Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)

[youngrodder]

Congrats...right on. First drive are suppose to be sketchy...
Must of felt great. Full speed ahead on this build now.

Marc

[lower50's]

OH RIGHT ON!!!! You must be soo excited, great job!!! I like the little burnout lol.
I agree with Marc sketchy is a prerequisite.

[6DoF]

bases covered!

felt amazing, it just worked. lots of dial in to go and leaks to find/fix, but verification of functionality is real. just knowing i can back it out of the shop to move it around is huge.

fuel leak ... might be from bleeding air before running
power steering leak ... from the adjuster bolt on the top, wtf, it's a new box
oil leak ... pan or new rear main, or both
air ... entire drivers side leaks down over night.

[IMG] of 2 oil puddles under the truck [/IMG]

[lower50's]

Hey that's not bad for building and rebuilding everything.

[6DoF]

so far, a very unpopular decision amongst the guys ... the 55 has been wrapped up and mothballed for a bit. realistically with the extra detail/effort, and with what is left to do, it wouldn't be street-able before winter anyways. so i have til the salt is gone to get it all right. i pushed to this milestone and feels gooood.

i need to fix/dial in a bunch of stuff on the 93 before winter. the rebuilt trans got a new input shaft, that input shaft is apparently sticking at the discs and doesn't allow clean shifting. have to pull it and file all the edges til the discs slide smooth. the t-case needs clocked down, and that'll require transmission cross member mods. that is to have better drive shaft angles so i can stop blowing them out. also swapping to a much better Spicer shaft and that requires new yokes axle and t-case. once all that is done i'm cutting out the entire rear suspension and starting over ... because you know ... #NotAProject. currently stock length 52" springs but 4" lift "dump truck" leafs and a factory 4" block. going to a GM 64" spring, 3" lift for a '98 1500 and a shackle flip to also eliminate the block. wish me luck.

an even more unpopular possibility is that i drop a TDI into my XJ right after. TDI needs a head, XJ has no motor currently, could use a better MPG 4x4, could use something to salt up rather than the 93 unless i need to, etc. should be a pretty straight forward swap, so we'll see.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

so far, a very unpopular decision amongst the guys ... the 55 has been wrapped up and mothballed for a bit. realistically with the extra detail/effort, and with what is left to do, it wouldn't be street-able before winter anyways. so i have til the salt is gone to get it all right. i pushed to this milestone and feels gooood.

i need to fix/dial in a bunch of stuff on the 93 before winter. the rebuilt trans got a new input shaft, that input shaft is apparently sticking at the discs and doesn't allow clean shifting. have to pull it and file all the edges til the discs slide smooth. the t-case needs clocked down, and that'll require transmission cross member mods. that is to have better drive shaft angles so i can stop blowing them out. also swapping to a much better Spicer shaft and that requires new yokes axle and t-case. once all that is done i'm cutting out the entire rear suspension and starting over ... because you know ... #NotAProject. currently stock length 52" springs but 4" lift "dump truck" leafs and a factory 4" block. going to a GM 64" spring, 3" lift for a '98 1500 and a shackle flip to also eliminate the block. wish me luck.

an even more unpopular possibility is that i drop a TDI into my XJ right after. TDI needs a head, XJ has no motor currently, could use a better MPG 4x4, could use something to salt up rather than the 93 unless i need to, etc. should be a pretty straight forward swap, so we'll see.

I'm sorry I stopped reading after the part about butting the 55 on ice for a bit....

Transmission work is overrated (experience talking)

Marc

[6DoF]

[joedoh]

i always want to move back to pa but there is the harsh reality of stopping work around september to put everything away till march. my brother lives in meadville and realistically cant even work in his attached 20x40 shop because his SO parks in there on one side, he gets it warm enough and she comes back from the store and lets all the heat out.


at least here in kansas I can fourseasonsgarage™®© it in the driveway year round when the 19x19 attached is full.

maiden trip looks like fun on a bun. thanks for the vid!

[6DoF]

it's not that bad! we did a 4-car attached when we built the house, 45x25. i use half for my shop and half for daily parking. the key is to keep it warm/cool all the time vs just when you want to work. then when you open the door the air only takes a moment to come to temp with everything else at temp.

[lower50's]

Ya it sucks, but ya I take some time in the fall to get the winter stuff and cars ready for the slop. Good thing is we park outside unless something brakes.
Just keep us posted.

[6DoF]

i fell to page 2 oh well ... thought ya'll might enjoy what i was up to though.

the ram needed a few things before winter, so that was first. transmission rebuild didn't take from this spring, the steel cones for the 1&2 synchro's were too worn and not available any more. i had to shim the friction cones pinned to the gears to get engagement. the steels were just landing on the gear and not grabbing anything. also installed the missing anti-rattle buttons in the clutch and a Fluidamr. the whole thing just runs and idols sooooo much smoother. i messed up fan spacing for the new balancer and ended up having to also install a whole new rad too. finally up and running it was time to patch the hole in the passenger floor, it had gotten way worse since i bought it. turns out it was 100% rotting from the inside out, and was slightly worse than i expected. still all flat and an easy enough fix though. rest of the cab is totally clean, even the corner just behind this floor. windshield or AC must have kept the carpet wet in the floor locally for quite a few years.

XJ Project:
i've always had a soft spot for XJs, and particularly wanted a clean 2dr. stumbled into this one, so this will be a winter beater to try and save some fuel and save other old steel from the salt. the engine was FUBAR, so why not engine swap it. going in will be a 1.9L WV TDI ALH, with an MTDI conversion pump. factory xj manual trans, so i'm hoping this all comes together rather quickly. cross your fingers for me.

[joedoh]

nice job fixing the xj soft spot

[youngrodder]

I'm in boycott of this thread until we get back to truck content.....Bha ha ha

Marc

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by youngrodder

I'm in boycott of this thread until we get back to truck content.....Bha ha ha

Marc

You took the words out of my mouth . Who cares about some crappy SO, we want more old truck!!!! Lol. Nice repair though

[6DoF]

you guys are brutal!

no excuses, only results ... dually noted

[Rickysnickers]

I'm just giving you a bad time. Both are good

[joedoh]

lets not gang up on him by remembering that a month ago he started getting ready for the "winter" by packing things up in his garage majal that frankly looks more comfortable to work in all winter than my four season garage™©® driveway, which frankly doesnt get cold enough to stop working in until after the first of the year , and just shifted gears to ANOTHER project that ALSO fits in his garage.

i like your jeep! mine has a weird rust spot on the lower body line of the passenger front door and i plan to do nothing about it. the underside looks brand spanking new though. gotta love NE rust.

[burnin oil]

On the XJ what brand injection pump are gonna run? I have seen alot of bad reviews on company's using Chinese heads. Seen some people say run a 3.9 cummins head with the VW delivery valves and others used a land rover pump and enlarged the mounting bolts from 8 to 10mm.

I have been toying with a 1.9 into a TJ swap and have two bad injection pumps. Both are good but bad timing collars and have not found replacement collars available. Seems like good conidates for this swap.

[6DoF]

build thread and more info here:
http://www.jeepin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=571

don't want to anger up the natives again discussing "intrusive" builds

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by 6dof

build thread and more info here:
http://www.jeepin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=571

don't want to anger up the natives again discussing "intrusive" builds

lol!!!

[lower50's]

Just read your XJ TDI thread looking good. It will be a nice machine when you are done.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by lower50's

Just read your XJ TDI thread looking good. It will be a nice machine when you are done.

thanks!

this project, like most, turned into a never ending game of justification ... front bumper was off for mods and mount work, but it's meh, and there's no rear hitch, so a pair of rock bumpers were ordered "while in there" ... now the oil pan is close to the axle with the front oil pump below the crank, so extended bump stops, so lift to regain up-travel, so new controls arms while i'm in there, but that makes the tires look stupid and small, and i don't like how 31s fit the stock wheels ...

[regan wilson]

Update?

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by regan wilson

Update?

lots! ... just not on the '55

TDI-XJ:
got that swap completed and started driving it, it's a solid little beater. currently only getting low 20s for mpg, so that sux though. the mechanical injection pump i got turned out to be from a scammer, and i lost a month converting back to the factory electronic pump. bunch of little things to make it an actually nice daily, but it's fine for now.

dodge W250:
i blew up the transmission in my truck AGAIN. 336,000 miles on the factory build, then BS. 3rd time out in 3000 miles, i wasn't putting that 5spd back. found and swapped in a 3rd gen NV5600 and it's AMAZING. like game-changer amazing. that truck has a dinosaur old school set of compound turbos that are super laggy, these tighter ratios actually keep it spooled! the install into the 1st gen truck wasn't exactly quick, but easy enough. i had to basically fiddle with everything around all of it. still need to get the floor all acid etched, chassis saver'd, and lizard skinned, after i finish making the seat mounts for the black leather Audi seats i found. i already at least got the new headliner in.

Airstream:
the dude finally healed from surgery and was able to wrap up the kitchen cabinet install. that lit a fire under the wife n i so we got the bed frame built and water tank mounted. i've also ordered all the rest of the plumbing needed to get the kitchen sink fully functional, along with the stove. super excited to maybe use it this year for the first time in a decade! also, i hate woodworking ...

holiday's, vacation's, other bad excuses ... i actually do not know when I'll get back to the 55. hopefully before too long.

[6DoF]

dropped to page-3 ... lets bring this junk back!

-6spd in the Ram is awesome, huuuuge upgrade. i'm excided for it in the 55 now.
-TDI-XJ i had to build new engine mounts for a 2nd time to soften things up and rebuild a new trans, but she's good to go. winter beater engage.
-airstream we got to a point we could use it this fall and had our maiden voyage. nothing like having fun to motivate new projects on something

the '55 is out and back to priority. i WILL be driving this in the spring.

just organizing the shop, pulling it back out, and cleaning was a bit. going thru parts to remember what i had vs what i needed, black friday sales are going to be expensive this year.

started working on the doors to get them squared away. seals on both, but need to drill holes for the clips in the new metal. drives i think is good, but the pass needs aligned better. started cleaning up all the factory latch bits i'll be using, and started painting the handles. ran em thru the sand blaster and a random orbital to smooth out the pitting first. trying to order new hardware to ditch the double-d bits, etc.

the big issue is getting the core support re-worked. everything fit with the factory balancer, but this larger fluidamper and the belt drive fuel pump stick out more. i'll actually be flipping the core support mounts up on top of the frame vs under, under was a stupid plan. it also gives me easy bumper mounting points too. then i just need to figure out how i want to rework the rad mounts to get it to lay flatter against the core support.







this will NOT be me!