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McCloud's Niner Build/Rebuild Thread

45K views 390 replies 29 participants last post by  McCloudsZJ 
#1 ·
Picked up my 1998 Grand Cherokee LTD 5.9 the other day. Time to start a "build" thread :D The more time I spend with the Jeep, the more convinced that this is going to turn into a rebuild thread. It is in desperate need of some TLC. It was listed for $2000. I talked the guy down to $1700 over the phone. Then, when it wouldn't start when I went to pick it up, I offered him $1400. He said OK... I jiggled the battery terminals, it started right up, and I drove off into the sunset.



First impression: damn. The 5.9 is addicting. The 4.7 in the WJ with some bolt ons and exhaust had some oomph but... Damn. I thought the transmission was slipping between 1st and 2nd at WOT. It wasn't. The tires were.

The good:
  • The interior is 99% there
  • 5.9 is in tip top shape... Oil is clean, but not brand new; no ticks, knocks, whines, or hesitation
  • No major body damage
  • No rust on the rockers
  • Checked it out at the alignment shop--nothing out of whack. Good news
  • The 249 works :eek: No binding, chirping, hopping, or complaining of any kind. We'll see how long that lasts

The bad: EVERY SINGLE common ZJ problem in the history of Jeep kind
  • Tires are bald and only getting worse. Something to do with the skinny pedal?
  • Bad coolant sensor on VIC (of course)
  • Head liner is falling down
  • Dumb *** that owned the Jeep before me used spray paint on the tail lights and the corner lights up front
  • Tires are bald
  • Shocks are probably original--they ride like it
  • Dash tweeters shot? Nope. every single speaker shot
  • No head unit
  • Battery is shot
  • Terminals look like they've been mauled by a tiger
  • No AC compressor :brickwall:
  • No muffler
  • Lots and lots of little tiny chips in the paint--it looks like somebody was weed whacking in a gravel parking lot next to the Jeep
  • Filthy inside and out; disgustingly dirty
  • Dash dimmer... well, you know....
  • Drivers mirror EL fluid... Again... you know...
 
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#65 ·
Look what I got! bad cell phone pic. I just got this iPhone thing and it has a worse camera than my two year old Android. Either that, or I'm just doing it wrong. I'm probably doing it wrong...

 
#66 ·
Soldered my wiring harness for the new head unit this afternoon. One step closer to having music!

Twisted wires:


My beautiful solder job:


All soldered and taped:


Cleaned up and taped together:
 
#67 ·
Good work man, jealous,
I am still waiting for more parts to arrieve, but jumping to start my install.
 
#68 ·
Between final exams, graduating college, moving into my own house, and my grand mother dying, it's been a hectic week. I did find one day to spend with the Jeep, though. I'm going to apologize in advance for the bad pictures.

Got my plates. I'm officially a Virginia resident now, too. Here's to cheap beer, cheap gas, cheap guns, and concealed carry permits for everyone! Amurica!


Also, after spending some more time underneath the Jeep, the PO will now be referred to "that *** hole." Nothing says *** hole like using a Fram filter...


Got that right off of there. Switched to MOPAR filter and high-mileage full synthetic oil. I also pulled out what I think is the last of that *** hole's terrible wiring.


The inside is a little more empty now:


 
#71 ·
bananaslug said:
How long did it take to rip everything out?

Cant believe you got stuff done with all that going on. damn.
Seats were like 20 minutes. Dash was another 10. Carpet took about 10. About 45-60 minutes of actual work time. It took a little longer if you count beer breaks and fooling around.
 
#72 ·
Graduated college officially yesterday. Double major in Mechanical Engineering and Math... Shameless photo of my ugly mug because nobody reads posts without pictures.



Some of my friends ended up coming to town and buying me drinks to celebrate. Ended up running up a $240 bar tab. One of them had a sweet beard.



All this to say, my Jeep Fund Money has gone up significantly thanks to some graduation presents. Ball joints, TRE's, sleeves, and a track bar are all at the top of the list after my run in with death wobble the other day. A new SS, isolators, and shocks are up there, too. The clunking from the rear shocks is going to drive me crazy. And tires. I need tires. So many possibilities...

I'll have to email Kolak again here in the next couple of days...
 
#74 ·
Scrubbed the interior with bleach/de-greaser on a steel wool brush. No more soda mold under the carpet. No more mystery smells, either. Now it smells like the inside of a hospital. Also ordered brand new carpet from StockInteriors.com. It was like $300 to have it delivered to my door, OEM color, with sound insulation included. Now I don't need to mess with trying to pull carpet out of another Jeep.

I emailed Kolak about new shocks, bushings, isolators, and steering linkage. It'll ride and drive as nice as the WJ did... Someday...
 
#75 ·
DFAS is trying to rob my Jeep fund... :( I still fiddled with the Jeep for a couple minutes this after noon. I re bleached/degreased/scrubbed the inside. I think it's finally ready for some carpet! This was my view for the whole afternoon:



Ordered valve gaskets because my passenger side is pissing oil...



And an engine pic, because who doesn't like those? Yes... Those AC lines are still just sitting there...

 
#77 ·
I see no shame in that... :cheers:
 
#79 ·
McCloudsZJ said:
**** faced for $3.95? I see no shame in that... :cheers:
I love how jeep guys refuse to buy the cheapest parts for their jeeps, but always buy the cheapest beer for themselves. I too am guilty of this. I also give my Zj my lunch money a lot..
 
#80 ·
Midnightluckey said:
I love how jeep guys refuse to buy the cheapest parts for their jeeps, but always buy the cheapest beer for themselves. I too am guilty of this. I also give my Zj my lunch money a lot..
Priorities! :cheers2:

Sent from my iPhone 6 using JeepForum
 
#81 ·
Gauge covers have been ordered. New carpet is being stitched right now. All of the wood trim has been wrapped in the aluminum. Got a gift card for new tires for Christmas.

Picture of the gauge covers:


Anybody ever used Peel and Seal as opposed to Dynamat for insulating the interior? The carpet I ordered does not include the fiberglass insulation as per my request. I've used strips of Dynamat for sound insulation and to stop rattles but never to do an entire interior. This Peel and Seal stuff is 1/10th the price and chemically similar. It's cheap enough I'm considering doing everything. Thoughts?

 
#215 ·
Gauge covers have been ordered. New carpet is being stitched right now. All of the wood trim has been wrapped in the aluminum. Got a gift card for new tires for Christmas.

Picture of the gauge covers:

Anybody ever used Peel and Seal as opposed to Dynamat for insulating the interior? The carpet I ordered does not include the fiberglass insulation as per my request. I've used strips of Dynamat for sound insulation and to stop rattles but never to do an entire interior. This Peel and Seal stuff is 1/10th the price and chemically similar. It's cheap enough I'm considering doing everything. Thoughts?
Did you ever use the peal and seal? I need to do that to mine.
 
#82 ·
Picked up a new toy. Fo' free. PO said it was having spark issues. I think it has a cracked head or a blown head gasket at the very least. We'll see... It's a story for another forum.


This is what made me think it had something other than spark issues... Cylinder #2 is totally full of coolant...


Looks like the list of projects is growing a little bit...
 
#83 ·
McCloudsZJ said:
Picked up a new toy. Fo' free. PO said it was having spark issues. I think it has a cracked head or a blown head gasket at the very least. We'll see... It's a story for another forum.

This is what made me think it had something other than spark issues... Cylinder #2 is totally full of coolant...
[/IMG]

Looks like the list of projects is growing a little bit...
Dude really? A free Beamer? Nice!
 
#84 ·
Brown Santa brought me something...



I hate this iPhone camera. I hate it so much I might buy a real camera. I just kind of assumed that a brand new iPhone would have a better camera than my 2 year old Droid... Anyway, more pictures.




Now I just need to finish insulating the inside.

 
#85 ·
I broke the niner's recovery cherry. Sort of. The BMW isn't running (yet!!!) and it's supposed to snow. My chain, my straps, and all of my pull-people-out-of-the-ditch stuff was at my bosses house. So, in my finest moment of ingenuity, I used the Jeep to push the BMW about 100 yards through a field to the barn.

Fun times...

Sent from my iPhone 6 using JeepForum
 
#86 ·
Soldered up a new wiring harness to bypass the Infinity Amp. :D None of the wires have been run properly, but they're in the Jeep, and they work. Definitely sounds better now. Also gutted the VIC. Not sure when I'm going to put switches in there, but it'll happen eventually.

No pics today. I got a 12 MP camera for taking pictures of this build since the iPhone camera has totally died. I didn't get a cord for it, though. Good things come to those that wait. Stay tuned for pictures.
 
#87 ·
Ok. I lied. I have one more picture on the iPhone I'll share. The camera is totally kaput. Apple wants $250 to fix. Hahaha... Whew... No thanks. I've owned an apple product for almost a month now. Already not totally thrilled.

 
#88 ·
Advance Auto is running a sale right now. You order shocks online and get 25% off and $25. All said and done, I made it out the door for $70.


They're low quality shocks for sure, but they fixed the clunk from the rear shock bushings. It's worth the money just for that. I also finally did away with the AC Compressor pulley substitute. They were out of the Gates variety, but this will work for now. 7 rib, 82.5" belt for those of you that want to run with no AC.



The PO had cross threaded a little nut that held the useless pulley on. It was way to tight to get a socket or a box wrench on it, so I improvised. I used the knife to hold the nut still while I turned the bolt head.



Finished product:

 
#89 ·
Big news in the world of McCloudsZJ Niner Build/Rebuild! First off, the total steering replacement package has been ordered from Kolak. AND! I finally got a camera that works. Be prepared for lots of pictures. They'll be a little better quality than the broken iPhone monstrosities that I've been posting. You're welcome. In other news, we got the BMW to crank, fire, and turn over yesterday! Probably has clogged injectors or no fuel pressure at the fuel rail. More on that over on Bimmerforums...

New wiring harness I soldered up for the Infinity Bypass.


Got all of these guys mounted properly. No sound proofing on the doors, yet...


New serp belt routing.


A better picture of my oddball drier.


New shocks=no clunking!


More gutted interior--testing the camera in low light situations.


Same as above.


Something other than the shocks might have been rattling in the back. Not really sure...


Poser shot!
 
#91 ·
It's not the camera. My soundbar is... naked. That's the foam under where the headliner material should have been. Redoing that and the headliner is somewhere on the list of things to do...
 
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