Thanks. Fun, isn’t it? You’ve certainly got some work on your hands. I was born and grew up in the Detroit area. Do not miss the rust.I enjoyed reading this thread over morning coffee. Great work, I really like the upholstery job!
Thanks. Fun, isn’t it? You’ve certainly got some work on your hands. I was born and grew up in the Detroit area. Do not miss the rust.I enjoyed reading this thread over morning coffee. Great work, I really like the upholstery job!
WoodrowSome other minor stuff:
Factory exhaust ugly with surface rust. Also too quiet. Between that and the smoothness inherent to a straight 6, some times I’d forget to shift up. So got a manifold back stainless steel system. Magnaflow 2.5” header pipe, cat and muffler with new O2 sensors and custom welded 2.5” rear pipe (local guy did a beautiful job). Now that awesome inline 6 sound is audible but not loud and my shifts are better. It’s possible that I lost some low end torque by going from 2.25” to 2.5” behind the muffler. 3.07 gears make this more noticeable, I assume. Hmmm....
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Looks good, I will be doing that this week. On your toe in have you tried removing the rod end from the spindle and rotating it one turn? This will give you1/2 of rotating the sleeve.The front brake/tie rod flip project is complete.
Brakes are bled with new DOT 4 synthetic, toe is re-set at 5/16". The steering wheel did not need re-centering. I would've set the toe a little less (1/8" to 1/4") but with ZJ tie rod, the rod end to tie rod clamp bolts interfere with the driver's spring perch if they are rotated to the back. The stock (with 3" spring lift) interference at full droop on the passenger side of the tie rod with the passenger spring perch area is now resolved after removing the stock sway bar link attachments and installing the elevated BMB brackets. I ended up setting my steering stops at 23mm of height R and L.
Drivers:
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Passengers:
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The 16" kit (12" diameter rotor, vs stock 11", and 2 piston caliper is a snug fit in a 15" steel wheel):
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Have a look at the ZJ tie rod position before the flip:
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And after:
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After following the recommended brake in procedure (clean rotors w/ simple green before install, 5-7 moderately hard rolling stops from about 40mph, 10-15min driving around to cool down and repeat, then overnight cool down and 5-7 more rolling stops) the brakes feel good. As others have said, they feel similar to stock in normal driving (not grabby and good modulation is maintained) but in hard stops, the increased power is evident and the front wheels will now lock, if you really stomp on it, whereas they wouldn't before with the 33s (my TJ doesn't have anti lock). Again though, modulation is good and its easy to back off from lock while still maintaining firm pressure.
I have the brake already going to do the flip with heavy duty tie rod.Great idea! Thank you.
Are you doing BM brakes and the tie rod flip?
Straight forward install. 4 nuts on inside of firewall, 4 at the master cylinder (on just 2 bolts) plus vacuum hose and clip to hold pin on the brake pedal. If you aren't replacing the master cylinder, there is enough flex in the bake lines to move it forward and get the booster out. I also had to un-bolt the evap canister which sits on the driver's inner front fender on my '97 to be able to move the booster and master cylinder forward enough. Your 2003 will be a little different. I got the part from MoparPartsGiant.com (stupid expensive like seemingly all OEM stuff).how was the brake booster replacement? And do you have a parts link?
Thank you.Nice work. I would suggest a couple cross braces, otherwise even that steel structure will rack.
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But that's very cool. I wish I had a yard that required tractor access!
I’ve seen those wiped cam issues as well and don’t want to go there. I also agree with you that a new cat is cheaper than a new motor .I can't comment on the zinc but I have read of others with stroker engines who had their cams wiped out so I'd run the stuff even if it does harm the cat over time as that is a lot cheaper to replace compared to a new engine or at least a cam at the minimum.
Mine never had a rear swaybar either so I'm looking forward to see how it is with the rear anti-rock.