So here is the day I bought it beside my 1997 Cherokee.
The next weekend I trailered it back to my parents house as I didn’t have room to store/work on it at an apartment. Some of you may remember my questions about getting a wide track Jeep on a trailer. Again thank you to everyone who helped get measurements and pictures. I had to borrow my girlfriends father's trailer as ours was to close for comfort. Here it is at 12 am on half way to my parents house. I had a 2 hour drive to my parents house to get the truck and trailer a 2 hour drive back to get the Jeep and a 2.5 hour drive home all after work on a Friday.
It sat at my parents house until September of last year. While it was at my parents house I would make trips home to work on and enjoy the jeep but never had more than a weekend. The first thing I felt I had to do was ditch the Pig Nose. It was busted up and someone had spray bombed it black and it just looked bad. So I found a Razor grille.
I did a full fluid change on everything including the Quadratrac, except the transmission as it looked pretty good. No pictures as I was mostly covered in fluids the whole time.
I also put new brake pads on the rear as it was down to the metal. P/O said he didn’t feel safe driving as he didn’t have good brakes.
No kidding
That is how the Jeep was for the summer. Until September when I moved to a house with a garage. Preparing for a 2 hour drive after only ever driving for ~30 mins was to tighten my belts verify my fluids were good and oh yea I decided to flush the radiator.
That turned out to be an issue as the radiator had evidently been rusting a way with plenty of holes filled with stop leak. So adding some coolant every 30 minutes I was on my way and made it with no issues except my speedo started clicking 30 mins out from Raleigh. So within the first week of having the Jeep with me again and with my fountain of a radiator I decided to bite the bullet and place an order with BJ's for a new radiator. I didn’t want to risk it with an Ebay aluminium one and why not support BJ's.
So I yanked out the old radiator. Put in the new which I don’t have a picture of as I just wanted to drive again.
I also figured since I am working up here I might as well put in a transmission cooler. So I bought a B&M cooler off Amazon, some fittings and hose later cooler transmission. I could tell a difference on the first drive. The carpet had been removed earlier in its life and I was dealing with just metal between me and a heat box. The transmission tunnel after a long drive before would be hot, not burn your hand but you wouldn't need heat if it was wintertime. I chalked it up to being summer/fall and being warm with no carpet. After the transmission cooler however I barley saw temps over 160 throughout the fall and winter. However I did run into one issue I started getting a whine with rpms that scared me at first I thought I ruined the transmission but after reading countless forums on th400s everyone said change your filter first and check your fluid level, if that doesn't help then worry. Well I bought a transmission filter and crawled under the Jeep with a storage tub to catch the fluid. Not much room but it worked.
While I'm in there might as well put a trans temp gauge as well. While I’m doing that might as well put a Vacuum and volt gauge as well. I have sense replaced the thin metal with black ABS plastic and am much happier. I need to get a picture of It as it looks way better than this. I also decided to switch to a digital volt meter just haven’t put it in yet.
Stock radio hole was already messed up so I decided Id just make that my gauge panel and I’ll hide a radio eventually.
After topping off my fluid and hitting the road with no whines I was grinning ear to ear I decided to take a trip around Jordan lake.
The above picture was one of the happiest pictures I had taken of the Jeep. It was a great day until I decided I'd let the tailgate down and my switch that worked flawlessly until then decided it had enough and crapped out. I was furious and disgusted at the same time I thought I might be lucky and not have the rear window blues but boy was I wrong. So after blowing 2 fuses trying to test my window and finding out it was not the switch but instead somewhere in the wiring I gave up and pulled the fuse for the rear window and let it be. The window was up who cares I can still drive it. Then one day while installing some other gauges I bumped the switch by accident and I hear the window motor wine like it wants to roll down. I check the fuse its not in there, So I hold the switch down and just like it use to down goes the window. Now I am even more worried, so my only option now is to fix the wiring and run new as who knows what a P/O has done to make the window work with no fuse. So that is what I did I ran all new wires back with relays. I wish I would have just bought serehills kit as I would have came out way cheaper in the long run. I had the tools but I wanted to make sure it was right, so 10 gauge wire and crimp ends with a new heat gun and heat shrink to make sure my connections were protected.
Its done and I can look back and laugh now but it was a painful process. Also thanks again to BJ's cant really say that enough as I bought all the seals and felt and wipes and etc. to make sure I dont have to open up the access panel for a long time. I also used E clips on the pins I highly recommend this. Dont know the size I had a box of them from a previous job where the owners said they were going to throw them out, so I snatched them up.
After driving again for a while I realized I really couldn't see any thing in the stock side mirrors so off they went. Big thanks out to Ross (ross80truck) for my new side mirror mounts. These things are beefy and luckily Amazon also sells a mirror kit for a 90ish dodge truck, so both mirrors for 40 bucks and I was sitting pretty. I could finally see things in my mirrors.
I highly recommend these for anyone that has a full size Jeep and values your side mirrors quality product.
That catches everyone up to last week when I decided it was time.
Front.
Completed.
With the help of my brother and some friends we were able to knock it out in a weekend. Its a Skyjacker 4inch kit I bought thought BJ's I say completed but really it was shipped out missing two shocks. I contacted BJ's and had the other two shocks before the next weekend came around. Thanks again BJ's for help with that.
I am starting with brake lines and as it looks like right now I may be replacing hard lines. We will see I bought 4 inch extended lines and in an attempt to install them I realized I am going to strip every fitting nut as I don't have the proper wrench's anyway. So I went ahead and bought new nickel/copper line that is apparently the best you can buy because I wont skip on brakes. Highly recommended by East Coast Gear Supply up the road from me. Hopefully I can get the new lines in and finished up this weekend so I can drive it. Well brake lines and I have to get the drive shaft off of the exhaust/ Which means I might as well buy new u-joints.
There are a few out there who make 33s that really are 33. I think 35s would be a bit too big for that on road off road compromise. Should fit better too. I think the Skyjacker is a little bit of a softer spring that flexes nicely. 35s might grind up the fenders a bit at full flex.
