Milton's Other Jeep Build

[JeepN4kc]

Took a quick drive in the XJ today to get an alternator. Paid $30 for it from a part-out Didn't even have to turn a wrench - seller unmounted it and handed it to me

Now I can swap that whiny one out with this and maybe look into getting the old rebuilt.

 

[JeepN4kc]

I have some play in the hinge pins of the driver door which obviously causes the door to move and misalign when it comes to closing. The other morning I got in it to drive to work since I wanted to give the WK a breather after driving out to CO last weekend. Well, I went to close the door and it just bounced open. I got to lookin and found the whole latch assembly is pretty chewed up and metal of the door that it mounts to is pretty torn up as well.
I put a washer in the upper bolt head and it cinched the assembly back down some:

I'll come up with something as I don't wanna have to swap the entire door if I don't have to. I think I'll try and get a thin piece of metal to span all the area I can, notch it for the striker opening, and hopefully it will be able to capture good door metal and spread the load more than washers. I'll keep my fingers crossed and post up whatever it is I come up with.

 

[JeepN4kc]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I really need to add welding to my skillset because it would be very useful for me to know.
I ended up just going the washer route for now:

Really cinched everything up - I'll just have to be more diligent lifting the door as I close it rather than just slamming it shut.
When I get more time I'll fab this piece of stainless to scab over the bulk of the bolt holes and assembly fascia and notch out the opening for the striker:

 

[JeepN4kc]

I finally got the alternators swapped out today. Look at how cracked and damaged the housing is on the old one:

And the new-to-me alternator nestled in place:

Badboy purrs like a kitten now (well with the exception of the Masterflow exhaust). Anyway - no more whiney @$$ alternator noise from the engine compartment. Pretty sweet deal swapping it out for $30 and a quick morning's worth of wrenching. :spin1: Oh.......and that old alt I took out, the pulley would barely turn so I got it outta there just in time.

 

[JeepN4kc]

Yesterday I decided to crawl under the XJ to get an idea on the removal of the tcase drop and factory cross member. It'll come out so I can install the TnT Customs bellypan that's been waiting to go in. All pretty straightforward stuff. I decided to forego the uni-stiffeners as I just wanna get the pan installed. I'll have to snag either a full tap&die set or an individual M10 x 1.5 tap and I also need to pick up a handful of M10 x 1.5 x 30mm bolts and flat washers that are missin from the hardware I got from the guy I bought the skid. That skid is ****ing beefy so the install might be a PITA - we'll see.

Today I ordered a Tomken fuel tank skid. I picked it up from a vendor on JF - JeepHut - for $180 shipped! Great deal I thought - plus I have the $100 Visa card rebate from when I bought the KM2s so the skid is pretty much 80 bucks out of pocket for me.

I like the way the Tomken skid intalls because it mounts front and rear with holes in the bumper flange and the bolts from the fuel tank strap hangers - which means I don't have to mess w/ taking that rear hitch off just to remount it (NO THANKS). I'll post up some install updates when I get everything put together.

 

[XJ Abuser]

It's looking good. You have a good eye for details.
Wish i had seen the thread before you swapped the alt. I just completed an alt upgrade to a 136 amp v8zj. They are nearly painless to install. Simple mod and wiring/bolt patterns match. Oh well something to keep ya busy in the future.

 

[beastlydumass]

realy nice build and thanks for the aussie write up. did u use a rubber coating on the the fenders or just black paint?

 

[JeepN4kc]

It's looking good. You have a good eye for details.
Wish i had seen the thread before you swapped the alt. I just completed an alt upgrade to a 136 amp v8zj. They are nearly painless to install. Simple mod and wiring/bolt patterns match. Oh well something to keep ya busy in the future.

Thanks, dude! I looked over some write-ups on the ZJ alt swap but I was able to pick up that alt I put in for dirt cheap and I didn't have to wrench it out - kind of hard to pass up - but yeah, always a chance for an upgrade.

realy nice build and thanks for the aussie write up. did u use a rubber coating on the the fenders or just black paint?

Appreciate it! I was really impressed with the ease of install on the Aussie and I think the manual they provide is pretty good - but a nice pic heavy write-up never hurt anybody, right :cheers: ? The fenders I used primer, rubber coating, flat black.

 

[beastlydumass]

wat kind of rubber coating cause the can i got from advanced looks good but comes off easy on the trail. and its nice to see a missouri rig grew up there and didnt have much but mississippi mud and lime stone sand

 

[Tacedaddy]

look into plasti dip, easy to use and peels off if you mess up

 

[JeepN4kc]

wat kind of rubber coating cause the can i got from advanced looks good but comes off easy on the trail. and its nice to see a missouri rig grew up there and didnt have much but mississippi mud and lime stone sand

Rustoleum Undercoating is what I used - $h!t is awesome !! It's basically rubber in a spray can.

Missouri is a good place to be and raise a family - not the best for wheelin but we have a handful of places that are great to get out on the trails.

 

[JeepN4kc]

Today I spent time under the XJ wrestling with the belly pan to get it installed. Total PITA! Funny when aftermarket parts are supposedly "bolt-on" and they are amost always more than just that. If I had this to do over again I'd have an extra set of hands for the entirety of the install. By the grace of God a buddy from my local Jeep club just happened to stop by when I was laying on my back trying to get the last part done. I guess after all the cussing I'd done and damning the skid and the Jeep to Hades - the good lord decided to step in......lol Anyway - thanks Tommy!
First things first - jack the trans/tcase to support it once the crossmember is off.

This location proved to be worthless because I needed access to that spot when it came time to mount the skid. Best place to jack the trans is right where it marries-up to the rear of the block.

Next thing to do was wrench off the crossmember and the trans mount bolts:

Now that the crossmember and 1" tcase drop kit is off I'll put it up for sale:

Next I assembled the rear section of the skid to the main crossmember:

Then had to tap the forward most nutsert on the bottom of the unirail with an M10 x 1.5 tap:

Now it's ready to place into position. Another jack is basically a must without a helper:

It was a major biznatch to get this sucker lined up with the 3 mounting holes on each uni and the 4 trans mount bolts. Seemed easy enough, but it did not want to line up. I had to yank on the tcase and hammer the skid side to side all while applying the right amount of up force on the jack to get it all to line up - but I got it.
With the main crossmember in place mark the holes on the flange that tucks against the inside of the driver side rail. The rear portion of the skid will have to be disassembled now in order to properly mark and drill the mounting holes. These marks will get a 1/4" hole drilled in them. I used a punch on all 4 marks to set a starting point for the drill because you can't really get perpendicular to the drilling surface without a 90degree drill (I don't have one):

Also note that I transferred the vertical lines to the bottom of the rail, and then around to the outboard side of the rail. Then, measure up from the bottom of the rail to the horizontal marks on the inboard side and use that measurement to mark horizontal lines on the outboards side:

 

[JeepN4kc]

Now it's ready to drill. Using a step drill bit I put 13/16" holes on the outboard side:

Then come through the outboard side with a 3/4" holesaw to drill out the inner member of the unirail. (The forward hole was the only one with an inner member. Once that's done go all the way through with a 1/2" hole on the inboard side.
This is when my buddy came by and he helped me get the rear section mounted back to the main crossmember and the inside of the unirail:

I hand tightened the rear bolts so I could still move it around in order to line-up the flange/unirail bolts, anticrush sleeves, and nuts. Then I torqued those 4 down. Then torqued the 3 bolts on each unirail. And last I set the trans mount bolts in the middle of the crossmember.

And there ya have it - easy as pie, huh? I wish:

It tucks up there nicely:

And the awesome part: when I eventually get an SYE I'll have to unmount this thing to reagin access to the tcase for that install. Can't wait........
Eliminating the tcase drop does make the rig feel different underneath when on the gas - but I can live with it for now.
Until next time.....................

 

[beastlydumass]

did u readjust ur shifter linkage to get full contact in all gears

 

[JeepN4kc]

did u readjust ur shifter linkage to get full contact in all gears

Was not aware of this. Could you explain more?

 

[beastlydumass]

when u move the tcase up or down the shift linkage needs to be checked for proper adjustment. it may work in all gear on the flats but when u start to put a load on it or even when it torques up it can slip in and out. best to have 2 ppl lossen the nut on the linkage and have someone pull it all the way back to 4l and tighten the nut real good. then test in drive way then with a load. good to do this after every few trips or if u play with the 4wd shifter alot.

 

[JeepN4kc]

when u move the tcase up or down the shift linkage needs to be checked for proper adjustment. it may work in all gear on the flats but when u start to put a load on it or even when it torques up it can slip in and out. best to have 2 ppl lossen the nut on the linkage and have someone pull it all the way back to 4l and tighten the nut real good. then test in drive way then with a load. good to do this after every few trips or if u play with the 4wd shifter alot.

Gotcha - I read up a little on this after you mentioned it. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[2000bluexj]

You shouldnt need to remove the belly pan or the SYE. I installed with my skin in place. All youre taking apart is the rear half of the t case.

 

[JeepN4kc]

You shouldnt need to remove the belly pan or the SYE. I installed with my skin in place. All youre taking apart is the rear half of the t case.

Was that a HnT or a true SYE? I just assumed the install meant pulling the tcase for ease of install. If I don't hafta yank the case out all the better.

 

[beastlydumass]

u can leave the front half in and just unbolt the back half and do it like that. ull just have to remove ur bolt on piece probly