Expedition Build: Yellow Jeep XJ

[F.N.G.]

I also meant to ask OP: where did you get hose gun racks? I have kind of been searching but ceased when all I could find were cheapies...I want something heavier duty like yours for sure!

Equipment Racks

It's a cheap gun rack I picked up from Walmart for $10 a set.
I bought two sets, one for each window.
Easy setup, installs in minutes.
While it may not be the most rugged setup, this would work fine for most uses.
Personally I will be installing a more solid equipment rack system in the future, and am using this temporarily as a test setup.

To be honest I would not completely trust this set up with heavy equipment in an high impact event such as a roll over.
I would rather opt for metal racks mounted into the Jeep itself.

Gun Racks used as Equipment Mounts

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[F.N.G.]

Removable Door Mod

Decided to go doorless. I won't go into too much detail, as this mod has been covered in depth on other threads. I took fast64's approach, which in turn was inspired by Sharpie's. Definitely a good read if you are interested in doing this mod, look them up if you haven't already. Just the front doors today, it was cold and started to snow. I will remove the rear doors soon.

Note:
The grommets in the hinges on the body were pretty worn out. This is causing a slight sag when I open the door. This is causing some grinding of the lower portion of the door onto the fender. Not happy about it, so I may modify the top pin with a 3/8 bolt and brass bearing, rather than the 5/16 bolt on the front doors. I will most likely test this out first before posting.

Remove Doors:

Disconnect Pressure Switch for Lights

Modifying the Hinge

End result:

Rear Doors

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Repeated the process for the back doors. The bottom bolts on the hinges were seized. So rather than break them off in the door, we simply cut the hinges while they were still on the door. Used a little heat shield to avoid overheating and paint blistering.
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Modifying the Hinge

End result:

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[Anak]

Opting to go doorless in January?

More power to you.

Meanwhile, I am trying to keep my hands warm inside my own house in SoCal. :confused1

 

[F.N.G.]

Opting to go doorless in January?

More power to you.

Meanwhile, I am trying to keep my hands warm inside my own house in SoCal. :confused1

We had a heat wave, it was almost 40 degrees today...


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[F.N.G.]

Rear Axle Breather Hose Extension


Reasoning:
Axles need to breath. Axles have gear oil, and air in the differential and housing. Axles can heat up under load. Air expands and contracts depending on temperature. When axles get hot, gases need to escape. When it cools, air needs to breath back in. Axles have seals. These seals would be sucked in or blown out due to pressure of interior axle gases. So there is a breather on the top of the axle housing that allows air flow. When the differential is hot, air expands and the breather is breathing gases out. Now when the hot axle hits water it can cool rapidly, causing the axle to breath in.
Now if both the breather and axles air under water, it may suck in water through the breather and axle seals. So I wan to extend my rear axle breather to a much higher elevation to avoid this.

I run into a lot of water crossings on trails, some of them deep. While I am not trying to recreate "The Yellow Submarine", or make a habit of fording rivers, sometimes water happens. Sometimes it gets a lot higher on the way back then from when you first cross it as well. One trail I have had water up to the bottom of my headlights. Granted that was with a steady bow wave while crossing, but you get the point.

Now since I have recently re-geared my axles last fall and changed the diff fluid a few times while breaking in the gears, I don't feel like doing it again for awhile. Nor do I feel like blowing out my axle seals, or cleaning out mud and water from my diff.

So I decided to look into extending my rear axle breather hose.
I read a few write ups, and decided I liked the simple idea of the breather hose behind my tail light for now. May change it later.

Side Note:
This also got me thinking about later possibly using a similar set up for a gravity fed water supply, and some sort of water spigot. Mount water high (roof), have spigot lower on outside of vehicle (rear bumper or maybe even the hatch) with easy access. Something to consider for a later project.

Supplies:
3/16 inner - 5/16 outer clear tubing from Fogg's Hardware .69 cents a foot.
3/16 elbow coupling $1.29
Hose clamp
Drill

Quick and easy mod that provides some assurance.

Remove Drivers Side Tail Light and Drill Hole

Feed Hose through Hole

Remove drivers side rear quarter interior Trim, Pull back carpet, drill Hole in Rubber Plug in Cargo area, and feed hose through

Attach to Axle, make sure to have slack for flex, route it so it does not get snagged or pinched.

Attach fitting and secure hose

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[jswift716]

Wouldn't it be easier to run it along the fuel filler?

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[F.N.G.]

Wouldn't it be easier to run it along the fuel filler?

You could definitely go that route, that's a good alternative. This just happens to be the way I went with it. Seemed simple and easy enough. Plus I liked the idea of the tube going through a rubber plunger so that there would be no contact rubbing on metal. But whatever works. Thanks for the input.

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[F.N.G.]

Side Mirrors for Removable Door Mod

When I decided to go doorless, I knew at some point I would need side mirrors. First and foremost, my XJ is my daily driver. Secondly, I drive my XJ to the trails, rather than tow it on a trailer. So balancing offroad capabilities, road manors, and modifications while remaining street legal is a necessity in this build. Also since we travel through various states, I need to cover all the bases of different State laws. So basically, I need two side mirrors while doorless to avoid any possible issues.

I was looking for something that would slide into the door hinge and bolt on. Easy on, easy off. I did not like what I saw at the auto part stores, and had no luck with local salvage yards finding YJ or TJ mirrors. So I went to an ATV Shop. I picked up 2 Kolpin 97200 Atv Mirrors. They are universal, so you can use the for both the drivers side and passenger side. And they are black, so they go with the color scheme.

Once I got it, I removed the plastic bracket. The stock grommets on my door hinge are long gone, so the bolt on the side mirror slide in with room to spare. Tighten, and good to go. Takes 5 minutes tops to take my doors off and bolt on the side mirrors.

Side Mirrors for Doors XJ's:


Kolpin 97200 Atv Mirror

Remove bracket Mounting hardware

Mount Mirror to door hinge with provided lock washer, washer and lock nut

End result:

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[cherokeefan_1]

Just a quick thought on the axle breather. You can go one step further and add a lawn mower type fuel filter to keep dirt out of the diffs. Not sure they fit behind the light but just a thought for dry/dusty situations. Probably over kill as the factory doesn't use a filter.

 

[F.N.G.]

Transmission Cooler Install
I have been working on upgrading the Cherokee to a more efficient cooling system. This upgrade is obviously intended with the Transmission in mind.

The Transmission fluid goes through its dedicated section in the radiator, warmed by the surrounding engine coolant. My understanding to the thought process behind this setup is that since the engine warms up quicker than the transmission, this setup will help the transmission get up to operating temp faster. The problem is that this setup keeps the transmission fluid at a higher temp than needed once up to temp.

So I bought a Hayden Automotive 678 Transmission Cooler, and installed it running from the return line. This way it is cooling the warm trany fluid returning from the radiators warming process to the transmission, thereby helping cool the transmission when it is being overworked.

Update: Someone brought to my attention that the routing of the hoses would bet better turned to the side or upwards, due to possible air pockets. I will orientate a.s.a.p.

- Side Note:
I have done a bunch of little mods/upgrades over the course of this summer. Just getting to posting some of them now. I am usually in a rush as I work on the Jeep in my yard on my days off, and my rig is my Daily Driver. As such I need to get each project finished and the Jeep back together so that I can make it to work the next day. So I often to forget to take pics consistently throughout each project from start to finish.
These next few installs may have limited pics and info.

Stock Transmission Return Line

Cut the Return Line

Take off the Grill

Install Transmission Cooler

Connect Return Transmission Line

Finished Product:

My Workspace:

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[hjeepxj]

The way you write tech articles is freaking sweet.

 

[F.N.G.]

The way you write tech articles is freaking sweet.

Thanks man, glad you dig it. Admittedly not the most technical of write ups, and I usually forget to take pics until half way through, but you get the general idea.

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[F.N.G.]

Optima Battery and Tray

I have been working on upgrading the Cherokee to a more efficient power supply. Small stuff like a new Starter, Alternator and Battery Terminals.
But for my next phase I wanted an upgraded starter, a 136a Alternator, brass military battery terminals and 2 or 0 gauge Battery/Stater/Alternator Cables. Before this next step I wanted to have a good base for my next phase, so I opted for a Yellow Top Optima Battery and a Optima specific battery tray from Dirt Bound. Better battery, more secure tray system.

Problems and Solutions...

My old Battery Tray and bolt down was tired. The bolt down holding the battery to the tray had broken off, and the tray itself was wobbly.
Once I removed the battery I had noticed that 2 of the 3 studs that mounted the tray were sheered/broken off. So we took the grinder out and buzzed the studs down, and welded on some new ones. Mounted the new tray, and then the new Optima Battery. The tray is made to use the Optima Battery red retainer clips and bolt down. This keeps the battery help down without movement in even the roughest of trails, while keeping the top of the battery clean from the flimsy and prone to breakage stock battery bolt down.

- Side Note:
I have done a bunch of little mods/upgrades over the course of this summer. Just getting to posting some of them now. I am usually in a rush as I work on the Jeep in my yard on my days off, and my rig is my Daily Driver. As such I need to get each project finished and the Jeep back together so that I can make it to work the next day. So I often to forget to take pics consistently throughout each project from start to finish.
These next few installs may have limited pics and info.

Stock Battery Setup

Old Tray and Broken Studs

Removing and Replacing Studs

Optima Battery Bolt Down

End Result:

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[N8N_99xj]

One thing I found when I put an Optima in my Heep was that it would slide around in the plastic tray. I ended up using a piece of silicone baking sheet to line the battery tray. The added friction kept the Optima from ending up rubbing against the radiator hose after every drive.

 

[F.N.G.]

One thing I found when I put an Optima in my Heep was that it would slide around in the plastic tray. I ended up using a piece of silicone baking sheet to line the battery tray. The added friction kept the Optima from ending up rubbing against the radiator hose after every drive.

I decided to go with the Dirtbound Offroad Optima Battery Tray. Rugged 10 gauge steel, utilizes optima battery feet for mounting. Seems a pretty solid upgrade from the stock plastic battery tray. Never took pics of it, but here is a couple from the website.

Dirtbound Offroad Optima Battery Tray

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[N8N_99xj]

Ah makes sense. I chose to keep the stock one because the old battery had destroyed the cables (literally, the negative fell apart the first time I touched it, hence Optima) and there was plenty of white fluffies in the tray, but the overall design kept everything but the hold down and cables from being damaged.

Not saying your way is wrong, I just peeled that feline differently. After I cleaned up the mess I installed 5-90's cables and just e-tanked the hold down and coated with cold galvanizing primer and then plasti-dip.

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[F.N.G.]

Ah makes sense. I chose to keep the stock one because the old battery had destroyed the cables (literally, the negative fell apart the first time I touched it, hence Optima) and there was plenty of white fluffies in the tray, but the overall design kept everything but the hold down and cables from being damaged.

Not saying your way is wrong, I just peeled that feline differently. After I cleaned up the mess I installed 5-90's cables and just e-tanked the hold down and coated with cold galvanizing primer and then plasti-dip.

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk

I wish I had piked up some cables from 5-90 while he was still making them, but it seems Kelly's Work in Progress site has been down for awhile.

I am looking for a really good set of rugged cables, and I have no experience making them. I saw Jeepers and Creepers makes a decent set, if they're still kicking I might pick some up. Preparing for on-board air and a few other draws that could benefit from better cables and higher amp alternator. I wanted to do this at the same time that I got my battery, but couldn't find a decent cable upgrade.

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[Johnnie Walker]

I decided to go with the Dirtbound Offroad Optima Battery Tray. Rugged 10 gauge steel, utilizes optima battery feet for mounting. Seems a pretty solid upgrade from the stock plastic battery tray. Never took pics of it, but here is a couple from the website.

Dirtbound Offroad Optima Battery Tray

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I wish DBO made a universal battery tray that had the GM style mount. In theory, one could use said mount with a group 34 battery and standard gm mount

 

[dan1977p]

I wish I had piked up some cables from 5-90 while he was still making them, but it seems Kelly's Work in Progress site has been down for awhile.

XJWonders just became a sponsor and looks to be making good cables.

 

[F.N.G.]

XJWonders just became a sponsor and looks to be making good cables.

Thanks for the info, I'll contact XJWonders and see what he's got for cables. Also looking to get some decent brass military type terminals.


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