ANOTHER Guy With A Gen 2.5 Build - Sure, why Not? It's My First!

[KIRK!]

Hit the junk yard over the past two days scavenging parts from a '94 SR to fix what I mangled up at Gold Lake.

Front skid plate

Gas tank skid plate. The tank was pristine, except for the big ************* hole they punched in it to drain the gas at the junk yard. It looked new. UGH!

Transfer case skid plate.

4.636 rear gears with locker!

Matching fronts.

Inclinometer dash. I wanted to put the inclinometer in in place of one of my gauges, but I don't know if I'm going to.

I have still never understood why there is only one cup holder in the '99s (especially since mine is stuck). I had to modify the one from then '94, but it works great.

New grab handles to replace my chalky and chipped ones.

While I was pulling the gears I had Expo open on my phone for hints. Then I remembered mention of switching to a Volvo fan. I looked it up and happened to see one on my way out of the yard!

 

[nckwltn]

Inclinometer dash. I wanted to put the inclinometer in in place of one of my gauges, but I don't know if I'm going to.

I picked up the inclinometer too! the housing from the gen 2.5 isn't big enough to fit the inclo gauge, so you have to use the housing from the SR (not a big deal), but I didn't want altimeter, so I was going to swap over my oil pressure gauge... you need to drill holes in the SR gauge cluster for the oil thing to fit.

The other problem I had was that the inclo gauge had lost all of it's gylcerine filling.... it is a common thing, the back plate of the gauge is slightly flexible (don't push on it to test flexibility or you'll break it, I did and it broke). You'll want to reinforce the back of the inclo gauge with something, and seal it up with silicon or something similar that still lets light through.

the other thing, the face plate for the SR altimeter has part of the meter stuck to the plastic face plate.... I didn't test if there were any chemicals that would take it off, but that means that you need to cut a hole in your gen 2.5 face plate for the inclo gauge to bubble out of. Fix the gauge before you cut the hole (I did follow my own advice on this one).

I did plug the SR gauge into my '99, and it seemed to work.... I can live without the volt meter, because I have a scan gauge, but it doesn't read the oil pressure... so that's why I worked to port things over.

See quick and dirty video I captured about drilling holes into the cluster for the oil pressure gauge.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Kirk, make sure you grabbed the relays for the fan as they are the most important part.

 

[KIRK!]

No new pics today, but some gear updates!

On order:

-35/12.5/15 BFG M/T KM2s
-Aussie Locker
-Manual hubs
-Sequoia rear spring spacers
-New taillights

Add those to the recent junk yard finds and I have a lot of work ahead of me, but it should be pretty sweet when I get done!

Off to the garage to start reinforcing the stock skid plates.

 

[KIRK!]

I got some of the interior parts installed that I picked up from Pick n Pull. Still lots of mechanical updates from the donor Monty, but since I grabbed some nicer interior bits I thought I'd make some updates and changes I've been meaning to make.

The AC fan switch works on the ground with the hot being constant so I put a rocker switch in the center console so I can turn it on manually on the trail. I'll be adding a hood scoop to get the heat out faster too. I'll see how these two changes work out before I try the Volvo fan install.

Swapping out the transfer case shifter fixed my shifting problems. It now shifts extremely smoothly and FAR better than it ever has since I have owned it. The nicer knob is from the junk yard donor. Also in this photo is the new 12v socket I installed with the snap on/off cover next to the diff lock switch.

This switch will activate lights still to come on the back of the Monty.

Moved the seat heater switches up to the top of the console and figured out why the driver's side wasn't working. Both seats work now! Also, I modified the stock pop-out cup holder and got it working.

Still digging the '94 cup holder console mod.

Also grabbed the nicer shifter indicated/slider and shifter from the donor. Mine were pretty beat. Bonus, the orange text on the new shifter matches the orange theme on the outside of the rig. I also sanded and painted the fake wood cover piece and removed the stick on piece from below the radio area. I'll be removing the rest of the fake wood ASAP.

Tomorrow's agenda includes beefing up a nice transfer case skid plate and fabricating front and rear differential guards.

 

[billygoats]

Looks real good! It's amazing how the small things make such a big difference! Could you take a closer pic of which wire needs to be grounded for the fan? Thanks!

 

[KIRK!]

The ground is the blue with a black stripe. I just spliced into it near the plug, ran the wire to the switch and ran the other wire from the switch to a ground under the console.

Looks real good! It's amazing how the small things make such a big difference! Could you take a closer pic of which wire needs to be grounded for the fan? Thanks!

 

[billygoats]

The ground is the blue with a black stripe. I just spliced into it near the plug, ran the wire to the switch and ran the other wire from the switch to a ground under the console.

Thank you so much for the info. That's the next mod on my list!

 

[nckwltn]

The ground is the blue with a black stripe. I just spliced into it near the plug, ran the wire to the switch and ran the other wire from the switch to a ground under the console.

I know doing this has been discussed in a lot of other threads, and with the fan bolted to the car/frame/ground location, the DC voltage is probably returning through those connections, but has anyone measured how much power is going through this grounded wire? This helps to make sure that the switch and wire that is ran is capable handling the power being requested of it.

 

[KIRK!]

Installing an inline fuse is an easy solution.

I know doing this has been discussed in a lot of other threads, and with the fan bolted to the car/frame/ground location, the DC voltage is probably returning through those connections, but has anyone measured how much power is going through this grounded wire? This helps to make sure that the switch and wire that is ran is capable handling the power being requested of it.

 

[nckwltn]

Installing an inline fuse is an easy solution.

haha! Great idea. Just be sure to install it as close as possible to the splice into the fan wiring. don't want the wire to meltdown before the fuse!

 

[KIRK!]

I just ran the fan via the new switch for about five minutes. No heat whatsoever in the wire or the switch. I think it may be fine since the kit from Flex-a-lite is the same as the stuff I used. Still going to check the amps though.

 

[KIRK!]

Here's the wiring diagram. I'm definitely no electrical expert, so any input is very welcome.

There appears to be a fuse between power and the positive side of the motor. There is a relay on the negative side, but doesn't it just act as basically a remote switch? The pen indicates where I have piggy backed the switch into the circuit.

 

[KIRK!]

OK, just spoke with a friend who is more knowledgeable than me in this stuff. He says that the way I have it is no problem.

 

[KIRK!]

I got around to reinforcing a new transfer case skid plate today to replace the one I destroyed a couple weeks ago. Pretty straight forward, I just trimmed some 3/4" angle stock to fit and welded it on. This one isn't bending.

There is a slight bend in the skid plate, so I slit the angle and shaped it to fit.

Cleaned up and ready to weld.

Penetration? Yep!

I didn't bother prepping it since it's under the rig. Just painted it and installed it.

Plenty of clearance.