Our family Adventure WJ "Dinosaur"

[Bretthn]

More Maintenance

I got the front differential fluid changed yesterday and it came out even cleaner than the rear. I did not notice much difference after changing the rear but the smoothness with which this thing turns now is night and day. I am wondering if the wrong fluid had been used by the previous owner or no friction modifier had been added.

The drain plug magnet had about the same amount of metal shavings as the rear had... I don't think it is bad.

Dirty magnet and cover.

Clean.


Again I used Ultra Black RTV and torqued all the bolts to proper specs and refilled with Redline 75W140 full synthetic with friction modifier.

 

[Bretthn]

More Maintenance

I changed the fluid in the transfer case while I was doing the front differential. I have a NV247 that requires specific fluid from the dealer that comes with a premium price tag.
The old fluid looked good and there was no debris in it at all. Check to make sure you can remove the fill plug before draining. Both of mine came lose with little effort.


One of the easiest jobs I have done on the jeep. It just takes a while for the old fluid to finish draining.

 

[Bretthn]

Oil leak

Since I still had day light to burn after tackling the transfer case fluid I decided to take care of a leaking valve cover gasket that I have been dreading. Lucky for me it was the drivers side rather than the passenger. I only had to remove the top of the air filter box and a few electrical connections. The biggest problem was re-torquing the bolts afterwards since it gets a little tight towards the rear of the engine bay. I was glad to see no sludge since this was my first time getting a look at the valvetrain.

 

[Bretthn]

Since I am on a roll updating things today, here are a few things I have been meaning to post that I did a while ago.
Here is one I added and my wife told me it was a waste of money.


It just so happened that a couple days later a friend of my wives witnessed a rollover accident where the two elderly passengers were both unconscious and unable to shut off the vehicle. Another witness who was trying to help had a baseball bat but was still unable to break the glass. My wife relayed this to me as she was ordering a pink one for her car. I also added a Maglite mount to the drivers door panel. This serves two purposes with it's easy access.


In my opinion the headlights on the WJ are lacking. I started by polishing the yellow tint and pitting out of the lenses.
Before.

During.

After.

I used a sealant and it still looks this good 3 months later.

 

[Bretthn]

HIR lights

As an added measure to try to better the headlights I changed the factory low beam bulbs out for a HIR replacement after reading a lot about them on a lighting forum. They are not an identical drop in replacement but it is still a self explanatory swap.
Stock on top, HIR on bottom.

Stock on left.

Stock

HIR

I did not take a before shot for this one but hear is the beam pattern against the garage in the factory headlight housing. It does not scatter like a HID would.

Original lowbeam.

New lowbeam with HIR.

 

[Bretthn]

Trip Reports

We have been able go on a few adventures with the WJ this year. I just finished a day trip report to Grandfather Mountain, NC in the Completed Adventures and Events section. I will try to get more posted up shortly.

The full report is here. Hope you enjoy. http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/88124-Day-trip-Grandfather-Mountian-NC

 

[theksmith]

looks like you are knocking out a lot of little mods and maintenance. i think that's essential as a vehicle gets older so things don't pile up and then you end up looking at it one day and think it's just not worth keeping anymore.

 

[Bretthn]

Speaking of piles...

 

[Recce01]

I like your headlamp tune up. Mine are so yellow, I need to try that or just replace them! This last pic looks like you have some work ahead of ya!

 

[stioc]

Nice build! Which EBC brakes did you end up going with? I'm trying to make that decision myself these days. The OEM brakes on a loaded-down truck with heavier tires are just not adequate anymore. I want a good initial bite (before warm up) but also fade-free braking when I drag the brakes on the trails going on the steep downhills. I'm currently leaning towards the GreenStuff.

 

[Bretthn]

I like your headlamp tune up. Mine are so yellow, I need to try that or just replace them! This last pic looks like you have some work ahead of ya!

Thanks. If I had all the goodies you have to put on my Jeep, the healights would be the last of my worries.:sombrero: These headlight lenses were not that bad but I have had brown lenses come out as good as these in the past. This last pic is only a portion of it. More to come.

Nice build! Which EBC brakes did you end up going with? I'm trying to make that decision myself these days. The OEM brakes on a loaded-down truck with heavier tires are just not adequate anymore. I want a good initial bite (before warm up) but also fade-free braking when I drag the brakes on the trails going on the steep downhills. I'm currently leaning towards the GreenStuff.

Thanks for following. I went with the EBC Greenstuff 7000. I have used Greenstuff pads on several cars and have always been happy.

 

[Bretthn]

9FFF Mod with a medium base

I did the Nine Foot Frasier Fir Mod this morning. It greatly reduces gas mileage but is totally worth it!

 

[Bretthn]

Brakes are done

So I have been having issues with the Jeep starting to shimmy pretty bad when braking hard from 60-45 miles per hour. It turns out that the early model WJs came equipped with a light weight calipers and rotors to reduce unsprung weight. As a result the calipers would flex and caused uneven pad contact and sticking. The rotors are also prone to warping as a result of the calipers. Jeep eventually changed the rotors to Akebono which is significantly beefier. I replaced my Teves calipers with the Akebonos. The only other thing needed to change is the bracket.
From left to right: new fluid, 2 Napa Ultra Premium rotors, EBC Greenstuff 7000 pads, 2 new Akebono rotors with brackets and springs, Motive power bleeder with my home made Chrysler brake reservoir adapter.

Old brakes.

Remove caliper and bracket.

Remove old rotor.

Old vs. new pads. The old ones were clearly on their last leg.

The old rotors actually looked good, but were clearly warped.

New rotors

Take a wire brush to the hub mating surface and remove any rust build up.

Apply a good coat of anti seize.

Make sure to clean all packing grease and oils from the new rotors using brake parts cleaner before installing. It was also helpful to use one lug nut to hold them in place until finished.

 

[Bretthn]

brakes continued

Install the new caliper bracket.

Install the four brake pad retainer springs in the bracket.

I used some disc brake quiet on all areas where there will be metal on metal contact, making sure not to get any on the pad. Then put the pads in place. I also applied some to the caliper where it will make contact with the back of the pads.

Install the caliper, making sure the slide pins are greased. These things really are beefy compared to the old.

 

[Bretthn]

More brakes

Bleed the air out of the new caliper. I used the power bleeder and made my own adapter out of an old cap.

Use lots of rags for overflow, brake fluid can do some harm to painted surfaces.

Use a turkey baster to suck out as much of the old fluid from the reservoir as possible before topping it back off with new fluid. Hook up the power bleeder and fill it with new fluid and pressurize the system. I only use 15 psi since I have heard of people bursting their reservoir when going higher.

Hook up a piece of clear hose to the bleeder valve on the caliper and insert the other end into a clear bottle. Crack open the bleeder valve and watch until you have a constant flow of fluid with no more air bubbles. Keep an eye on the pressure and make sure the fluid stays topped off.

Now do the other side.

Once you have finished the other side it is time to do a full flush. Keep the power bleeder hooked up. You want to bleed the longest line first and work your way to the shortest. Rear right, rear left, front right, then front left. I used three bottles of fluid to do mine but you could do it with much less.
Once all brakes are bled, put your wheels back on and make sure to torque the lug nuts since I have heard this can also cause warped rotors.
Start it up and take it for a ride. I bed my pads in with ten hard stops from 60 down to 10, making sure not to come to a complete stop since it can leave pad material on the rotor. Then drive for 10-15 minutes to let the brakes cool.
These brakes are a great improvement over what it had. I do not know how they compare to stock since I acquired the Jeep with 130k on it already.