Project Basketcase!

[Rickyd]

Hey guys, it's about time to post up my heep and its progress after lurking for many years and finally becoming a supporting member.if nothing else this chronicle will help me keep track of the changes to her over time!

All I'd done at that point was get a new bestop and a great deal on 33" ltb's to use as wheeling trip tires

I bought this 97 soft top full door tj for 4500$ from a kid 4 hrs away knowing it would be a long term project.i talked him down 2k$ from 6500$ as it had been on craigslist for months and was in horrible shape.it had the armor and engine/trans i wanted to start with so i figured I'd get it into shape one thing at a time.

She had a rough country 2.5" lift,shocks,adjustable arms and stock track bars.1.25"BL,1"mm lift and bald 35's
Dana 30/35,3.07's,4.0l and an ax15 5 speed.
Barricade or some other cheap flavor of fenders,sliders and corner armor.
It had quite a few issues.blown headgasket or head with a ton of goop in the coolant
Rc springs sagged lower than stock.
Rock rash and dents in the 15x8's outer beads
Mud in the entire drivetrain and gas tank. And a witness mark for the water level above the headlights behind the dash.
Soft top was old and a side window was slashed to steal whatever shitty stereo the kid had in it in the city.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some things.

 

[Rickyd]

First beater run i snapped a Dana 35 shaft throttling up a 3ft rock ledge.there were a couple girls with a cooler full of beer at the top watching,its possible i was hot dogging a bit,lol.bang like a gunshot and wide eyes from the gals when i landed at the top

My little brother and his 5.2l 97 on 36s. He just shook his head. I'm always the one blowing something up......

Parked it and started the upgrade search. I found a pair of rubi 44's on craigslist for 2,000$ over in sacramento from a 90k mile new york jeep that had rusted apart while going down the highway and wrecked.axle brackets were mostly rotten and the pass upper link mount was torn off on the front axle.on the bright side the bearings,gears,and lockers were in great shape!

I had a friend use his badass sandblasting setup to clean up the axles and nice california buckets and brackets from my craptastic 3.07 axles after the 44s were checked/straightened at a big rig frame and axle shop(rear was 1/4" out).

Got the new brackets welded on,sprayed etch prime and chassis black on em.and reassembled with Dana 30 yolks from my scrap pile to match my np231 ujoints.used california knuckles and rear brake brackets from a zj Dana 44.the new york stuff was crusty af.
Found some alloy usa rear shafts on extreme terrains returned items listing for cheap. After installing them i noticed one of the shafts hadn't been machined smooth enough where the seal rides.and leaked on my new brakes. Some emery cloth and crossed fingers have it holding up great for the last 20k miles.

Welded in a brace for the rear upper bracket w/trackbar mount. I've seen a few of these get ripped off.the trackbar bracket on there is a funky cobbled back together unit. I found it in an old pile of jeep stuff. welded it up several times for my little brother when he was in college. Running it for nostalgias sake!

Stock shafts in front. With a spare set i got for 100$ i used the 97 knuckles,bearings and brakes in front

hindsight being what it is i could have done super 30 and super 35 kits and had stronger lockers than the fragile rubicon versions,better clearance and less weight.while being plenty strong for 35's. But d44s are sexy,and i got a good deal.lol

 

[Rickyd]

Got them under the jeep and had to figure out a way to use the lockers.didn't want to use the ridiculously overpriced and overcomplicated factory pump gizmos. I wound up buying a baby arb compressor and wiring kit. Then used a low pressure regulator,manifold,10 psi blow off valve and arb solenoids with 3/16" emissions hose to the diffs. It works great and is set at 5 psi. Compressor hardly cycles. And only because the 10psi blowoff valve is leaky.

Found a guy on ebay doing custom labeled switches that fit the tj switch sockets.for the amp ratings of the pump and solenoids i probably could have ran them direct but used relays to be safe

 

[Rickyd]

Next i put some of the heavy rate ome 2" springs 933x and 942x in it and rancho 5000x rs55239,rs55241.
2.5" lift in front with .5" spacer and only 1" lift in the back of this iron pig as it sits with a hardtop and tools in back. If my math is right 4.5"up/4.91" down in front. 4.75"up/? Down in rear(not sure how to estimate with angled shock.probably less travel than a straight shock).the up measurements are cup to stops.around 1.5" extension.

Not real stoked by this height and flex. I'm looking at curry ce9131rh19(17" free) rear and ce9132f1p(21.6" free) front. Curry says 3" lift front and 3.5" rear.i'd like about 3" total to match 33's and the 1.25" BL. Putting either end of my jeep on a scale and finding out how fat she really is would be a good idea.maybe 4" curries if its too heavy

Chosing shocks and extending mounts after cycling the suspension with those springs installed is the idea.

A tummy tuck of some kind is planned. I already put a 1" raised tank skid in that requires a body lift. Old tank was crushed from over tightening the straps and factory skid was bashed up an inch or so. I thought i had a 15 gallon tank! Lol

 

[Rickyd]

Even at only an inch or so of lift in the rear it had driveshaft vibrations. Instead of balancing or rebuilding the rear driveshaft i got an advance adapters sye and a tom woods cv.
Took the opportunity to install new bearings and seals in the tcase with a 6 pinion planetary from a chevy and wide chain setup from a durango. Guy at pick n pull charged 15$ for a timing gear setup,lol. The thing to keep in mind with the planetary swap is a design change around 95. The chevy case i robbed was from after that split. I was surpised to find out my duramaxes np 261 uses the same 6 pinion planetary.beefy!

Chevy case.don't remember which now,the 6 pinion is in a lot of cases. I found it sitting on that rim conveniently waiting for disassembly.

Durango case i got the wide chain and sprockets from.chain wasn't stretched so i reused it

Dropped my 231 input into the 6 pinion planetary and installed it

View attachment 391946

 

[Rickyd]

Put some ce9114s in place of the worn out rough country flex joints in the lower arms and a napa reman durango steering box in place of the one puking power steering fluid. Made the mistake of getting rough country track bars that have been problems.live and learn. Currie track bars will replace them as money allows. Curry mid arm later would be sweet

All that got it driving decently down the highway and wheeling more reliably.

 

[Rickyd]

After replacing the plugged and leaking heater core and many electrical doodads and switches i turned my eye to the motor that was using coolant. So my rebuild swap debate began.

Sure i could have dropped in a reman long block but that would be boring. I was this close to doing an LS swap but talked myself off the ledge for several reasons,smog included.

Rules in CA have changed a lot recently and i didn't feel like driving 2 hrs to the nearest state smog rep and finding out what is now acceptable.you guys in CA do your homework on swaps,and at no time listen to anyone who hasn't swapped recently here.all advise from people out of state is worthless on the topic.

Biggest reason i nixed the v8 idea being i hunt with my tj and there is no way to fit a factory gm v8 muffler under a tj that would control its sound level.I want it to whisper through the woods in low range to get to where I'm going to hike or surprise critters off the trail. A good friend of mine has a stock yj with a 258 thats the quietest rig I've heard put around in low.thats what i want to emulate. Windshield has been down for 20 years and probably been in low for almost the entire time on his ranch.

So because i love to tinker i figured I'd give a stroker a try as it could pass smog in CA,be relatively quiet with factory exhaust and cat(which it is).and also let me get my modification/hp itch scratched.

 

[Rickyd]

So i waited for pick n pull to have a 50% off sale day and grabbed a 96 grand cherokee 4.0l that wasn't blown up or molested. The trans pan was off it so i rolled the dice. It was like 150$ if i remember right.

Did a ton of research on strokers and quickly realized the only pistons worth a shit for various reasons came from a guy named russ pottenger in southern CA. Very knowledgeable guy who builds jeep strokers for desert racing classes requiring the amc 6 remain.

My idea was tight quench and aluminum head to help avoid detonation,run on pump gas and have higher compression for higher torque!

Got a new scat crank for a serpentine belt 4.2l/258.From 89-90 jeeps i believe(they fit my tj front accessory drive).
scat 4.0l length forged rods modified to have light chevy wrist pins.

comp cam 68-231-4, 206/214 duration,.462"/.485" lift, custom ground 113* lsa for jeep fuel injection and nitrided.
.030" over forged pistons with the correct compression height to have zero deck without milling the crap out of the block and an 18cc bowl that better matches the fast burn 57cc chambers on my edelbrock cylinder head.
.040" mahle mls head gasket
Mild casting cleanup on the head and blended the seats into the bowls. Marked and unshrouded the valves a bit. cc'd the chambers after. With a tight quench of .040". Russ cc'd the pistons to be 10.2:1.

He said pump gas would be fine and it does great with 91. 87 and octane addive works in a pinch if i don't lug it.

had a local machine shop assemble the rotating assembly for me and did the rest myself.
Used a banks revolver header russ recommended.no cracks in 20k miles so far.also used a horseshoe intake because why not. Had to drill and tap blank bosses in it for the sensor harnesses to reach and a little vacuum line work. Not an issue.

Used these 280155703 bosch 24lb dodge neon injectors. Motor runs good on stock injection with no tuning. Hp tuners compatible Wideband and some flyin ryan tuning would probably help unlock mo powa.
Had some issues with a couple lifters being duds off the bat.replaced them(a small amount of clearancing of the pushrod holes on edelbrock heads lets you change lifters with the head on) and it still has more lifter noise than stock. Nature of the beast with cammed 4.0ls.

Replacement part quality is horrible.especially valvetrain parts.this is why strokers get a bad rap.though the parts that make it a stroker, ie crank,rods and pistons aren't something you see failing if done right.

I also went with a Centerforce 700469 High Inertia Flywheel for the hell of it. Figured it couldn't hurt and might help smooth out the almost 1/2" extra stroke and higher compression. Centerforce standard flywheel is listed as 27.5lbs and this one is a hair over 40lbs.stock luk clutch. Factory flywheel with the taper was long gone.


Love how it drives. Very torquey. Great offroad low rpm power.4.10s and 33s it pulls 8% grades locally in 5th and 2k rpms.holds 10% grades in 4th easily and will accelerate up them.I do wish I'd let russ put LS v8 valves in the head and step the relatively mild cam up larger. More power would be sweet even if its unnecessary. Best bang for the buck? No. But it is fun to drive and highway rpms are spot on for this motor.

 

[Rickyd]

Crawling definitely suffers with the 4.10/33s and ax15. An atlas would be great.i don't want to gear lower as the motor is happy at 2k rpms it doesn't need 2500-3 at cruise.

Another idea i have to help with more technical wheeling would be a 32rh swap.not really stoked about their lack of overdrive but they are tough and a simple swap into my jeep.

i built my father a 98 tj 4.0l/32rh sahara to use hunting and drive around town with the top down.it was a rollover i bought and put a 97 body on,then gave to him.

It wouldn't be too hard to convince him to let me swap the two transmissions.He complains about the tall first gear in the 32rh not being slow enough in low range going down steep logging roads,and his past willys truck and cj's were all manual.its what he likes.i agree with him,my ax15 does the same hills slower without any brakes.his brakes get pretty hot and smelly going a couple miles downhill holding it to a crawl. He has 3.73 and 245/75/16s

 

[Rickyd]

So i guess thats where I'm at with this jeep after a few years of effort imbetween other home and auto projects. My mission statement is to stay on 33s and have an adventure rig i can drive every day,hunt and fish with and drive long distances comfortably in while being very capable offroad. When i was younger i've let builds turn so big they sat 99% of the time and got trailered to the spots i beat on them.that isn't this jeep.

Next up for me is the curry spring swap and more travel/ride height. I want the jeep to plant on obstacles,not teeter like it gonna flip over.

A tuck is on the list too.

The ax15 is the only drivetrain part i haven't replaced. It was also full of water. Leaks where the case joins in the middle and its a little slow shifting. These are pretty tough to be working at 200k and have the abuse its seen. Removal and rebuild is also on the list

 

[Rickyd]

I'm not much for lightbars,expensive leds and other fancy stuff but i did put a nice 81110-60P70 Toyota OEM Genuine HEADLAMP ASSY h4 halogen conversion kit in the jeep today. Comes with glass housings and a relay harness thats simple to plug in.much brighter than the sealed beams with just the 60/55w bulbs that come with it. Pass side stock bulb was going out so i upgraded rather than buy new ones. I don't feel blinded when i meet newer cars on the highway at night now

Pretty good discussion about the kit here- https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/toyota-lights-on-your-tj-cheap-quality-led-alternative.52840/

 

[FarFire70]

I'm much in the same boat, needing to post a build thread after lurking and building a while. Looks like a lot of dedication and work from you. Keep the thread updated. Looking forward to your next steps.

 

[Rickyd]

Also forgot i did an abs delete when i put the rubi axles in. I used this non abs stainless line kit- https://www.inlinetube.com/products/sjpb9701

And went junkyard hunting for this fitting-

To put in the plugged off port on my abs prop valve-

So that the new lines could be routed to the proportioning valve like the factory non abs model.

Props to @mrblaine for answering the proportioning valve question in the thread i found these pictures. Getting rid of the abs let me put a compressor on the lil shelf so many people use that for. In case anyone is wondering about it the disc and drum prop valves are identical and with a fitting swap the abs valve works flawlessly in my jeep.

 

[Rickyd]

I'm much in the same boat, needing to post a build thread after lurking and building a while. Looks like a lot of dedication and work from you. Keep the thread updated. Looking forward to your next steps.

Thanks man! Its moving along slowly. Lots of things to bring together so it doesn't feel like such a shitbox but I'm hitting a tipping point towards a decent jeep. Its all worth it every time i get to drive her with the top down and doors off!

 

[Rickyd]

Some posts of mine briefly describing how i put passenger side grand cherokee foam on my drivers seat frame.similar vintage cherokee and gc have almost identical seats.the leather seats preserved the gc foam very well,other than some funky stains lol.my foam under cloth seats in the elements were crumbling apart.i would have bought new foam but it isn't available.it was very easy to do-
Post in thread 'Has anyone replaced seat foam?' https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/has-anyone-replaced-seat-foam.27657/post-1174547
Finished it off with some caltrend camo covers.they fit great

 

[Rickyd]

So i was just out in my shop setting up a run of 223 on the press and sorting some things. By chance i moved my spare front rubi axleshafts and noticed this on them!

Maybe 100$ for spare axles was a good deal after all?
It isn't all good though.drivers side looks like it lost a u joint at one time and damaged the ears

It looks like the ears got splayed out a little and some flavor of outer shaft was put on.it has a purplish anodizing on it.

So that leads to a few questions for you guys. Can you tell which superior shafts they are? Did they have cheap economy shafts to stay away from?what about that replacement outer?

And if they were yours would you put that drivers inner into a press,straighten the ears and get another good quality outer? It isn't bent much and no cracks i can see

Which type material and brand would be a decent upgrade to a stock outer?

 

[Rickyd]

Ok so the ears on the inner superior axle were .100" spread at the top. Between my press and a little fine tuning with a bfh i got it to take a ujoint and spin easily with the caps and clips in. Caps aren't loose in the ears. I think I'm gtg there. Need to find a suitable outer now and I'll install these in place of the stock rubi shafts so long as they are actually an upgrade?

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Glad to see you doing a build thread, Dude. Looking forward to following along.

Jeff

 

[Rickyd]

Glad to see you doing a build thread, Dude. Looking forward to following along.

Jeff

Thanks! If you see anything you have advise or an opinion on please post it up.

 

[Rickyd]

Used this posts equation to find what gear i needed,turned out to also be 35 tooth. Post in thread 'TJ Speed Gear Issues' https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/tj-speed-gear-issues.67779/post-1261642

And rummaged around my junkyard speedo gears til i found a 35 tooth gear. It put my speedo within a mph if i can believe a free gps speedo app. Clock the housing to your gear range and good to go. Its been reading 4 mph high at 55mph actual for a while. Nice saturday job