Project Hugs Version 4.0

[Yjsaabman717]

Thanks. Even though this thing is a bit crusty around the edges I still want to do things right. It still progressing slowly, but I should get some more time to work on it next weekend.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Made some progress on the swap today. Decided to focus on that and if I need to drive it can throw a fender and bumpers back on quickly. This post and those following will be picture heavy as I really want to document the process I'm using really well for future reference.

Auto shifter, cable, and shift interlock are all out. After drilling the 4 spot welds there is still a weld at the front of the lower portion of the shifter bracket. I just worked it back and forth until it broke, it didn't take much. This is definitely somewhere it would be nice to have the correct part from a donor 5 speed. It looks like I will need to cut the plate out at the top of the recess, meaning the bigger circle, for the shifter to clear right.




Next the brake pedal came out and got lined up next to the XJ pedal cluster. There was a small bracket bolted to the clutch side of the XJ cluster, but more on that later. Once I had the XJ cluster marked I cut off the excess and welded on a new piece of 3/16" plate to make a new top. With some careful eyeballing with a straight edge I even nailed the top mounting hole.







And here is that extra little bracket. It actually runs to the firewall and backs up the clutch master cylinder. Definitely a piece I will want to be using. Sadly, as I've read, the XJ cluster doesn't line up with the ZJ's existing holes. Clever Chrysler used the clutch master mounting hole to mount the TCM to the firewall, though! Looks like I'll be bolting the block off back in.


The ZJ brake light switch does not fit the XJ cluster. However, I found an extra harness tucked up under the dash that the XJ one plugs right into. Not sure if it will work right, but I'll figure it out. Battery is disconnected right now.


And finally a pic of the pedals installed.


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[Yjsaabman717]

Finally got to make some more progress today.

My goal was to get the master cylinder mounting squared away today. The support plate has a stud pressed into it, so I made a small partial of the bracket out of some tin to locate the top hole. Then I made a card template of the master cylinder and marked it all out on the firewall. I pulled the pedal cluster back out to make some more room, but my cordless drill is just a hair too big to fit up in there right. My right angle drill is at work, so maybe next weekend. I do have a 1-1/2" hole saw that's going to be great for the hole for the body of the MC. You can see the overlap with the hole for the factory ZJ clutch hydraulics, I hope that doesn't cause too much issue.


Next up was to pull the trans shifter and dry fit the trans to confirm the shifter location. Auto flex plate is now gone, and I pulled the trans cooler lines and the TV cable while I was at it. Trans fits as it should and the shifter should fall right where I thought it would.



So back to working on the wheel openings. I did some final shaping of the flat insert panel at the rear door opening and worked on finishing up some of the welding back there.





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[Yjsaabman717]

Another weekend lacking in time. And this month is busy overall. I hope I can get this thing put together before I need it. Got the holes mostly drilled for the MC today. The hole saw I have has a fixed pilot bit for wood. I tried using another bit the same size, but the damned thing walked and I didn't realize it in the tight space under the dash. So I opened it up as large as I could with a step bit and will have to finish it up with a carbide burr, it looks like.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Got the clutch master center hole opened up to the final size today. Test fit the master and the reinforcement plate and all is well. Looks like the pedal cluster has gone in for the final time. I'll make a plate that goes behind the clutch MC mounting and covers the pre-punched holes in the early body. I think I can remove the mounting plate from the TCM and use it to help secure the new block off plate. I'll use some bulk gasket material I have around to help seal it all.

Nest steps include cutting the plate for the shifter, grabbing the pilot bearing and CPS, and getting the flywheel surfaced so I can install the trans. I'm anticipating a shifter modification to keep it out of the dash, but until the trans is in I can't be sure.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Got back on the rocker replacement and wheel arches today. I didn't open up the front as big as the rear, I just don't think the front lends itself as well with all that's going on. I did still roll the edge to keep some structure and give it a finished look. I'm definitely wishing I had 2x6 vs the 2x4 I have. There's a slight gap to the floor when the 2x4 is where I want it with the doors. Fortunately i have some 1/8" angle lying around that I think will work well to fill the gap and the difference between the thinner metal of the body and the 3/16" wall of the new rocker. I plan to put the vertical edge against the inner rocker/floor to help distribute the load better. It's not attached, yet, but I have it cut to length, test fit, and the ends cut @ a 45 and ready to be capped.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Got the ends of the rocker capped last weekend. Heading to the junkyard Saturday to source a t-case and to check out some driveshaft options.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Well, I went to the junkyard under-tooled for the first time in a while. I also noticed there are two different output shaft styles. My 94 ZJ has the same style my 95 YJ had with the long tail housing and shrouded output shaft.

https://images.app.goo.gl/xGjgiW8CuViR9GL4A

All the ones in the junkyard were 96 or newer and had an exposed output shaft with a boot on the slip yoke. I may have to go with the newer style (though it appears to be an inch or so longer) and the rear shaft to match it.

https://images.app.goo.gl/mRtt1yi77fhGXPZ47

There was one XJ with an AX15 there, though. I briught home the front driveshaft from that as it's almost 2" shorter than the original front driveshaft. Between the shorter length, the low vs high pinion axle housing, and the budget boost I think it will work well.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Got some rocker work done today. The gap filler/reinforcement section has been prepped and is partially welded in. As usual it took at least three times as long as I had wanted, but it feels good to make progress. I was ignoring the waning light and pushing forward until I ran out of welding wire! D'oh! I had really hoped to have the rocker at least tacked in place today. I need to finish the reinforcement angle welding first before it gets covered up. The rest I'll finish inside at work once it drives.

(Ok, I'm trying to use the smaller pic size as an upload to help the desk/laptop users, but it really kills the quality. Last pic @ medium upload size.)

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[Kraqa]

awesome detail. Keep the pics flowing.

[Yjsaabman717]

Today saw no actual work but many accomplishments. Flywheel has been resurfaced, welding wire has been ordered for delivery tomorrow, and a transfer case has been lined up for pickup Saturday afternoon. Found one with 104K miles, already pulled, walk up and plunk down the same cash as the junkyard only 30 miles away. Sold! Especially with less than half the mileage of most of the stuff at the u-pull-it yards.

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[Yjsaabman717]

And today saw less work than anticipated. Clutch and flywheel are in along with the pilot bearing. That's as far as I got with the trans install because the clutch fork retaining clip is broken and I couldn't get one. I did get the trans wiring sorted a bit a singled out what I need (reverse switch wiring and P/N switch wiring) and tied the rest out of the way. I also go the VSS and 4wd switches swapped over to the new t-case and the AX15 trans bracket trimmed up and the ZJ mount bolted to it. The thread engagement is less than desirable, though, so I may take it into work and try to knock the short studs out of the bracket to use the longer bolts from the ZJ. A new clutch fork retaining clip is ordered and should be here by mid week. I also forgot the bring home the clutch alignment tool that's been sitting on my tool box for over a month. Fortunately I've made do before and a deep socket with some masking tape wrapped arpund one end filled the void for me.

I also made no progress on the rocker replacement today because I realized my cheap ass Harbor Freight helmet has stopped auto darkening. Last time I had brought home a better helmet I have from work. Looks like time to upgrade at home!

Next weekend I hope to stop by the 'yard after work and grand a rear driveshaft to match the later t-case. Then I should be able to make some progress with the retaining clip on hand.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Well, the weather pulled a surprise this morning what was supposed to be rain turned into snow. It is supposed to be over around noon so hopefully I can still get the trans and such hung in the Jeep today. This pic is actually a bit deceiving as the Jeep and its spot are the least snowy on my property.

I did stop at the junkyard and grab a rear driveshaft yesterday and the clutch fork clip arrived Thursday.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Fortunately the snow didn't last long and the sun came out and dried things up a good bit. Cold I can prepare for, but cold and wet I'm not big on.


XJ driveshaft was a waste, it's much too short. All I really needed was the boot to the later style output flange.



The block off plate to go between the master cylinder and the firewall that will cover the original master cylinder hole.



I just used some ultra black rtv to fill the hole in the shifter cable grommet and will stick it back into the hole.



The hole for the shifter turned out to be spot on.



The shifter clears pretty well, though it contacts the console support in the forward gears. I made need to modify the shifter a bit to install everything.



Master cylinder and block off plate installed. I used the bracket from the trans module that held the original block off and trimmed it to fit around the master cyl and support bracket.





Trans and t-case mounted and ready. Clutch slave installed and clutch action feels good. First install of the crossmember had me worried, it was about 1" off. Then I noticed the other notch for the front driveshaft and flipped it around and all was well. Starter is also in and ready to go.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Got the rocker welded on along the top today. Still need to weld it along the bottom, but it's on there! I will go back over the joints with some seam sealer once it's fully welded.

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[ELLLLLIOTTTTT]

This is an awesome thread. Glad to see some ZJ preservation!

[Yjsaabman717]

This is an awesome thread. Glad to see some ZJ preservation!

Thanks, man. I have to keep going to the junkyard to see the really bad ones to help keep me motivated on mine! Lol!

Does anyone on here follow the Jeep guy on Jalopnik? He's actually recently located two factory 5 speed ZJs! One is rotted to death, the other seems to be pretty clean, though well worn.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Well, not much to show, but progress was made today. I installed the crank sensor so I won't be pissed and scratching head when I try to start it.

I looked into my brake pedal issue, today. The issue is that the pedal doesn't contact the brake light switch. I don't see any adjustment on the pushrod, unfortunately. I was hoping to just adjust the pedal height a bit and get it to contact. So I checked a few options and the gap is pretty much exactly the same as the thickness of the old brake pedal, so I cut a chunk out and will weld that to the XJ pedal to make up the difference. Not looking forward to welding under the dash, but I also don't want tonpull the damned pedal cluster again.

I also looked at the t-case shifter. The XJ bracket bolts to the t-case/trans joint and winds up about 1" shy of the ZJ bracket on the body. Working smarter I checked the thread size/pitch of the t-case studs and ordered up some stainless coupler nuts that are about 1-1/8" long that I can spin onto the end of the stud and then bolt the XJ bracket to. Should work perfectly and be an easy install. That's holding up the installation of the front driveshaft.

I also test fit the rear driveshaft. Ever so slightly too short, maybe 2". I can wiggle the yoke on the output shaft with the u-joint seated in the rear, so I know it will cause a vibration goung down the road. Plus it would likely pull apart once the rear suspension drooped. I double checked the yokes between the XJ shaft I grabbed from the 'yard and the ZJ shaft. There's a tiny bit more length on the XJ yoke, though not enough to make it worth swapping over. I also noticed the XJ yoke allows more angularity tnan the ZJ yoke, so I think I will use the XJ shaft in the end. It's just over 4" shorter than the ZJ shaft, so I'll have it lengthened by 6" and it should be just right. I also hatched the plan to try to sell the ZJ shaft as a bolt-in solution for an XJ with a tall lift.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Made some good progress today. Started with the t-case shifter, which gave me a bit of a fight. The lower mounting point was very tight to the transmission with the coupler nut so I ended up slotting the bracket.



Started putting the linkage together and panicked because the t-case wouldn't shift. Then backed up and pulled the switch for 4wd indicator and all was good. The later XJ NP231 uses a much different comb and switch and the early switch was blocking the shift arm. Swapped the original one to the t-case back in to fill the hole, for now. I can live without the indicator display on the dash. The control rod between the bell crank and the t-case ended up needing to be shortened by 2.5 inches.




Next I started on the trans shifter. Looking carefully it looked like the shifter comes apart, and with a little persuasion it did. I was hoping I could just swap it 180*, but it was actually more in the dash than before. So it was time to cut the base! I'm still back and forth with which position I'll put it back together in, but either will work.






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[ELLLLLIOTTTTT]

David Tracy will make a special trip out to test drive when you get it completed. Looking awesome so far!

[Yjsaabman717]

David Tracy will make a special trip out to test drive when you get it completed. Looking awesome so far!

Lol, right?! I actual e-mailed him after reading about his recent finds. Forgot to include a link to this for him.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Yeaterday I got shafted! But in a good way! Lol! Had the rear driveshaft lengthened, balanced, and new joints installed. Hopefully it moves under its own power tomorrow! I think the driveshaft work kicked me over the 4 figure mark, but it's still very reasonable for better reliability and cheaper than payong someone to rebuild the 42RE.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Well, I shafted myself, actually. I never checked the diff end of the shaft and the Jeep it came out of had a rear with a 1330 u-joint and my D35 has a 1310 yoke. Not the end of the world, and a conversion u-joint is easy enough and cheap enough to come by. It's just another set back.

OTH I got the wiring pretty well buttoned up today. Grabbed a reverse pigtail from the junkyard and wired it in. I also pulled the park/neutral wire back through the loom and ran it into the cabin under the dash by the pedals. I'll just ground it, for now, to get it running. If it does prevent the cruise from working I'll add a clutch switch at a later point.

While the brake light switch plugged into something under the dash, but the other side of that wasn't plugged into anything. The wiring colors were all the same, and it's not going back to an auto, so it was a simple cut and splice. I also welded the spacer chunk onto the brake pedal so it engages the brake switch at rest.

Brake and reverse lights both confirmed to be working. I also got the dash pretty well put back together.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Got some good work done today. U-joint is swapped and driveshaft is in. Trans and t-case are full of fluid, and the inner shift boot is in. I found an inner boot for a TJ while looking at various boot options and for just over $20 it works a treat. There is still a slight gap at the back, but it's way better than a giant hole in the floor. I also worked on the fender final fitment as the lower tab broke off when I took the fender off to do the rocker work. They appear to have glued the tabs to the fender and used a heavy staple to give it some more bite. WTF is that? I welded it back on.

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[Yjsaabman717]

Back at it in the cold drizzle today. Sadly too wet to do any welding, but I'm buttoning up some interior details and trying to get the fender back on. Due to temp and humidity the primer is slow to dry, though.

What I have gotten done:

I put the console back in.

I selected the final orientation of the shifter and knocked it back on.

I grounded the Park/Neutral wire. There was no clutch switch on these when they had a 5 speed so I think the cruise should work fine, it just won't cancel with the clutch, so I'll have to be a bit cautious.

I connected the battery and fired it up for the first time in four months! A little grumpy, but stablized quickly. I also confirmed the clutch works, though I haven't driven it, yet. Want to get the fender back on and the marker lights all back in place first.

Painted the horribly oxidized antenna base trim because why not?

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