My cheep xj build

[GFY Racing]

Thanks guys. Sucked to give up the v8 and tons, but at least this way it'll be up and running before too long. Should have more pictures up tonight.

[GFY Racing]

I ordered wheels and coil springs for the heep today. Now I need to start cleaning the underside from all the oil that covered everything when the original motor blew.

[GFY Racing]

I've ordered a lot of parts in the last few days, and still have more to buy. I just got the new wheel in yesterday and I will get the tires mounted later this afternoon. My goal is to have it sitting on the axles with the motor in before the end of next week.

[GFY Racing]

Finally some real progress this weekend. Got the jeep sitting on the 30 and 8.8 with the 35s. The rear sits quite a bit lower than I thought it would but as far as I know they're the factory springs with 200k plus miles so I'm sure they've sagged a bit over the years. After I get the drivetrain in I may readjust the back end.

D30 mounted.



Grinding on the 8.8


Shitty pic of the jeep on all fours


Next on the list is to clean up the wiring harness, check the compression on the motor, mount the steering box. Also I need to start repairing the two holes in the firewall I cut.


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[GFY Racing]

The parts pile is building. Mostly just stock replacement parts but needed to continue making progress. I only have about 3 more weeks of school left with a lot of papers due so I'll just continue to gather the remaining parts needed.

New radiator, brake lines, and bump stop extensions.


Stock replacement parts. Vac lines, belt, hoses, etc.


The little was just as excited




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[GFY Racing]

Now that school is about out I've got more time to mess with the jeep. I started working on patching the two holes I cut for the V8 swap. Trying to weld sheet metal with a 220 mig is a bitch! On top of that I don't have the right adapter too hook up to my bottle so I'm having to use flux. I'll try to run by Airgas tomorrow and pick one up.


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[GFY Racing]

Fuck welding sheet metal. Should be done tomorrow. Last patch on the passenger side. Didn't fit perfectly, but said fuck it. Passenger side is all tacked together, but I really need to get an adapter and quit using flux......or just learn to weld better.





All tacked together



Driver's side. Going to finish up tomorrow. Should only need two or three more pieces.


Honestly, the welds don't look as good as they do in the pictures but I can beat on them with a hammer and they feel very solid. Hopefully tomorrow will provide some better welds.


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[GFY Racing]

Small update. I've been extremely busy lately. I finally finished patching the firewall, and threw some paint on the bare spots under the hood. I also got the engine sitting in the bay. This 4.0 was out of an MJ and the motor mount brackets (on the motor) didn't seem to line up correctly with the XJ motor mount bushings. I had to use a pry bar to force everything to line up since there was nearly an inch difference in the bolt holes. The bolt holes in the brackets on the engine seemed wider than the bolt holes in the bushings. I'll snap a couple of pix later.

[GFY Racing]

No pix but a small update. I finished up the inside of the firewall with primer and paint, replaced a heater core and A/C evaporator in a housing I picked up from CL and got it mounted under the dash. Also, the trans is installed, but the cross member that was used with the BA10 transmission won't work. It sits about 3 inches back to far now. I picked up some steel to build a cross member, as I figure that will be easier, quicker, and better than trying to find a stock cross member. I also picked up some flat head bolts and a countersink bit from Fastenal. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to put up tonight.

[GFY Racing]

Time to start keeping this a bit more up to date. I've finally be making a little progress on this. Drive train is installed, new rear springs and shackles should be here today or tomorrow I think, and I've begun putting everything back together under the hood and inside. I'm hoping to have the rear of the Jeep lifted this weekend so that I can measure and order my SYE and DS. My goal is to have this wheeling before the end of the year, but there's a ton of little things I need to finish on it. Also, my BIL and I are planning a 5 day offroad camping trip to CO next summer with our families. The idea is to be completely self sufficient the entire time.....we'll see how that goes.

Putting glass back in the rear quaters.


Front end coming back together. Still plenty of work to do though.


The fenders are getting trimmed of course. The bottom of the "bumper" is 31" from the ground.

[GFY Racing]

Got my RE springs and shackles in. Hopefully they'll get installed this weekend and some real progress can finally start to be made.

[GFY Racing]

Picture of it sitting on the new RE leaf springs and shackles.




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[GFY Racing]

With the 8.8 and the 4.5" lift my drive shaft is now a few inches too long. Ideally I'd buy a SYE and a new drive shaft, but that's another 500 bucks that could be put towards other things (plus we're getting ready to pick up an 07 Rubicon unlimited tomorrow). Depending on the difference in angle of a CV vs. non CV drive shaft, I may just set up the 8.8 for a non CV using the slip yoke output for the transfer case, and use shims later in the future when I convert to a SYE. Any thoughts?

[jlane99xj]

Originally Posted by GFY Racing

With the 8.8 and the 4.5" lift my drive shaft is now a few inches too long. Ideally I'd buy a SYE and a new drive shaft, but that's another 500 bucks that could be put towards other things (plus we're getting ready to pick up an 07 Rubicon unlimited tomorrow). Depending on the difference in angle of a CV vs. non CV drive shaft, I may just set up the 8.8 for a non CV using the slip yoke output for the transfer case, and use shims later in the future when I convert to a SYE. Any thoughts?

i used a font Xj yoke from a 231 (had a machine shop ream out the old splines)
Making the hole in the Yoke where the splines were the exact I.D. as the O.D. as the Slip portion of the OEM rear drive shaft (*the part that slides onto the rear output of your Tcase*).
then use a +/- 2" length of the mentioned slip portion of the OE rear drive shaft welded to the Yoke to make a "hack & tap" yoke, also a "cap" will have to be welded into the yoke with a bolt hole for "tapped bolt" that holds it in place on the rear output shaft of your t-case after the "hack".
then Hack off a portion-
(~2"- its been a while since I did it and didn't do any documenting or pics sorry)
-of the rear output shaft- file the splines so that the slip (now welded onto the Yoke) will slide on properly & match up inside the rear housing & making the rear seal.. then you can use an OEM front XJ drive-shaft as your rear shaft..
I think all in all I may have had $150 in this mod-- $20 for the front yoke-- another 60 for the front shaft from a JY & the rest at the machine shop...
-
- remember to preheat the YOKE before welding & don't burn it in so hot that you distort the splines in the Slip (*ask me how I know.. Its a Huge PITA to file out all the little splines so that it will slip onto the yoke properly!!)
maybe you can run a couple of Test welds on the part of the Driveshaft Slip that you aren't gonna use & see how hot is to hot..

[GFY Racing]

Thanks man, I've never thought of using the front DS for the rear. After using it for some time, are there any unforeseen issues?

[jlane99xj]

Originally Posted by GFY Racing

Thanks man, I've never thought of using the front DS for the rear. After using it for some time, are there any unforeseen issues?

Nah--not really.. the front cv shaft is pretty tough..
(there are plenty of writeups on NAXJA & such..)
- the first attempt to weld the yoke to the slip as I mentioned in the prev post worked well on most of the wheeling trips for about 6 months til a pretty hard line at Tellico on "Helicopter Pad" sent my Xj up and backward down 3' drop onto the rear tires..
it sounded like a medium caliber pistol shot being fired under my jeep (I seriously thought I had snapped an axle or pinion on the d44)

after inspection I found that the weld had broken and thus the yoke was loose around the slip(sleeve) & winching up & driving out in Front wheel drive was the cure- til I could get it back to the shop the next day..

It was quite a relief that nothing in the Detroited D44 had grenaded & that all that was required was to unbolt it & re-weld it with 2 good passes (thats when i got it a tad to hot & the splines deformed slightly & I had to file them straight)
after that no issues till I sold the rig 2 yrs later..
that Xj ran on the highway at 70 mph with no vibes at all & like you probly already thought-- if you need a driveshaft for the front or rear you only need to carry one spare..

[GFY Racing]

Thanks for the info man. I'm def going to do some research on this. Since buying the JK funds towards the XJ are dwindling even further

[GFY Racing]

Well, I'm now over my 5k budget. I never got around to looking into using a front DS for the rear as I've been way to busy. I ordered AAs SYE and DS to save me some time. I've also been messing around with the wiring harness. The donor vehicle that the motor came from was an '89 MJ. I have the complete wiring harness for that, which was automatic so I'm planning to simply swap the complete harness from the firewall forward. My original harness doesn't have any TCU wiring.

[GFY Racing]

I just thought I would post another update. I'm hoping to have this going before the end of next month. I'll be pulling the transfer case tomorrow evening to install the SYE. I've purchased just about everything I need to get it running, including another battery (first one was jacked ), K&N filter, misc under hood items, RADesigns BAJA II shifter, and some parts.

I will be addressing the fuel system soon also since it's been sitting for the last 5 years. Any suggestions on cleaning/prepping the system to run again? Currently I'm planning on dropping the tank to drain and wash, but I'm undecided on the lines. I've been thinking of going with AN fittings and annealed SS tubing (which I'm told I can flare with a normal flare tool).

[GFY Racing]

The transfercase is sitting on the workbench waiting for the SYE. I also pulled the fuel tank at the same time.



This doesn't look good



Uh oh....



Well fuck...





Definitely not what I was hoping to find. I'd like to replace it with a fuel cell, but to keep costs and time down, I may just end up getting a replacement. Either way I think I'll have to end up running new fuel lines.

[GFY Racing]

Problem solved.


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[GFY Racing]

This bitch keeps fighting me every step of the way. Fuel tank and sending unit are in place. I decided to give the stock fuel lines a shot of carb cleaner. After a quick shot they were running clear so they'll stay. The dash and interior are just about back in place minus the body panels, which may just stay off since half of them are broke anyway. The SYE is installed, but I need more ATF before I can stab it back in tomorrow.


I also decided to tackle the steering column tonight.


The bolt in my hand was actually completely out of the column. Two more were completely backed out. There was only one bolt that still had any thread engagement.



Believe it or not, this is the crowning moment of owning this thing. This is the first sign of life since ownership!


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