Building an E-Ticket ride - 06 LJ

Damn if I didn't have an accumulation of coolant under my radiator today :mad:. Looks like it is weeping along to top edge of the plastic cap and more spots lower, likely having come from the top cap. Good thing I didn't get aggressive and drive it 1-2 hours to go wheeling this weekend, would have ended in tears.

Perhaps sitting 2 years during my build was not good for the radiator. It is 18 years old with 100k miles on it, so maybe just hit the service limit. Looking for the next best thing to an OEM radiator now, seems those are all gone from the market from some of the threads I've seen here.
 
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New radiator, hoses, heater hoses, thermostat, and for good measure while I am in there, new serpentine belt, idler pulley and alternator on order. Hopefully after next weekend I will be ready to venture a bit farther from the house.
 
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I got the radiator out without too much drama. The Gates heater hoses are a match to my original hoses, however the Crown radiator hoses I bought are less than satisfactory. The upper hose is missing the bend that aims the hose at the upper inlet of the radiator. The hose is going to link if I force it on, so I’ve ordered Gates radiator hoses even if it will cost me another week waiting for them.

The Crown hoses were available quicker but that was a mistake.

I am also swapping my fan clutch while I’ve got the access, thankfully it came off with a few blows on the wrench from a dead blow hammer as seen on YouTube!

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Got my PA Performance 160A alternator installed along with the new idler pulley and thermostat. Now waiting for those Gates radiator hoses.

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Found out what everyone else here already knows, these new radiators don’t come with quick connect fittings. Damn, just made new hoses that mated to the quick connects. Now too short!
 
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Why not go all the way with the cooling system? Swapped out the water pump too.

The original pump impeller looks new but probably not the seal so hopefully I’ve made a smart move.

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Got the cooling system upgrades finished.

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Took the opportunity to move the hole pattern on the fan shroud to center it on the fan, was off by 1/2”. I did a 1” BL and MML but they didn’t match up and I didn’t realize it until now.

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Next up, swap out the LOD Destroyer front bumper for a Genright steel stubby which is flat tow capable. In the past weeks I’ve seen some posts about LOD recovery points pulled out of bumpers during flat tow operations. Those were Gladiators but still that spooked me enough to make the change. The Genright recovery points are .9” thick vs .7” on the LOD, welded on both sides (rosette inside), and no hint online of any failures. Got it primed and bed lined yesterday, so ready to go.

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Now that I have the LOD bumper off, you can see there was an opportunity for them to weld the backside but it was not done.

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The back of the Genright bumper:

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Otherwise, the Genright is a bit lower in profile and sets the winch a bit lower, is tighter to the sides and has a higher bull bar which should give me more clearance for my Black Magic fairlead to clear my front camera.

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Plumber1 said:
OK you can stop right now. You are giving some us an inferiority complex ;)
Click to expand...

I am done, I swear!!! At least for now, I've got to wheel this pig and see how it does. I also need to save something for future winters...mid arm, LS, who knows :). See some of the builds on this site gives me a few ideas.
 
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Noting is easy.

I have a missing nut plate in the frame on the passenger side. I have been using a nut on a tab with the LOD bumper but that won’t work with the Genright bumper so I decided to fix it correctly.

I used that same nut in a tab and welded it in and then cut and cleaned it up.

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Then I find out that the Superwomch is not symmetrical and hits the passenger side bull bar gusset. Out comes the drill, cut off wheel and angle grinder.

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After this initial cut I can see that it will take a lot more material removal to fit. That’s not going to be good for the strength of that gusset.

Then it dawns on me that I can drill another set of winch mount holes over to the driver side to clear, duh!

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I am pretty happy with the outcome. My forward facing camera is now up higher and will have an unobstructed view. It is also protected from by the bull bar.

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My light bar is not going to fit given the new bumper has less horizontal length at the top of the bull bar, but that’s fine as that was a small bar anyway and I will instead put some A pillar lights instead. With my Truck Lite LED headlights I should have plenty of light.

I have yet to secure my flat tow plug as it is close to the upper mount bolts and I’ve got to come with a solution to use those for safety chains. I am not sure if the available soft shackle recovery point will fit up on this bumper as the bull bar is close to the forward bolt.

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More research required for that one.

I decided to keep my standard fairlead and Factor 55 Flatlink. Yes a safety thimble would be one less connection but I’ve got this stuff already and unless it is not fit for purpose I will stay with it versus spending more money for something slightly different.

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I was about to close up for the day and this gets dropped off.

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Of course custom set of battery cables should go right on…not so fast.

First, many of the cables are over 4 feet too long and will need to be cut to proper length and have new terminations crimped on.

Next issue, the block ground was not coming off after a good hour of trying everything. The nut is fused to the stud and the whole thing spins and the wires spin along with them, so a risk of pulling them out.

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I decided to leave that alone and add the new block cable to another location on the block.

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Then, the PDC connections are the wrong type and I had to trim the PDC box and cover to get them to fit and the cover to close. Easy to do but I recall this was supposed to be a simple bolt on for my year rig with the right lugs already on the cables.

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I need three 2 gage lugs to finish this job and my box of lugs has just one left! Hopefully Amazon can save my but with some quick delivery or maybe West Marine will have some locally.

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E-Ticket said:
I was about to close up for the day and this gets dropped off.

View attachment 558214

Of course custom set of battery cables should go right on…not so fast.

First, many of the cables are over 4 feet too long and will need to be cut to proper length and have new terminations crimped on.

Next issue, the block ground was not coming off after a good hour of trying everything. The nut is fused to the stud and the whole thing spins and the wires spin along with them, so a risk of pulling them out.

View attachment 558215

I decided to leave that alone and add the new block cable to another location on the block.

View attachment 558216

Then, the PDC connections are the wrong type and I had to trim the PDC box and cover to get them to fit and the cover to close. Easy to do but I recall this was supposed to be a simple bolt on for my year rig with the right lugs already on the cables.

View attachment 558219

View attachment 558220

I need three 2 gage lugs to finish this job and my box of lugs has just one left! Hopefully Amazon can save my but with some quick delivery or maybe West Marine will have some locally.

View attachment 558221
Click to expand...

I just put in the Jeep Cables kit and thought things were well sized for my 2005 4.0.

FarFire70

Post in thread 'Building Homer (2005 TJ Build Thread)'

Installed Big 3.

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I don't love how the + cables are run and how the fuse is mounted. I'll likely put loom on the + near anything they may bring on (if still close after another adjustment).

Fuse: I may weld in a permanent mount once the second PDC goes in because the fuse has more play than I like but will likely move with the addition on another PDC. I can't get zip ties tight enough for my liking.
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I did have 1 extra grounding cable that I need to figure out the intended use as it wasn't clear for my Jeep, given its length and labeling. Maybe an option from older TJs? I can't recall the end labeling but I felt the other cables didn't miss an obvious grounding upgrade. It's still on the floor to review maybe modifying to add another ground.

I was lucky to get the block bolt off. Glad you made the pivot to just use another threaded mounting point!
 
FarFire70 said:
I just put in the Jeep Cables kit and thought things were well sized for my 2005 4.0.

FarFire70

Post in thread 'Building Homer (2005 TJ Build Thread)'

Installed Big 3.

1000007120.jpg
1000007119.jpg
1000007116.jpg


I don't love how the + cables are run and how the fuse is mounted. I'll likely put loom on the + near anything they may bring on (if still close after another adjustment).

Fuse: I may weld in a permanent mount once the second PDC goes in because the fuse has more play than I like but will likely move with the addition on another PDC. I can't get zip ties tight enough for my liking.
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I did have 1 extra grounding cable that I need to figure out the intended use as it wasn't clear for my Jeep, given its length and labeling. Maybe an option from older TJs? I can't recall the end labeling but I felt the other cables didn't miss an obvious grounding upgrade. It's still on the floor to review maybe modifying to add another ground.

I was lucky to get the block bolt off. Glad you made the pivot to just use another threaded mounting point!
Click to expand...

Here's the one I couldn't figure out but I have GR fenders now including inners. So, maybe there's an obvious spot this would go on OEM.

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Thanks for the reply with pics @FarFire70. I think my positive cables are way longer than yours based on the pictures, at least the alternator to fuse cable. Mine is attached to the alternator in this picture and routes past the battery then all the way to the floor! The other one in this picture is already attached to my starter and again, has an extra 4 feet of length given that it should connect to the battery. I got my box of cable lugs with same day delivery from Amazon so will cut them to a good length this morning.

I also cannot find a battery to fender ground wire so that one will go into my tub of heavy cables for future use.

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