Hold on.

This is not some love story about a nice clean Jeep transforming into some badass off road vehicle. Why? 1. It's ugly and beat up 2. It's 2 wheel drive.

How about a race Jeep? Nah, it goes 10 feet and dies. Right now it's track record is worse than a Ford.

It'll be a miracle if I get this Jeep to that point.

Here's a list of what's wrong with it.
1. It doesn't charge (Previous Owner has installed a PCM and says it most likely needs an alternator, we will see.)
2. The cluster doesn't work. It did for about 10 minutes and stopped. Shows mileage, me going 0 MPH, engine turning at 0 RPM, and 0 oil pressure.
3. Needs a neutral safety switch. Park? Won't start, won't try. Neutral? Starts everytime.
4. Air Bag Light On
5. Clockspring sounds like a rattler. Probably related to #4.
6. Back hatch doesn't stay up
7. Back hatch lock is messed up
8. Needs a front clip
9. Bumper is damaged.
10. It's got rust on the body.
11. Valve cover leaks.
12. Needs tires.
13. Needs a front end rebuild most likely, front end parts look like crap.

Good thing I didn't pay much for this project.


Needs tires and look at the hideous body damage. LOOK AT IT!

Raft Naked

It's running and the cluster is confused.

Back hatch pre disassembled

This should be more fun then the Mall Rated build, this one ain't my daily. Starting with a junkyard visit tomorrow.

 

First weekend was spent at the junkyard just trying to pull some parts. Unfortunately, things were pretty scarce. I was able to put a new to me front header panel on it. Bumper is bashed to the point it needs replacement. That means an upgrade there.

Also, someone decided any kind of wiring can do for ground wiring.


The fender is bad and will need to be replaced.

Ugly.

Header removed.

Old header and new header. Brackets for the headlights had to be transferred from the old one to the new one.

Test fitting new header panel. Fender and bumper destroyed and will be replaced or upgraded.

Looks good one one side at least.

Better than what is was.

What tf is that? Not a proper ground wire.

Ouch, that wiring is baaaddd.

 

Decided to spend some time working on the intermittent electrical issues. First, I disconnected the dome light which has a small circuit board in it that has been discussed in several threads as a possible issue with the instrument cluster. Was dirty so used electronics cleaner and found an article on cleaning circuit boards. Cleaned that and removed the instrument cluster. Put everything back together and BAM! the instrument cluster works again.

The radio didn't work right and in the picture below, you can obviously guess why.

Also pulled the alternator connector to the computer and it's in bad shape. One of many reasons I believe the alternator is intermittently charging.

Small victories, but victories none the less.


Pulled the wiring and found this, yikes it continues.

Alternator connector has some burn spots and pins don't look to hot.

 

And?

Mine was 2wd too.... WAS

They're really easy to convert. Stupid easy, in fact.

Sounds like it's gonna be a pretty big project man. I'll tag along for the ride.

 

I will 2nd that! Easy swap and well worth it. Good luck on the build

 

Now I want to do a conversion. Lol this is the fiancées Jeep. I'm getting myself another XJ. Hmm, decisions decisions.
Funny you mention your build. I spent an hour reading your build and it is extremely nice!

 

Thanks! Just takes time and a lot of work. You are off to a great start though. Keep it up.

 

Thanks!

Phase 1 continues as I continue figuring out everything that's wrong with the Jeep so I can fix / upgrade everything.

While testing the charging system to condemn the alternator as the problem, the oil pressure dropped. Oh no, but luckily it's the oil filter adapter spraying oil everywhere.

EDIT: Good thing the adapter is leaking so I can remove and replace that POS orange Fram can.


Low oil pressure appeared out of no where


The culprit. It sprays oil out

 

Heck yeah man. Transmission, transfer case, 2 driveshafts, a front axle, and the transfer case lever and shift gate are all ya need. It's easier to just get a donor Jeep, but if you can't, just get those components and you'll be good to go.

Wow! That sucker is leaking GOOD! Get the o-rings for the oil filter adapter since you're going to be in there working anyway. I'd be willing to bet it's leaking from there too.

 

Plenty of 4x4 XJs at the yard to pull from.

Is there an upgrade to the adapter? I've seen where these are a pain to do and I'd rather go in, do an upgrade and not have to worry about it.

 

There's a relocation kit, but you still end up using the adapter even with the kit. I don't know of any adapters. People used to use a different oil filter and fitting and eliminate the adapter altogether, but that trend ended when people started smashing the oil filter against the passenger side frame rail and puking oil all over the trails along with cooking motors.

It's a bit of a PITA, but do it once and you won't have to do it again for another 100k or so.

 

Ok, it shows the Mopar kit on Amazon for $12 which isn't bad.

In other news, the alternator is bad. So oil filter housing o-rings and alternator should get the Jeep to the point were it'll be on the road.

 

An update and a lesson on why checking grounds are critical and manufacturer flow charts for some reason don't work.

In having access to Jeep service info, I followed the procedure for testing the charging system the way Jeep intended. Well, in following the flow chart it came to the conclusion the alternator was bad. Well for my curiosity, I wanted to have the alternator benched tested. It passed at a few different parts stores 10 times in a row.

Huh?

But, but, but the flow chart said it was bad. Welp, that was wrong. The little voice in the back of my head reminded me of scannerdanner from Youtube (also a XJ owner) about the dislike of flow charts and the importance of grounds.

All the grounds were soaked in oil and the few that weren't were dirty. Cleaned everything up, reinstalled, and guess what? That puppy shot up to 14 volts. Battery now holds a consistent 12.6v when off and 14.1 volts when charging.

I get to save $100 there to put toward one of the other things on the to do list.

Here's some photos:


Battery and tray removed, some minor surface rust on the body. Wire wheeled off and painted over. No more except those tray bolts.

Add to the list. Don't know how it broke.

Alternator out of the Jeep.

Began cleaning the oil of this ground before removal. Oil seeped in between the block and the ground wire.

 

Sweet man! Great job on the T&D. Always pays to refresh them grounds. People often look over them or feel they aren't important.

 

Thanks! Glad to get the electrical gremlins cut down!

Took some time to spray around the oil filter adapter to verify the leak which can be seen in the photo below. Also went and got the main adapter gasket and put an order in for the two smaller ones.

Time to get that Fram off.


Hard to see with everything in the way, but you can actually watch the oil pour out of the main gasket.

Mopar filter, gasket, and a qt of high mileage until i decide what oil and filter I want to use for the upcoming oil change.