Project Hippo

[Yjsaabman717]

I have a York OBA system, and I like it a lot. But I have an air locker, and it gets used for that in addition to filling tires and air tool duty. My York system, specifically the tank, takes up as much room as a Powertank. I have the tank mounted in zone 3.

Meaning an engine driven York compressor? I kept the mini York off my 1982 VW Rabbit to be used for OBA at some point. (Back when I still had my YJ.) It's been sitting on a shelf in the garage for over 10 years, now. Lol!

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[Tuzmaster]

Let's talk about WJ's low hanging booty. The tank tuck. How many of you have actually done it and is it worth it?

As for the options for the tank tuck, I have found 2 so far.
OPTION1: Cut the old spare tire up and shrink skid plate 6". I heard if you do anymore then you run into clearance issues with filler caps and stuff and hoses. The fuel pump I want to keep stock for simplicity

OPTION2: Ditch the old skid plate with the tank and get an aluminum fuel cell and tuck all the way up flush to the floor of the trunk. Still keep the stock fuel pump. Build a new skid plate for the new cell.

Right now, I'm using the old wheel well as extra storage for fluids and some parts. My spare tire is also inside the jeep. If the tank tuck is done, then I lose storage and gain clearance out the back. Losing storage means also I need to build the spare tire carrier beforehand where the spare will go. I also want to get the rear bumper from trail forged but it also has the option whether you had the tank tuck or not.

As of now I am leaning more towards option 1 because its cheaper, but this probably wont happen till after wheeling season to see if it even needs to be done. What do you all think?

[dubj]

ive done it. it was well worth it in my opinion. I did the cut out and re weld method. cut out the spare well at the floor board and then cut the hitch/skid plate till the tank was just below the hole. then welded back together and used a piece of diamond plate to cover the hole. i used 3/16 plate around the inside of the unibody to keep some strength. I drilled a large hole in the unibody to pass the filler neck through and routed it stock. it was so nice to not hit it on every obstacle. I also cut the hitch and flipped it upside down so that the receiver was on top of the main tube for extra clearance.

[Tuzmaster]

So the filler went through the unibody frame rail? Do you have any pics? Especially around the filler part

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[dubj]

I don’t think I took any but might be able to take some. Try to remember but I think I went back and re did it so that it comes out over the frame rail now. Pushed it up and back. So pics might be a no go

[Ken L]

Meaning an engine driven York compressor? I kept the mini York off my 1982 VW Rabbit to be used for OBA at some point. (Back when I still had my YJ.) It's been sitting on a shelf in the garage for over 10 years, now. Lol!

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Yup, engine driven York compressor. It's a great mod.

[Tuzmaster]

Time for an update. I wish I knew where the more pics went, but I can't seem to find them on my phone. First, the new grab handles. They are working well. Even had dad test them on the last wheeling trip. Makes is so much easier to get in and out of the jeep now for the passengers.
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Tried to make them look as stock as possible. Think it turned out okay. The fronts are attached with 4 self tappers each handle to the A-pillar. The plastic for the A-pillar just snaps off if you dont have handle in there already. The rear are attached just below seatbelt to the B-pillar with 4 self tappers also. To get to that one, you take the seatbelt off, remove one screw that holds the lower plastic to the upper and it all snaps off.

Second were the hi-lift mounts. Originally I wanted them to go around the railing and slightly stick out, but that did not happen. The hi-lift didn't fit. So it now rests on top of the roof rail. its a little more wobbly than id like, but thats cause of the roof rail itself. It was still nicely secured after a trip to saran wrap/eagle rock. Had to make "custom" wing nuts. They aren't the prettiest, but do the job
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I have since shortened the height on the mounts to make hi lift hug a little tighter to the mount.

Lastly, I went to saran wrap/eagle rock and boy, does hippo need trimming. He did fantastic as as expected for a fully locked jeep, but I was still surprised. Here are some poser shots.
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Here are the items that need to be trimmed:
1) the rear part of the front fender
2) the plastic bumper (probably will wait till i get a new rear or something)
3) front lip of the rear wheel well. This will be just cut and folded and probably stitch welded to give it some strength.

Next on the agenda is to buy some stuff. I am going to get the power tank at the truck and jeep fest this weekend and probably the smittybilt compressor as back up. also need a tree savior and some cameras if the guy selling them is there. Wheel well lights would be cool too. It would be cool to have the york compressor, but i like the option for AC even though i dont use it. may be in long run it'll be removed and replace. With school picking up for the final project idk what i'll be able to do next. Here is what I want to do:
1) the wheel well trimming (front and rear)
2) repaint rocksliders
3) fix the intake
4) do the tank tuck with valhalla fab 6" tuck skid plate
5) figure out the spare tire carrying if not in the truck
6) figure out rear bumper.
7) 4 mounting points in the cargo area near each window for power tank and a shelf for stuff
8) fold the rear quaterpanel (may be)

Of those, I am only not sure on the rear wheel well, top part. The tire catches the edge, but the edge gives this part strength. can it just be folded over? Seems like a bad idea

[Ken L]

It would be cool to have the york compressor, but i like the option for AC even though i dont use it. may be in long run it'll be removed and replace.

I still have A/C with my York. The bracket I made for the York is sandwiched under the stock A/C compressor so that the York clutch pulley lines up with a combination serp/v-belt pulley that I put on the alternator. So you can have both, just takes some juggling of underhood components. I've moved so much stuff under the hood of my ZJ that I don't know where the stock location for things are any more.

[Tuzmaster]

Is yours a v8 under the hood? It looks really tight in there

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[Ken L]

No, 4.0. It was still pretty tight, I'd imagine a V8 would make it a bit more interesting to wedge in there.

[Tuzmaster]

Yea, I can see it fitting with the 4.0. Idk about the 4.7. There is no room under that hood

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[Tuzmaster]

ts been awhile since I've posted on there so here is a little update. I went onto a 3 day wheeling trip. Did Iron Chest, Grizzly lake and Holy Cross. Hippo did great the first 2 trails. I personally was amazed at how easy the vehicle took the obstacles. There was a lot of scraping on rock sliders and diffs and front bumper. Holly Cross lived up to its name. Especially the creek. I slid off the line and really got stuck (don't have any good pics). The exhaust was in the creek making wobble sounds. On top of all that, the high pressure steering line developed a leak right there and most of the fluid came out. After using a boulder to get myself out (thats why you dont wheel alone, people in the club helped immensely) because the tree that used to be an anchor point started getting pulled instead of the jeep, I pulled off to the side. Luckily I kept my old high pressure line with me. Finished the rest of the trail and got home. Looks like that line rubbed (and possibly pinched) against the steering gearbox and thats what caused the leak.

On the way back I had death wobble. really really really bad. The whole jeep was shaking like no other. Fortunately control was regained with no issues and we made it back home. So the total damage:
-Busted high pressure PS line
-Dented rock slider
-Dented gas tank skid plate
-Couple of loose jam nuts on the control arms
-Shot drag link joint
-Passenger side unit bearing is starting to go
-tree sap is part of the paint now on driver and passenger side doors. Not bad at all and ill leave it as beauty scars.
-Bushing on the steering stabilizer is shot
-Need alignment
-Rear driveshaft boot is gone
-Weights off the wheels are gone or spun. tires need reballancing

I am still happy with how well the jeep did and the fact that no axle shafts were broken or tie rod ends *knock on wood*.

I also weighed the jeep fully loaded as if it would hit the trail. With me in it, he weighs 5620 lbs..... Was not expecting that. thought it would be more around 5200 mark at most. If interested, I'll post some pics of the trip. As of now hippo will sit till i get the steering fixed. Gonna get new drag link because current one does not look like 1 ton, anti-flop tie rod end washers, unit bearing and new steering stabilizer.

[BigDaveZJ]

Sounds like a good trip! I've never made it through the creek clean. Usually with just a couple inches and then I'm stuck, lol.

[Tuzmaster]

The question I got for you guys is what causes high oil pressure? I noticed this a high mileage vehicle issue. Mine sometimes goes up to 60-70 psi and drops back down to normal. I heard its not a big issue, but still want to know.

Also, Is there a multiple core radiator for the WJs? Jeep is fine most of the time, but when going to Buena Vista on the passes where I had to downshift for extended period of time, hippo got a little warm.

Lastly, is the 5.3 chevy swap worth it? I'd like more drivability on the highway and better gas mileage. Don't want to go anything bigger or it seems itll break stuff.

[BigDaveZJ]

Are you sure your sensor is good?

[Tuzmaster]

I'm pretty sure, but with that high of mileage may be its time to replace. Could it be anything else?

[BigDaveZJ]

Mine was bad by 80k miles.

[dubj]

Having done an ls swap in a wj, I would certainly not do it again. Granted most of my complications were due to also trying cram in a 5spd. It’s just not worth it IMO. Physically getting the motor in and running is t bad but you’ll end up replacing pretty much your whole drive train and everything supporting it.

That said it is cool and if you really want more power than go for it. I can spin the 37’s on launch and chirp into second with only 4:10’s

[Tuzmaster]

I got a few questions on that then
1 Whats your gas mileage?
2. Where did you get the parts?
3. What tranny/tcase are you running?
4. What all electrically did you have to do?
5. Waht about exhaust? custom headers or cutting into unibody rail?

As much detail as you can provide please. This is a big topic, but i'd like to be as prepared for this as possible. I have looked online to see who all done it, but noone has a very good detail on what all they did to get the wiring done.

[Tuzmaster]

Hey guys, thought I'd post a quick update. i haven't really done anything to the jeep lately because masters has been busy, but now that coursework is completed and I just have final project left for that, I can get back into doing something. Only thing really done was ordered a spare tire carrier from the guy in florida. echelon design works I think is the name. should be done soon so I'll install it over the break if possible. Been looking into more motors and noticed that the 4.7s were made all the way up to 2013. Has anyone tried to put a 08+ motor in their WJ? It makes more power and torque, keeps your jeep Mopar and same physical size as the old one. Only thing to deal with are electronics (as always nowadays). So any thoughts?

[Tuzmaster]

Alright, time for an update. School is done forever now and I can get back to action. A bunch of stuff has been done since. I got a spare tire carrier ordered from Echelon design works. Had it powdercoated and installed on the jeep. They use 5/16" nutsers which I hate with a passion. I think from now on I'll make a template of the holes and see if that works. Or course now, there isn't much to install with nutserts.
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Next on the list was ram air intake. I would up making one by martinbuilt on youtube. after following instructions, hardest part was to cut the hole in the hood properly. started small and worked around until hole was big enough
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The way its built I actually do feel some horsepower gain, even from an old engine like that. After that I got carbon offroad shafts all the way around, new rear brakes, 8" IRO springs, 37" tall tires, 4 cameras around the jeep to help with offroad visibility and new roof rails from HKOffroad that you can see from the image above. Last thing before the big trip was the dreaded tank tuck. I didn't bother using the old skid (though could as it is pretty beefy) and just got skid from Valhalla fab. Began by cutting a big ol hole in the jeep
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And some holes in the frame rails. I used a 2.5" holesaw and then some scrap exhaust tubing i got from a local exhaust shop for free to put into the frame rail and welded them in.
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I tried to reuse the the old tubing with minimal trimming but the vent one did not work. When I went to fill it up, gas kept spewing out of filler neck. So the vent hose (which is 5/8" inner diameter) was replaced and the filler neck itself shortened about 2". Also got new filler hose itself which was 1.24" inner diameter. I had to redo the exhaust once again and at the moment I just have a flexible pipe routed around the shock absorber so it doesn't get heated up. Long term ill get some pipe bent and make it look properly. The fuel lines from the fuel pump to fuel filter were replaced as well. i cut the old hoses to get the connectors out and fitted them to the new hoses with hose clamps . Lastly was the trimming in the rear for the 37s of the pinch seam. Kept it simple, some releif cuts, a hammer, some harbor freights JB weld (which is terrible. If i wasnt pinched on time I would have welded the seams up) and some paint. It doesn't look the best, but it gets the job done and with new springs I dont rub in the rear at all
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After that was a trim to Buena vista. Did Chinaman's gultch and tin cup pass. Here are cool shots
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Next on the list is to do some organizing/storage. I want to build a center console, some mole panels for the rear, some truck brackets and possibly a shelf. I did find out that you can easily fit a 5.7 Hemi in the WJ. Just some custom motor mounts. So now I'm on a hunt for a 05-10 WK thats been wrecked. Gonna have company called "hotwire" do the wiring and adapt the WK wiring harness to the WJ's. Pricey, but itll be a peace of mind. Also found out you can use TJ brake booster with 99-00 Ram 2500 brake master cylinder to upgrade the brakes. just need to get a bolt that will act as a push rod from one into other. But the engine swap and all will be way down the road. Currently I'm enjoing 37's and more lift. I actually get proper 6" lift now. If you all have more detailed questions, ask away. Always happy to help

[Yjsaabman717]

Nice work and it looks like it all works well!

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