Wheeler’s project that he didn’t want…

[Wheeler]

So when I got it in my head to buy a Jeep I really didn’t want to delve off into another big project. Between work, family, health issues, and other hobbies I had enough going on.

As it turns out people who are selling Jeeps seem to have a fair amount of emotional attachment to them. To stay within my budget I ended up buying a 1997 TJ with over 200k miles on a 2.5L, and a rebuilt title, had good tires, a new bikini top and a shot out soft top and uppers.

I’m actually playing catch-up with this thread. I bought the TJ at the first of October and was questioning myself the entire way home.

 

[Wheeler]

I started off with things I knew how to do. An oil change came first. The oil was dark but showed no signs of water.

Next came a radiator drain and flush. The Homer bucket had a LOT more silt and goo in it when I transferred the old coolant and flush to one gallon containers for a trip to the recovery tank.

 

[Wheeler]

I spent an evening working on the lights. No running lights, front, right signal in hyper-flash, spare tire mount brake light inoperable. Some of it was burnt out bulbs, the wiring on the third brake light was a mess of piss-poor splices and painted over contacts. The running lights and dash lights don’t work and neither do the “fog lights”. I’m pretty sure it’s the bad side marker indicator that has been a royal pain to order.

The one from NAPA didn’t fit. Returned.
Advance Auto ordered them and it never showed. Money refunded after waiting a week.

4WheelParts had some supposedly in stock. I received confirmation from them last night that the parts shipped and are due Wednesday.

 

[03coloradowrangler]

looks like theres potential

 

[Wheeler]

looks like theres potential

I think so. Like most of my projects the deeper I dig the more stuff I find that needs to be fixed.

 

[Wheeler]

I’m jumping around a bit because I’m trying to catch up to where repairs stand currently. The order is mostly correct though…honest!

I replaced the headlight switch and the headlight switch connector. The freaking connector cost almost double what the switching cost!

I wasn’t happy with all the surface rust on the metal behind and inside the dash. Not much I can do about it now as I’m not really prepared to do a frame up restoration.

Replacing the switch and connector didn’t fix the issue but the hot spot on the old connector made me feel as if the replacements were worthwhile.

 

[Wheeler]

When I bought the Jeep the PO had a cheap radio he tossed in the deal. He stated that the old radio would blow fuses. After looking at the wiring I could see why.

Since I had the dash open I went ahead and pulled the old radio and installed the new. It’s an underwhelming cheap radio but serves the purpose for now. The vehicle antenna system is missing but I can use the BT portion of the radio with my phone. I can also use it to make and receive calls, which is a good thing since Georgia is a Hands Free state.

The wiring was a shambles. I pulled the sound bar down and pulled out the speakers. I tested them and ran new wire to the dash. Soldered on connections and got good sound from the head unit.

I didn’t know there were speakers in the dash until I started gutting out the old wiring. Those speakers also got tested, new wire and soldered on connections.

The sound system wouldn’t pass muster for an audiophile but it’s acceptable for now.

All the orange wirenuts and flying splices seen in the picture are now in my scrap wire barrel.

 

[Wheeler]

The engine was running rough and power was low, driving on hills required a lot of down shifting. I bought a new rotor, distributor cap, wires, and spark plugs and did a tune up. I probably should have replaced the ignition coil as well.

I replaced the Serpentine Belt as well. Somewhere in the rebuild process the sticker showing the belt routing had disappeared. I took several pictures of the routing of the old belt which did me absolutely no good when I started the install of the new.

I found a diagram on the interwebz and got the new belt on.

Engine performance was much improved. Hills that required using second and third gear were now traversed in 4th gear. Fifth gear saw actual use on the two lane, state roads where the speed limit was 55. It’s nice to get some instant gratification from work, especially when I’m out of my comfort zone and in new territory.

 

[Wheeler]

While working on the things inside the dash, I took the opportunity to wash, clean, and touch up the parts I took out. Some of the trim pieces had overspray from the rebuild paint job. The door panels had been painted black at one time and then most of the black removed. I’m still trying to source something that will remove the spots of black paint without damaging the plastic.

The pull handles in both doors are attached by one screw. I pulled the trim and discovered that most of the plastic push tabs were missing and the e-clips were only attached on one side of the door handle. I couldn’t find an exact replacement locally but did find clips that were pretty close in size.

 

[Wheeler]

Heater wasn’t blowing hot air and the blower would only run on high. So I partially drained the new coolant and replaced the t-stat and gasket. I took the opportunity to clean up the t-stat housing while I had it out. I had to loosen the serpentine belt to access the lower bolt on the t-stat housing.

I picked up a new blower motor resistor. I should have pulled the old one before making the trip to the auto parts store as the connector was pretty cooked. That required a return trip to pick up the wiring harness.

The butt splices included with the harness kit were junk. Fortunately I had a goodly supply of good quality, yellow butt splices.

I was only getting air out of the defrost vent. I noticed a vacuum line flopping around behind the throttle body. It had some splices together connectors held together with cheap electrical tape.

I pulled off the adapters and scrounged up a small hose clamp to secure the line to the nipple.

I now have heat that blows out of any vent I choose and can control the blower speed. I call that a success.

 

[Wheeler]

Every since I bought the TJ I was getting a fair amount of black soot and liquid out of the exhaust.

I flushed the radiator, did a tune-up, replaced the t-stat, so now I thought I’d give the Upstream O2 Sensor a try. The old O2 Sensor was completely coated in soot.

I installed the new one and went for a somewhat lengthy drive yesterday. I’m still blowing out a little water on a cold start but that disappears pretty quickly. On my way home I hopped on the Interstate for a little over three miles. According to the speedo I hit 72 MPH when passing a tractor trailer. Idle is much smoother as well.

I had purchased both the Upstream and Downstream O2 Sensors but decided to take the Downstream back as I had no Check Engine Lights.

 

[Wheeler]

The horn doesn’t work, the left turn signal doesn’t reset, and the airbag light is on. I replaced the clock spring. The airbag light went off but I still have no horn. I’ll need to ring out the wiring for the horn. I’m afraid that switch in the airbag pack is bad but I’m hoping it’s a disconnected ground.

I haven’t checked the turn signal reset yet.

This catches me up to the work done.

 

[JMT]

Nice work! You’re turning this one around; giving it new life!

 

[Wheeler]

The turn signal reset didn't seem to be working. I can live with that for now.

I had ordered a Side Marker Indicator from NAPA and it didn't fit. I returned it and ordered a pair from Advance Auto in the middle of October. They never showed up and Advance Auto couldn't track the shipment. Four days after they were supposed to arrive I got a refund and ordered three sets with lamps through 4 Wheel Parts. These were the same as the one from NAPA and didn't match up to the Side Marker Indicator Lens Housing. As I have been unable to drive at night due to having no running lights I decided to modify the lamp holder assemblies to fit the housing for the time being. I wonder if perhaps the housings are from a different series?

I am not a big fan of modifying components to work. I'd much prefer to get the correct part. After a month of frustration I decided to roll on with what I had and hope to find the correct parts at a later date. None of this is irreversible.

Once everything was replaced I still couldn't get the running lights and dash lights to work at the same time as the head lights. I came across this thread which led me to check and replace Fuse #1 in the interior fuse box.

I now have working running lights, dash lights, head lights, fog lights, brake lights, turn signals, and hazards.

I also want to extend my sincere thanks to the members of this forum. It has been an invaluable tool for troubleshooting issues with my rebuilt TJ.

 

[Wheeler]

The cheap radio I installed quit working after hitting a bump. While looking for the appropriate fuse for the radio harness I noticed that the relay for the horn was missing. I pulled the AC relay and installed it in the horn slot. I now have a working horn.

I'll order a couple of these to add to the spare parts stash.

I didn't fix the issue with the radio. I decided to end the night on a positive note.

 

[TWiG01]

Really turning it around and Making some awesome progress! Very nice

 

[Wheeler]

Repaired loose connection on radio negative lead. No pictures as I don't want evidence...

 

[Wheeler]

I ordered a Sierra Offroad Soft Top off Amazon because the prices for the Hard Tops are rather high right now. I;ll wait until Spring or even Summer next year to start the search again.

The soft top arrived today. I was pretty stoked as it wasn't due until tomorrow. Well I was stoked until I discovered the frame on my TJ is actually the frame for a YJ/CJ and doesn't match the new top. I recalled seeing a frame listed locally with the window sills and the header so I fired off a message thinking this problem would be resolved in short order...Not so much. The guy messaged back that he'd sold the parts but hadn't bothered to take down the ad.

I found another seller in SC that had all or at least most of the parts I need. Guess I'll be taking a road trip tomorrow.

I also replaced the missing AC relay and started tracing out the interior lighting or rather, the lack of interior lighting. I started off with swapping the blown fuse. When it popped I took a quick look at the wiring harness behind the driver's seat. All the wires going up had been cut. I may be reaching but I think that's a pretty good place to start.

 

[Wheeler]

So the road trip to SC was a success. I ended up with most of two frames which put me in a position to piece and part everything I needed to install the soft top. One of the sellers gave me his frame and parts when he realized I had driven up from outside of Atlanta. I was shocked to say the least. I'll have to find some way to pay it forward.

I traced down the cause of the blowing fuse to some shoddy wiring behind the radio. That's now cleaned up and the fuse holds. I'll need to get some lamps to test the circuit is working properly. Now my radio turns off when I turn on the headlights and won't turn back on until I turn them off... Just when I thought I had most of the electrical issues licked.

I picked up a new valve cover gasket as there's a bit of oil dripping. That will probably be the weekend project.

I finally took the spousal unit for a ride. She wasn't as enthusiastic as I but, she seemed to enjoy the ride and had mostly positive comments.

 

[Wheeler]

Somehow, someway, the Multi-Function Switch was controlling the radio through one of the grounded conductors. I found a ground that ran directly to the chassis that had been run by others and used it. Now the radio stays on when the lights are on. The Footwell Courtesy lights work...well one worked, the other lamp holder was so shot out that the lamp wouldn't stay locked in. As an experiment I used some left over LED tape light attached to the bottom of the dash assembly and wired to the Passenger side Footwell wiring. It is far superior to the original lights. I'm not sure about the longevity of the adhesive but it's a Proof of Concept anyways. If it doesn't last I'll find a better method.

I had intentions of replacing the Valve Cover Gasket but decided to check the torque settings on the bolts first. Four were hand tight and were near the back where the leak appeared to be coming from. I decided to hold off on replacing the gasket to see if that fixes the problem.

Back seats and seat belt assemblies have been removed. I'm hoping to get a box built during he upcoming week. I don't like not being able to secure certain items. Pictures to come later. I was too lazy to take them today.