The Smelly Old Man

[hot_rod_hooligans]

Well, everything is welded in place and the seat is bolted in and very secure. Not every thing is completely welded, about half of it is very well tacked in place, but the important stuff is 90% fully welded. Unfortunately I ran out of gas, and I'm about out of wire, so work has halted for a few days.



I ended up being able to use 1/2" hardware everywhere.



It's not pretty I know that, I need more practice welding out of a comfortable position, and I need a lot more light in my garage. I'll hit it with a grinder really quick, I plan to do a spray in bed liner for the interior this spring. As for everything else, it's getting POR15 very soon hopefully.

 

[woowoo]

Wow nice work. Envying you for the workspace.

Oh and for the POR15 get the silver. It has metal filler in it. I found that out after I bought my first quart. Ha gets pricey quick and is absolutely permanent on anything it dries on. I wore it for about a week. Black everywhere!!!

 

[hot_rod_hooligans]

I bought the black off of Amazon on the 31st, of course the day before it was $10 a quart cheaper fml. I'll have to remember the silver next time, I'm sure I'll need more to do the drivers side.

 

[hot_rod_hooligans]

Ok, so I bit the bullet and pulled the trigger on parts to swap WJ brakes on the XJ. Goal is to have all the parts together to do the swap the same time I finally install my long arms, this fall while I'm driving the MJ back and forth to work. Get it done before the weather gets too crappy, because I'd much rather make the 75 mile drive when it's snowing in the XJ. All of the parts that are coming off the XJ are going on the MJ, since it needs new steering and brakes anyway, and it's all good stuff(Moog steering, new calipers, Wagner rotors, Performance Friction pads, Precision hubs), all replaced within the last 3 years.

I'm going to try to make this as simple and specific as I can for parts needed for the swap:

New Crown Automotive WJ steering knuckles $205 (Amazon)
JKS hub spacers $40 (Amazon)
09-01 XJ/99-06 TJ Timken hub bearings $150 (Amazon)
Alloy USA ball joints for JK(same as XJ upper/WJ lower) $175 (Amazon)
WJ Centric Premium rotors $85 (Amazon) +re drilled to 5-4.5" ($?)
Black Magic brake pads $125 (Black Magic Brakes)
New WJ AKEBONO Calipers/brackets $130 (eBay)
6-Hub bolts(WJ/JK) $40 (eBay)
4-Caliper bracket mounting bolts $18(Rock Auto)
RuffStuff 3/4" Heim Steering Kit *NO TUBE* $140 (RuffStuff)
RuffStuff 3/4" X 5/8" Heim Tie Rod Kit *NO TUBE*(for track bar) $60(Ruff Stuff)
3 X 5 ft- 1 1/2" OD x 1/4" wall x 1" ID DOM $150? (Local supplier)
1 ft- 1-1/4 OD x .250 wall x .750 ID DOM Track bar bracket(see below) $32 (The Metals Depot)
Not positive what I'm going to do(if I even need to) for sway bar link brackets, need to look and see what others had to do, or figure it out once I start putting parts on.


As for the track bar mount:




Blaine Johnson can be credited for this design, as found on the Team KOH rig.


I know there are several people wondering why I spent so much on new steering knuckles instead of getting them from the junkyard. For me the answer was easy. The junkyard here wants $60 each, and I would have to go pull them. Then because I'm OCD, I have to sand blast and paint them. For the amount of time it would take me to go get them and clean them up, it was worth it to me to spend the extra bit to just get new ones.

 

[John D]

Can you turn the trackbar bolt around so you wouldn't need to remove the steering to get the trackbar out? Or is it further away than it seems in the pic?

 

[hot_rod_hooligans]

Can you turn the trackbar bolt around so you wouldn't need to remove the steering to get the trackbar out? Or is it further away than it seems in the pic?

I suppose you could, wouldn't be able to have much thread hanging out, arranged like this give you max clearance. If you wanted better access to the bolt, you could always adjust the mounting location of the "bracket" on the inner C. This is my buddy's 04 TJ with JK axles

Ultimately I'll use the drag link as my reference point to place my track bar, and what will work best for gussets/bracing, and try and find the best compromise between keeping the drag link and track bar parallel, the same length, and where I can comfortably mount it, and the rest will have to follow.

 

[hot_rod_hooligans]

Hesco water pump and thermostat housing, ZJ alternator/AC bracket, and Bosch 703 injectors done. No clearancing needed for the 136 amp alternator, and PLENTY of belt contact on the alternator pulley.


Before and after


I ended up rerouting the belt the way the early TJ/late ZJ 4.0 is routed(w/o AC, w/PS) to get better contact on the harmonic balancer, but for some reason the TJ/ZJ belt was about 3/4" too short, oddly the belt that worked fit a new 2.4L Cherokee, but if anyone asks I'll tell them it's for a '15 Ram 2500 with the 6.4L Hemi....:shhh:

 

[hot_rod_hooligans]

Jeep is up for sale.....
PM me or email me at [email protected]