Project ZJ "my first jeep and I'm a cheap azz build"
- Thread starter ElCaminoManT
- Start date
88Xj
Banned
ElCaminoManT
C'mon, don't bulls**t me
i tried one last ditch effort today. hit the ecology yard down here early this morning and scored a valve body with harness from a 95 laredo then went to the shop and swapped em out. good thing i didnt have my hopes up, still no first gear.
transmission is coming out tomorrow for teardown. im pressed for time to get the z functional for a quickly upcoming trip up north, so a rebuild is going to be my best bet. if it craps out again while i own it, i think ill figure out a way to put a 4L60 in it!
transmission is coming out tomorrow for teardown. im pressed for time to get the z functional for a quickly upcoming trip up north, so a rebuild is going to be my best bet. if it craps out again while i own it, i think ill figure out a way to put a 4L60 in it!
ElCaminoManT
C'mon, don't bulls**t me
transmission is out and sitting on the jack at work. looks like someone somewhat recently put a replacement torque converter in it as im pretty sure the stock unit is NOT purple :lol: only the bellhousing, crossmember, transfer case and drive shaft bolts had signs of previous removal. the transmission case bolts do not appear to have ever been removed so i doubt the internals have been tampered with other than the valve body area
transfer case out, trans almost ready to be pulled
transmission in all its glory complete with the purdy purple torque converter
checked the flexplate for any signs of cracking, all looks good!
transfer case out, trans almost ready to be pulled
transmission in all its glory complete with the purdy purple torque converter
checked the flexplate for any signs of cracking, all looks good!
ElCaminoManT
C'mon, don't bulls**t me
noticed some markings today that tell me its not the original transmission. looks like it came from a salvage yard back in 2005
i know this stamp. the yard is only about 15 miles from my house...
i know this stamp. the yard is only about 15 miles from my house...
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ElCaminoManT
C'mon, don't bulls**t me
was able to leave work a bit early so i could take the transmission to my buddies shop. pulled it apart and until we got back into the 1st gear sprag assembly, nothing really looked too bad. thats when it went downhill fast tho 
poor slush box has been SEVERELY overheated back there. ill let the 2 pics show the severity of the damage in the 1st gear assembly. the sprag just free-wheeled both directions = no first gear. the rear band was trying to do all the work for manual 1st gear so it got pretty worn as well. overdrive has also been pretty heated, fortunately no damage to hard parts. going to have my buddy rebuild it vs getting another used one as the unknown condition or history of another used one would bother me whenever im driving it. the piece of mind from having it basically be new and with a 2 year warranty makes the extra $$ worth it to me
poor slush box has been SEVERELY overheated back there. ill let the 2 pics show the severity of the damage in the 1st gear assembly. the sprag just free-wheeled both directions = no first gear. the rear band was trying to do all the work for manual 1st gear so it got pretty worn as well. overdrive has also been pretty heated, fortunately no damage to hard parts. going to have my buddy rebuild it vs getting another used one as the unknown condition or history of another used one would bother me whenever im driving it. the piece of mind from having it basically be new and with a 2 year warranty makes the extra $$ worth it to me
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88Xj
Banned
was able to leave work a bit early so i could take the transmission to my buddies shop. pulled it apart and until we got back into the 1st gear sprag assembly, nothing really looked too bad. thats when it went downhill fast tho
Man that hurts. Glad to see your getting some work done. If I got my *** off craigslist and stopped looking for burbs/wagoneers I may get something done on mine lol. Can't wait to see how this thing comes together!
ElCaminoManT
C'mon, don't bulls**t me
picked up the transmission from my buddies shop yesterday at lunch time
put it in today. drove the 'grande' about 10 miles this evening around town, works great!!
unfortunately after a hard stop, it seems like the rear brakes are now dragging. gonna have to pull the drums and see whats going on in there....
put it in today. drove the 'grande' about 10 miles this evening around town, works great!!
unfortunately after a hard stop, it seems like the rear brakes are now dragging. gonna have to pull the drums and see whats going on in there....
ElCaminoManT
C'mon, don't bulls**t me
might possibly be coming up on a small lift this week from a friend of mine. he went to long arms front and rear so looking to pick up his old short arm kit. 3" front, 2.5" rear, front and rear lower arms, adj rear track bar and almost new 'white rocket' shocks. heck, with the money saved on the lift, i could splurge a little and get a set of 5100s to complete the deal even better!
88Xj
Banned
Very smart except maybe run the shocks he has and see how you like it first? Then maybe decide if you want more lift/long arms incase you will need longer shocks. I hated buying twice..actually coming up on a 3rd time now. Will either be doing OME's which are progressive or a fox 2.0 thats valveable & rebuildable!
Looks like its coming together great though brother, keep up the good work!
ElCaminoManT
C'mon, don't bulls**t me
thanks!
plan is to run the shocks he has and see how it drives and handles. i hate crappy riding stiff shocks so if they are too stiff, ill look into replacements then. if they are good then i know i can find something else to spend that $$ on, lol!!
ElCaminoManT
C'mon, don't bulls**t me
so i pulled the drums and had a look at the rear brakes today. one side of the right rear wheel cylinder was frozen causing the shoes to hang up. changed out both rear cylinders since they were only $10 a piece and adjusted the brake shoes. brakes seem to be pretty good now, tho they are pretty squeaky since the shoes are cheap heavy metallic parts. ill change em out one day, but since there is still a ton of material left its gonna be a while.
after sorting the brakes, i had to put it up on the 'RTI ramp/rock' in the brothers side yard. the jimmy went up and over the rock in 2wd without issue, the 'grande' not so much. but given that, other than the rear sway bar being removed, the truck is completely stock im impressed how much it flexes. this was as high as i could get as the left rear and right front tires were lifting and starting to spin. guess the rear limited slip doesnt work to well? derp, anyway i imagine if the front sway bar was disconnected it would go quite farther. i do plan to get sway bar disconnects, hopefully sooner than later.
im going to have to see about replacing the crankshaft position sensor thats mounted in the bellhousing. the overdrive quit working for a lil bit this evening and im 99% sure that sensor is at fault. reading online, if the sensor quits or wiggs out, overdrive is deactivated and excessive cranking when starting can occurr (which it has been doing). i fiddled with the wires a bit and the overdrive came back. fiddled with them again and overdrive quit again so im thinking thats the issue. hopefully its not too expensive and maybe try to replace it tomorrow
after sorting the brakes, i had to put it up on the 'RTI ramp/rock' in the brothers side yard. the jimmy went up and over the rock in 2wd without issue, the 'grande' not so much. but given that, other than the rear sway bar being removed, the truck is completely stock im impressed how much it flexes. this was as high as i could get as the left rear and right front tires were lifting and starting to spin. guess the rear limited slip doesnt work to well? derp, anyway i imagine if the front sway bar was disconnected it would go quite farther. i do plan to get sway bar disconnects, hopefully sooner than later.
im going to have to see about replacing the crankshaft position sensor thats mounted in the bellhousing. the overdrive quit working for a lil bit this evening and im 99% sure that sensor is at fault. reading online, if the sensor quits or wiggs out, overdrive is deactivated and excessive cranking when starting can occurr (which it has been doing). i fiddled with the wires a bit and the overdrive came back. fiddled with them again and overdrive quit again so im thinking thats the issue. hopefully its not too expensive and maybe try to replace it tomorrow
ElCaminoManT
C'mon, don't bulls**t me
monday i replaced the crankshaft sensor and made sure to route the wire harness so that it wouldnt get pinched again. OD has been working awesome and ive put over 200 miles on the jeep now since saturday night, doing great!
tonight i pulled the thule bike carriers and cross bars off, they make all sorts of wind noise on the freeway and besides i dont own any bicycles to put up there anyway. also flushed the brake fluid as the old stuff was DIRTY! pedal feels much better now, tho the rear brakes do still hang a little bit once they are warmed up. not sure what thats about tho. also greased up the front end, now i know why its so noisy and sloppy, its straight worn the heck out! fortunately i just picked up the newer, stonger factory steering linkage from a buddy tonight. the earlier style stuff thats on my jeep is rediculously flimsy and weak!
also picked up the short arm kit from him as well, complete with the front track bar and frame mounting bracket, lol! that track bar is in much better shape that mine and since everything came off of his jeep already lifted, i should be able to just bolt it on and go without much fuss, i hope....
tonight i pulled the thule bike carriers and cross bars off, they make all sorts of wind noise on the freeway and besides i dont own any bicycles to put up there anyway. also flushed the brake fluid as the old stuff was DIRTY! pedal feels much better now, tho the rear brakes do still hang a little bit once they are warmed up. not sure what thats about tho. also greased up the front end, now i know why its so noisy and sloppy, its straight worn the heck out! fortunately i just picked up the newer, stonger factory steering linkage from a buddy tonight. the earlier style stuff thats on my jeep is rediculously flimsy and weak!
also picked up the short arm kit from him as well, complete with the front track bar and frame mounting bracket, lol! that track bar is in much better shape that mine and since everything came off of his jeep already lifted, i should be able to just bolt it on and go without much fuss, i hope....
ElCaminoManT
C'mon, don't bulls**t me
with the help of my buddy, we were able to get the lift on in about 2 hours tonight. even with the ugly stock wheels and tires, the jeep looks waaaaay better! will be putting the 31s on tomorrow, hopefully wont have to trim the front bumper very much. gotta get an alignment done asap, the drive home from work was, um, exciting. those white rocket shocks are absolute crap, they are so stiff the rear hatch trim was knocked loose on the drive home..... im thinking 5100 bilsteins but im open to suggestions as they are pretty spendy
ill get pics tomorrow when its light outside
ill get pics tomorrow when its light outside
