Project Hippo

[Tuzmaster]

Okay, thank for the info. That is a lot of work and unfortunately I do not have time to do it at this point. Imma set up as best as I can and see how it performs. Will learn fab work in between and if needed will reset up the axle. I wanted to truss it in the rear down the road anyway. Sucks that the new sleeves are like $20 each. Pricey for something that small lol

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[Ted_Z]

I'd drop the LCA to the middle hole on the mount and adjust length to make the pinion point at the t-case output.

[Tuzmaster]

Okay onto day 14. Spend the evening with my buddy helping me set up the rear. After shortening arms 3.5" by preadator it was almost too much. There is still an inch of engagement on the johny joint so it should be fine
[IMG][/IMG]
Wound up also aiming the pinion as much towards the tcase as possible and leveling out the spring cups to 0*. Also the lower control arms pulled the axle forward .5". The axle now barely clears the lip of the gas tank. if compressed to the point where the upper control arms hit the body
[IMG][/IMG]
Putting the tire into the wheel well, there is very minimal trimming that needs to be done and its mainly in the back of the bumper. The upper control arms hit the body before the wheel actually hits any body parts. In the future I want to redo this truss on the rear 44. It sticks out way too high. That will only be done if more uptravel is desired. Need to try it out first
[IMG][/IMG]
After doing all of that, we connected the brake lines which were a PITA. arms were covered in brake fluid. The plan now is to bleed the brakes, connect abs and move onto tcase. Gotta pull it, rebuild it, put sye on it and put it back in.

[Tuzmaster]

Okay onto day 15. The friday i really didnt feel like doing much. wound up just tighting up the rear end and temporarily putting the springs in. I still have to weld on the spring retaining bolts. but dat ass is looking fine as hell haha
[IMG][/IMG]
speaking of welding on friday I went ahead and got the vulcan migmax 215. should be plenty for what i need and it is a started welder after all. Also, it was almost meant to be. That day I got a 20%off any item coupon so got another $130 off the total price which then paid for the 2 year no questions asked replacement plan. Got a cheapo cart for it too for $40 which when fails will probably be the first weld project i do.

Now onto the sunday. Today did not go so well. The tcase is still in pieces. Big pieces, but still pieces. Started off with removing the case. This is where the Claytons setup pays off. 8 bolts and the center section drops out from the transmission crossmember. I was hoping to keep the crossmember attached, but to get to all of the bolts on the tcase it was easier to just pull it off. Then there were 6 15mm nuts and the tcase came off. Taking it apart was also easy. There is a guy on youtube who went through extensive explanantion of how to take the NP242 appart. Even expains how to swap the input shaft for V8 conversion (this is not the HD 242. just a WJ 242). Here are the links (ignore that it starts at part 2):
part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibY_xzCn10k&t=1041s
Part 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKRmaJsJ17g&t=3s
part 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZysKLOdX1g

Here is the case that I have btw
[IMG][/IMG]
After taking the rear housing off and splitting it in half, went ahead and decided to swap the components over to the new SYE shaft to see if it works. It does. Here are the 2 shafts side by side. Could not ever find any pic of the original NP242 main shaft and advanced adapters NP242 SYE main shaft
[IMG][/IMG]

This is the first time I screwed up. The color that goes on the left side of the shaft i put on backwards. In case anyone is wondering that makes the whole case useless. The power goes in and nothing gets transfered to the output shaft. found that out when the case was fully put together. A ball joint puller set works well for removing old seals lol
[IMG][/IMG]
I checked all the bearings that were on the case and all of them were in great shape. Plus i do not have a shop press nor did I want to go and get one. So I have replaced all of the seals and left it there. Oh and btw, the chain I ordered was not the right one. The one I does not have the same pitch (I think its called) looks like the new one is for a HD 242. Anyone wants it? It was never installed lol. So the old chain will have to work for now.

Back onto the sye. When you remove the gear assembly all the needle bearings fall out. to put the whole thing on, you have to have some stick assembly lube. Had to go and get some red n tacky grease. dont know if its any different from regular grease, but thats what was recomended.
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
The other thing that I wound up getting messed up on is the shifter color. that is what makes the tcase worth having lol. also put it in backwards and had no 4wd. so the only 2 things that one can put on backwards I managed to put on backwards (upside down more like). After flipping it and having it face upwards as it should, everything started working. The spline on the output shaft of the front yoke is actually 32 spline. This tcase is either a hybrid of some sort or had something done to is cause I thought it was suppose to be 26 front spline output. So tomorrow I will seal the case (again) put it back in hippo and measure for driveshafts. After That its exhaust.

Speaking of, 1 question. The upstream O2 sensor is like a foot away from the cat. Does that distance matter at all? or was it only done because the cat was not going to fit between that sensor and the transmission cross member. My plan is to keep the original cat and shift it to before new xmember, the muffler will be right after the xmemeber and then just route some pipe to the back of the jeep

[Tuzmaster]

Okay day 16. The tcase is back together and under the jeep. a little tip is to have another set of helping hands. Especially lifting the thing back up. It can be done by yourself or with a jack, but second hand is more useful and safer. Meassured for driveshafts and here is the brakedown.
The rear I was told only needs the ride height measurement which comes out to 37.5.
The front ill use an XJ driveshaft which has 1.75" of yoke travel. splitting it half and half it needs to be lengthened by 1.125" to be in the middle while at ride height. btw, is that much travel on the front enough? Ideally yes, you want to cycle the suspension between full droop and full compression, but I do not even have the bumpstops yet, so thatll have to wait.

Also, lets do a little pole. Adams driveshafts or Tom Woods? Both come out to be same price and seems to ship and deliver around same time. So which is you alls preference?

[Ken L]

I'll cast my vote for Tom Woods. I've had his driveshaft in the back of my ZJ for years, and sent it back to him once to have the joints replaced. Great service and turn around. And just an all-around good guy. Mine has been laid on trees and rocks and is still in great shape.

[K2]

I have no info on Adams. I also have a Tom Woods and it has been great, I am getting it shortened today. They are also former sponsors of GSW so they get my vote.

[Tuzmaster]

Okay thanks guys. I went with Tom woods. shafts should be here friday. Now onto Day 17. I tried to mock up the exhaust. The mover the stock cat about 7" forward, but that still is not enough to tuck the muffler behind the rear control arm bracket. Plus with the 4 link in the rear, I have no idea how to route the exhaust. I had a few ideas, but looks like there needs to be more intricate bends than what is provided with the kit. This time I think I will take this to a shop. Next on the agenda are all the little things.

Does anyone want the summit racing exhaust kit? Its literaly an open box and all the pipe is there and untouched

[Tuzmaster]

Day 18. Had some busy evenings at work and finally had some time to work on hippo. Broke in the new welder and had my first bead. Its not hard, but i definitely need practice. A friend came over and welded on the spring retaining nuts
[IMG][/IMG]
After painting them and letting it dry I had to run to the hardware store and pick up some hardware for shocks. Overall I have only 9" of travel. The top is guided by the upper control arm hitting the body. The bottom is by the shock. At ride height the shock seems to be extended too long
[IMG][/IMG]
So either the shock mount needs to go up, or I need to get different shocks. It kinda seems to be hanging low so may be in the long run, relocate it?

Went tomake shift the exhaust so I can get the jeep into the shop. Turns out the pipe pre cat is 2.5" and after only 2.25. So I had to weld for the first time.... It looks bad, but stucturaly seems ok. I wouldnt budge when i forced it so hopefully itll hold till its first stop at the shop
[IMG][/IMG]

Will be practicing more for sure. moved onto the ebrake and abs. The ABS was pretty self explanitory. It was made by the previous guy to be plug and play. Hadr part was getting to the sensors connectors themselves. They are under the carpet under rear passender seat. The driver side is pretty easy. Grey connector, just move some carpet out of the way. Passenger side was a PITA. I have a factory amp there, so that had to move and then you have to fish around to find the connector. It is held in place by a little plastic piece that seems to be attached to slide onto a screw that is inside the body
[IMG][/IMG]
that is the body end of ABS sensor. After plugging that in, decided to move onto ebrake cables and driveshaft. So I got 2 questions on those:
1)How in the bloody hell does this ebrake connect?
[IMG][/IMG]

2) The Tom woods driveshaft came with these plasticy doo dats. I presume they stay on? Im kind of having issues putting the driveshaft into the grooves on the yoke
[IMG][/IMG]

Any ideas?

[Ken L]

If the plastic you're referring to is around the cap, it has to come off. It's just there to keep the cap on during shipping.

[Tuzmaster]

Day 19. So I called Tom Woods and the white plastic rings are suppose to be seals for the ujoints. So to make the joint fite, I just took a dremmer and decreased the size of the tabs that keep the joint from moving side to side. Only took off about 1.5mm on each side. Then the driveshaft slipped in with no issue. The front had no issue for some reason. May be the yoke on the stock JK44 is slightly different than regular 1310. After that tightened all the new suspension bolts. Here is the break down:
Front:
LCA axle side: 95 ftlbs
LCA body: 95
UCA control arm side:70
UCA axle side: 50

In the rear everything was tightened to 95 ftlbs. Last thing was to change the hood latch cable. That took about 30 minutes. Easy job compared to what I just did lol. he is so close to being drivable again I can taste it lol
[IMG][/IMG]

Hopefully tonight I can route the wiring for the locker, remove plastic bumper, put the sway bar links on, trim a little and may be do the breather hoses. Then tomorrow its exhaust shop. After that alighnment and a few days of just driving on the street.

I still have to paint and install the rock sliders and install, seal off the rust that is on the passenger side (with some fiberglass probably), figure out the ebrake and find a good deal on a winch. The bumper is in the process of being made and will hopefully will be here by the end of the month.

[Ken L]

Will it fit out of the garage with the light bar on? Picture makes it look like it might overlap with the garage door!

[Tuzmaster]

It should with a few inches to spare. It's an 8 ft opening. Worse comes to worse I'll air down the tires lol

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[Tuzmaster]

Day 20. Well Hippo is drivable. Last night did a bunch of little things. Went to and manual transmission shop and picked up an empty speedo housing for a 242. Then, removed the front bumper. He looks a little weird without one, but a new one will be here soon. Then went onto trimming. I trimmed just enough so that there would be no rubbing while driving on a daily basis. Once the new bumper arrives, Ill clear the fender for flexing:
[IMG][/IMG]

Then went onto routing the wires for the lockers. The rear was easy. There is a rubber piece that is pretty big in diameter that has very little wire going through it. So, made another hole and now its inside. Then just ran the wires along and underneath the plastic rocker (?) on the inside.
[IMG][/IMG]

The front was a little bit more tricky. Ran the wires up along the solid brake lines and then under the brake booster. Then to get inside, I used the hole that is for hood latch release cable. Took a round file and made it slightly bigger to fit the wires through
[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]

Now I need to actually connect the wires for the locker, connect and route the breather hoses. The 4 wheel alighnment is scheduled to be friday and exhaust is scheduled for tuesday. Its nice to have a grand to drive again. There is still plenty of work to do, but the bulk of the build (for now) is complete

[Ken L]

YAY! It's always a good feeling when a project is able to roll around on its own!

[Tuzmaster]

It really is. The interesting part is the speedo is off by may be 1 mph. I don't have to do anything to fix it. Previous guy must have adjusted the amount of toe rings to work with 35s.

The exhaust is loud when you are driveing, but at idle it's no louder than my truck with a glass pack haha.

The alignment is scheduled for Friday and exhaust on tuesday. Looks like no trail rides for me this weekend :/ oh well. At least I can drive it and boy he handles so much better

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[Tuzmaster]

I am going to stop putting days on as the updates will be small or speradic. So last night I wound up routing the vent hoses and connecting the lockers. The hoses were easy. Just followed the brake line (rear breather comes out on passenger side) and connected to the old gas tank hose. Front followed the brake lines up into the engine bay on the driver's side and zip tied it to the brake line coming out of the ABS module.

Routing the lockers wasnt bad either. Both lockers appear to have sensors and those aren't needed. So I just hid those away. My sensor is the LED on the switch. If the light is on, its engaged.

My question to you all is what is your RPM speed at around 70 mph? Is anyone else running 35's with 4.88s? I drove on the highway this morning and right around 70 mph the engine was at 3K. Is that normal with that set up? Or do I have problems with 4th gear in the tranny?

[egg]

https://www.randysworldwide.com/calc...ion-ratio-rpm/

I think your overdrive is .75 so 3k rpms with 4.88 and 35s puts you around 85 mph

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[Ken L]

Was your 70mph on the speedo or are you reading it from a GPS? I know you said that the speedo should be accurate and didn't need to be changed, but sometimes it's accurate at one speed but not another. Verify speed with a GPS to be sure. I use Waze on my phone.

[Tuzmaster]

I'll verify the speed, but it seemed to be going slow to be 85. May be I need tranny overhauled :/ or tuned or something. Don't think that's possible on something that old though

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[Yjsaabman717]

Count the shifts as you accelerate to make sure the trans is going through all the gears. It should shift three times being a four speed with overdrive. My stock 94 ZJ with the 4.0L, 3.55 gears, and 29" tires turns about 2,000 rpm @ 70 mph. Which engine does Hippo have?

The calculator I used said the same thing, 3,000 rpm should be 84 mph. Based on a third gear of 1.00, 3,000 rpm should be around 63 mph. That is a bit closer to your indicated 70 mph, and may indicate that your trans isn't shifting in overdrive. It should have an overdrive off, or tow mode button that may be causing an issue.

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[Tuzmaster]

Hippo has the 4.7. Counting the shifts it sounds like it's in 4th. The OD is off, but I'll verify that as well

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[Yjsaabman717]

Hippo has the 4.7. Counting the shifts it sounds like it's in 4th. The OD is off, but I'll verify that as well

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OD is 4th in the 45RFE trans, which you should have. It actually has 2 different 2nd gears, which is a little odd. It later (2001, it looks like) became a true 5 speed auto with 4 true gears, plus a 5th overdrive gear. If the OD is off, then you are still in 3rd gear, and your speedo is off by around 7 mph.

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[Tuzmaster]

I meant to say it's on. Sorry for confusion. The light on the dash is not on

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[Yjsaabman717]

I meant to say it's on. Sorry for confusion. The light on the dash is not on

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