Zone ($3)

Received a crash course on using the tire mounting and balancing equipment then went to work. Took me awhile but part of this project is learning new skills as I go along. The combo is freaking heavy. I hope the 4.0L mated to factory 3.55 gearing is enough as new gears/lockers are still way down on the to-do list.

Next up - making space to fit the new wheel/tire combo. Let's get to cutting!

Project Cost: $1,023

Total Build Cost: $3,555

Wheel Well Trimming Part 1

Project XJ needs to shoes. I have my mind set on BFG KM2's in a 33x10.5R15. In order to fit these meats with the 3.5" RE I'll need to do some trimming. After much research I'm going to keep the inner fender liner; a little work for a lot of payoff IMHO. More on that later...

For now, some pics of the factory fenders sans flares:

First issue - the windshield washer fluid reservoir is located in the forward portion of the drivers-side wheel well. Another inconvenience, the horn is hanging down there too. 

I don't like it so it all must go. Some folks will source reservoirs from other models via the junk yard however I'm going to see if I can make the factory one work. Looks like there is a perfect space along the drivers-side engine compartment if only that pesky air intake box weren't in the way...

Solution: Cowl Induction!

Here's the relocated reservoir. I'll deal with the intake later. Zip ties are a temp solution with long-term plans for fabricating a mounting bracket utilizing the stock air box bolt holes. As a note, the zip ties hold this thing TIGHT. Could last years.

The horn went to the front of the newly created space just behind the headlight. Used an existing bolt hole. Too easy.

And now the wheel well is clear for cutting.

Project Cost: $0

Total Build Cost: $2,532

Photo Op

Sun setting over Stillhouse Lake

Power Window/Door Lock Issues

Found a good write up describing the symptoms observed with the power window/door locks: 4wdmechanix.com

As a bonus this is also an easy fix without spending a dime!

PCM before:

Notice the fine cracks in the solder

PCM after:

Found multiple cracks so just to be safe I re-soldered all connections on both the PCM and DCM. Power door locks and windows function properly once again. 

Project Cost: $0

Total Build Cost: $2,532

Rear Lift Gate Strut Replacement

This is an easy fix. Blown struts on the rear lift gate won't hold the weight. Found some inexpensive replacements on Amazon.com (Tuff Support)

Before:

After:

Project Cost: $32

Total Build Cost: $2,532

Project XJ Walk-Around

Since this is a project rig I purposely chose one that needed work. The XJ will not be a daily driver (DD) or used for long road trips but will be street legal. The primary purpose of this build is a light to medium duty trail rig. Therefore cosmetics (paint, sheetmetal, etc) are of little value. Function over form with this build. And I hope to stay true to the mantra 'don't buy it, build it' throughout the course of the project. With that, let's see what we are working with...

The good - mechanically sound drive train. Starts easily, shifts smoothly, transfer case engages without issue. Clean underbelly with minimal surface rust. No cracks, creases, bends or other unibody-associated failures observed. Doors are all aligned and open/close smoothly.

The previous owner (PO) installed a number of upgrades and included some extra parts that can be used.

Items installed buy PO:
-Rubicon Express 3.5" suspension lift with full rear leaf pack

-Aftermarket stereo/equalizer/amp/speakers

-Homemade roof rack

-Homemade rear bumper
-TJ "Ravine" alloy rims (x5)
-OEM steel rims (x4)
-Mixed tires, all in poor shape.
-Crossmember drop? Need to confirm but appears to have spacers...

Items included by PO but not installed:
-TJ fender flares
-Rough Country sway bar quick disconnects (NIB)
-Ball joints (NIB)
-Ujoints (NIB)
-Spark plugs (NIB)
-Wires (NIB)
-Distributor cap and rotor (NIB)
-Haynes service manual

The bad - issues noted during walk-around and test drive:
-Sloppy steering/wandering
-Power windows/door locks only work from select controllers and intermittently
-Rear lift gate difficult to open, does not stay open
-OEM brake lines (too short)
-Parking brake does not hold
-AC does not blow cold
-Battery very weak
-Drivers seat cushion needs rebuilt (flat)
-Headliner needs replaced
-No slip yoke eliminator (SYE); apparently not an issue as there are no noticeable driveline vibrations. Likely a result of the x-member drop
-Class I leaks around valve cover, oil pan, transmission pan... no drips or puddles under the vehicle

So much potential! Where to begin...

Project Cost: $0

Total Build Cost: $2,532

Bringing home Project XJ

Picked up the new Project XJ today to celebrate the New Year. Craigslist buy from a very nice fellow who had owned the Jeep for many years with intentions of building her up. Over come by events (OBE), the project was left unfinished and he made the decision to pass the baton.

Specs: 1999 Jeep Cherokee (XJ) Sport. 4.0L I6 (I'm a sucker for a straight 6), 4WD, 4-sp auto, high-pinion Dana 30 up front, Chrysler 8.25 w/3.55's in the rear.

Good sign as I traveled north to pick up the rig - rainbow on the horizon:

After an lengthy test drive, walk-around, and some good ol' fashioned bs'ing we loaded the XJ up for the trip home.

And home. Let the build begin!

Project Cost: $0

Total Build Cost: $2,500