beater!

[ehall]

Replaced the Alloy ball joints with new Teraflex adjustables. The lowers were completely shot. These are greasable and you can cinch the lower up if it gets sloppy. Yet to verify that the RCVs will fit but should.

So ... the RCVs do not fit when the TF ball joints are installed in that direction. Instead the castings for the grease fittings poke into the RCV plastic boot and prevent it from turning with the axle shaft. I checked the Quadratec product listing text for the Teraflex ball joints again and it still shows that they work with RCVs. But I checked the Teraflex product page on their own site and no mention of RCVs. Googling showed that all the reseller sites said the same thing, will work with RCVs except Amazon shows will NOT work with RCVs. So at this point they appear to be changing tune.

Further Googling showed that the JK version of the ball-joints say to install inboard (like mine) unless you have RCVs and then to install outboard. So I popped them out and reinstalled. The RCV boot still drags but only scrapes instead of being immobilized. The front zerks are reachable when the wheel is turned, but the rears are blocked by th knuckle, so I used some small little set screws to block the rear passages. But it looks like these ball joints are not going to be compatible with the RCVs in the long-term.

Rides a lot nicer with fresh grease everywhere, and the timing chain swap seems to be working fine too.

I have a few more items in process, just got delayed by the ball joint drama

 

[ehall]

Just realized I never posted up about my last wheeling trip. I was the guide for the annual Snow Ride at AOAA in early Feb, leading a bunch of locals from Southern MD. I drove up the day before and ran around the area for a bit with no trouble, but Saturday morning came around and the Jeep would not start. It wanted to start but just wouldn't catch. Spark good, fuel pressure good, no idea what, so I put it on a trailer and brought it home on Sunday.

Once I dug into it I found a bunch of crap in the O2 sensor connector. I had gone up to AOAA the week before to scout some trails, and sank the nose into a pretty deep water hole.

Best guess is that a bunch of water got sucked into the O2 connector and then froze up on the day of the ride, shorting the 5v circuit. I have since replaced all of the sensors and bits that control the air-fuel ratio, as well as replaced the ignition coil and some fuel system parts, and it is running smooth again.

Its honestly getting to where I hate water almost as much as mud.

Everything is working well, so I'm trying to go to Winterfest next weekend

 

[Rock2pus]

Yeah , I agree about water, actually hate it more than mud.
Nice job, you were in there good. Thumbs up!
Rich

 

[RoyalXJ]

I'm right there with both of you. Water is my enemy. I avoid it at all costs. Sometimes something that looks so small can be so deep

 

[ehall]

I made it to Winterfest! I had an awesome time with everybody there.

Side trip through Green Ridge State Forest in Western MD on the way out, just checking it out. Lots of dirt roads, lots of things to get out and look at, hope to go back for exploration / camping weekend.

Then on to the Badlands ORP in Attica, IN for Winterfest 2020. Lots of variety of terrain--sand, hills, swamp, and rocks in 800 acres. Some pics of my junk, but there were a lot of XJs there

~1900 mile round trip drive in the POS. The temperatures held steady except for hill climbs, so the timing chain swap seems to have really worked. The only "breakdown" on the way was the secondary electric fan melted the relay control wire at the battery, easy fix in Autozone parking lot. The only trail damage was a tree on the passenger fender where it meets the header panel, so some body damage. The 242 chain is popping so needs to be swapped. A few minor things like that, no major problems on the trip or wheeling.

 

[ehall]

Forgot to post a pic from NACFest last weekend. This is from the exit to Affliction

Great trip, and good to see everyone again and meet some new people too. My steelies are all bent up, and I got a flat on Trail 5 later in the day from the lip pushing the tire off the bead, so I need to buy new wheels before I can get out again. I also have a bunch of other work that I put off earlier, so might take it down for a while to fix all that too.

 

[stephenspann27]

Thanks for the update.I think about this build now and then, and how bummed I was when the paint work went south on you.

 

[unidentifiedbomb]

just read the entire build. Wow great journey. Fun to see how far it's come.

 

[ehall]

just read the entire build. Wow great journey. Fun to see how far it's come.

That's a lot of reading!

 

[Ffredd]

I too just read all of your build thread.
I moved from Southern MD 2.5 years ago to Southern AZ and have been fighting overheating problems when running my AC.
I was looking for info on the difference between the 97 and earlier ac condenser and if you noticed a difference in them.
Mine is a 96.
Do you really think that replacing the timing chain was the fix for your overheating?
Mine only over heats when I run the AC while rock crawling.
On the road or around town it is fine.
Not opposed to swapping out the timing chain as my stock engine has 230k on it.

 

[ehall]

Been busy for the last couple of years (got married even). The trail beater picked up more damage on the last outing (floorboard ripped), on top of the existing problems, plus it only gets ~12mpg, so I have been avoiding driving it and it's sitting under the carport out back. Hope to get it back out for repairs and get to wheeling again this year but I don't plan on using it for a runaround vehicle again--trailer queen is its future.

My DD amethyst got sideswiped in town right around Christmas, minor body damage on the passenger side. Their insurance coughed up a couple of grand for repairs, and I used the money for replacement suspension parts, so the DD has a 2" lift on it now.

Front is OME springs and shocks, and ZJ steering, rear is the Dorman HD leaf pack with Monroe Load Adjuster coil-over shocks. This gets me a little stiffer ride and better towing, with the ability to do some forest roads up to mild blue trails.

Gotta do a couple more things to it (brake lines, adj control arms, a hack-n-tap, etc), and also push the body panels back out, then hopefully it will be a happy little driver for a while and I can start making the beater a trail-mostly jeep.

 

[stephenspann27]

Do you have any recent photos to share of your rigs?

 

[ehall]

Here are a couple of pics of the trail beater from last year's NACFest, the last time I had it out. I did just enough maintenance to get it running but I don't know if I will make it this year or not.

 

[Rob Mayercik]

DD looks nice, Eric. What size tires you got on there right now? Close to 30x9.50?

I've always thought an otherwise-stock XJ with a 2-inch lift and 30x9.50 tires is how they should have looked coming off the assembly line.

 

[ehall]

They are 235/75R15 which comes out to 28.9" I'm trying to keep it fuel efficient. Should have lots of wheel travel after I cut the bumps

 

[Rob Mayercik]

Close enough to 30x9.50 in my book (the 30s I ran were about 29.5 actual).

Should definitely be good on fuel with that setup - I routinely got 18 when I was set up that way, and even got 20 on my 2008 Moab run by keeping it to 65 on the interstates.

I'm sure you'll have no trouble doing the same with yours.

 

[ehall]

I've neglected this thread! Married life is harried life

I ended up taking the DD to Rausch for NACFest last year and banged around on the greens and blues. The suspension articulates pretty well. I broke a 242 shifter bushing (zip tie still there), and a couple of other small things, but no major problems (still my DD haha).

I did take the trail beater to AOAA for Rocktoberfest, but the steering is wiped out so I trailered it up and back (first time). Day one was pretty but mild, day two was rainy and slick. A grand time

Probably taking the DD to NACFest in June again, since I am starting some heavy mods to the trail jeep that I don't think I will have done by then