The Tool or Jewel LJR build thread

[EDRN]

Late last year I picked up an '06 LJ Rubicon after I decided my XJ had suffered all she could handle. I wanted something that would be reliable, easy to fix/ upgrade/ modify myself, and above all, something that was durable enough that I wouldn't have to find another vehicle for decades, and maybe never again. The trick will be deciding whether I treat it like a vehicle that is meant to do what I build it to do (but with the potential to ruin it), or whether I baby it to try and make it last as long as I can. A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for.

 

[Fouledplugs]

Late last year I picked up an '06 LJ Rubicon after I decided my XJ had suffered all she could handle. I wanted something that would be reliable, easy to fix/ upgrade/ modify myself, and above all, something that was durable enough that I wouldn't have to find another vehicle for decades, and maybe never again. The trick will be deciding whether I treat it like a vehicle that is meant to do what I build it to do (but with the potential to ruin it), or whether I baby it to try and make it last as long as I can. A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for.


View attachment 142482

The only thing I will add is that TJ’s and LJ’s are huge targets when it comes to winter time rust. Rust will eat these things up. Not sure how much salt and snow you guys encounter up there in KY. But driver beware is all I’m sayin.

 

[EDRN]

The only thing I will add is that TJ’s and LJ’s are huge targets when it comes to winter time rust. Rust will eat these things up. Not sure how much salt and snow you guys encounter up there in KY. But driver beware is all I’m sayin.

For sure. The XJ was a used '97 Cherokee Sport with 87k miles I got from some guy up in Michigan before I knew anything about Jeeps, or used cars, or rust problems caused by Michigan. I had dreams of upgrading it now that I have a house and garage and career that pays better than when I first bought it, but by the time I got around to learning beyond how to change my oil and brake pads, I realized the rust had won. No point in upgrading the suspension when the spring perches are almost completely rusted apart, and just about every time I try to wrench on something I break a bolt (or breaker bar) due to rust, and I can see carpet through the holes in the rear fender wells.

Luckily (I guess) the last few winters here have been mild, meaning very few days below freezing and even fewer with snow. I plan on keeping the XJ for most daily driver stuff, including winter driving, until it completely falls apart.

 

[EDRN]

I didn't document a lot of what I've already done for a couple reasons. Despite being a former photojournalist and having decent camera gear in my basement, I don't really shoot that many pictures anymore because I don't ever really want to take the time to do so. I also don't own a smart phone, so I don't carry a decent camera around in my pocket like most folks. This all changed about a month ago when I updated my computer and it no longer supported the old-school iPod I owned, meaning I had to upgrade to an iPod touch, which gave me access to an easy-to-use camera.

Anyway, first thing I did was take off a lot of the chrome. The nerf bars and grille cover are gone, but the bumpers remain until I can get replacements, and the light bar will stay on until I get the motivation to take it off and paint it (or until I get a body-mounted rack).

The PO kept it in the garage mostly and didn't take it out often, so the battery had been drained a couple times and was a little weak as a result. I upgraded to an Odyssey PC1500T and upgraded to marine-style terminals. The old battery had some corrosion around the negative terminal, and I read somewhere that covering the terminal and exposed copper with grease will help deter future corrosion, so I slathered the POS and NEG in some good old red n' tacky. Then I wiped it all off when I realized how dumb that was since the grease will eventually warm up and become less viscous and run between the connections and weaken them. I guess dielectric grease would have been better.

I also went about changing all the fluids, and while removing the transmission skid plate I spun the bolt in the passenger side frame, leading me to have to drill out a 1 1/4" hole, remove the stuck bolt, and weld in a new nut tacked to some 1/8" sheet metal. Did I mention that I don't really know how to weld? But boy do I know how to grind and paint.

This project is off to a great start.

 

[EDRN]

I got into Jeeps in college riding around with my roommate as we explored the hollers of Eastern KY, and I bought the XJ before I moved off to Wyoming for my first job out of school. Out West I never really did any proper "wheeling," but I've always been an outdoor enthusiast, so I got into some pretty interesting stuff using the XJ to get to some far-flung trailheads. I've actually been to Moab four times, but have never had the desire to wheel there (the most extreme thing I did was drive from Moab to Canyonlands via 142); I'd rather go for the hiking, climbing and mountain biking. Call me what you will, but it kind of kills me to watch videos of 4 wheeling where the trail has eroded 10 feet below the natural grade of the forest.

So I'd like this project to continue that theme: Get me where I want to go so I can do cool shit. While I don't live in WYO anymore, I do travel back out West when I get the chance, and I hope to move back somewhere out there some day. Until then, I'll explore some local decommissioned strip mines and 4WD parks.

I figure one of the best ways to increase my "get there-ability" is with a lift. The consensus seems to be that 4" should be enough. So to start that process I slapped on a 1" body lift and MORE 1" motor mount lift. A few things I noticed:

The instructions for the Daystar body lift I installed mentioned watching to make sure no lines were being stretched while jacking up the body, but I wasn't sure exactly which lines they were talking about. Turns out it was the fuel filler neck in the rear and the fuel and brake lines under the hood, as well as the wires for the fog lights (in my case). Nothing bad happened, but there sure was a lot of creaking and popping with each pump of the floor jack.

They say it's a one-person job, but it sure is hard to get the t-case shifter linkage bolted back to the tub by yourself.

There are some noticeably increased vibes felt after the MML when the transmission is in D, but not in P or N. Not sure where these are coming from, but I suspect some sort of motor-to-tranny alignment issue, especially since there's a new rear main seal leak that popped up after the install. I don't know if it would help any to loosen all the motor mount bolts and try to wiggle things back into "alignment."

 

[EDRN]

A pair of the ball joints was bad, so I upgraded to a greasable set from Alloy USA. The lower joints come with needle zerks, which I thought I could just temporarily switch out for normal zerks when it came time to add grease, which only sort of works. I also bought a needle zerk adapter that fits on a normal grease gun, but that only sort of works too.

Correctly or incorrectly, I installed the two zerks facing different directions relative to the axle C. I couldn't picture in my head which orientation would be easiest to access, so I pointed the drivers side toward the axle tube, and the passenger side I installed facing the front.

The passenger's side seems like it would be easier to use, but as you can see by the glob of grease, it isn't. I figure I'll just try to grease them only when I need to take the axles out, which is still more often than the non-greaseable joints.

I'll also say that, if you're thinking about changing out your ball joints and need to borrow a press from one of the auto parts stores, the kit from my local Advance Auto Parts had the most pieces. The ones from Auto Zone and ORileys only had like 5 pieces and were harder to get to work with the slope of the axle C.

I followed a tutorial found here which told me pretty much all I needed to know.

 

[EDRN]

If you're morbidly curious enough to wonder what an LJ with a 4" SA lift and 29" tires looks like, wonder no more. In the words of the great Kevin McAllister "Buzz, your girlfriend. Woof!"

 

[Fouledplugs]

View attachment 145634

If you're morbidly curious enough to wonder what an LJ with a 4" SA lift and 29" tires looks like, wonder no more. In the words of the great Kevin McAllister "Buzz, your girlfriend. Woof!"

Amazing how much it pulls the rear tires forward towards the driver. Throws off the rear wheel well proportions.

 

[EDRN]

Yeah, I noticed that too. The bumps are centered now (I didn't relocate the upper spring pad) but since I didn't have the tires yet I only have them set for shock travel. Once I get the right tires in there I'll re-adjust everything and see if the axle might need to scooch back.

 

[EDRN]

Before installing accessories, it seemed like a good idea to upgrade my battery cables. Either that, or I was sold on the idea that I needed to upgrade them. I looked at the stuff on JeepCables, but ultimately thought, "I'd rather do that myself." I didn't really find anything in the How-To section, so I'll put something here.

Big 3, as far as I can tell, refers to the battery, alternator and starter, not the number of cables it requires. There are also ground cables to consider, which should be beefed up as well. I should probably mention that I'm not an electrical engineer or electrician. So if you know more than me, and I say something that is wrong or flat-out unsafe, please point it out so others don't make the same error(s).

 

[Irun]

Awesome color on the LJR!

 

[EDRN]

Here is a basic diagram of what a Big 3 upgrade entails.

The connections are basically:
Alternator >>> PDC
PDC >>> Battery +
Battery + >>> Starter
Battery - >>> Engine block
Battery - >>> Firewall 1
Valve cover >>> Firewall 2

There is some debate about whether to use a fuse or a fusible link. Basically, a fuse, in this case, a high-capacity ANL fuse, works just like the one in your glove box. If the current gets too high it blows, thus protecting your jeep from catching on fire.

A fusible link is simply another piece of wire that is 4 AWG sizes smaller than the main conductor. (i.e., if you have 2AWG wire, your fusible link would be 6AWG) that is in-line with another conductor. The idea is that, if the current gets too high, the smaller conductor in the link will heat up, destroy itself, and break the circuit before the rest of the wiring is damaged.

Some people argue that having a fuse alone for this purpose is unwise because there will occasionally be spikes in amperage, known as in-rush current, that can cause the fuse to blow, but would not damage your wiring otherwise. The advantage of a fusible link is that it can absorb those brief spikes without melting. The OEM system uses a 10AWG fusible link. If you look closely at your PDC, you will see a green wire close to the termination. That's it. It connects to the wire coming off the alternator with a butt splice.

If you choose a fusible link, you MUST use flame-retardant connections and cable, the idea being that the link will melt, but won't catch fire, preventing a fire in your engine bay. I've also wondered if it would be feasible to "make" a fusible link with cable and ring connectors, and then just install it in an ANL fuse holder. Sounds good on paper.

I chose to go with a fuse simply for replaceability's sake. If something happens in BFE, I'd rather be able to replace a fuse than have to replace a fusible link which, while not difficult, would probably be herder than the fuse. Time will tell if that was a smart decision.

Now, about fuse size. I had a hard time finding information that was specific to automotive uses, but I found a lot from boating web sites. I figure that boaters might have a higher margin of safety since, you know, you're gonna have a bad time if your boat catches on fire in the middle of the ocean. Here is some stuff from one of the sources I used:

According to ABYC tables, 4 gauge AWG wire will safely carry 160A. Furthermore, this wire will safely tolerate 185A, approximately 115% of its rated value. Since most fuses and circuit breakers have a blow point or trip value that is 130% of their nominal rating, choose a fuse that is rated at 80% of 160A. A 125A nominal rating SEA fuse is a good choice-it has a blow point of 130% of 125A=162A.

BUT

Because ANL fuses behave differently than all other circuit protection devices, that is, their blow point value ranges from 140 to 266% of nominal value, the 80% rule doesn't work. It is necessary to use a different procedure to select a suitable ANL fuse. To choose a suitable ANL fuse, refer to the ANL Fuse Blow Point table above. According to the table, a 100A ANL fuse has a blow point of 175A. Therefore, a 100A ANL provides suitable protection for the 4 gauge AWG circuit in this example.

I chose to use 2AWG wire for it's higher load capacity. According to this table, 2AWG can handle 210A @105C. Looking at the ANL fuse table, a 130A fuse will typically actually blow at 220A, so that's what I chose. Stock alternators are listed at 117A, so I think I'll be OK.

 

[EDRN]

Here is a more literal diagram of the engine bay with all the wire routing, length, and crimp lug hole sizes.

And some photos of all the attachment points.

^alternator

^starter

^PDC

^engine block

^firewall 1

^firewall 2

^ valve cover, which is actually just a nut on top of a header nut, so no worries about loosening any gaskets or anything. It WILL be a pain in the ass to get to, and you'll likely have to pull up on the wiring guard (the thing with the barcode) and loosen the cable guide along the intake (below) to make enough room. A ratcheting box-end wrench will be your friend.

As I said, I went with 2AWG wire, which is available several places. Some electric component sites will sell "battery cable," which in a lot of cases is welding cable that is rebranded. Welding cable is often preferred because it is higher-stranded, making it more flexible. I used TEMCo wire off amazon. They sell several sizes and lengths, and is made in the USA.

For crimp lugs, SELTERM on amazon has several sizes, UL-rated, in small quantities so you don't have to buy a package of 10 when you only need one

I also picked up a hydraulic crimper, which is vastly preferred over the hammer-style. As you start adding accessories, and the load on the wires increases, you HAVE to have solid connections, otherwise you're at risk for shorts and fires. I bought the crimper because I also plan on using it for other projects, but you may be able to find an electrical supply company locally that may do it for free or a small fee. Don't be cheap for safety's sake.

There are also several options for ANL fuse holders, which are all pretty much the same size, so pick one. Just make sure it comes with a cover, which will prevent the chance that something metal lands on either terminal and creates a short.

Some of you may have noticed that my fuse placement is sub-optimal, which is true. Technically, the fuse should go AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to the "source," in this case, the alternator, which is meant to protect all the wiring "down-stream." I tried to fit the fuse holder in the space between the air box and the grille, but there wasn't enough space to fit the holder AND account for the length of the crimp lugs AND make the fuse holder easily-accessible, which was the whole point. If you have an aftermarket intake, you may have some space on the fender, but I don't. Instead, I opted for a spot on the firewall above where the heater core piping enters. There's nothing behind the firewall there, so I used some short self-tapping screws to attach it. Just make sure that whatever screws you use ARE NOT PROUD OF THE MOUNTING HOLES.

If the screws are too big, they run the risk of touching the lugs you use to attach the wire, which would cause a short to ground, which would be bad. Also make sure there is enough room to put the cover back on.

 

[EDRN]

You will also need to modify your PDC case, either the lid or the body, to accept the crimp lugs.

I chose to widen out the opening, and make the notch a little deeper to the lugs would sit flat once clamped down.

The best way to attach these cables is to bend the 1/4" lugs so they are at about a 45 degree angle. You can either buy flat lugs and bend them down, or buy 90degree lugs and bend them up, but either way some modification is necessary. I also lopped the end off the factory cables to use as a clamp for the new independent lugs.

As far as getting the cables to fit properly, I suggest attaching a lug to one end and test-fitting it in the vehicle to ensure the proper length and angle. The cable (mine at least) came wrapped tightly and had a natural curl to it. Part of ensuring the cables fit well was making sure the curl fit the direction of the bends the cable was making. The best advice I can give is, once the cable is fit-up, make a mark on the sheathing and on the lug, then take them back to the bench, line up the marks, and crimp away.

Below is an example from the PDC >>> Batt + cable. The distance there was relatively short, but because of the length of the lugs and cable stiffness, it was hard to make it work as a straight shot, which I tried first, but didn't really fit well, and put stress on the mounting points. The solution I came up with was to make the cable turn under itself

Had I simply measured the distance, cut the cable, and crimped on the lugs, I would have wasted a lot of cable with trial-and-error.

 

[TDI Sahara]

I want to mention that sometimes those "wing nut" type battery terminals will loosen over time and cause a bad connection. Maybe a nylock nut is a better choice?

 

[EDRN]

As far as crimping the lugs goes, it's pretty simple.
Lay the cable next to the lug and measure how much sheathing to strip

Strip with a razor knife being careful not to cut into the copper strands

insert into lug

place in crimper with appropriately-sized die

let 'er eat

Put on some heat-shrink (I suggest adhesive-lined). Of note, the heat shrink will add stiffness to the cable at the end, so try not to rout the cables so they will need to bend close to the lugs. Below is a photo demonstrating typical shrinkage amounts. No quite "cold shower," but enough.

 

[EDRN]

I want to mention that sometimes those "wing nut" type battery terminals will loosen over time and cause a bad connection. Maybe a nylock nut is a better choice?

Good point. I had those on there just while I was taking things on and off a lot for the fit-up, but someone might get the wrong idea.

 

[EDRN]

After you get all your cables made up, that's pretty much it. Just put everything back where you found it, throw on some wire loom if you want, and there you go.

There is one thing I do wonder about though: The OEM ground cable from the valve cover to the firewall is a strap-type that connects to the firewall and then goes on to attach to the hood.

When I replaced this cable, I cut the strap just below the old connector and replaced the VC>>FW portion with a solid cable. I understand why the FW>>Hood needed to be a strap--because copper work-hardens and becomes brittle the more it is flexed, so opening the hood would weaken the cable over time-- but why was the VC>>FW portion also a strap? Cost savings? Is there enough engine vibration over time to break the copper? I'll have to watch that cable and see if anything happens.

 

[Vinman]

I plan on replacing all the cables in a similar manner as yours bit will also add one from the ground terminal on the engine block to the chassis.
There was a post recently where somebodies Jeep somehow shorted out or used the steel brake lines as a conductor to the point they glowed red, a chassis ground should reduce that possibility.

 

[Chris]

Nicely done with all those cables! I'm impressed