White TJ build

[Drew01taco]

First trip to Gulches


Most of yall know I bought Jimbos old TJ he had briefly. So far, its been a fun capable lil rig for me to just day trip to gulches and around town. There's been several items I've had on my list of things I need to do such as oil pan replacement and tracking down the ticking noise that seems to be very common in the 4.0 Then there's the items I just want to do to make it more capable. But now that I have my truck where I want it and my folks have a nice big shop for me to work in, I think its time for me to put a lil TLC in the jeep and get it where I want it to be. Because I would like to make it to a big event like OSCAR or something soon.

As it sits now:

-2.5 RC lift and 1.25 BL. trashed stock control arms
-35" Goodyear MTR w/Kevlar
-D30 front, loc rite locker and chromo shafts
-Stock D44 rear w/limited slip
-Smittybilt (I think) front bumper, rock sliders, front/rear tube fenders

The plan:

-replace oil pan (dented in right at the drain plug)
-AA SYE and new rear shaft (Carolina driveline or tom woods)
-Brown Dog 1" mml
-Front/rear solid diff covers
-Clayton long arm upgrade kit: 3 link front and 4 link rear w/front bridge
-Clayton engine and transfercase skid system
-And maybe a front D44 down the line and small stretch


I'm sure this will be a pretty long process, as I work out of town during the week, and at times an aggravating task. But I know it'll all be worth it in the end

 

[Drew01taco]

Bored at work on a saturday so I figured I'd add a few more pics...

 

[Drew01taco]

Well I finally get to update this some. I'm working a jobsite in my home town so I have time to work on this thing. So I scooped up ronnies old ZJ for donor axles control arms and sooner or later the 5.9. I stripped down all the axles today. Goal is to get this thing ready for OSCAR this coming year but we'll see. My brother also has picked up a decent XJ for $500 that we're building up some too.

Pile of axles and tires

My brothers XJ with the fenders cut and 35's on

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[97TJGUZZY]

The TJ will be pretty sick with that gear!

 

[Steve97tj]

Nice. Glad you scooped that up, will make that TJ pretty sick.

To a close eye, where that XJ is sitting should look familiar to yall. Several builds have taken place under that carport.

 

[Drew01taco]

I'm hoping it will be a pretty solid rig when i'm done. And Good eye steve, hopefully they'll be a few more

Initially, I was planning on swapping axles and then down the road the motor. But now I'm kinda thinking engine swap then axles because I feel the engine will be the most challenging. I've done alot of research on 3link/4link so i feel pretty good about that now. But I still gotta do a SYE and put my T-case in the 5.9. But I probably won't start tearing down the TJ til after hunting season because I still wanna hit gulches up a time or so and I have a feeling its gonna take a while to get all this done. In the mean time I'll be going through the axles and cleaning them up some.

 

[Drew01taco]

I fired up the 5.9 yesterday and let it run a while and changed the oil in the TJ. Took advantage of cyber Monday today and ordered my motor mount for the 5.9 and a SYE from advance adapters. Also ordered all the brackets that I know I need for the 3 link and 4 link and also some Tubing for the upper third link that I needed from Barnes4wd. Here's a short video of the motor running. I'm ready to have this thing in the TJ!

https://vimeo.com/193454015


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[Drew01taco]

Basically just posting this post for myself and for anyone to chime in with tips on the 5.9 swap.

I've been doing alot of research since i first thought about buying Ronnie's ZJ and I feel alot better about it but only time will tell when i go to fire it up. I've started labeling the 5.9 getting ready to pull it. As of now, I'm going to attempt to wire the harness myself. I've got service manuals for a 98 TJ and ZJ for help with pin outs and what not. From what i have read and watched there are only like 4 plugs that need to be changed from the TJ harness. A couple of other splices and adding the 2 extra fuel injector plugs. But since I'm keeping the 46RE i've got to add some additional wires for that. but some issues I think I'm going to have:

1. The ZJ has a factory alarm which won't allow me to use the PCM if my research is correct. So i need to find a PCM from a dodge truck (5.2 or 5.9) with an automatic transmission.
2. ASD - I haven't done much research on this part but I think the it is gonna be a little tricky cause the ZJ is completely different than the TJ here. Need to read up more on that.
3. My TJ has a Security Key (SKIM). May not be a big deal, but I think the right PCM will fix that?
4. My TJ is a manual, and I'm going to keep the 46RE so running wiring for an automatic and connecting it to my computer. and also

Or I can pay $750+ to have it wired and labeled at backwoodsoffroad.com but that seems a bit high for a handful of splices and adding 2 injectors into the PCM plug. Again, any input, tips and anything i might be overlooking is much appreciated. Trying to get all my ducks in a row to make this swap as smooth as possible.

 

[Drew01taco]

Well I wasn't planning on getting new tires just yet but I scooped up Craig's old racelines and red labels off his buggy. Hopefully these will keep me motivated to get the jeep built sooner. Haven't done much since I pulled the motor after Christmas but ready to start tearing down the TJ



And just to give myself an idea of what they're gonna look like...



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[Clemson5.9ZJ]

I might have cried a little bit looking at this thread for the first time.

 

[LBarr2002]

V8, stickies, and 44s

 

[Drew01taco]

Had a productive weekend. Took the ZJ out the shop. Cleared out a spot for the TJ to be at home for a while. Pulled the fenders and front clip. Got the 4.0 out today. Took the NP231 off and started the SYE. Started tearing down the 8.8 to find out I need a new ring and pinion. Ring gear bolts backed out and ate up the pinion inside the diff.





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[Drew01taco]

Got the motor mounts tacked in today. Figured out a way to use the stock TJ skid with the ZJ trans mount. Also sent the wires off a couple weeks ago to get mated together.

Got all my parts to rebuild the rear 8.8. Also got my new custom 6x5.5 shafts for the rear. Gonna try and get it built and under the jeep while I wait on my wiring harness




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[Drew01taco]

Went back to the shop today and cleaned up and organized things a little better. Welded up the mounts to the frame and painted them. Cut down the brackets that attach to the motor because they were longer than i needed and painted them up as well.

Finally torqued down my yokes on my t-case and went to go bolt it up to the transmission and ...problem... I need a medium .840 input shaft for my T-case. So my first thought is maybe i can cut my input shaft down so it will slide in all the way and bolt up. Or my better option is find a medium input shaft and swap it out.

Anyone have a medium .840 input shaft laying around?

 

[Steve97tj]

Hell ya dude this thing is going to be sweet. If I ever get time when I'm back in town I'll holler at you and swing by to check it out.


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[Drew01taco]

Appreciate it Steve. Yeah man, hit me up when you're back in ole Abbeville. And congrats on the new baby man!

 

[Drew01taco]

Selling the old front bumper this weekend. Going to probably go with a Motobilt stubby front bumper and also while I'm ordering from them going to give their Motobilt fuel cell and pump ring a try. Also going to get my parts and fittings rounded up from Summit to connect the fuel system and factory pump to the cell.

Does anyone see any reason I shouldn't try and trim my input shaft on my T-case? Am I asking for more trouble doing that?

 

[Drew01taco]

So I got word my wiring harness should be shipped out soon so I've been trying to get a few things done and engine ready to go in. One thing I got done tonight was cutting down my input shaft on my T case. Used a harbor freight special grinder stand clamped to the table and a ratchet strap to hold the t case. Worked pretty well actually. Still need to bevel the end. I guess time will tell on the strength of the shaft though. Here's a pic of how I had it rigged up



Also ordered a motobilt stubby front bumper and fuel cell tonight. Looking forward to getting those installed!

Once the motor is in place. Gonna change the engine and trans filters. Gonna replace the belt tensioner and also going to replace the valve cover gaskets before I put the motor in


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[Drew01taco]

Replaced the valve covers last Thursday and finished up putting a bevel on the input shaft and smoothed it over.



Also, got my fuel cell in this weekend. It looks great! Can't wait for the bumper to come in!



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[Drew01taco]

Got my front bumper this week. Got it painted with truck bed coating. Used it on my old Tacoma bumper and it held up well. Also got the idea to cut an access point in my front tube fenders hopefully make it easier to install. And went ahead and gave them a fresh coat of truck bed liner too. Got the perforated metal from Lowes


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