Picked Up A Traitor Jeep (tj)

Nice! You're welcome.

 

Had time to get back to the TJ this afternoon and it runs again!


Everything still seems to work; 4wd, low range, lockers, speedometer, backup lights, clutch, ...etc. I guess I did OK.

I need to drive it a bit and check the driveshaft bolts and the like before heading up to Northern Idaho for some offroading next weekend.

For the shift tower seal, I modified this 1986-1993 Mazda B2000 B2200 B2600 boot to work: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJ6VL6C3


It's quite big, so I trimmed of the outer portion with scissors:


And used hose clamps to lock it in place:


The floor boot was another issue. It needs to be really flat to clear where the shift lever attaches and is going to be difficult to fab. For now, I've use Flex-Seal type tape, but I'm sure it's coming loose quickly. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and order a replacement. It's $200, but it's going to take me hours to make a cobbled together replacement that probably won't last. Probably wise to just spend the money:

 

The new crank position sensor showed up today so I switched it out. When removing the transmission, I saw the sensor and unplugged it. It looked like it would clear things fine.

After tugging and tugging on the transmission without being able to pull it just-that-last-little-bit, I finally went to the other side of the Jeep to have a look. The crank position sensor not only hit the floor but had hooked itself on the cat heat shield. With the sensor removed, the transmission dropped right out.

All of my tugging cracked the plastic sensor housing. It was still working, but I'm guessing it would fail at the worst possible time if I left it there:


Oh well, $40.00 gone. Things to remember for next time. Other than that, pulling the transmission isn't a bad job at all.

 

Throw that in the console for a spare

 

Good point. At least it works and it's a 2 minute job to change.

 

A little prep for this weekend.

I noticed excess wear on the insides of the front tires after several thousand miles driving to Seattle, Montana, ...etc. Checked the toe, and it was about 1/8" out when it should have been 1/8" in. Even though it was toed out, it drove fine. Set the toe right and also centered up the steering wheel better while I was at it:


The left front brake line was missing the forked clip holding it in place. Don't need that rubbing through:


I don't have one of those brake line clips, so it got an e-clip for now:


Test fit Tom's 5 wheels to see if I'll have room for two dogs, a toolbox, and a cooler for the trip up. I think I can make it work and not have to take the Bantam. One dog goes back here on top the wheels, the cooler goes in the passenger footwell, and the other dog goes on the passenger seat:


Finally, I used the spare on the '69 to check the tire deflators and verify they are set to 12psi:

 

Took the TJ up most of Denver Creek in Northen Idaho today. See thread here: North Idaho Trail Ride, Oct 28th, Rain, Snow Or Shine

Some photos courtisy of tomasinator:




All the flex and low gears made the rock crawling pretty easy and when the going got harder, the diff locks made it easy again. I don't have any pictures of it on the more serious obstacles, but there were a few. I'm really impressed with what a stock TJ Rubicon with a lift and 33s can do.

I also love that It was warm and comfy and i could hear the radio on the 5 our round trip to get there. If it wasn't too nice to bang up, you could really go places with it.

 

Your making it really difficult to resist the urge to modernize my fleet.

 

As expected, my flex-tape patch on the shifter floor seal failed. With the heat, the glue turned to a big sticky mess and the patches slid around:


Expensive OEM replacement part installed. Hoping it lasts a few years, but not holding my breath given the current quality of replacement parts:


Finally got the too-big wheels/tires this Jeep came with sold to a guy in the Tri-Cities. Towed them to the meeting location behind the TJ for fun:


They looked cartoony on my Jeep:


But look pretty decent on his LJ. Seems like they went to a good home:

 

Here are a couple more screenshots from a video of your jeep climbing the first obstacle.

 

Thanks Tom!

 

Finally got around to two projects that have been hanging over my head for months.

The first project was onboard air. I bought an ARB compressor and fittings for the '71 last year, but plans have changed and that Jeep's not getting any major work for a while. I decided to put compressor on the TJ instead of having it sitting around in the box.

This TJ does not have ABS, so there is a great tray under the master/clutch cylinders to mount the compressor to. Holes drilled and nutserts installed:


It's a perfect spot for the compressor:


I wanted to fit a one gallon tank under the hood, so I relocated the cruise control diaphragm using a piece of wood and a hose clamp:


A couple more nutserts in the fender mounted the tank. I have the driver's side quick connect on the tank itself. I have it pointed down to keep dirt out of it:


For the passenger side, I welded a bracket to the radiator brace:


The quick connector is mounted to a bulkhead fitting that has female pipe thread on both sides. This one is also pointed down to keep dirt out. I also found some rubber plugs to stuff in them when not in use:


Yes, you have to open the hood to use the onboard air.

Everything is plumbed up with semi-truck air-line and fittings. I used the harness that came with the ARB compressor. It was just the right length to run across the cowl. There was a handy grommet behind the compressor to run the inside wires through.

Someone on e-bay is selling compressor labeled stock type switches. I popped out the one blank in my dash and popped in the new switch. It sure makes for a clean install:


I stole key-on power for the relay from the rear window wiper switch. After hooking up the battery leads, it works!


One project done.

 

The second project was more of a make-work thing and not a necessity. The radio in the dash accepts a backup camera and I have a camera laying around, so I might as well hook it up.

Pulled the mount off the tire rack:


Then i drilled a 9/16" hole in the middle for the wires to pass through:


After deburring and paint touch up:


To mount the camera, I bent it's mounting bracket to match the hanger on the tire rack:


Then it got stuck on with 3M double stick tape:


My goal was being able to take the tire on and off without touching the camera, and it works:


Routed the wires down to the hinge where they join up with the license light wires. I wrapped the camera plugs with that stretchy rubber waterproof electrical tape. We'll see if that keeps the connections dry:


A previous owner had installed a CB antenna and the wire came up through the rear passenger fender well. Nice weather seal:


It was handy though. I used the old wire to pull the new one in so I didn't need to remove the plastic inner fender liner. I slit a grommet for the new wire. I like that better than the half roll of tape:


I finished routing the new wire under the carpet, under the seat, under the console, and finally up to the radio. This jeep has the auto dimming/thermometer rear-view mirror. Reverse lights are one of the inputs to it for some reason. Lucky for me that means there is a backup light wire right behind the radio to trigger the camera. After tapping into that and putting the dash back together, it works!


I'm not sure I really need a backup camera but there it is. If it works well, I'm considering adding a front camera for off-roading. It could be nice for cresting rises you can't see over. The bad part is this radio only has one video input, so I'll need and external switch to toggle between the front and rear cameras. I have a camera but need to order the switch. Maybe some day.

 

Good stuff. I think I'd want that rear camera pointing down maybe, to see a ledge or something. Maybe an adjustable mount so it can be moved for on road vs off road.

No ABS? Didn't know that was allowed anymore. Or maybe it was removed by a PO at some point????

 

Sweet looking switch.

 

The backup camera will spoil you!

 

It's a friction fit in the mount so you can aim it up and down as needed.

It definitely never had it. In 2006 is might still have been optional. It might also be because it was originally a Canadian market Jeep.

 

I've been slowly making progress on the last TJ project. Since we have two dogs and two people to cart around in this Jeep, I'm building a platform in the back so dogs can go on top and shopping, luggage, coolers, tools, ...etc. can go underneath. Much more practical for everyday use.

It's had a lot of spurts of progress and setbacks. I've been working on it in my spare time for about a month now.

The plan is boxes over the fenderwells to support the platform in the middle. It all needs to bolt in and be removable.

The problems started immediately. I got some 2x2 angle for the base plates and was going to unbolt the rear seat brackets and bolt these in their place. Only I found the bolts for the seat brackets are completely seized. They would simply break off any Torx bit I used to get them out. That's better than breaking the bolt and having to deal with that I guess.

Rather than fight it, I cut the bases to go around the seat mounts:


My plan was to use nutserts to attach them to the floor, but the gas tank is in the way in the back and seam sealer prevents them from sitting cleanly on the floor in the front. I ended up putting nutserts in the side of the fenderwell:


I cut and drilled additional angle iron that bolts under the hardtop bolts. Here I am mocking up where the side support for the platform will go. The platform will just clear the cooler:


The supervisor says it's a go and time to start welding:


Cutting tubing to fit and tacking it all in place while trying not to set the Jeep on fire:


Here's one of the side frames all welded together:


Cross-bars sitting where the platform will go. Years later it still amazes me how many tools you need to dig out for a single job:

 

Then it was time for cardboard and scissors to make templates for the side storage boxes:


I used the plasma cutter to rough shape them and finish-fit them with the flapper disk:


And more:


Panel tacked/clamped into place from the final fitting:


Panels finish welded in. Also channels and latch locations added for the lid:


What it looks like in the Jeep:


In spite of the funny shape, there is a lot more room in there than you would think. This will be nice for recovery gear, tools, and the like:


The lids and platform will be 3/4" plywood. Here's the first lid getting cut out:


Lid with compression latched installed. It will be getting rubber matting glued to it:


That's where I'm at right now. I still need to panel in the passenger side box, make it's lid, built the center platform, glue rubber to the top, and paint everything. Hopefully I'll get it done in the next couple weeks. I'm liking how it's turning out so far.