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KGB 89 YJ Storyline Build Thread

64K views 490 replies 37 participants last post by  old88YJ 
#1 ·
Hello folks, my name is Adil and I've been a member here for a little over a year. I catch myself browsing the forum on daily basis and having looked through some amazing build threads inspired me to make a small build thread of my own.

I'm 29 years old, originally from Moscow Russia. Spend most of my day as an RF technician for a defense contractor in San Diego, CA. On my spare time I enjoy working on the Jeep, taking spirited drives and autocross in my other toy, 97 bmw m3. We go shooting, offroading and camping with my friends and gf.

Summer 2011, I was taken on a 16 hour off-road trip to Corral Canyon, CA in my buddy's heavily modified 1988 Suzuki Samurai. I was hooked, loved every second of it, found my new passion for rock crawling.

where it all started, Brandon's Sammi:



Thanksgiving day 2011, we were browsing CL and found this 1989 Canadian built YJ for $3900. 4.2l auto with 150k miles. We went on a 3 hour drive to pick up a mechanically mistreated mess in a clean straight body, completely stock, wearing dry rotted 31" tires 1989 YJ!

First look when we got there:


Test drive:


Looking over the problems and talking the seller down some. Jeep had a nasty radiator leak, oil, gas and power steering leaked as well, 4wd wouldn't engage, died out when braking and had all sorts of carburetor problems. Everything else checked out ok:


We talked the guy down to 3k and hit the road in hopes of making back in time for the Thanksgiving dinner.

Repairs began on the drive home, stopping at Kragen several times, replacing various hoses, spark plugs, and such:




5 miles or so left to the house, Jeep lost oil pressure. Luckily it was only a faulty sender unit. We made it back right before dark and on time for dinner!

I snapped some pics and let Jeep be at its new home:



Day after my buddy came over to figure out what all needs to be done before we test the new rig out on a near by trail:


Two main issues were the cooling system and the crappy carter carb:


Took the radiator out and got it gut open, cleaned, rodded, leak fixed and sealed back together for $60, not bad:



Went through and replaced all coolant, fuel, transmission fuid, vacuum lines and hoses, got the new oil sending unit, fuel pump and a few other small things replaced:


My buddy and I were dying to test the rig out. We drove to a near by trail and quickly found out Jeep was not ready and needed some things repaired/replaced right away. 4wd was engaging on and off and didn't work half of the time, brakes sucked badly, carter kept stalling the jeep out and the transfer case chain was slipping in 4Lo:



We didn't get a chance to replace or repair any of the problems before the next shooting/off-road trip to Corral Canyon:







Jeep barely made it home after the trip. I knew we had little to no time to address the issues mentioned above to continue having fun. We tuned the carb a bit more, replaced a few small things and went out on a date with my GF:


This pretty much concludes 2011.

2012 was a big year for the Jeep, lots of new changes, upgrades, mods, etc...

(I'll be updating the thread with 2012 and 2013 timeline in the next few days to catch the build up to date)
 
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#455 ·
Out goes the 231:


Advanced Adapters SYE:






Transmission side cleaned:


Back together:




Battery tray back in:


New alternator in:


Autometer sender installed:


Test fitting panel location:


Zero gauge ground cable cut to length and crimped:


Zero gauge power cable:


It's gotta be done right:
 
#456 ·
Ordered aluminum pan that holds 2 extra quarts from Summit. It's listed for 904 but will work with the 999:




Filter adapter:


Drops the filter to accommodate for new pan:






Very tight fit with the stock skid plate:
 
#457 ·
Finished installing the RR HD steering and slim body Pro-Comp stabilizer, not sure if it'll work right just yet:






Dana 35 out:


8.8 to go in:


M.O.R.E. kit, so tiny after welding 29 piece Artec Truss on several TJs:


Under the jeep:


Driveshaft set to 19, pinion 16-17:


Perches and shock mounts burned in:




Tubes welded to housing:


Seals and bearings:


 
#458 ·
True Track and re-gear:










That pattern though:






Brake line fun:
 
#461 ·
Thanks guys! Can't wait to get back out on the trails!
 
#463 ·
I hope it won't be much of a problem Matt :D

Brake line "fix" for now:




1310 adapter with new bolts:


Rear parking shoes and hardware installed:


Axles cleaned up and painted:


True Track completely installed:


Filling her up:


Solid Diff cover:


Shot with primer:


Calipers complete with soft line, banjo bolt, washers, install hardware:


Freshly painted:


Fit like a glove! Spacers installed:




Digging the way it sits:




New CV driveshaft with Spicer U-joints showed up while I was at the shop, installing tomorrow:
 
#464 ·
$150 worth of fluids:


Hella headlights:






Driveshaft installed, fit like a glove:


New speedo cable for Autometer gauge and factory speed sensor:


Brake lines ran and bled:


 
#465 ·
Electrical rough draft, this is a temporary relay/fuse panel I'm working on, however after installing it, I'm going to take out most of it and go with Blue Sea fuse boxes:


1.35 ohm resistor:




Cut some more holes in the dash:


Test fitting switches:




Test fitting the dash:


Coming out for the fist test drive in 9 months :D




Alignment was a bit off, all done:




Painted the rollcage add-on:


Drove her home! What a fun drive, only thing I had to order were MORE rear shock mounts. Shocks are a bit compressed after moving the mounts higher on the 8.8



Still few things left to tinker with, connect some lights and gauges, break in the new gears and she's ready to wheel again!!
 
#467 ·
Current limiting to coil and duraspark module. .

Back on the lift she goes:


New front driveshaft:




M.O.R.E. rear shock extensions:






Definitely rides better and no more vibes!
 
#468 ·
Horrible ticking while going up steep hills, very loud at freeway speeds especially up steep inclines. Valves? Timing chain? Gets so loud it resonates off other vehicles and walls. Maybe time for V8 and 700R...

I'll do compression test tomorrow and go from there. Maybe take the valve cover off for quick visual...
 
#469 ·
4.2 is done for, needs a rebuild and smog equipment to finally make smog legal. At this point, V8 swap is more cost effective. Getting a chevy 5.7L 350 V8 dropped off Monday!!! It's going right into machine shop for a complete rebuild! Went with L05 out of a 95 suburban with TBi and complete harness/computer. Even has AC!! New 700r4 trans will be ordered once the engine is coming close to being rebuilt. Granted it won't be the best on gas, it'll be a reliable, powerful powerplant.

Before it's pulled:
 
#470 ·
kgb_m3 said:
4.2 is done for, needs a rebuild and smog equipment to finally make smog legal. At this point, V8 swap is more cost effective. Getting a chevy 5.7L 350 V8 dropped off Monday!!! It's going right into machine shop for a complete rebuild! Went with L05 out of a 95 suburban with TBi and complete harness/computer. Even has AC!! New 700r4 trans will be ordered once the engine is coming close to being rebuilt. Granted it won't be the best on gas, it'll be a reliable, powerful powerplant. Before it's pulled: http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/k...E-4325-B169-1B923D35BEA7_zpsgfmfhj5l.jpg.html
Badass dude I just picked a 1994 tbi 350 as well. Take detailed notes during the wiring so I can use em! :laugh: that is hands down my biggest weakness.
Here's my 1994 5.7 out of a c1500
Tire Wheel Vehicle Car Automotive tire
 
#471 ·
That's awesome man!! ^^^

I will most definitely make a schematic for those looking to run all new electrical with the swap. Wiring is the easy part :D I'm really looking forward to this swap as all I see are benefits. Only problem now, I got a brand new catalytic converter for the 4.2L I no longer need..

Anyone need a new cat? $200 shipped for magnaflow YJ specific 50 state legal.
 
#473 ·
Got the motor sitting on a pallet at my shop, been busy working on everyone else jeeps :D
 
#474 ·
Been a while since I've updated this thread,

Wired up a few gauges, still undecided on how the dash will end up looking, but this does it for now:


Nice having gauges that work and don't move all over the place:




Hooked up the Smitty winch and single row LED light:


Easy truck trail trip with gf:


 
#475 ·
Went out to Corral canyon and got stuck on a tree stump! Cut down your u-bolts or flip them haha:


Couple she took that I like:


 
#476 ·
Hooked up the little LED pods onto the windshield bracket:


Went out wheeling with a few toyota buddies:


Super close call on this rut, almost went over:






 
#477 ·
Sold my BFG 35s and bought a set of 37" Maxxis Creepy Crawlers, haven't wheeled with them on yet, but I can tell they're going to easily be my favorite set of tires:

Next to my 35s!!:


Mall crawling at our business park:


Love the new look:


tread is ridiculous!








Gotta trim up the rock sliders a bit and cut some more off the rear fenders, make room and go wheeling!
 
#478 ·
I hope your d30 can live for a while with those tires. I know a guy that was trying to get rid of his same tires because they were too hard on his HP44. Theyre damn heavy, I shaved 12 lbs per corner when I got my STTs with alloy wheels. They look awesome though! Funny how 35s start to look small...
 
#480 ·
3 wheeling trips so far so good :tea: Now I can say, hands down best tires I ever ran. Got a few pics and videos coming up.

How are you liking the gauges? I'm looking at getting a set. I want all electric so autogauge is out.
I actually don't like them. They work great, but visually I don't dig them no more. Also build quality could be a bit better, too plastic for my taste.
 
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