1989 Cherokee Laredo Build Thread

[zachtyler]

Here's what the rig is looking like flexed out.

 

[zachtyler]

Yesterday I decided to ditch my old headlight harness and headlights. The previous owner had put some HID style bulbs inside an H4 housing. The bulbs themselves were wired in a way I hadn't seen before. The housing itself was also installed upside down. This resulted in a weird beam pattern. It honestly was just some scattered light all over the place. The way the PO wired it was splicing into the sidemarker wire as a signal for power. This made the headlights come on even when the headlight switch was in the parking-light position. A picture of the old harness is below. For the new headlights, I purchased the Octane Lighting H4 harness off of Amazon. I also got 2 AutoPal HL-109 H4 housings. These particular housings have the European beam pattern which I actually like. I opted for some 100/55W UltraBlue bulbs as opposed to the 60/55w bulbs that were included. It was only a few bucks more. The bulbs however are not blue at all. More of a white, which is okay with me. They are plenty bright and this was a huge upgrade from my old situation!

 

[zachtyler]

Today I received my new snorkel head in the mail. It's the pre-filter type. I bought it because it's cheap and I like the look. I wasn't sure it would fit because it is wider than my previous snorkel head, and I was worried about it hitting the lightbar mount. But, it fits perfectly with a little room to spare. First picture is my previous snorkel head, and the second is after the swap.

 

[zachtyler]

I added 2 more small LEDs to the front of my rig, underneath my large spots. These will be used as fog lights, and having a yellow filter/cover hey will penetrate the dust and fog much better.

 

[zachtyler]

Replaced my old, broken mirrors with some that are much more rugged. Plus, I dig the look.

 

[zachtyler]

This is how it's looking as of today, March 14, 2017. I took this picture about a week ago. Looking forward to using this forum, and getting to know some people! Cheers!

 

[Explorer 1]

Looks like you've been busy. Some good work there.

How that Renix pulling those big tires and all the extra weight?

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

 

[zachtyler]

Howdy, Fred! Thanks for the reply. It's doing quite well. I had a lot under the hood replaced when I first got it, including the head. Now, I've got an exhaust leak that will be dealt with this upcoming week hopefully. Other than that, she's running fantastic!

 

[Explorer 1]

I had an exhaust leak once on my 4.0, turned out the stud near the rear of the head has actually broke off and the head had a small crack. I was fortunate to find then a new 4.0 head that we put on.

Some complain about the 87-90 Renix, I've been pleased with mine.

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

 

[cdn_xj]

Looking good!

I've been thinking about the FarmTek flooring for my roof rack as well. Do you find that you are able to secure your tiedowns to the flooring? (In other words, are you able to get the hooks through the holes?)

Also, I did a little research on the Donaldson style precleaner (filter bowl) and it looks as if it's suitable only up to a certain cfm. A cfm that is, as far as I can tell, below the peak cfm of the 4.0L. Could you let me know if you run into any drivability issues at higher rpms?

Thanks in advance.

 

[zachtyler]

Looking good!

I've been thinking about the FarmTek flooring for my roof rack as well. Do you find that you are able to secure your tiedowns to the flooring? (In other words, are you able to get the hooks through the holes?)

Also, I did a little research on the Donaldson style precleaner (filter bowl) and it looks as if it's suitable only up to a certain cfm. A cfm that is, as far as I can tell, below the peak cfm of the 4.0L. Could you let me know if you run into any drivability issues at higher rpms?

Thanks in advance.

The holes in the FarmTek are small, but I guess it depends on the tiedowns you are using. As long as you have a hook on the end of your tiedown, I think it'll work fine. I haven't done it yet. The stuff is super easy to cut, so if you had to you could cut a small piece off. Just cutting the small divider between holes would make the hole twice as big and allow you to slide perhaps a bigger hook in there. (EDIT: Even better idea is to use a carbiner which can defintely fit into the holes, then attach your straps to the carabiner.)

As for the precleaner, I haven't noticed anything at higher RPMs to date. I have however noticed that occasionally my jeep will "stumble" first thing in the morning when I give it it's first push of the pedal to get it going. I can't directly point to the precleaner for that one, unless it was having a hard time sucking the air through when at a dead stop. I have been switching back and forth between the heads. Will report back if I find anything else. But, as of now I have no issues and it sure does collect a lot of dust like it is supposed to!