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Louie4's YJ

352K views 3K replies 156 participants last post by  Skerr 
#1 · (Edited)
Well, I figured I would make a "build" thread. I have had my YJ for nearly 10 years and have been doing mods here and there so I won't have a lot of pics of the entire process.

I got my '93 YJ when I turned 16. I paid $1500 at the time which was a steal. I can't find any stock pictures but I have some of the earlier versions.

Some specs as of today:

-3.5" Black Diamond lift springs
-Stock TJ alloy wheels
-Worn out Aurora 31" x 10.5" M/T's (cheap)
-Detroit EZ locker in the rear
-Lock-Right in the front
-Yukon 4.10's front and rear (Yes I still have the D35 and I regeared it:thumbdown:)
-Some kind of hack 'n' tap SYE and a Tom Woods rear driveshaft from a wrecked '95 YJ
-Currie boomerang shackles front and rear
-Herculined Tub


Here's some pics from Tellico when I had 2" double military wrapped springs (complete crap), Liberty all-terrain 30" x 9.5" cheapo tires. I can't remember if I had my rear locker in or not.

I got my SYE from a buddy that worked at the old shop I used to work for.
I had to get the driveshaft shortened because the '95 YJ it came off of was a SOA. Took about 2" out of the center section.


I'm sure a lot of you have had this problem with the rear shock mounts on your Dana 35. I backed into a rock and after a year of on road driving it finally gave out. I replaced them this past April with some generic ones I got from a 4WD shop I rode past. I'll post the new ones up later.
Also, this was the first break. I got my neighbor to weld the piece back on one time and it broke again another year later.


This doesn't show the entire process but it shows some of the gear pattern pics of when I was re-gearing my front and rear axle. I rebuilt both axles replacing all the bearings. I set everything up myself. It was my first gear install and they haven't torn up yet so that's a good sign. I don't know if I would do it again just because of the hassle factor. I don't have all the tools a machine shop has but I have more than the average backyard mechanic. The most important tool I bought was an in-lb torque wrench. I got it from Amazon from a bike shop.


Some of the D30. I had to take the ring gear off to put the locker in. I wasn't thinking and forgot to put it in.



After I re-geared my rpm's went up and vibrations from my front driveshaft were becoming very noticeable on the road. I had originally got a ZJ front driveshaft planning on putting that on the front. I took it to the driveshaft shop and the guy there wouldn't warranty the ZJ one because going to a length of 43" with an O.D. of 1.75" he said it would fail at 3000 rpm's. I was surprised because my stock front driveshaft was that length and I have been running it for a long time. He said he would have to go to a 3" O.D. to warranty it. Well, I ended up spending $50 to have my stock one straightened and balanced. I still have a few vibes but not as bad. Here's some pics of the ZJ front driveshaft and the one I put in.
 

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#134 ·
yjdude said:
Nice build, im planning on taking my 95 yj up to gulches next month. looks like its a blast from looking at your pictures. i got open diffs in the front and rear, do you think ill still be able to do some of the trails there without breaking too many things?
Thanks man. Yeah there is something there for everyone and how far you want to go depends on you. Skip is a real good guy and when we got in a jam he helped us big time. Being that you're open front and rear you'll just have to finesse the skinny pedal a little more and pick your lines carefully. The guy in the tan YJ in my pics was open with 31's and he was able to do quite a bit.
 
#135 ·
Well I was going to just clean the mating surface on the intake and throw it back on but I started looking more closely and it was full of sludge and crap from 1993. I don't believe I've ever cleaned it in the last 11 years I've owned it (on the inside). I was scrapping chunks out with a small screwdriver. It was really gunky near the injector tips so I ended up taking every thing apart on the intake. I cleaned the manifold, throttle body, fuel rail, and injectors. These pics suck but oh well.









 
#136 ·
Just an idea... A rifle cleaning brush would be perfect for that kinda thing. 30 cal or 45 cal along with some gun cleaning solvent. Such as hoppes no. 9 solvent, because after all that's what gun solvent is for, is to eat the soot and carbon out of gun barrels. Just a thought, its how I used to clean carbs way back in the day. And you could have ate breakfast off those carbs when I got done with them.
 
#137 ·
Dang Pete! I wish I would have read this earlier. I went straight home after work yesterday, went on a quick jog then started on the jeep. I used the parts cleaner at work and a wire brush and it got all the slimy goo out but I think a rifle brush could have got more of the carbon out. Oh well. I got it pretty clean.

I didn't take any pics yet because it was dark and my pictures suck in the day time so night would be worse. After I got it back together I let it run and burn off all the junk on the new exhaust manifold. The engine seem to have a little more pep and responsiveness to it. I drove it for maybe 45 minutes in town on the interstate. When I'm rolling at 70 mph and I stomp on the gas it goes. So I'm pleased with the results of a new exhaust manifold and cleaning the intake. This morning I'm going to have a buddy from work follow me to the exhaust shop so I can get the new pipes put on.

I'll post pics Monday!
 
#138 ·
Thanks man. Yeah there is something there for everyone and how far you want to go depends on you. Skip is a real good guy and when we got in a jam he helped us big time. Being that you're open front and rear you'll just have to finesse the skinny pedal a little more and pick your lines carefully. The guy in the tan YJ in my pics was open with 31's and he was able to do quite a bit.
Thanks for the info. Cant wait to get my jeep off the pavement a little.
 
#139 ·
I am going to post more pics of the engine and new exhaust when I get it back next week. I did put the intake back together after cleaning it, the fuel rail, and the throttle body thoroughly. I replaced the o-rings and throttle body gasket of course. It runs great now and has a lot more spunk.
 

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#140 ·
Well I finally picked up my jeep up after work today. Apparently it was ready Monday but they did not type my phone number in correctly so they left a message to someone else. I finally called today and found out what was going on.

I was pleased with the work. They ran it the way I asked and it's actually quieter now which I don't mind. The price wasn't too bad either. Here's a break down of cost for my new exhaust.

Manifold = $73.81
Magnaflow Catalytic Converter = $72.26
Exhaust shop who put it all in = $227.11

Total = $373.18

Not too bad. Now for pics.

Here's the engine back together.







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Finally, as she sits today.

 
#141 ·
Here's a little side topic to my build. Which is actually another build of a 1953 M38 Willys Jeep. It's coming along very nicely and their is a good story behind it. The guy restoring it is wanting another jeep to replace the first one he had when he was still in school years ago. He said it was a lot of fun, none of the gauges worked, the ride was rough but he really enjoyed it. He ended up selling it because him and his wife had just married and needed some money to start out. He doesn't regret the decision but always wanted another. Well decades later after being in the military and retiring from Delta he's got his project. He works on it at a shop about a mile from my work. He goes to church with the mechanic that runs the shop and is good friends with my co-worker and friend (how I found out about it). We stopped by today after lunch to see the progress. He has allotted Tuesdays and Thursdays to just his jeep and that works well with his wife.

So far he's had almost all the parts powder coated, replaced all the hardware, having engine rebuilt by the mechanic, put new brake lines, seals and basically has a very complete chassis. He's going for a complete restore and has been going around the Eastern part of the country getting parts. He does have a gas can that his dad owned that he will mounting in the back. I'll be honest, his build is a lot cooler than mine. Now for pics.









 
#143 ·
I went to help my buddy with his 8.8 and Eaton E-locker last night. I didn't really do much. He wanted me to give my blessing over his gear setup. He reused the 4.10's but just put the E-locker in. He copied the pattern and backlash from the factory setup so I had no qualms with it. Well I didn't like the gear patterns but he showed me the factory ones and they matched up almost identical.

Anyway my buddy gave me a TJ sound bar. I already have the stock one for my YJ but the TJ one has a dome light and it was free.





My jeep is getting a new windshield put in so it's at the glass shop. I was going to pick it up tomorrow but I have to go home and see my grandmother. She's not doing too well.
 
#144 ·
Your Jeep is coming along really nicely. I've been impressed with what you can do with it. I prefer to see what can be done with a streetable Jeep. If going wheeling involves putting your Jeep on a trailer, it's just not the same. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just much more impressive (to me anyway) to be able to take a nasty obstacle and then drive it home.

Loved the shots of the old Willy's. My brother has a '41 slat grill that was produced in the first week of production. My dad bought it about 25 years ago and it's always been a fun little ride. It has a whopping 40k miles on it (...I'm jealous of that. The mileage on my YJ is in line with yours, but mine only had 35k on it when I bought it). He's been gathering parts for it for a few years with the intention of a full restoration.

Best wishes for your grandmother and your family. I'm sure that there are several folks here who will keep you guys in their thoughts.
 
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#145 ·
Thanks man I appreciate it. Hopefully things will go well.

Back to jeep stuff. I'd love to have a an old Willys jeep to restore or an old CJ-5. I do pride myself on being able to drive my jeep on the road and tackle the hard stuff but of course I take the risk if I really break but that's why I ride with friends.

I don't mind dinging my YJ up but I want it to be able to get me home without the elements on me and I do want it to look semi decent. So far I've been able to achieve that.

My future plans are to sell my CJ-7 hardtop and get a softopper. I always take the hardtop off and wheel without it so I have no protection beyond my bikini top when the weather gets nasty.
 
#148 ·
I'll let you know when I take it out. I am going to wait until I sell the hardtop.

I really dig that old willys!

The videos you posted is cool too, do you happen to know what camera you guys used?
Thanks. That Willys is owned by a co-workers best friend. He's a really nice guy and I'm very interested in his build.

I used an iphone for the latest ones. The Gulches videos I had a Sony digital camera.
 
#149 ·
Well I got my jeep back from the glass shop. I had them glue my inner glass seal up because it was hanging down. I remember it doing that last time I had the glass replaced but this was pretty bad.

Well I had intended on fixing my radio but of course I didn't. I ended up pulling the radiator out and bolting my Taurus fan to it. When I first did the swap I zip tied it to test it out and lo and behold I didn't fix it the right way. So a couple weeks ago one side broke and my fan motor was rubbing on the water pump pulley. It was making a knocking sound. When the motor kicked on it pushed back into the motor.

My workspace.



Wear mark.



Installed with bolts I had lying around.

 
#150 ·
I haven't found any cables I can use for my radio antenna. I might be able to use the Chrysler adapter but I'm not sure. I sheared my old one clean off on a tree. I'm sure I posted pics a few pages back. I'm going to go to Autozone and see if I can find an adapter to the antenna itself.
 

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#152 ·
I have a Hayden adjustable thermostat I got from O'Reilly's for $19, a 40 amp relay and a cutoff switch. It's been working fine but gets a little hot on the highway. As you can see I have it out of the jeep now. I needed to properly secure it to the radiator. I'm also going to pick up an XJ water pump to get more clearance. I have the pulley and since I have it all out I might as well bite the bullet.

I will say that I don't believe I have the proper Taurus fan. It fits up pretty good but I had to trim and do some test fitment. I've seen others that are slimmer that I might try to find.
 
#153 ·
Well the weather was amazing yesterday so I went ahead and took my water pump off and put the XJ one on. I picked up the new brand new pump (not reman'ed) and stopped for the day. It got dark and I went to sell my back seat and make a few bucks for future upgrades.

Now I'm trying to figure out what the bolt size is for the XJ water pump pulley. I found a metric bolt that screws in so I just need to identify it.

Here's a pic with the old water pump.



Here's the two pumps side by side with the pulleys.

 
#154 ·
I just read through your whole thread and i love the direction you went. im interested in how you lifted yours using longer truck shocks and those new springs. altogether how much did that run you? and besides the shackles, what else did you buy to complete the lift. im looking to lift it for as cheap as possible.
 
#156 ·
Well the springs were 3.5" Black Diamonds. I was replacing my original 3.5" Black Diamonds because the deal was that good and I got (4) HD rear springs all around. The shocks I sized up from this pdf I found online for Monroe shocks. They have the mounting type on each end, extended and compressed lengths.

http://www.monroe.com/assets/downloads/english/08_MountingLengthSheet.pdf

I measured my mounting points after I flexed out the suspension and chose the appropriate shocks, went to Autozone and gave them the part numbers to order them. I think I spent maybe $100 for all four. They also have a lifetime warranty.

As for the rest of the lift I put a 1" Daystar body lift, TJ flares and a dropped pitman arm. I don't consider it cheap. The only way to get away with it as cheap as possible is to do it right the first time. Otherwise you'll be replacing stuff later down the line. I went through that once and low and behold I'm still replacing things.

Good deal on the springs man! I am expecting that at some point I will be replacing mine.

You're doing a great job on the ole YJ. It's amazing how much time, work, and money you can put into one of these things, just to keep it running and maintained. If we only had to buy mods we would have monster rigs by now :)
Thanks man I appreciate it. If I had a place to work on it and I knew what lies ahead for my future I would be doing a lot but I'm just trying to keep it maintained and mod accordingly to stay on the trails.
 
#158 ·
imcfarland93 said:
I'm getting a RC 4" lift with all new springs and shocks but I was curious about the truck ones because I thought the top and bottom would be different.
I just had to make sure there was an eye on the bottom and stud on the top with the proper lengths. You can get the conversion kit so you can use eyes in both ends. If you do you get a wider range of options. I'm think about using Ford front shock towers to get the eye mounting and extend it to use a longer shock.
 
#159 ·
Louie4 said:
I just had to make sure there was an eye on the bottom and stud on the top with the proper lengths. You can get the conversion kit so you can use eyes in both ends. If you do you get a wider range of options. I'm think about using Ford front shock towers to get the eye mounting and extend it to use a longer shock.
Well for the time being until I get my lift for my birthday I'm picking up a hard top tomorrow for 100 bucks so I'm pretty excited about that. Even though my uppers will overlap
 
#160 ·
I swung by and picked up a tailgate after work today. Not bad for $50. I initially spoke with the guy and he said he had a green one that actually matched my jeep very well, exact pretty much. The only thing was it had half the tail gate hinge, the arm to be exact. Well when I was there I saw a red one also that had hinges, the late YJ and TJ style that were beefy. I asked if I could see it and it matched up perfect to the YJ tailgate so I got it.

I went to Lowe's and picked up some semi flat black paint and found M8x1.25x12MM bolts for the XJ water pump. Any recommendations on how to prep this tailgate? I was thinking a scotch brite pad or just plain sand paper. What do y'all think?

 
#163 ·
I got the XJ waterpump on and everything is working great. I took pics and was about to upload them when I accidentally deleted them. I'll have to post some pics tomorrow for the motor. I did get the hinges off the tailgate. I had to trade in my T40 Duralast torx bit at Autozone (lifetime) and I bought a bolt extractor bit to get the stripped bolts out. It took a little bit but I got them loose. Now I just need to find replacement bolts that aren't torx.

Any ideas?
 

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