TMC'S XJ project "Fire-Road Runner"

[TMC-113]

Well got some time in on the Jeep this past weekend.

First up, finally got some rear shocks to replace my "stretched out" ones. Found a pair of Zone Nitro 4" lift shocks online.

What can I say? The old ones were literally fully extended so it made for one bouncy ride.

Now? Shoot....."rides like a caddy"

:thumbup1:





Next up!





After having the Jeep since last september, I finally got some new tires for it!




They're nothing special, just a basic all terrain in the 31x10.50.15 variety. But they drive great and "fill the wheel-well" compared to the 235's.



This photo makes the front wheels look out of center in the wheel well...

But as you can see, its still close to centered....

Thats all for now, but I hope to take my son up in the mountains this weekend.

Should be a blast!

 

[TMC-113]

Im still having that strange squeaking front driver wheel noise that increases as speed increases. Its more pronounced turning the wheel slightly right and less when turning the wheel left. It almost disappears while braking.

I did the "12 & 6" and "3 & 9" test while it was up on stands and there is no movement what-so-ever.

I also felt both front wheels after driving for awhile and there is NO heat at the hub or rim.


I feel like its not my hub assembly based on those tests. I also know its not the tire/wheel since they were just mounted/balanced.



I also took off the wheel to check the rotor/caliper. It seems to spin normally with the normal amount of slight drag disc brakes have. Nothing seemed loose or bent that I could tell.

Could it be my brake rotor or caliper since it seems to go away while braking? Warped rotor? Worn pads? Caliper slightly sticking?




I also checked my front driveshaft, u-joints, and axle shafts at the hubs and they all still seem tight and correct.



Just trying to test some things before I go paying for a bunch of replacement parts. :huh:

Any thoughts?

:dunno:

 

[TMC-113]

Update! PIC HEAVY!

Whoa...its been awhile....

Sorry its been so long. Since having our second kid/first girl AND recently moving to a new place in town, there hasn't been much down time for anything.

The Fire-Road Runner FINALLY got to stretch it's legs on its first shakedown run with the small changes recently done to it.



WARNING! PIC HEAVY!



With my son as my co-pilot, we headed over into Idaho up past Laird Park and up towards Little Sand.

Right off the bat we came across a "tough" decision:

Honestly, who wouldn't choose uphill over downhill?

We were then greeted with a surprise:

WHAT!? An open-gated uphill cutout?! This honestly seems to rarely happen, at least that I see, since most are closed and locked. Or sometimes the FS do several "Kelly Hump" burms to discourage misuse.

I for one DON'T misuse the land. If its close-gated or blocked off, I move on.

So onward and upward we went. The road rose quickly through a recently logged/burned area. Then it started to get real pretty real quick...

We crested over the "top" and started down towards the next climb.

Gotta love the views from a Jeep on a deserted mountain two-track...

Well after going for more than an hour in, with no closed gates or road blocks, I decided to turn around and started heading back the way we came.

Final thoughts on todays trip?

I really do love living and wheeling in the Pacific Northwest.

Thanks for reading!

 

[TMC-113]

Well, its time for another update my fellow adventurers!




I found an absurd deal online that I could not pass up. After all the parts arrived via FedEx, USPS, and UPS I finally had a chance today to start the swap.

By now you probably know where Im going with this, and no its not a radiator replacement.




I got a screaming deal on a brand new 97-01 fiberglass header panel! The grille, headlight surrounds, and obviously the markers/turns are plastic.

Now I tried to to some research before I bought it and before it got here, but there really isn't to much to it. I would consider it a fairly straight forward swap. However, there are a few differences between the 96- and 97+ that aren't really mentioned too often.



First off, the 96- panel has a center mount under the radiator, where as the 97+ looks to have two mounts at the end of the "frame-rails." There is a small bit of a gap between the new panel hole and where the rails are.

(see picture)

For now, I just used two small pieces of metal to make some temporary brackets until I can make it to the junkyard and see if the newer ones came with some sort of bracket from the factory. If not, then I will just make mine more secure.

Second difference, the 96- headlight buckets have to swap sides to fit the 97+ header panel. So the left side bucket is used on the right and visa-versa. You have to do this because the holes for headlight adjustments on the 96- are on the outer sides of the headlight and the 97+ are on the inside.
Obviously if you have the 97+ headlight buckets, then you don't have to deal with this.



Third difference, you obviously want to swap to 97+ front fenders because the new header panel fender bolt holes don't line up to the older fender bolts. Also, on a purely aesthetic note, the curve on the top corners of the new panel doesn't match the angle on the top of the older fenders.

Fourth difference, the turn signals on the 96- have just one bulb/socket, while the 97+ have spots for two bulbs/sockets. I think you would have to just splice in the second one into your old harness, but I tested mine and it doesn't look bad with just the one. I place my bulb on the outer sockets.



Fifth difference, my new panel was shipped without any hardware, brackets, and clips, so I had to reuse the clips from the 96- grille and you obviously reuse the old panel bolts/nuts to mount the new one.




So overall, it was a fairly easy and quick swap. I just had to reuse most of my 96- hardware and clips. I need to paint the new panel, but I also should probably paint the rest of the Jeep as well. I've tried several different options on different occasions to bring back the factory paint, but it just doesn't want to be saved I guess. At any rate, I've always thought the 97+ front clips look "cleaner" or more "simple" and I love the new look of the front now!

As always, more to come and thanks for reading.

 

[ian_andersonxj]

I'm digging this I had a 97 xj and sold it for a subaru but this may have just inspired me to pick up another xj I also used zone off-road products and was really happy with them

 

[TMC-113]

I'm digging this I had a 97 xj and sold it for a subaru but this may have just inspired me to pick up another xj I also used zone off-road products and was really happy with them

Thanks Ian!

Yeah I really like driving and working on Jeeps (this is my first XJ though). They're just so fun to manuever and are (usually) easy to wrench on. Im really happy with the Zone stuff so far, although I kinda wish I can get their full leaf packs, but building one is fine with me too.

Thats one nice looking late model!

 

[ian_andersonxj]

Thanks Ian!

Yeah I really like driving and working on Jeeps (this is my first XJ though). They're just so fun to manuever and are (usually) easy to wrench on. Im really happy with the Zone stuff so far, although I kinda wish I can get their full leaf packs, but building one is fine with me too.

Thats one nice looking late model!

I used the add a leaf and it worked pretty well! Adding a the large winch bumper did make the front sag quite a bit though so I added a 1 inch spacer on top of the coil

 

[TMC-113]

Well yesterday morning I decided to take off my RC Relo brackets. They just gave my too much lift and I don't want to be over 3" over stock height. I had quite a rake with them installed. Now Im measuring 21" hub to flare on both axles.


Im really happy with the stance and the ride currently. Those new shocks in the back are working great.

I had a chance to throw some primer on the new header panel. Im also really happy with how that turned out too.

And last but not least, I took my son and my father-in-law up past Laird Park towards Little Sand (pics in past post) and we had a blast. The new rear set-up handled great, possibly better, than with the Relo brackets. They just made the back feel too bouncy. Im sure they are great with different or aftermarket springs.

Nothing like wheeling and hiking in the PNW!

Stay tuned!

 

[TMC-113]

Well. Just when you thought was this thread was over, lol!

A guy locally was selling 4.10 gears and carriers out of his 89. I got both ring, pinions and carriers for my dana 30 and 35 for $60. Thats right....$60!!!

Any way, I got the rear installed last weekend. I had to swap my spider gears over, but other than that, the 35 is all finished up. I test drove it today and other than my speedo being off....

....its like night and freaking day difference! The 4.0/5 spd/31"s/4.10s seem like a perfect combo! My tach is reading right at 2k to 2100 at 65-70.

Now its just a matter of getting the dana 30 done before winter lol.

 

[TMC-113]

Oh just fyi for everyone:

I was taking a load of stuff in to town to donate and holy moly! :O This thing can get up and go now! There were several times where I was just plugging along and when I looked down the speedo said 70 or sometimes 75
:smiley_drive:

I know the speedometer is not accurate but still, once this thing is in 5th gear, whooooo look out!

 

[TMC-113]

Wow. The things that can change in just 2 years......

Brief recap:

Sold the 3” shocks and coils and bought new Upcountry springs and shocks, so I’m back down to 1-1.5” over stock. Just FYI for anyone, 31’s fit on the Upcountry height.

Sold the turbines and 31’s, found a set of 5 Ecco wheels and got new Hercules Terra Trac At2’s in the 235/75/15 variety. Amazing tire BTW!

The Dana 35 went the way of Old Yeller, fortunately it did it when I came to a complete stop and not on the highway.

Almost sold the Jeep when that happened, but right before I did I saw that a local guy on Craigslist was parting out a 98, so now I have a Chrysler 8.25 in the rear.

The family and I moved to Idaho, I’m doing the same thing just somewhere else.

I’m sure I’m forgetting something else...oh yeah! Update pictures!


This was at a mine you literally can drive right up to and look in....let’s just say I’ve got Fireroads as far as the eye can see. ???