dp96zj's Maintenance Thread

[dp96zj]

Current state (as of 3/3/2013): Gone, totaled by a drunk driver. RIP Jeep.







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Back when:





Mods / random stuff / parts list. Mainly making this list for my own future reference.

Engine/Drivetrain/Cooling:
Stock 5.2L V8
44RE
231 T-case from an '00 XJ
Stock D30 front (open 3.73)
Ford 8.8 rear (open 3.73)
33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs
K&N FIPK
180* Murphy T-stat
3-core all-metal radiator from Radiator Express
B&M heavy duty transmission cooler
Ford Taurus E-Fan w/ homebrew wiring

Suspension:
4.5" BDS short arm lift kit
All 8 adjustable control arms (flex joint/poly bushing combo)
4.5" BDS coils front
4.5" RE coils rear
JKS rear adjustable trackbar
KOR trackbar conversion up front
Blown OME shocks

Audio:
Pioneer DEH-3900MP head unit, Pioneer tweeters
Polk db650's all doors
1 10" JL Audio 10W1v2-4 in custom box
Rockford Fosgate Prime P500-1 amp

Other Stuff:
15x8 Cragar Soft 8 wheels
Spidertrax on the 8.8"
2 130W KC Daylighters
Cobra 40 channel CB w/ Firestik Ant.
PA speaker in bumper
22" RE stainless brakelines
KOR radiator support
Chopped bumpers front and rear
Herculined cladding area
Cat turndown w/ no muffler
JKS adjustable "quicker" swaybar disconnects
Rear swaybar delete
Gen-Right fully functional hood louvers
Ballistic Fab 8.8 brackets
8.8 Solid Diff Cover
Lots of stick-on HP

Recycled Parts:
Jordan's old Smittybilt tail light guards
Elliott's old front driveshaft
Jon's old Don-a-vee tire carrier


___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___


Well, here's the rig! I bought it back in April '07 with 140k on it, 5.2, 249 (fried VC), K&N, towing package, etc. The P.O. put the BB on it, the BFG m/t's, tire carrier, as well as replaced the cv axleshafts with u-jointed ones. I got lucky, this thing was in GREAT condition!

I bought it with the intention of keeping it at that state, then I came to this damn site. So to you all!

How I bought it:





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First thing I did was, of course, test it out. No action pics, but the results are easy to see.




With the M/T's and BB, the heep held its own against my friends and their big block trucks on 4"+ of lift, etc. Oh yeah, if you didn't know, there's not much to do in Houston other than mud (except for Spring Creek).

[dp96zj]

After that, it was time for some maintenance. I trashed the broken fog lights, replaced the yellow headlights, radiator, water pump, and headliner. Also I put on a CB/PA, stereo, speakers, etc, and threw out the worn M/T's for some A/T's (), added the camo seat covers and I was set!

Then came the bolt-on stage. I bought a smittybilt brush guard and tail light covers from a certain jeeper on here, and threw some KC Daylighters on it.






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That didn't last long, and then I was convinced to throw this in there:




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Fast forward to this winter. Finally got time and parts lined up, and the 231 goes in (thanks Jordan!). Got my driveshafts the right length, and it's all working!

[dp96zj]

Since then, I did the B&M tranny cooler replacement and bought the KOR rad support to replace the bent tow hooks (LONG story). After a handy sawzall and some bumper trimming, it all worked out. The smittybilt no longer fits, so it's in the garage for now until I can work up some brackets for it.

Last week, I went out with some friends and ZJ4.Slow from MC and got the heep a little muddy, and also tested out the new t-case. Again, no action pics, since we usually just go out with a few rigs and no bitch-seaters.






Of course, compared to the M/T's (even though they were bald), A/T's bring teh suck when it comes to mud. Oh well, I wasn't gonna pay the extra cash on rugged tread since this thing is 99% street driven.

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Since that, it's been given a little breathing room:




...as well as some thump in the trunk:




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Now it sits without the roof rack crossmembers (herculiner is drying), and then the KC's will be mounted on top. Add in a few hp stickers, and there you have it!

[dp96zj]

Future mods include a new steering wheel cover, and maybe new floor mats, I just haven't decided which ones yet . Actually, I want to go to 4.5" and adjustables, but that's still in the "looking for parts" stage.

Oh yeah, and I know driveway shots are worthless, so the next time I head out I'll take a camera!

[jfowlzj95]

Oh goodie, you know a lot of your plans are gonna change once you come out to A&M.

Seeing that Don-a-vee makes me wonder if that was the one I had, I left it in Austin with my parents for the buyer to pick up so I never met the guy. But according to my dad, he remembers the ZJ being white.

[dp96zj]

Oh goodie, you know a lot of your plans are gonna change once you come out to A&M.

Seeing that Don-a-vee makes me wonder if that was the one I had, I left it in Austin with my parents for the buyer to pick up so I never met the guy. But according to my dad, he remembers the ZJ being white.

As long as I have somewhere to work on it the plans may be changed!

[ZJ4.Slow]

Last week, I went out with some friends and ZJ4.Slow from MC and got the heep a little muddy, and also tested out the new t-case.

Haha, too bad my pavement queen's rear springs were sagging at the time and got stuck at the exit...

2wd

Next time i'll get some action shots

[dp96zj]

Took it to the beach today, no serious offroading, only a few dunes b/c it was pretty crowded and I didn't wanna cause a scene.

Here's an artsy fartsy picture that my bro took (since he's into photography and all that) showing the new location of the kc's.



I need to send one of them back because the internal wiring of the light is screwed up and it wont work
The wiring will be cleaned up when I get the new light.

[dp96zj]

Got the daylighters working, and had some time to play with the cooling system, bought some shiny new stuff.

New Hayden fan clutch (American made )


New Murphy 180* t-stat


New paint on used-to-be-rusty KOR rad support, I should've had it powdercoated in the first place!



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It seems like it takes longer for the rig to get to 210* now, and it won't go over the halfway mark as easily as it used to.

[dp96zj]

Puma 2.0???

[jfowlzj95]

Wanna fix my overheating problem too?

[dp96zj]

Wanna fix my overheating problem too?

Yeah, sure, if you help me install the lift when the time comes!

[dp96zj]

Herc:








The lines aren't that perfect, but hey, function over form.

[dp96zj]

Changed the rear diff today, mmm did that smell good!


Noticed this:


Anyone think I'd be better off taking it to a mechanic and saving the hassle, or is it an easy driveway fix?

[jfowlzj95]

Axle tube seals are an easy driveway fix.

[zj95maxx]

BAM!
Hope this helps

http://mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13071

[dp96zj]

Thanks for the link, Maxx, I'll put that on the to-do list.

Update: Went to a friends property to pull him out, he went through the mud in 4wd, then got stuck when he tried to do it in 2wd. After he got out, I tore it up a little, then the engine got hot. The new fan clutch and t-stat slow the warming process, which is good for short drives. But on long drives (and when going slow in mud) it still gets to the big mark after 210*, which is 235*.

My overflow tank started bubbling over, so I got back on the highway to get some airflow, and back down to 210* it goes. So it looks like I am gonna replace the radiator with an all aluminum, unless anyone has any recommendations on other stuff to try.


Oh yeah, and I need a new front license plate, apparently I decided to leave it in the field

[jfowlzj95]

Get an e-fan.

[dp96zj]

Get an e-fan.

I was toying with that idea, but I think the plastic tank radiator would still be the weak link in the system. If I can find a junkyard around here, I'll go looking for a fan.

[dp96zj]

I'm looking at radiator options, any input on what's overkill or what will work best?

Radiator Barn:
Two row all metal is $197.67 + tax, free ship
Three row all metal is $220.10 + tax, free ship

Radiator Express:
All aluminum (no info on number of rows) is $174.00 + $10.00 shipped tax free
Three row all metal is $215.00 + $10.00 shipped, tax free


Or if you have cheaper, reputable sources, care to share?

[dp96zj]

(crickets chirping)

Anyone have any reasoning to spend the extra $20 for a third row in a radiator, as shown above?

I'm looking at getting the three row all metal from radiator express, since it's the cheaper of the 3 row all metals.





Edit: zj95, I read a while back that you have this rad, are you still running it? If so, how is it?

[ELLLLLIOTTTTT]

You should have herc'd it white like my old rig.

It's looking really good though! Keep up the work.

[zj95]

i LOVE my all metal rad. from radiator express, ive put them in both my zj's.

The price is awesome, and they cool great, my jeep runs hella cool, according to gauge never hotter then 150. but my tstat is a 180 if i remember correctly, but I may have just took it out completely because theres not much need for them in az.

only thing is I can almost bet that the fill spout will leak from the seal surface of cap when you first get it but some work with pliers will fix that, the seal surface gets tweaked in shipping/manufacturing it seems. no big deal tho.

Hope that helps

[dp96zj]

You should have herc'd it white like my old rig.

It's looking really good though! Keep up the work.

Thanks, E! I had some leftover black herc from my bro's xj, so I just used it up.

i LOVE my all metal rad. from radiator express, ive put them in both my zj's.

The price is awesome, and they cool great, my jeep runs hella cool, according to gauge never hotter then 150. but my tstat is a 180 if i remember correctly, but I may have just took it out completely because theres not much need for them in az.

only thing is I can almost bet that the fill spout will leak from the seal surface of cap when you first get it but some work with pliers will fix that, the seal surface gets tweaked in shipping/manufacturing it seems. no big deal tho.

Hope that helps

Thanks whore I'm pretty much sold on getting that one, so I'll report on how it goes later.

[zj95]

No problem skankness