Build Thread: 89 MJ aka "The Skorpyon"

[MrSimon]

Once you get the Renix dialed in, it'll be a great motor for you!!

I've seen countless of them with well over 200k still running fine.

 

[Rock2pus]

My plans are similar, I just want a neat old pickup to drive around in, not wheel. Thanks to Jordan, I'll be able to do a full on "update". It has already been christened "Donkey" ( we have a Shrek themed naming system over here..ugly green 98 is Shrek, pretty little 01 is Fiona, and Carol's orange JK is Gingy. Donkey, of course, will be getting Anvil Grey paint)...we are goofy here in Jersey

 

[Skorpyo]

Once you get the Renix dialed in, it'll be a great motor for you!!

I've seen countless of them with well over 200k still running fine.

Oh, absolutely. Granted they add a bit of complexity that the HO negates, but with only 96K on it now, it's just a baby. I'm looking forward to getting this thing out of the garage, but I'm afraid it'll be several more months with the amount of free time I have.

My plans are similar, I just want a neat old pickup to drive around in, not wheel. Thanks to Jordan, I'll be able to do a full on "update". It has already been christened "Donkey" ( we have a Shrek themed naming system over here..ugly green 98 is Shrek, pretty little 01 is Fiona, and Carol's orange JK is Gingy. Donkey, of course, will be getting Anvil Grey paint)...we are goofy here in Jersey

Hah, I love it! Before we knew we were having a son Fiona was the name we had picked for a girl. My first girlfriend named my 88 XJ Toby and I'm just not creative so it's been Toby II, III, IV, V etc...

Post a pic of your MJ!

Tim

 

[Skorpyo]

A few minor updates:

The front brakes are now setup and shocks installed. I used GMC brake lines since they're a dead match to the XJ but are about 5" longer. The ones I ordered were Raybestos H7299 and BH38620. I had to expand the crimped on brackets and slide them up the home near the top connector and then drill out the top hole to 5/16" to use them as the mounting brackets but once I did that they were perfect. Luckily my buddy's garage is like an auto zone and he had the necessary washers for the hoses since they didn't come with the hoses. Along with new rotors the front brakes are now complete.

I also pulled the inner fender well liner on the driver side to begin figment of a new 97+ washer reservoir. Despite my efforts I did snap off every mounting plate bolt so that'll be an item I have to replace.

My Family got me a ton of jeep goodies for Christmas so I'm excited to have a 97+ washer reservoir, the wheel adapters for the front and rear and a sweet set of H4 conversion headlights.

Now I'll be able to mount up the JK rims and tires. I have 1.25" adapters for the front and 2" for the rear which should offset the width difference of the 8.8 nicely.

More to come soon. Tranny swap will be thr focus of the next work session. Mainly it'll be pulling the BA10 and seeing if I can find the source of my oil leak, then prepping the AX15 to go in. The throw out bearing needs replacing but I've got that on the shelf. Hoping thr clutch and fly wheel are still in good shape!


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[Skorpyo]

While I've been busy there's not a lot of exciting updates. The front end is now complete. We installed the Currextlync steering and adjustable trackbar and are moving on to the rear axle removal.

In the mean time the interior had received two coats of POR-15 and a new center console arrived so I can upgrade to the 97+ center console and have real cup holders.

The rear is all disconnected and should be coming out this Saturday when I next get a chance to dig in. With the rear and read drive shaft out we'll be able to get the tranny finally pulled and out. We spent several hours just cleaning up the garage and rearranging everything to make some room.

I also started on the washer bottle install which will make room for the '95 brake booster. I'll be sure to get some better update photos this weekend. Slowly but surely this is progressing.

Tim




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[Rock2pus]

Sweet! God I'm so sorry I ever sold my Currie steering. If you're looking to keep things simple, it's the best way to go, and takes a terrible beating.

 

[Skorpyo]

Probably about time for an update. While I haven't worked on the rig the past few weeks there's been undocumented progress. We recently ran into a snag though as the RMS is showing a small leak and now is the time to address that while it's all accessible.

Meanwhile the BA10 is out and the rear 35 is out.

Pulled the pilot bushing and bearing from the 4.0 and failed in the first install of a new pilot bushing so we picked up two more so we can try and get it installed without marring it.

We found a small leak in the RMS and since the oil pan bolt is also leaking figure now is probably time to replace the RMS, oil pan gasket and oil pan plug. Going Fel-Pro all around for the gaskets.

Meanwhile I've also ordered new motor mounts from BrownDog since the originals are looking pretty sad. They should be here soon along with a bunch of small parts to help wrap up the AX install. It's ready to go in at this point so once the leaks are fixed and the bushing is installed we'll be able to move forward.

Hoping to get some time in on it on Saturday so perhaps we'll get the leaks buttoned up and the AX15 actually in the truck. Hopefully no more surprises...


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[XJwonders]

Good progress so far.

 

[Rock2pus]

It's a jeep, they build surprises into them, they just don't mention them in the brochures.

 

[Skorpyo]

Thanks! And yes they sure do. Hoping this will be the last one that keeps us from getting the tranny in. I'll be sure to snap more shots this weekend when we get some progress in on it. I also need to take photos of the interior now that it's all sealed.


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[Rock2pus]

Schweeet.

 

[Skorpyo]

Got a few hours in on the jeep and we're almost ready for the tranny to go in. We pulled the oil pan and replaced the RMS as well as installed the pilot bushing successfully this time.

It felt like a crime piling the oil pan since it was the original 28 year old gasket that wasn't leaking even a bit. But after an hour or so we got it separated and then spent the next 2 hours scraping and cleaning the mating surfaces. The oil pan was flaking paint and rusting so we threw a coats of POR-15 on it.

The RMS install took all of 10 minutes. Too easy really. I think it took more time to keep track of all of the oil pan bolts!

Oh I also snapped a few quick photos of the POR'ed interior since I never posted one.

Next chance to work on it will be tomorrow so here's hoping that the oil pan goes in easily and I can get the fuel filter swapped out easily as well. Might as well replace it while it's so easy to get to with the tranny out. More to come in a few days.


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[Rock2pus]

Nice!

 

[Skorpyo]

Made some progress last week so here's an update. Got the flywheel, clutch and pressure plate installed and then had to re do them cause we forgot the thread locker doh!

Oil pan is back in along with a new wix filter and 6 quarts of oil and so far no leaks, yay!

Replaced the fuel filter and then we installed new brown dog motor mounts while replacing the o rings on the oil filter adapter since it had to come out.

Lastly was a cone filter install which was more just for fun since I got the parts for about $20

I'll be putting time in on the jeep tomorrow and we'll finally be installing the tranny. The crossmember refitting should be fun since we have to relocate it and make it clear the exhaust and mount to the AX15 correctly.

More to come...


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[Skorpyo]

Well after a decent day of wrenching the transmission is now installed. The tranny cleaned up nicely and mounted right up after tapping 4 holes on the frame rail. Nothing too sexy but a definitely productive day.

Tim



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[Skorpyo]

Got a few hours into the jeep this weekend so I'd figure I'd share. Also the new carpet from StockInteriors came so that will be going in next weekend.

Ran into a bunch of small issues on Saturday but I managed to get the upgraded '95 dual diaphragm brake booster installed and lines run to the proportioning valve. To do the install the rod had to be drilled out to 5/8" and then flattened on the front to accommodate the cockamamie renix era MJ brake sensor. Came out pretty well with the drill press and bench grinder.

With that done I next proceeded to break the flare tool kit making new lines. After my garage hand (Bobby!) picked up a new kit I got it all mounted up.

Meanwhile my side kick was replacing they joints on the front driveshaft which became quite a job thanks to my screwing up one of the u-joints.

Meanwhile, back at the Batcave I'm trying to get the seats cleaned up, fix the release cables and patch the holes in the base of the driver seat. Here's the passenger before these effort as a comparison shot.

I've started tracking what's left to be done and I think this coming weekend may be a good chance to put the interior back together. And get the shifters installed along with beginning the process to clean up the 8.8 and prep it to be put under the jeep for tacking in the perches. More to come...

 

[MrSimon]

Keep the updates coming! You are doing a great job.

 

[billyjp2]

I just did the booster/master upgrade on my MJ a few weeks ago. Well worth the effort.

 

[Skorpyo]

It's been a while since I updated here and while I had to take a slight break in this build I'm back at it.

Latest progress is the interior is back together with a 97+ center console that I bought a dirt bound mount for since it's a retrofit. I also modified the auto shift plate to take the manual shift boot clip and with new carpet and seats it's looking pretty good.

The seats cleaned up nicely here's the after shot of the passenger seat. I actually spent several hours restitching the seats back into shape as several of the plastic retainers had broken on the wings.

The front end is currently apart so I can replace the condenser and an AC line and see if the AC can be made to work. Somewhere in its past a PO did an r134a conversion so it's a crapshoot to figure out where to get a replacement hose.

The rear bumper is off and will soon be replaced with a Nates 4x4 rear bumper I picked up used from a fellow MJer though it needs some clean up and paint.

The speedometer is giving me fits. I got a new gear and cable though I haven't been able to get them meshing right but I'm sure in time I'll figure that out too.

We've been firing up the jeep from time to time to keep it fresh and so far everything is looking good. No leaks and the tranny swap seems to have gone perfectly.

The 8.8 is cleaned up and mostly back together. Next step is to get it under the jeep and tack in the perches and shock mounts. Be got a local ship lined up to do the final welds since I'm no pro.

It won't be done by NACFest but hopefully before the summer is over. Bobs jeep needs a few touches before NACFest so I'm sure we'll be splitting time in them.

 

[STROKER]

Dam this thing is looking really nice, good job bud.

STROKER