Putting it back on the road

teddill

Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2021
Messages
36
Location
Illinois
Hello, I'm Tedd and I have a Jeep problem. It loves my wallet.
This "Rebuild" will take a while, but I hope to do this right the first time. I'm still torn between as close to OE delivered or something a little different. I guess I will burn that bridge when I get there. LOL!

Starting out with a neglected 1999 TJ sport 5 speed manual with factory 30's and half doors/soft top with an add a trunk. Picked it up for a fair price. It runs, but the breaks are shot.
The half doors are long gone, replaced with full doors and a Hard top added. But I do have the soft top for it!

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This weekend I started by removing the hitch. Man it did not want to come off! I wound up cutting off the heads of the bolts! Lots of rust. This was so I could remove the fuel tank, as the skid plate was toast. And having the tank out makes replacing the brake lines easier.

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I purchased a complete brake line kit from Classic Tube. Just going to replace it all. While I'm in here the shocks are going to get replaced as well. They are Factory original!! Also found that the fuel vapor line is rotted away. New one on the way.

I am worried to have found that the axle breather line is disconnected. I will replace it, but I want to flush out the diff just to be safe.

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The clamp of the rear flex line is pretty much toast. I have been going through the parts guide and it is not called out. Should I fabricate a replacement or just remove the remains and get on with the job?

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That is a lot of rust. You may want to take a real good look at the frame and tub before you dump more money into it.
 
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That is a lot of rust. You may want to take a real good look at the frame and tub before you dump more money into it.

Believe it or not, this is the worst spot. I have gone through the frame checking for soft spots. Also, the tub is not bad. A couple of minor spots, but all are easy to manage. Believe me, I would have not purchased this one if there were frame or tub issues that would be major work.

Thanks for the call out though. The photos make it look way worse than it is.
 
The clamp of the rear flex line is pretty much toast. I have been going through the parts guide and it is not called out. Should I fabricate a replacement or just remove the remains and get on with the job?

View attachment 336416

Not sure exactly where this is. What is the clamp attached to? The non-ABS parts diagram (Figure 005-520) shows item 5 as 5212 8189 'SHIELD, Brake Line, Tube Rear Axle' but it's not clear if it's the same thing as your photo.

If you can't find one, you could grab a generic brake line clip that fits your replacement's OD and drilling a hole for it in the existing part to snap it in.
 
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Not sure exactly where this is. What is the clamp attached to? The non-ABS parts diagram (Figure 005-520) shows item 5 as 5212 8189 'SHIELD, Brake Line, Tube Rear Axle' but it's not clear if it's the same thing as your photo.

If you can't find one, you could grab a generic brake line clip that fits your replacement's OD and drilling a hole for it in the existing part to snap it in.

That clip is for the rigid line from the right drum. I will leave this for a while as I still need to start work on the actual brakes now. Thank you.
 
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Well I'm pushing on to get the brakes done. The rear is complete! So glad to have this forum as a recourse. I will add the control arms to the list of second round work.
The cable guide on the right rear gave me a fit. After going through the forum, I realized I was not following the proper order of installation. Once I did, snap everything went together beautifully.

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As a side, my wife asked it anything can be done with the top. I read quite a bit. Here is a sample of just the magic eraser. I am very surprised by the improvement with just a quick rub down in this area.

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Started on the front brakes. Pulled off the caliper and the rotor. While cleaning up I found out the universal joint was trashed. I don't know if this is something I want to do myself.
The previous owner had mentioned that the Jeep handled funny. Along with the non functional way bar, this could be part of the problem...
I have a recommendation for Lou's sales & service in Geneva Illinois to do this work.
 
As I continue on brake work, I have been a little distracted with a couple of side projects. I removed the bad purple window tint in the doors, then cleaned all the glass in the Jeep. Man what a difference clean windows make! Then just for kicks I tried Bon Ami on the hard top. The Magic Eraser is kind of a pain.
Wow did the Bon Ami clean the top up! This is about an hour of work in the photo. I will try it with my power buffer on a spot in the top of the roof.

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Looks good, have to finish now once started. My and probably many would advise to just be careful how much you spend on a fairly rusty Jeep; very hard to get it back. Fix up some (brakes and mechanical problems) and ride for fun. Don't use as a dependable vehicle, you will be disappointed and spend too much. My opinion only, and could be wrong; but after about 40 years of fooling with Jeeps, have learned a few things (very few !!). D
 
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Well I have finished replacing the brakes at the wheels. Still waiting on the proportioning valve. I got in a hurry and cross threaded one of the ports bad. :(

So I have been flushing out the cooling system while waiting for the part. Went from a deep rich brown to mostly a weak iced tea color. Having issues finding the right upper radiator hose. My radiator seems to have a smaller top hose than what is stocked around me...

During cool down waits I have been working on the right front head light. Removed the broken bucket and repaired the plug. Also worked out some of the damage from the deer hit that caused the issue. Bucket should be here soon.

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Looks good, have to finish now once started. My and probably many would advise to just be careful how much you spend on a fairly rusty Jeep; very hard to get it back. Fix up some (brakes and mechanical problems) and ride for fun. Don't use as a dependable vehicle, you will be disappointed and spend too much. My opinion only, and could be wrong; but after about 40 years of fooling with Jeeps, have learned a few things (very few !!). D

It is hard to hold back for me. When I have down time, (read waiting on parts) I try to keep some kind of progress. You are right. I have started to look for road ready projects while I wait. The head lights and wipers are now the focus.
 
Well I tested the wiper motor electrical connector. I have voltage where it should be. :(

I guess it's time for a new wiper motor. Man Jeep parts have gotten expensive!