Wife's Waggy "Walter"...

tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 9:19 pm

REDONE wrote:If you run low on never dull, let me know.

Ha! So far I've been cleaning with some pretty good spray (I think it's this stuff:

??and a wire brush. Also, the steam cleaning pressure washer helps.
May let the wife do any polishing. I just wanted o get decades of brake dust and other gunk off them.

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tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 5:54 pm

What a day. Good news is I got Walter "done" enough that he's out of the shop for a little while. It wasn't without him fighting until the very end. And as I'm towing him home I think I may have just roached the tranny in the suburban. I'm about 5 miles from home, toodling along. Start pulling a small grade and notice smoke pouring out. Pull over and tranny fluid I'd dripping out of the th400 from somewhere. Gonna let it cool a bit and see if I can make it home. Maybe I am just running too heavy. The waggy, trailer, and all my tools and Jeep parts are probably just way more than this guy can handle.

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az chip · Post by **az chip** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 5:59 pm

The "burb is jealous of all the attention Walter has been getting.

tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 6:03 pm

And to add to today's fun I get to the shop and notice the t-case output seal had started to leak now that I fixed the yoke. Wife was there so I send her to the parts store for a new one. She comes back with the wrong (WAY WRONG!) Seal. The one they sent fits a grand Cherokee CV axle! Wtf?
So I go back and they look up the right one and it looks close. Nope. Wrong one again. Unfortunately I had to destroy the old one getting it out. Go to a different parts store (O'Riley's this time) and they had the right one. Over 2 hours wasted chasing a seal.

At least he's out of the shop.

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tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 6:45 pm

And after just a little driving I can say a few things need attention still.
Getting a brake light on the dash. Fluid is full but maybe there is air in the system?? Brakes are not what they were for certain. Pedal feel wise and stopping power. I understand the larger tires but this is different.
Second thing is the steering box. It must still have air in the system somehow because it feels weird, like a bad tightness with almost a ratchety feel. Hopefully I can bleed that out.
The good is I like the spring/shock ride. It isn't nearly as harsh as most I've tried.

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ferrum · Post by **ferrum** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 7:31 pm

Man your jeep looks awesome. 4" lift looks good. My jeep basically have similar setup. I have bfg 33x10.5 tires and 4" lift. My breaks are oem and it seems to sufficient. I can still lock up the rear breaks. Just bleed the breaks well and it should be good. I did have to chage master cylinder and vacuum booster but they were as old as the jeep.

az chip · Post by **az chip** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 10:11 pm

I searched this thread could not find which lift kit you went with. Looking great outside. Maybe rear adjusters not set tight enough for the soft pedal.

candymancan · Post by **candymancan** » Sun Apr 16, 2017 12:14 am

Sadly my front rims were so bad no cleaner would get the baked on brake dust off. You can tell previous owners never washed or cleaned the Jeep and never rotated tires because the front rims were so baked on dirty i couldnt get the crap off with acid if i tried.. I had to use a metalic wire brush to scrape the crap off the rims.. yes i know bad.. scratching alluminum rims but the front rims looked 100x better cleaned like that then black like they were.

Brake light on the dash ? The only brake light on the dahs i have is for the parking brake lol.. so id look there.

Never trust part stores.. i dont care what store you go too, the idiots there.. when you say GRAND WAGONEER.. they immediatly think.. oh grand cherokee.. Or they think ok wagoneer.. |"aka XJ wagoneer" thanks to AMC and Chrysler confusing the hell out of the names of these Jeeps.

I always double and tripple check GRAND WAGONEEEEERRRR hur hur hur hur with those part store guys.. because they are too stupid to understand which Jeep is what.

4 inch lift looks good on your Jeep, but i feel you need wider tires, that width make it look like its on stilts to me.. But thats just me dont cut me for saying that

I thought i was the only one here doing a lot and quickly to my Jeep, But you have done just as much as me in a short period of time.. Arent you exhausted lol

tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:39 am

@ferrum:
Thanks! I like the way it sits now much more. Has a more manly look. The brakes worked perfectly before I had to make new lines etc. My guess is there is just a lot more air needing to be bled out.

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tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:40 am

az chip wrote:I searched this thread could not find which lift kit you went with. Looking great outside. Maybe rear adjusters not set tight enough for the soft pedal.

It's the skyjacker 4" with Bilstein shocks. Ride is firmer but not in a bad way.
As I said above, brakes were fine before I made new lines, replaced the calipers/rotors/pads, and installed new flex lines. The brakes work but are mushy and not as strong. I'll try and bleed them more. Hopefully I don't have to pull the master to bench bleed it and start all of it from scratch.

tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Sun Apr 16, 2017 10:02 am

@candyman:
I gotta say that the stuff I used worked miracles. These wheels had decades of cooked on brake dust, road salt, and neglect. I had to use some elbow grease and a stainless wire brush on the super hard stuff but they are WAY better than they were. If I had more time (and desire) I could have probably made them great. I'm happy enough with them as it is for now, this isn't restoration quality effort.

Is the dash brake light ONLY for the park brake or is there a sensor on the MC for fluid alert? I'll have to look when I get time. Maybe I knocked the P-brake wire loose when I was messing with the bottom sash AC stuff...?

I have pretty good luck with some parts stores. Some... Not so much. For me, AutoZone is a last resort. Can't stand them.

As for the tires... The width depends on a few things. If I'm building a more off-road oriented Jeep I will usually go wider. For stuff that is more dual purpose or majority on road like a DD, I'll keep the tires tucked in the fenders. They are a little pizza-cutter looking but I like it as it has a more expedition look.. like a factory capable Jeep.
Like anything, aesthetics are individual preferences. The nice thing is I get zero rub with the skinnies, can run factory wheels, and don't stress the wheel bearings much more than stock.

Pablo · Post by **Pablo** » Sun Apr 16, 2017 11:21 am

The sensor that triggers most brake warning lights is in the proportioning combination valve. It is thrown when you have a leak on one side of the system. The differential pressure safety switch will block off half your brake system to keep it from leaking all fluid out and losing your brakes entirely. Look for leaking brake fluid somewhere. It may also have been triggered while bleeding it if you were using the pump the brakes method of bleeding.

To reset the valve you may have to take it off the brake lines and start over with bleeding. If you have to do this, insert a small punch or screwdriver into one end of the valve where you unscrewed the brake line fitting, until the light goes out. Push easy or you will go past the halfway point and trigger the switch on the other side. Once it is recentered, you can reassemble and rebleed.

Sometimes you can find the electrical connection that goes into the top of the valve and pull it, then use a small screwdriver to recenter the valve. Sometimes you can reset it by opening a bleeder on the side that still has brake pressure and pushing the pedal down, to loose pressure on that side. Sometimes bleeding the closed side and driving and rebleeding will reset it.

candymancan · Post by **candymancan** » Sun Apr 16, 2017 7:26 pm

Did realize our brakes were that fancy lol

tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Sun Apr 16, 2017 7:34 pm

^fancy is synonymous with complicated apparently. Haha.
So this was a little disturbing. Wife is getting concerned that Walter won't be reliable. Doesn't help she spent the last week driving a rented 2016 grand Cherokee. There is good and bad with this I guess. She wants me to keep my eye peeled for a newer vehicle that will be (in her mind) more dependable. We can't afford one better than a used one which is really just someone else's problems. Hopefully I can make Walter reliable and run better. If not... All isn't lost. We can see what else she would be comfortable in that we could afford... And I'd drive the waggy.

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Nikkormat · Post by **Nikkormat** » Sun Apr 16, 2017 7:42 pm

So it doesn't look like it will rub? Nice! That looks plenty tall for me!

Also, how does the suburban normally tow the Waggy? There is a 90 suburban in the family I'll have eventually and I've always wondered how it would tow a waggy or a J truck. It's 2wd and 454 so it will be a little different but the wheelbase and weight will be much the same.

tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Sun Apr 16, 2017 9:42 pm

I haven't had a chance to flex it so I'm not positive but I'd be surprised if it rubs.
As far as the war wagon... It tows... Ok. Could be better and I'd bet the 454 would help that greatly. An OD tranny would be nice. And hydroboost would help save the trailer brakes much more. I don't get much wag the dog unless I really mislead the trailer. If I had the desire to build it into a better beast (and can't afford a diesel) I'd go 454/gl80. Add hydroboost and air bags for the rear for load. Saturday was the first time I ever had an issue towing with it but it's WAY overloaded. The waggy is probably around 5k with the lift/tires and various stuff inside like cleaners and parts. The trailer is around 1800lbs empty? And I bet there is another 800-1000lbs in the back of the sub from tools and parts. That's almost 8000lbs not including the 5000+ lbs of the truck itself... It's kinda amazing it moves at all. Very (VERY!!) Tired tbi 350 and matching th400. If I'm pushing 150hp I'd be amazed.
But... It gets it done.

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candymancan · Post by **candymancan** » Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:29 pm

So glad my sj has been reliable minus needing a new radiator.. the repair work ive done is mostly rust.. electrical and suspension and exhaust... nothing engine or brake wise..

Going to visit lurray caverns in the shenadoah mountains tomorrow. 200 mile trip taking ny wagoneer. This will be the first long trip ive taking it on.

tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Mon Apr 17, 2017 9:55 pm

I'm gonna make this thing reliable one way or another. My drop pitman arm and the fuel filler hoses came in. We didn't have any shop time in school so hopefully I can address it tomorrow. Having put about 40 miles on it today I can say the steering sucks. I hope it's just a combination of needing the DPA installed and more bleeding of the system. It steers very weird, kinda twitchy(?) If that makes sense. I'm going to have to agree with Pablo that the likely culprit for the brake light is the prop valve. If one side (likely the front) has pressure it could be causing the valve to default. Hopefully it's just a matter of looking at fixing the valve position and rebleeding the whole system.
I also noticed it was running more than warm. Sat at a light for a while and the temp kept climbing. Once moving it seemed to settle to a more reasonable warm+. Turned the heater on and it dropped to normal. Not sure what's up with that. Gonna have to source a shroud sooner than later I think. In a related question, does it matter which port on the heater core the hoses go to? I have the larger one going to the water pump and the smaller running to the back of the intake. Heater cores can flow both ways... Right?

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ferrum · Post by **ferrum** » Tue Apr 18, 2017 12:40 am

Drop pitman arm is a must for 4" lift if you don't want bump steer. When I bled breaks on mine I didn't mess with proportioning valve. It was 2 person job. One person to pump the pedal few times and hold until other person bled the break. You might want to check your fan clutch to see if it is working properly. It should be hard to turn by hand when EG is hot. I'm probably pointing out the obvious stuff you already checked.

tedlovesjeeps71 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Tue Apr 18, 2017 8:09 am

I have the DPA now but have to wait for a chance to swap it. My issue is the steering box itself feels.... Twitchy? Like it's stiff and does random movements on its own.
Brakes are going to be a different issue to fix but I'm still hopeful it all gets squared away quickly.

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