Wildman's TJ is getting a face lift

Got to give another shout out to @Irun for recommending this spot cutter. I figured out where I wanted the battery tray, clamped it down and went to town.

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Then drilled out the holes for nutzerts and 💥.

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Battery tray installed 😎, & yes it still needs to be painted. :( I seem to keep finding stuff that I forgot to paint.

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But it'll work for now and I'll pull it back off and paint after I get done with my testing.

Now to get the battery cables routed and installed.
One step closer. Thanks again Rich.
 
Added heat shielding wrap to the starter cable since it is so close to the exhaust.

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Then some loom to help protect the wires.

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Routed the starter cable. You can see how close the exhaust is.

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Hooked up the starter.

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Then clamped both battery cables to the firewall to help keep them away from the exhaust. The negative cable is bolted to the cylinder head.

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Then ran the cables behind the battery tray.

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Damn I could hook the battery up and see if I start any 🔥.....

OK I could see if I've got power to different parts just to test stuff out. Not quite ready to try starting it.
 
See I told you I had grounds to connect...
Been chasing my tail for awhile because the gauges weren't working. I'd found one up on the firewall and got it grounded. But still NOTHING.........
Crawled underneath the Jeep and connected one under there.
Nope nadda still not working 😕.
Then as I'm walking around the front of the Jeep I happen to look at the front of the engine.
Sure enough dumbass 🙄 you'd forgotten the main harness ground.

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Now why it says I have a full tank of fuel I'm not going to venture a guess. I don't have the fuel tank installed or the sender/pump hooked up.
The added BONUS is that I now have spark also.
Tomorrow I'll build the fuel lines for the tank and get that mocked up. I'm waiting on a piece of aluminum to arrive to mount the tank.
Plus I really need to do a good cleaning up of the garage 😩. And some reorganization.

But this was a major milestone for this project.

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Got the fuel lines built today.
I started by installing the 45⁰ AN fittings.

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Then crawled underneath the Jeep to figure out the routing number of the lines and how long they needed to be.

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They worked out really nice at the filter and bulk head fitting.

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Then I cut the lines to the length I'd marked. Also happened to cut a finger on the steel braiding on one of the lines.

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You need to have a small gap between the socket and the line.

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When using this press you put the socket of the fitting into the press using the correct size die.

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Then put the hose into the end of the socket.

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Close the lid and press the line into the socket. If you happen to press the line all the way into the socket like this.

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You're supposed to turn it back out until you have a gap between 1/25" & 3/50".

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I hadn't done this before and is how I'd screwed up one of the AN fittings.

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Then lube the nipple before starting it into the socket.



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Hand tighten it until you can't turn it anymore. Then grab your wrenches and tighten it down.

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You need to tighten it until there's 0 to 1/25" gap between the base of the socket and the nipple.

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The finished product. 8AN main fuel line and 6AN return fuel line.

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Tomorrow I'll get the fuel tank out and set it underneath the Jeep and hook up the fuel lines and wiring harness. Then I can see if the pump is running and if the sender works. I'll have to get some fuel to put into the tank. Then I can test out the fuel system and check for leaks.
I've still got to get some transmission fluid into the transmission. Then check and double check things and it might be time to fire off the engine.
 
I'd had the battery hooked up all day today while I was working in the garage and didn't have any problems, so I decided I'd leave it hooked up tonight and see what my voltage looks like in the morning. I've got an appointment with the VA on Wednesday but the rest of the week I should be able to work on the Jeep.

One interesting thing to note is that my steering wheel lock doesn't work anymore. So, I'm going to have to take the steering column apart and see if I can figure out what has gotten broken inside of it.
 
I also got most of my vacuum lines routed and hooked up today. The only thing left is the vacuum reservoir under the battery tray. I haven't installed it yet and need to dig it out of a box. I think I've figure out where I'm going to mount the catch can and how that will be routed.
Edit: All my hard plastic vacuum lines were brittle and kept breaking which is why I decided to just run vacuum hose instead.

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American Iron Off-Road

They have been working on a Ball Joint Delete kit for the old school Dana 30/44 as we have been calling them since there are now so many different types now.

Edit: He's hoping to have them available NLT Christmas.

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These fit the Ford Dana 44's Chevy 12 bolt Jeep CJ Dana 30 & Wagoneer Dana 44 plus I'm sure others that I'm not think of right now. I've been talking with Josh for a long time and will be getting a set ASAP once the prototypes are done. But he's asked me to run my current ball joint deletes for about a month or two first so that when I swap to these, I can give an honest assessment of them and the difference between them.

Look forward to trying them out.
 
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I had to take the day off today, so I'd spent part of the day reading the JeepForu thread on doing the V-8 swap. It's only 153 pages long and I'm about halfway thru right now. But it had gotten me thinking after reading about people who had issues with wiring that maybe I should try something. Many had problems with the OBD2 port not reading and things like that. So, while I went out for a cigar, I figured I'd hook up my scanner and see what it said.


Knew I'd have this one since the EVAP isn't hooked up.

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Not sure about this one since the water temp sensor isn't plugged in yet.

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This one has me worried since it could mean I didn't wire it properly. Or I didn't pin the connector properly which stands a good chance.

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Not sure about this one as it could be because it isn't hooked up or could be a short.

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This one makes me hope/think that the high voltage for the fuel sender is because it isn't hooked up.

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So, at this point I don't see anything REALLY bad or nothing I can't fix easy enough. Of course, I may/will have more codes once I attempt to start it. I'll have at least one O2 sensor code and who knows what else.
 
I think you're correct Mike. Shouldn't try thinking so late at night.

Edit: I agree it's seeing an open circuit so it's either because stuff isn't hooked up or a broken/cut wire.
Was supposed to go to the VA tomorrow but it's snowing heavy out right now so I might not be going if the roads stay like they are.
 
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I couldn't pass up the Black Friday sales Motobuilt was having (30% off) so I got me a new bumper and mount for my 8274 winch. Got to do some modifications to make it all fit on the steering box rotation. And the bumper was designed for a low profile winch so a little tweaking is required there also.

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And I bought their jam nut wrenches which should make things nicer instead of trying to carry large wrenches.


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Everyone have a nice day I'm headed to the VA and have to deal with Seattle traffic...... Joy Joy
 
I couldn't pass up the Black Friday sales Motobuilt was having (30% off) so I got me a new bumper and mount for my 8274 winch. Got to do some modifications to make it all fit on the steering box rotation. And the bumper was designed for a low profile winch so a little tweaking is required there also.

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And I bought their jam nut wrenches which should make things nicer instead of trying to carry large wrenches.


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Everyone have a nice day I'm headed to the VA and have to deal with Seattle traffic...... Joy Joy

I've considered that same bumper. I like it's design
 
I've considered that same bumper. I like it's design

It makes my front end a little shorter which is a good thing as it makes that 3" stretch in the front worth it. I've got some work to do to it to make it fit and work with my setup, but it'll be nice once it's done.
 
It makes my front end a little shorter which is a good thing as it makes that 3" stretch in the front worth it. I've got some work to do to it to make it fit and work with my setup, but it'll be nice once it's done.

What'cha planning on doing with you're old bumper?