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150K views 1K replies 59 participants last post by  brokenyoujoint 
#1 ·
Going to start in Index here, so if anyone is looking for anything it'll be easier to find.

Index:

Outboard Rear Shocks = Post #16
Start of the Ford 8.8 Swap = Post #32
LED Tail light wiring info = Post #204
Ford Windstar Cowl Intake Mod = Post #230
Ford front shock towers = Post #282
Removing the Charcoal Canister = Post #308
Trimming Rear Flares = Post #574
Start of Cage Design & Install = Post #1081
RCI 2162 Install in a Late Model TJ = Post #1292

I started this build thread over on IndyORV, but things have been slow & boring here at work & I'm always lurking the build threads here, so I figure I'd start one here to, what the hell right?

I bought this '03 Sport Easter weekend 2011. It was bone stock except for a 4" RC suspension lift. Here she is in the dealer parking lot the day I got it.


It came with the hardtop obviously & one of those half top tonneau cover thingys that I dislike & could not use because of kids & needing the back seat, so first purchase was a Supertop NX. Then some misc stuff like a new passenger door seal & the correct speedo gear.

Here's a list of upgrades so far in chronological order:

Supertop NX
Smitty SRC Classic Front bumper, plan to turn this into a stubby someday
XRC-8 Winch
CB Radio Uniden Pro510XL with 4' Firestik
Skid Row Engine Skid & Steering Box skid
B&M Tranny Cooler
Poison spider Hood Louver
Savvy/Currie Front Lower & Rear Upper Control Arms
Fumoto Oil Drain Valve
Riddler Cover for the D30
Aussie Locker for the D30
Rugged Ridge Mirrors
ZJ tie rod upgrade & replaced drag link because it was bent
Currie 4" progressives in the front with a 3/4" spacer
Currie Adjustable front track bar (CE-9120TJJ)
Installed a stock pitman arm. PO had a drop on it. :nono:
JB Conversions SYE with cut down XJ shaft
RE Adjustable rear track bar with JKS CV bracket
T&T Custom rear cross member with 2" receiver. Still need to get this one on, my welder is busy with some **** called a "pumpkinator" :dunno:
Novak shifter cable
Rokmen Mercenary sliders with no tube, I think I'm the only one...

That's what's done so far & this is how she sat a month ago. The Novak & Rokmen's are going ont his weekend.


One of my better wheeling picks. Red trail at The Badlands. My passenger mirror fell victim to that tree that day.
Image uploading. Refresh page to view


I've also removed the rear tire carrier & DD without a spare. It gets loaded into the tub when we hit the trail. I'm working on a rack to go above it to mount tools & spares. Something that will resemble this.


Next big project on the list is a Ford 8.8. I picked up one from a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer with 3.73 gears to match the front, & limited slip, but I just got a good deal on a set of 4.88 for the D30, so it will get re-geared to match before it goes in. I was also going to 4-link it, but am putting that on hold due to cash flow & I also want to challenge myself a little so I can learn more about line selection, how the Jeep handles, etc. So, we're going with stock bracket kit & I will move the upper frame coil buckets back when we install the 8.8 to get rid of a the arch.

I also have plans to tummy tuck a little. Originally was going to go with UCF UHC skid, but just picked up a 2'x4' piece of 1/4" plate from work, for free. :thumbsup: I probably won't go completely flat, but plan on getting the UCF Lo-pro & going as flat as easily possible for now & go from there.

There you have it. I'll try to update with Novak & Slider install this weekend.
 
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#230 ·
Got some work done this weekend!

Friday night I installed the front Currie Anti-rock. What'd I learn from this experience? I really need a dead blow hammer. Man what a pain in the *** to get that bar through my driver side bushing, but we got her. Other than that was a pretty straight forward install. I expected more body roll with this, but there is really not too much during normal driving. If I swerve, I can feel it. The AR also improved the ride quality. I live in the sticks of Indiana with a low budget highway department, so to say our back roads suck is an understatement. Very uneven surface & lots of uneven dips in the road surface. The AR lets the axle float more smoothly into these dips in the road rather than being tied so stiff to the frame/body. Very impressed so far with the on road performance, can't wait to get it offroad!:thumbsup:


On Sunday I installed the Windstar Cowl intake. Actually a very easy install. You want to get the airbox for a late '90's Ford Windstar. Not sure the exact years, but I think '97 & '98 will work. I actually got mine from JBennett, so not sure what year it actually came off of. When you grab the airbox off the Windstar also grab the grommet that it sticks into in the fender well. This makes install into the Jeep firewall that much easier.

First thing you need to do is modify the airbox. The back half has some crap in it that we don't need, so we can remove it & cut that half down considerably. You need to make two cuts, so you will be left with the three sections that I show in this pic.


Throw the center section away & these are the dimensions where I cut mine.



The two pieces you have left should fit together nicely inside one another now. I smeared some silicone around mine, slid them together & then siliconed around the seam on the outside. I then pop riveted the two halves together as you will see in a later pic. A side note on silicone. If you installing this airbox soon, use the blue sensor safe silicone, if it will be a few days before you install the airbox in the Jeep, you can use the black stuff no problem. I believe it is the O2 sensors that you will screw up if you use the black before it is fully cured & you will get a CEL.


The center plate that the filter actually mounts to has a bunch of tabs & posts on it. As much as I cut mine down I had to cut these off so that center plate would go in. I then siliconed it in place.


There, your modification of the air box is complete. Let's move to the Jeep.

First thing to do is pull the wiper arms. There is a little hook under the arm, pull the arm out, then pull that little hook down & the arm should pop right off. Might be hard to see in the pic, but you'll see it when you look at the wiper.


Next we need to remove the cowl cover. There are four screws along the top of the cover along the bottom of the windshield.


Two screws behind the hood gasket. One on each side.


& one in the center in the vent.


Now you just gently pry the front of the cover up & slide it towards the front of the Jeep, off of the wiper studs & set it a side.

Here is where you need to cut the hole. If you are using the windstar grommet like I suggested, you'll need a 2 3/4" hole saw. I needed to spin that ground lug down, make sure all wires are out of the way!


Here is where it comes through on the inside of the cowl. Perfect.


Now hit the bare metal edges with some spray paint to prevent rust (which I forgot to do, looks like I'll be pulling mine out) & install the windstar grommet.



I used some tuner fittings from Vatozone to 90 over to the stock Jeep air intake tube. I used a 4" to 3" reducer from the airbox to a 3" 90 & then a 3" coupler to the stock tube. Now install the aribox into the grommet & mark where you need to cut the Jeep air intake hose. When you cut the tube you'll notice it has rediculous wall thickness.


I didn't like this. That huge flat area is going to cause a lot of turbulant air flow. So I took a die grinder & some sort of grinding bit my father in law had & went to town, then sanded it all down starting with 60 grit & went down to 150 grit. It's very important that you blow all the dust & plastic chunks out because this tube is post filter & all that junk will go directly into your engine.


Connect it all together & you're done.



It also has sufficient clearance with the hood if placed properly.


If you have the 42RLE like me, the dipstick tube will be smashed up against the side of the new airbox. This is probably fine, but I grabbed on to mine & pulled the crap out of it & it clears by about 1/2" or so now.


There is some additional noise that comes in through the heater duct due to this being smack dab in front of it. It is only really noticable during start up & acceleration & once the vehicle is warmed up I didn't even notice it as much even during acceleration from a stop. With tire & wind noise, I can't even hear it at cruise speeds.

This mod was not done for MPG gains or horsepower gains. I doubt I will see much of either if any. I needed to clear space for tube fenders, so if you are high lining, this is a great easy cheap mod. I think total cost of this mod for me was about $75. That included the $60 for the tuner fitting & $15 for the hole saw. I'm sure it could be done with cheaper fittings, but the tuner fittings look nice.
 
#231 ·
I also trimmed my front bumper down to allow full access to the front of the tires. I didn;t just cut it off flush with the frame rails because I wanted to maintain a little protection for the AR arms, so the bottom is trimmed flush with the outside of the arm & then tapers out 1", then straight back on both top & bottom.


 
#232 ·
Looks like a productive weekend Danno.. very nice! Nice job on customizing that air box, you did a mighty fine job reducing that tube wall thickness nice and smooth. What kinda air filter are you running? Also, great job cutting down the ends of your bumper! Looks like it was made that way ;)

I modified my bumper shortly after I bought it, angle cut the ends for clearance. However, I've been seriously considering cutting off the ends of my bumper altogether along with the brush bars on the sides of the main winch hoop. I like the width of my bumper for protection purposes, but I like the advantages of better approach angles with a shorter width.

So when you gonna install those fenders?
 
#233 ·
Looks like a productive weekend Danno.. very nice! Nice job on customizing that air box, you did a mighty fine job reducing that tube wall thickness nice and smooth. What kinda air filter are you running? Also, great job cutting down the ends of your bumper! Looks like it was made that way ;)

I modified my bumper shortly after I bought it, angle cut the ends for clearance. However, I've been seriously considering cutting off the ends of my bumper altogether along with the brush bars on the sides of the main winch hoop. I like the width of my bumper for protection purposes, but I like the advantages of better approach angles with a shorter width.

So when you gonna install those fenders?
Thanks Brad! It felt good to have a nice productive weekend. I'm just running a normal Fram paper filter from Advanced. I'm happy with the way the bumper turned out.

I've been debating on installing one of those winch hoops like you have & mounting some lights, I like the protection aspect of it most, or just mounting some lights to the windshield. Can't decide. Maybe neither. :dunno:

I'll start stripping everything off for the fenders Friday night & get them mounted up Saturday. I messed with the LED's yesterday & am having some issues. I need to mess with them some more to see if I can find the problem.
 
#234 ·
Looking good bud. Nice work on that filter box.
 
#245 ·
Danno6102 said:
I also trimmed my front bumper down to allow full access to the front of the tires. I didn;t just cut it off flush with the frame rails because I wanted to maintain a little protection for the AR arms, so the bottom is trimmed flush with the outside of the arm & then tapers out 1", then straight back on both top & bottom.
This is off topic but how do like your winch?
 
#246 ·
It's a nice winch for the price. I haven't had any trouble out of mine like others have had. I think that is mainly with the older models. Line speed could be a bit quicker, but for the price, it serves it's purpose & honestly with warn coming out with the VR8000 to compete with this one, I would probably save a little more & get the warn.

In other news, I figured out my LED issue. I was having issues with only half the LEDs lighting up on one of the 2.5" lights when only the running lights were on & the left turn signal indicator on the insturment cluster eluminating as soon as you turned the running lights on. Once I connected the Genright LED side marker lights like they will be on final install, everything was hunky dorey. The front 2.5" lights are (13) LED lights & only one half are lit during running light mode. When turn is applied all (13) blink bright. I've final soldered everything & heat shrunk it all up. I need to get some water proof connectors & some split loom to finish it off & they will be ready to go in.
 
#260 ·
Those fenders sure do look purdy. ;)
 
#264 ·
You left the battery tray because you were too lazy, let's be honest. Lol

I'm curious to see what it would look like with no rear flares now too :x
 
#265 ·
Bennettj13 said:
You left the battery tray because you were too lazy, let's be honest. Lol

I'm curious to see what it would look like with no rear flares now too :x
Lol! Yea, you're right. Lol! But nobody will ever see it.

Thanks for the compliments guys! Can not wait to get these front ford towers in so I can stuff these front tires!
 
#266 ·
I'd like to see some stuffage pictures.
 
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