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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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#127 ·
I'm curious now, do some 33s run bigger than others? I mean 1-2" bigger? Having lunch with my coworker, I measured his Mud Claw 33s, only measured to about 31" if that. The weight of his Ranger FX4 could have flattened the tire a bit to throw measurement off.. Also I would like to know if KM2s will measure to ~33" installed.
 
#131 ·
BFG KM2 say 32.8 on tirerack, will they actually measure out to 32.8? or more like 31 as mentioned above?
 
#133 ·
I see. I didn't do enough research on tire brands and went with BFG for the name. I had the old dry rotted ATs and they did great, but that's where my experience with BFG ends. The opportunity came up to swap seats for tires, had to take it quick or come up with even more money for new set.

Also just got a call from the shop, KM2s are in. Will have to test them out asap

On a side note, been reading through a thread where a jeep owner recommended kevlar goodyears over the KM2s for socal sharp rocks. Made me wonder as all we do is go over rocks, small or big, still rocks. Then again my current Hercules MTs have been pretty good so theoretically speaking KM2s should do even better at $80/tire difference.
 
#134 ·
kgb_m3 said:
I see. I didn't do enough research on tire brands and went with BFG for the name. I had the old dry rotted ATs and they did great, but that's where my experience with BFG ends. The opportunity came up to swap seats for tires, had to take it quick or come up with even more money for new set.

Also just got a call from the shop, KM2s are in. Will have to test them out asap

On a side note, been reading through a thread where a jeep owner recommended kevlar goodyears over the KM2s for socal sharp rocks. Made me wonder as all we do is go over rocks, small or big, still rocks. Then again my current Hercules MTs have been pretty good so theoretically speaking KM2s should do even better at $80/tire difference.
Makes sense, I take that back about the km2s I know a good amount of peeps with them, but none have the 33's,

I read that thread also, I decided to go the MTR route instead, get back too me bout the tires
 
#135 ·
I'll be sure to post my review on the KM2s. You got any more pics of your rig in action? I wouldn't mind checking them out.

Thinking about picking up Hayden 404 auto trans cooler to get by with 3.55s for now. I still need to buy a few things for the 8.8 and finances aren't letting me do so at this point.

Another hold up comes from my dana 30 up front sitting with 3.55s that need to get regeared. Local diff shop wants $800 for a regear. Same junk yard I bought my 8.8 from for $200 is asking $450 for a dana 30 with 4.10s and I know people buy them ~$200.

Anyone got one for sale from a 4 banger? I don't think I want to chance regearing myself as I have zero experience with diffs. Transfer case rebuild is as far as I've gone.
 
#136 ·
This morning went very smooth getting new tires put on at Pann Auto. Great performance shop in San Diego if anyone interested checking it out. Ended up getting the BFGs for $80 under tirerack!

I'll go over my first impressions as I literally drove home 2 miles if that, then to
work another 5 or so including a 10 min freeway drive. Tires are very smooth and surprisingly quiet. They don't really hum like I'm used to, instead they have a very distinct knobby sound on the freeway. I like it much better in terms of road noise.

They balanced perfect, minimal weights and all 4 went on smooth. Ride feels much better too, steering response is a bit different, feels more solid and balanced. I can let go of the wheel on the freeway and actually stay in my lane.

As far as 3.55 gears with auto trans go, not very noticable on power loss, pretty much feels the same as it did with 31s. Takes maybe a second or two longer to go from 55mph to 65, but it does 70 no problem. Up hills it's worse though, but I can certainly live with this till the 8.8 goes in with 4.10s.

I'm very impressed by the ride quality, the look, fitment, very agressive tread, etc.. Can't wait to test it out on a trail and get the new lift put on.

Shop guys having fun with the Jeep, it's a performance shop that mostly deals with race cars and such, don't get Jeeps there very often if ever:


For a second there I considered white walls out, they talked me out of it:


Mount and balanced one to test fit, will do till the lift goes in:




Finishing up the last one:


All done!:


Next to my old 31s:


Surprisingly we were able to fit all 4 old tires in the back of the Jeep, don't think back seats are ever going in at this point:


Quick shot at the house:


and a quick shot at work:


In the end, I'm happy with the results and look forward to getting the Jeep higher up.
 
#137 ·
Putting on those new shoes look great. I love the look of the km2 but wonder about the road sound.

I just measured my 33's and they are 31.5. I wonder if tire pressure has any bearing on the stand still height?
 
#139 ·
Putting on those new shoes look great. I love the look of the km2 but wonder about the road sound.

I just measured my 33's and they are 31.5. I wonder if tire pressure has any bearing on the stand still height?
They're pretty much dead silent to 45mph or so, then you hear a very distinct sound that I actually kinda like. Hard to explain but it's not the annoying hum I had before from other offroad tires.

Wow! Looks amazing bro! :drool:
Great pics. I really enjoy your build thread. Diego is my home town so you better believe I'll find my way down to you soon enough! I would love to wheel with you!

Cheers bro
Thank you for the kind words bro! Likewise, your build inspired me and gave me motivation. I'm down to wheel anytime, let me know when you plan to come out! Got so much terrain to explore.

:cheers2:

Came home from work to find that my awesome gf bought this, Hayden 404 auto trans cooler:


this should help keep the temps down some.
 
#140 ·
6/29 update:

- Hercules 31s up for sale, looking to get $300 for a set about 70% tread left

- Bilstein 5100 shocks front/rear ordered

- OME 36r springs and bushings came in, ready for pickup



Will be a short weekend with the jeep as I'm working full shift today. Leaves me tomorrow to install Hayden tranny cooler and help out my buddy Josh with his transfer case.

Black SOA Jeep posted above sounds awful mechanically, coming from right under the front seats. I'm pretty certain it's the transfer case, but we won't know for sure until digging in.


Looking forward to a big camping/wheeling trip 4th of July weekend! I hope the little clearance above those 33s will at least get me through blues.
 
#142 ·
I got around to installing the Hayden cooler today. Kit came with everything needed to install:


Test fitting:


Buddy showed up to get his Jeep looked at and give hand with mine:


In the process of installing the trans cooler, we noticed the steering damper was shot . Josh recommended Rancho RS5407. Pepboys has a 20% off deal going on shocks, check out online, pick up in store. Perfect, quick trip up the street and I had the thing ready for install:




Back to the cooler, got it mounted and ran in series with the rad:




Steering stabilizer and cooler ready for test drive:


Josh taking it for a spin:


My brakes have been weak lately and I've been meaning to check out the issue. We pulled rear wheels and discovered this:


Not sure what happened, but we snapped the spring back in place, adjusted the shoes and called it a night:
 
#143 ·
Coming home from work, damn thing came off track again. Grinding sounds and all no rear brakes again... Perfect time to throw my 8.8 in there with disk brakes, but I can't have any down time with the Jeep for another week.

Little clip holding the e-brake cable was missing all along and may have caused the adjuster cable slip out of its track. Rubber plugs were also no where to be found. Went to Kragen and picked up a rebuild kit. At $9, not bad and should hold me over:


Buddy stopped by with his drum repair tool kit, 10 min later I knew how it was done:


Feels good to have all 4 brakes and functional e-brake. Also whoever gets my d35 will at least have working drum brakes :thumbsup:
 
#144 ·
Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

We went camping at the Cuyamaca Lake, didn't really get a chance to off-road but snapped a few pics anyway:








Jeep made a friend, 1994 defender with 33 KM2s and lots of other goodies. One day I would love to own one:
 
#145 ·
7/8 update:

It's been bugging me, in the back of my mind this whole time about Superlift and the whole sponsorship deal. I figured best thing would be to call and set things right. It doesn't feel right putting the kit up for sale. At the end of the day, someone went out of their way to make this happen for me. Even though it took longer and there were complications involved, I got the kit as promised and should repay the dues to be in good standings. Regardless of the outcome, at least I know I did the right thing. (Anti and Joe, I gave your posts some further thought and felt this would be a good thing to take care of)

I called and had a half hour long conversation with Joey. Will keep certain details to myself out of respect for him and the company. But I am so glad I called. We were able to work everything out and keep the sponship active. To make the long story short, new ownership pretty much resulted in discontinuance of YJ products and complications with refund/shipping of my product.

Moving forward, I will be using their product and putting together a media/write-up review. Turns out they shipped a better product than I thought. They shipped Black Diamond full military wrap springs rather than Superlift ones initially set for. They're made out of much stronger steel designed more for off-road use so I doubt these will sag or go flat. I will most likely couple the springs with Bilstein 5100 shocks already ordered from 4 Wheel Parts and go have fun on the trails.

The plan is to install this weekend! I have no idea what I'll end up doing with the Old Man Emu 36r as of now.
 
#147 ·
Each 36r spring was $93. I haven't even picked them up yet, going to try this week if I have time.
 
#149 ·
I hear ya, shipping wouldn't be very cost effective.

Can't wait either, I definitely do not have enough room for those 33s the way it sits now. I haven't wheeled yet with those on, but judging by the pic at the docs, I only had a little left to go before hitting those fenders. That's with sway bars connected too. Didn't even bother seeing how bad it would be with those off..

Is 4" total lift going to mess up my steering a lot? It's so nice and tight now and I hope it won't change much with a drop pitman arm and higher center of gravity.
 
#152 ·
They did. Came with a few other things as well, tcase drop kit, brake line relocation brackets, longer sway bar end links, pitman arm, bushings, etc..

I meant if my steering will change after the pitman arm install along with a 2" higher ride height.
 
#154 ·
kgb_m3 said:
They did. Came with a few other things as well, tcase drop kit, brake line relocation brackets, longer sway bar end links, pitman arm, bushings, etc..

I meant if my steering will change after the pitman arm install along with a 2" higher ride height.
You will be fine, my friend at work runs nothing but a dp arm with his 6 inch springs and it handles great!
 
#155 ·
Great to know, can't wait to install everything and go wheel. Been two months too long :D
 
#157 ·
36r all 4.
I'm in no hurry at all. If you have any interest and would like me to hold them for you I'll be happy to do so. Just give me what I'm into them and they're yours. (got them at wholesale from 4 wheel parts with receipts, new bushings included) Would be nice to meet another Jeep enthusiast and maybe go wheeling when you come down. If you want we can even install at my place and go test them out :D
 
#158 ·
Guys, have a quick question..

My buddy Josh with the black SOA jeep has bad springs. They're flat up front and inverted in the rear. If I gave him my existing 1.5" superlift springs, will they work for his spring over? We're not looking to really lift it much higher as he's got plenty of room for 35s. Just trying to replace his worn out springs.

Since I'm installing the 4" lift this weekend, I don't really have any use for my 1.5" springs.
 
#167 ·
update 7/12:

Got the OME springs along with Bilstein 5100s. I won't comment on the springs much as I'm digging Black Diamond one a heck of a lot better. As far as shocks go, I'm very impressed by build quality and overall look. Can't wait to see how they ride :D

Made in Germany, these things look badass:




OME 36R springs:


Next to Black Diamond:




Looking a the how flat OME springs are in comparison to Black Diamond, makes me wonder if those are close to 4.5" of lift. Maybe way too much for my 33s with flat fenders. I see now why those of you running OME don't require a drop pitman arm.
 
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