Woodrow's 97 Green TJ Moderate Build
- Thread starter Woodrow
- Start date
Some little things:
1. Re-aimed the head lights. No pics, but they’ve been a little mal-aligned ever since I took the grill off for the engine swap (over 18 mos ago) Better now.
2. Oil change. Nice to have the starter and block ground wires out of the way of the filter. Also sent an oil sample to Blackstone labs for analysis. The Golen stroker has 8000 mi on it now and I’d like to see how its doing and if the zinc level is in the range I think with the additive.
3. Picked up a Bartact velcro holder for the fire extinguisher. It seems nice and secure. No more rolling around under the seat. Also it’s made in USA which makes me happy.
4. I pulled the silicone covers off my shock shafts. I’m not sure why I didn’t do it before. I’ve never used covers on fork stanchions or shock shafts on motorcycles and mountain bikes. The rear boots were holding some water, too. Since the shafts are exposed, I can clean and lube them ever now and then, just like the bikes.
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SRAM butter is a mountain bike thing that is always on my shelf. They used to call it Judy butter way back before SRAM bought out RockShox.
Like this?
When I finished the front e-locker, the tap-a-fuse situation was really janky. With the seat heaters and f/r e-lockers, the fuse panel looked terrible. What follows is a few pics of wiring clean up and on board air install. This may seem straightforward to many but it was many hours of tedious work for me.
With plans for on board air and 2 or 3 other electrical additions, an auxiliary fuse panel was in order. In the above pic, you can see the no. 2 cable from the PDC over the stock fuse box and below is the routing from the PDC to the firewall and through the plug used for TJs with autos (mine is an AX-15).
I made an aluminum plate for the passenger kick panel to mount a Painless Wiring 7 circuit box (3 battery and 4 switched with ignition) and the ARB compressor fuses.
This cleaned up the stock box significantly. There is still one tap-a-fuse for the relay for ignition switched power using the empty rear wiper fuse hole (this Jeep did not come with a hard top stock and has a soft top now.
Next, the ARB compressor for on board air was mounted. I wanted it inside for longevity and since there is no back seat in this TJ, the passenger rear footwell was selected (it was pretty tight with the twin but fits OK. I used the ARB plate with 4 M6 bolts through the tub (above the muffler heat shield-PITA) for the floor mount with some rubber spacers between it and the carpet for vibration and heat isolation.
The switch for the ARB filled the 3rd stock switch panel hole in the dash. The f/r e-locker switches are in the other 2. Luckily, this Jeep doesn’t have factory fog lights, rear wiper and such filling theses holes. The ARB wiring harness was too long and also had extra stuff for their air lockers. With a little help from YouTube University, I rebuilt the harness for my simpler needs. It all works as it should and the switches are even lighted. Phew!
With plans for on board air and 2 or 3 other electrical additions, an auxiliary fuse panel was in order. In the above pic, you can see the no. 2 cable from the PDC over the stock fuse box and below is the routing from the PDC to the firewall and through the plug used for TJs with autos (mine is an AX-15).
I made an aluminum plate for the passenger kick panel to mount a Painless Wiring 7 circuit box (3 battery and 4 switched with ignition) and the ARB compressor fuses.
This cleaned up the stock box significantly. There is still one tap-a-fuse for the relay for ignition switched power using the empty rear wiper fuse hole (this Jeep did not come with a hard top stock and has a soft top now.
Next, the ARB compressor for on board air was mounted. I wanted it inside for longevity and since there is no back seat in this TJ, the passenger rear footwell was selected (it was pretty tight with the twin but fits OK. I used the ARB plate with 4 M6 bolts through the tub (above the muffler heat shield-PITA) for the floor mount with some rubber spacers between it and the carpet for vibration and heat isolation.
The switch for the ARB filled the 3rd stock switch panel hole in the dash. The f/r e-locker switches are in the other 2. Luckily, this Jeep doesn’t have factory fog lights, rear wiper and such filling theses holes. The ARB wiring harness was too long and also had extra stuff for their air lockers. With a little help from YouTube University, I rebuilt the harness for my simpler needs. It all works as it should and the switches are even lighted. Phew!
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Got this Jeep accessory today:
10K, 18’, tilt bed. Steel. Weighs 3100#. It has Macs Tie Downs HD tube track built in full length. I’m looking forward to taking the TJ to Moab next month with this. I’m still in @Apparition and almost ready now…
10K, 18’, tilt bed. Steel. Weighs 3100#. It has Macs Tie Downs HD tube track built in full length. I’m looking forward to taking the TJ to Moab next month with this. I’m still in @Apparition and almost ready now…
Damn! Nice trailer...heavy bitch though. 3100 lbs is almost what the TJ weights!
Mine sat for months. @Wildman clued me in to that box. It a very good size for my needs and its nice to have constant and switched options. It took a while to decide where to put it. Every added thing is tight on TJs.
It is heavy-ish. Being a tilt bed is part of it. Some add ons like a tool box, winch receiver, fairing and the HD track for tie downs don’t help. However, compared to my 16K 24’ deck over, its feathery. That trailer is probably too big for my truck and will most likely be sold.
I still don't know where I want it. I was thinking up higher behind the glove box. Still need to order the nifty cover.
Going to have to bite the bullet soon since I am nearing the point of tackling the rear aux lighting and need the power at the tailgate.
Mine is mounted on the drivers kick panel.
Not the best spot but I had the old 3 circuit one installed there before and hadn't had any issues. I might use the 3 circuit one under the hood for stuff since it's a water resistant version.
Nice job on the mounting. And YES i know all about not having space for things in a TJ...
Not the best spot but I had the old 3 circuit one installed there before and hadn't had any issues. I might use the 3 circuit one under the hood for stuff since it's a water resistant version.
Nice job on the mounting. And YES i know all about not having space for things in a TJ...
This morning I had a chance to do a little shake down run with a friend at a small local offroad park. He has a YJ with an LS, atlas, and 60s on 37s.
The TJ did great however. Really a nice proof of concept for the build. Great traction, articulation and clearance. I got hung up on my diffs in a rut once but otherwise, no drama and very smooth and sure footed.
The TJ did great however. Really a nice proof of concept for the build. Great traction, articulation and clearance. I got hung up on my diffs in a rut once but otherwise, no drama and very smooth and sure footed.
I thought the same, initially. But in the end I couldn’t make that location work for me
I haven’t actually checked the temps. I need to for science. I have an IR thermometer so I will and I’ll let you know. One thing to report: the sound of the Banks header (6 into 1) is very different from the JBA (3 into 2 into 1) and I really dig the Banks.
Thx. It is really gratifying to have your work turn out as you had hoped as I’m sure you are about to do as well
This morning I had a chance to do a little shake down run with a friend at a small local offroad park. He has a YJ with an LS, atlas, and 60s on 37s.
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The TJ did great however. Really a nice proof of concept for the build. Great traction, articulation and clearance. I got hung up on my diffs in a rut once but otherwise, no drama and very smooth and sure footed.
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Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Moab. This should be fun.
I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been there on mountain bikes and have some idea of the difference between slickrock vs Oregon loam in that context. I also feel like I know my Jeep reasonably well at this point. Today’s outing was reassuring in that respect.
Working through the list of things to do before Moab.
Next are rear bumper frame tie-in brackets and spare tire support:
After 3 different frame tie-in bracket (Barnes, LOD and Next Venture), the Next Venture brackets fit.
But they still need modification to accommodate my drivers rear frame mounted recovery hook. As seen above, they have 3 frame mounting holes. They also come with 3 nuts welded into a bracket to go on the inside of the frame (nice touch). This just requires one drill extra hole in the frame (on the passenger side). Because my previously placed Driver’s rear tow hook hole isn’t in the right spot for the NV plate, I welded up the original hole:
and drilled another to match the tow hook. I also had to cut, shorten and re-weld the Driver’s backing plate. Test fit was perfect after all of that.
Now that the bumper attachment is more solid, I also made a tire support to fit in the receiver as the tailgate rattles over bumps with the spare on even with the MorRyde hinges and tailgate exo-armor. With the stock bumper and hinges, the 33“ spare sat perfectly on the bumper and there were no rattles. We shall see if this fixes the issue
That was a good afternoon in the garage. All back off and out to powder coat tomorrow.
Next are rear bumper frame tie-in brackets and spare tire support:
After 3 different frame tie-in bracket (Barnes, LOD and Next Venture), the Next Venture brackets fit.
But they still need modification to accommodate my drivers rear frame mounted recovery hook. As seen above, they have 3 frame mounting holes. They also come with 3 nuts welded into a bracket to go on the inside of the frame (nice touch). This just requires one drill extra hole in the frame (on the passenger side). Because my previously placed Driver’s rear tow hook hole isn’t in the right spot for the NV plate, I welded up the original hole:
and drilled another to match the tow hook. I also had to cut, shorten and re-weld the Driver’s backing plate. Test fit was perfect after all of that.
Now that the bumper attachment is more solid, I also made a tire support to fit in the receiver as the tailgate rattles over bumps with the spare on even with the MorRyde hinges and tailgate exo-armor. With the stock bumper and hinges, the 33“ spare sat perfectly on the bumper and there were no rattles. We shall see if this fixes the issue
That was a good afternoon in the garage. All back off and out to powder coat tomorrow.
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This is for @Wildman. I checked the ceramic coated header temp with an IR thermometer:
This was after about 15 min at 60mph at 75 degrees F, ambient. That was about 100 degrees cooler than the old header (non-coated but with heat wrap) under similar conditions. So there you go.
This was after about 15 min at 60mph at 75 degrees F, ambient. That was about 100 degrees cooler than the old header (non-coated but with heat wrap) under similar conditions. So there you go.