Re: What Did You Do To Your GC Today
 

added some way to large lights to the front end. For some reason the last owner removed the stock fog lights....

Re: What Did You Do To Your GC Today
 

Nice Jeep Mike, or do we have to call you "sir" now? Congrats on the mod job. Haven't done anything new on the WJ since I was last on but have done a bit of wheeling.
Have had a major schedule change so will be able to get on more often.
If the rear track bar isnt connected (or loose) ZJ's tend to wiggle quite a bit. Have you checked it out?

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my ZJ orvis gets a jet chip today, to help my ecu keep up to the 408 stroker motor

love my JEEP!!

Re: What Did You Do To Your GC Today
 

Hi dodgedude440,

Did you do the stroker yourself or get it done somewhere in the Okanogan? Hopefully the jet chip works well for you. Was thinking about getting one a couple of years ago but the reviews were so mixed I decided not to, let me know how it works out for you.

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im actually just getting around to attacking the back axle...

I replaced my power steering hose, and had to replace that front caliper, it was missing the bolt because it was completely stripped out, so i had to tap it and put in a helicoil... but its in there now, hopefully it holds...

popped off the driveshafts to grease all the universal joints, only found one broken needle in one of the bearings :-p

when i bought it my VC wasn't shot, but it sure is now... the drive shafts are locked together which kinda sucks, so i might look into swapping to a 231 or 242 before heading home...

so now im on the back end, and im going to find out about the track bar, mine appears to be a little bent... and i've got quite a bit of play in my R&P, so im going to pop that cover off and see what kinda condition its in...

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R&P...ugh!
I just replace one in my buddies Caravan, called me figuring it was a power steering hose. When I crawled underneath the rod was bent and the end seal on the rack was pissing fluid. So much for a relaxing Saturday. I'm getting more calls now for repairs ever since the shops up here started charging 200/hour. Good thing it's mostly minor stuff or I'd never be able to keep up.

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wow... so the plug was somewhat broken, allowing mud to seep into the diff, and it was partly oil partly sand... and there wasn't too much in it yikes, needless to say i ran out of break parts cleaner before i could inspect all of the damage, no missing teeth or anything like that, kinda hoping i dodge a bullet here... i'll probably have to pull it all apart and clean it out real good... GRAND

i only had one pad on the rear drums on the drivers side, and no pad what so ever on the passanger side... sooo i've got to get new pads and drums... NICE...

ugh what a pain in the ass this jeep is becoming... but still when all is said and done it's going to be like brand new... and she'll have some life left in her...

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The joy's of inheriting someone else's problems. The 98 the boy bought had a few undiscovered issues after we got it home. Something new to tinker on, now to get the boy out under it instead of me...
The ZJ will be a sweet ride when your done with it though.

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Well this will be the weekend for staring at the bottom of the Jeep.
Fluid change time for mine and the boy's, He's going to learn how to do it one way or another.
Trans/ filter, F&R diff, oil, T/C, flush the rad, brake bleeding, and tire rotation.
He's going to hate me by the end of the day since he doesn't realize that he's going to be under there to.

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yep nothing better than getting him to do it himself, watch him get disgustingly dirty on his, then show him all the tricks to stay (somewhat) clean when your working on yours :-p

im debating on keeping one of my old drums, it has next to no wear on it, the other side is worn slam out from the metal on metal... for $40 a drum i think i can live with the meat thats still left on it... which is practically all of it!

and i bought 5 cans of brake parts cleaner... its on sale for $1.99, i must have bought a case of the stuff already...

i've got to flush my rad too, since i found 2 unopened bottles of radiator fluid in the shed.

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He hasn't learned the fine art of washing off the chassis after offroading so somebody's going to be covered in dirt tomorrow. Think I'll break out the lawnchair and supervise from the sidelines :)

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Well I really wish I had a video camera this morning, got the boy out under my Jeep this morning so he could see first hand where everything is located and what to do when changing out all the fluids.

So after I get mine done it's his turn to do his. Right off the bat he drops the oil plug into the pan and had to fish that out. Then while taking off the old filter he managed to drop it.
The transmission...let's just say the pan won...
Told him to loosen the front bolts and then slowly take the rest out, he took them all out, smacked the pan and guess who got an oil bath? Maybe he'll start listening to the old codger next time.
Did well on the diffs and T/C though.
Right now he's making friends with 2 big bags of kitty litter and a big jug of driveway degreaser.

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HAHA classic stuff right there!

so i got mine sitting on rubber again, down side is the pinion seal leaks (since it actually has enough fluid in it now) and theres just way too much vertical movement in my pinion for my comfort... so its looking like upgrading the axles before i head home...

im debating on how heavy duty i want to go, i can probably source Dana 60's for -$500 per the same costs of the HP30 and Ford 8.8 (or D44). just alot more fabrication necessary to get the 60's under... hmmm i know eventually i want big lift and 37's under it... but that is going to be a ways down the road... but for the same costs... why not right... ugh...

freaking decisions...

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If you have the time before you come back then do the 60's. If not then the 30 and 44, then you can sell those to help finance the 60's later. I already know someone who will take the HP30...

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yeah its probably the route that im going to end up going, i'll even upgrade the 30 a bit to prolong it... i figure i still have my brothers in the states, they can pick up the parts for me and i can drive down and get them, would probably still end up cheaper than getting them up home...

i'll be on the look out for 2 high pinions... i've seen them as low as $50 for a worn out unit, and around $350- 500 for built units... i can always drag up an extra one...

i've got to head to this junkyard i've been hearing about in Clayton (20 minute drive), there supposed to have a ton of jeeps, and its $50 to get in, all the cars are up on stilts so you dont have to jack them up to get anything from underneath, and they keep it mowed, although only help they'll give you is a wheelbarrow to carry your tools and your parts... hope thats how it is

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Sounds like a nice rec area to me, some of these places here should take note of what it should be like.

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ugh if only it wasn't raining, its supposed to be miserable the next couple days...

my neighbour picked up a WJ... it makes me sad, ZJ's are nice but man the front end of the WJ is soo much better... grrr

i think today is gonna be a day without wrenching on the ZJ
so im trying to figure out the extent of the potential damage going on with my 4.0L

when i start it up its super smooth, no smoke nothing, but then as soon as the thermostat opens up, it starts puffing out smoke...

now he's said he's had head work done on it and valve work, which is known to huff and puff for a while, i only noticed the smoke after i put the exhaust back on it... so it could be something in there... i think i've got some figuring out to do...

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Either you got some oil in the pipe or it could be pushing some oil past the guides, hopefully it's just some leftover build grease that burning off.

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yeah thats what im hoping... im going to look into it over the weekend... hopefully it'll be something simple... i just put in new plugs so i'll take them out and see what kinda signs might be on there...

right now im taking the Dana 35C apart... going to see if i can smooth out that pinion play... might have to be re-torqued i dunno... some grease might help too, going to see what kinda wear indicator the pinion is giving and adjust accordingly...

still going to swap it...

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http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._4147525_n.jpg

I really wish this was an old parts pile... lol cause none of it i want to keep...

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Well it just might end up being the old parts pile, im uploading the pics to my ZJ Album in my profile... but yeah im pretty sure you need to shim a ring and pinion... and actually run gear oil...

so heres some pics of the damage.

https://www.jeepscanada.com/picture....pictureid=1057

https://www.jeepscanada.com/picture....pictureid=1056

https://www.jeepscanada.com/picture....pictureid=1055

https://www.jeepscanada.com/picture....pictureid=1054
Look at the pinion just worn slam out, and the race is pitted as all can be...

https://www.jeepscanada.com/picture....pictureid=1053

https://www.jeepscanada.com/picture....pictureid=1052

https://www.jeepscanada.com/picture....pictureid=1051

So its time to decide, swap axle or rebuild...
im really starting to lean towards swap! lol

found a Dana 35C with 3.07's for $50 on craigslist...

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Wow! Can't believe the shape of that. How much metal was in there? Looks like you can hook a fingernail on the grooves in some of the photos.
Only problem with the swap is can you check to see what shape it's in first before you end up with another one of those?
Either was an install by a mechanic that didn't have a clue or a do it yourselfer that didn't know what all those spare parts were for.

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yeah im thinking i should make a mantle piece out of it... "how not to set up a ring and pinion..." it was hard to distinguish the dirt and metal it all kinda blended together, my magnet was covered in nearly a 1/4" layer of material... sooo there was quite a bit...

the guy sold his Dana 35 over the weekend... told me it was from a 03 TJ, 65k miles and just had a fluid change too... :alcoholic:

Well dan, tell me what you think about this...

East Coast Gear Supply (Durham NC, 1h 15min drive)
High Pinion Dana 30's $150 without gears or knuckles, and you can add what you want to it on there :-p

i can buy a Ford 8.8 with rear disc's installed, ZJ brackets welded on all that goodness $650 add limited slip for $100, 4.10's and limited slip for $140

might have to give them a call...

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I'll take an HP 30!

The 8.8 sounds like the way to go if it's already set up, up to you on the limited slip, personaly 1 foot on the gas and 1 foot lightly on the brake and you have a "limited" slip anyways but for only another 40 bucks. More aftermarket parts and gears for the 8.8 too.

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I've been working out a 2 year plan for the WJ, when I finally get around to the F/R locker stage I'll be changing out my 3.73 for 4.11's, stroke it to 4.6 and if in the meantime I manage to find a kenne bell supercharger as an added bonus then retire it to weekend warrior/ winter mountain driving status and start all over with another one...maybe I'll leave the next one stock... I almost managed to type that last part without laughing...:rolleyes:

So I've got 2 years to save up for lockers, 4.11 R&P's, Super 30/35 kits, and motor...guess I'll have to go back to work soon.

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yeah im still trying to track down an axle... so i went ahead and started cleaning up the engine, going to install a electric fan, popped off the valve cover and it looks like a valve stem seal is infact broken, i found it off to the side of one of the valve springs... i cant quite make out which one is actually damaged though... so more peeking in there is in order...

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Well at least that's an easy problem to fix, for the price of seals and new keepers may as well do them all since it's only a 2 wobbly pop job and you've got the cover off already. Hopefully you don't find anymore little surprises.

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ordered them this afternoon, picking them up at 7:30am when the store opens... i'm also going to swap out my power streering gear box, this ones leaking from the pitman arm pretty steady, and has way too much wiggle for my liking (after just turning 80k in the WJ, yea i like it tighter...)

forgot i needed to buy a valve spring compressor tool CRAP lol glad i got a coupon for 20% off hand tools at my local NAPA. they gave out Loyal Customer cards to the people they recognize... (i got one from like 3 different people they told everyone i had one already :-p)

$10 of any purchase of $50, 10% off battery, 10% off belts and hoses, 20% off napa hand tools, 10% off brake pads with rotors, 50% off Napa gold filters, Free washer fluid with wipers, $2 off antifreeze,

Free Glass cleaner, Antifreeze, Injector cleaner, shop towels... 1 of them free with $10 purchases

One of the guys asked me if i had a shop/business account... i said no but i should... i work on too many vehicles not to have a shop... but im thinking of heading back to NB and taking some automotive courses and get my certifications... have to have a stupid piece of paper for everything these days...

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I've been neglecting mine :-p

half way thru onboard air conversion, i have to kill my friend don for stealing all of my air lines...

wacked the ever living crap out of the front bumper, about 40% complete on straightening it out... should end up good as new...
cleaned up the valve cover... omg it was soo disgusting... wow... but surprisingly in great shape considering the miles on it.

I got my seals and the valve spring compression tool so its a matter of making the time to do it... hopefully i knock it out today.

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Put the full size KOR roof rack on last night. To say I'm less than impressed with the mounting system is a bit of an understatement. All the mounting holes where off center, It's tight on the rails but not fully tightened down, if I go any more I'm going to crush my roof rails.
Have to fire off a e-mail to them and let them know.

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Repaired p/s leak at pump it took about 27 minutes.

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https://www.jeepscanada.com/picture....pictureid=1058

What on earth could I be doing here....
ohh yeah im gonna give it a valve job and clean it all up... poor thing is pretty nasty on the inside... poor 4.0 should run like a champ when im done with her... depending on the income levels it might get a few upgrades before i put it all back together... i've got an electric fan for it, but im really thinking if i can get the cash flowing in right again we might just go ahead and port and polish a 99-04 manifold on there, (i was reading that these intake manifolds actually can benefit from the throttle body spacers, and with the new models the flow rate is higher and volume is higher and adds some power) some bigger injectors, kinda wondering what kinda condition the timing chain is in...

but yea she's going to get some love before we head up home...
especially since parts are silly cheap down here...

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The WJ intake is a major improvement for the ZJ's. If you can find one I'd definitely recommend it. If your good with a Dremel you can port it a bit before putting it on to. Had a writeup on it somewhere, I'll see if I can find it for you.
Mild cam helps to, I've got the numbers for one kickin around here somewhere...

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i mean i've got it tore down this far why not put in a cam right :-p

what sucks is i cant seem to find my 3/4" deep socket for removing the head bolts... going to have to go pick one up... and break it loose...

i only managed to break 1 exhaust manifold bolt... the one at the very back... so i've got to get that removed, some wear indication on the valve springs, but nothing too crazy... no suprises yet...

I cleaned out the starter too, he had that thing so packed with sand 2 cans of parts cleaner and the air compressor to get it all out... no wonder it didn't want to turn over smoothly... sheesh

still searching for a steal on a D35 or 8.8

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http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5072857_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._4725116_n.jpg

soo yeah theres the new valve that got put in... but so much for them doing a real valve job... half as shop must have done all that work... might get some work done in here though... im thinking im thinking....

of how i can rob a bank to do all that needs to be done :-p

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Those poor thing's need some cleaning!
Almost looks like whoever had it before was running every kind of fuel/ oil modifier they could get their hands on through it and mixing motor oil to.
Did you do a compression check on it? Looks like #3 and #5 are running cold or it could just be the picture.
Have to stop looking now, your making me want to go tear into mine.

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It still had plenty of power so i really wasn't suspecting anything wrong with the compression but i still checked it out and it was good on all cylinders...

what i hate is i keep wanting to go further and further into the engine... hone the walls new rings, re torque ya know just so i know its done right... but then why not get it bored and put in a stroker i mean im practically there right :-p sigh having the itch is a curse i tells ya... :ban:

but im probably just going to do some work on the head, get it polished right up, (debating on porting it right now) i'll post up the pics and all that goodness as i go of course...

i'll probably end up starting up my own thread so as to not fill this one up...
but yeah cleaning the tops of the pistons is going to be fun, and i'll probably give them some shine as well

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I'd definitely soak the valves once you take the keepers off. May as well clean them and the valve seats while you have it off.
Quite the pile of crud you have there on your #1 cyl. are you still getting some blow by through the exhaust?

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all the residue is pretty much even across all cylinders... its just the way the camera picked up the image...

theres the problem, i cant get the damn keepers off... theres so much varnish and residue soaked on the keepers that when i compress the spring it just lifts the entire head off my table... got some good stuff soaking in there and gonna hit it with parts cleaner and brass brush to get it all off, hopefully it'll get a bit easier...

https://www.jeepscanada.com/picture....pictureid=1061
cleaned up the pistons abit...

https://www.jeepscanada.com/picture....pictureid=1063
this is the piston that they replaced the valve in... yeah kinda banged up abit... going to break out the dremel and polish them all up at some point

i really miss driving a freaking jeep... I'm thinking it might be time to take the car to the Stealership and see if they'll let me take a few jeeps out for a test drive HAHAHA

(down here they take your license and let ya go, CRAZY eh? :lol_hitting:

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looking better, but check where I circled.