1992 Jeep YJ, the Wrongler

logdog (Forum Supporter) said:

You gotta spin it different.  Tell her to ground tie the horses and stop using your painting posts!

Sure...sure.  I'll see how that works out for me ;)

Then I took the Transfer Case out so I could be ready to install the SYE kit when it came.

I took it to the carwash and treated it to 8 quarters worth of high pressure water.  The rear output shaft seal (at least) has been leaking and it was sludged up pretty good.

If nothing else, I took a couple layers of gunk off of it.

On the eve of the arrival of my SYE kit, I learned of another modification I wanted to make to the transfer case while it was out.  It seems that the YJ version of the New Process 231 doesn't have a "true neutral" position (I think maybe the input shaft and output shafts aren't connected in neutral but the front and rear output shafts are engaged with each other).  The TJ version of the NP231 does have a "true neutral" position and if I use a shift detent sector from the TJ case, I will too.  This isn't something I "need" but it's a $36 part.  I added a week to the project waiting for it.  

At this point the Transfer case is back in the Wrongler, I've measured the length for my driveshaft, and I'm awaiting a call from the driveshaft shop to tell me it's ready to pick up.

More little things that I've been poking away at in the mean time:

The hood safety catch had no spring on it (so was basically useless).  I sourced a spring and popped it into place.  That's one for the "Safe" category.

Hehe...check out the tiny spider photobomber ^

The windshield washer reservoir was being held in by gravity alone.  It has a bracket it slots into.  Should be simple enough.  I found out by mistake the other day that the windshield washer pump actually works...that's cool.  But when I had the washer reservoir out I noticed the pump was leaking.  So I've ordered a new pump and will put that all together when it arrives.  Also Safe.

I haven't looked too deep into this yet but I realized the Headlights don't work.  That wasn't on the original list.   At some point I realized that the previously-unrecognized piece of electrical gizmometry I found on the floor was a headlight dimmer switch.  And there is no headlight dimmer switch installed in the spot (on the steering column) where a dimmer switch belongs currently.  That may not be the cause of the problem but I'm sure it has something to do with it (even if only a byproduct of previous hackery-in-vain toward fixing something)

I swung by the driveshaft shop today because I was in the area.  He has all my parts, ready to weld up my very complicated yet very short driveshaft (the yokes are 16.75" center-to-center)

That's a stubby little shaft. Pun intended. 

Yesterday the driveshaft guy called and said it was ready to go.  So I went to picked it up and about had an aneurysm when he gave me the total (bearing down on double what he told me a few weeks ago).  I'm not sure what the disconnect was there...but it's done now and I'm glad to get to button up this chapter of the project.

I installed the driveshaft last night and pulled it out of the barn.  I noticed a drip from the front of the engine.  It was the water pump.  (Remember my theory above about maybe having removed all of the stop-leak-goo from the system?)  So, I backed it back up the 50' into the barn and immediately started removing the water pump.  

Today it got a new water pump and I took it up and down the gravel road for a little shakedown.  

Back in the sunlight again for the first time in several weeks:

Good job!

Shaking it down the past couple of days I found a couple of issues:

Front disk brake dust shields were touching the rotors.  This was a product of my manhandling the axle around for the de-hack of the spring perches.  The fix was a pretty simple matter of finding clean metal on the dust shield and hitting that spot with a hammer.

My transfer case won't shift all the way into 4-low.  I'm 78.4% sure I verified that it shifted into 4 low just fine on the bench.  If I was right, that means I have an issue with the "stop" on the shifter not allowing it to travel far enough to get the shift rail into gear.  If I was wrong when I tried it on the bench, it may mean that I didn't modify the shift rail enough during the SYE conversion.  I had to cut some length off of the shift rail as part of the conversion.  Pretty sure I did it all right but I admittedly only measured once.

I'll crawl under it and disconnect the transfer case shifter rod and try to manually select 4-low from underneath.  If that works, I know it's an external (shifter) issue.  If that doesn't work, I'll have to open the transfer case up and see what's going on.

I did identify the transfer case issue today.  It should be a pretty simple adjustment of the rod between the shifter lever and the shift lever/arm on the transfer case.  

I was sneaking up on the proper adjustment...and very well may have it correct...when the Wrongler wouldn't start back up.  Seems to be lack of fuel (not spark) as I was able to get it to sputter on ether AND I don't hear the pump trying to prime when I turn the ignition on. 

I pushed it back into the barn (fortunately it was just outside the door) and am researching what I need to do for diagnostics.

As long as we keep going two steps forward and no more than 1.75 steps back (on average), I'll keep enjoying this.  

Today swapped relays around to see if I had a bad one for the fuel pump.  Still no fuel pump action.  So then I got out the multimeter to see if I had power TO the relay.  Yep.

Next I jumpered the 12V to the Pump Circuit (as if the relay had been triggered) and the pump whirred to life.  Hmmm.  Ok.

So I put the relay back in and everything worked like it should again.

So I basically don't know what's going on with the fuel pump or why it decided not to run yesterday (or first thing this morning).  That's scary as can be and will be on my mind anytime I want to actually go anywhere in this heap.  I honestly hope it does it again soon so I can have a chance of figuring out the problem.

In other news...the transfer case linkage seems to be in the Goldilocks zone...just right.

Next I decided to recenter my steering wheel since it was off due to the ride height change with the new springs. I shortened the drag link a couple turns and got it 80% of the way there.  I'll sneak up on the other 20% next time I'm wrenching.

I had decided to measure the threads on my transfer case shifter so I can get a "proper" shift knob for it (I'd totally keep the golf ball, but it was just stuck on there with no actual means of attachment).  When I went to measure threads I discovered that there aren't any there.  It seems the threaded portion has long-since broken off and been lost.  Looks like I need to keep an eye out for a new shift lever.  Or maybe I'll weld a bolt on there if I find a shift knob I just have to have.  Actually...this idea (the best ideas come to you while typing, right?) is growing on me as I type.  Ebay, here I come.

We've had a *bit* of rain the past few days.  A daughter and I went to explore the new boat ramp on the road to town.

The Jeep seemed like the most fitting vehicle for the task.

Heck of a good job you've done dragging that back from the edge.

East Coast Gear Supply isn't far from my house. The things that show up in the parking lot might not be sports cars, but they're usually plenty interesting.

In reply to ClemSparks :

How did you make it through without a big ARB snorkel?

hehehe...I wasn't ABOUT to be the guy on the news being winched out of 3' deep water (that yellow sign in the distance is a flood gauge and the water's up to the 3' mark.  I've forded it in the old '97 Subaru at 1').

But for the jeep crowd my official response is, "I haven't installed the transfer case vent tube.  I realized when I had the transfer case out that the old hose was not functional so I ordered some more but haven't got around to installing it yet."  

or...

I picked up my proper front seat brackets a couple weeks back.  Today I thought about seeing about putting them in.  But then I realized my cavalier with good seats (evidently they're basically a bolt-in replacement) is parked in the woods where the chiggers are roughly the same as the relative humidity (1,006%) and now I'm thinking the seat project can wait until October or so.

I've mostly just been driving the Jeep around on nearby gravel roads a couple times a week for fun and "testing."

My gas gauge is no longer operational.  It seems I've read the float likes to hang up on something in the tank.  In any case...that's a good winter project.  One of these winters I might have to check that out.  I figure I'm likely to have a fuel pump problem at any time that will precipitate several "while the fuel tank is out" fixes or upgrades.

This week I messed around a bit with the rear seat.  Since the Wrongler came with no rear seat, I bought one a while back from a guy.  Way back (I probably posted about) I had to deal with a broken bolt to install the brackets for the rear seat.  But I never got around to the final fitting of the seat and mounting the seatbelts.  

I spent an hour figuring out what bolts I need for the seatbelts (7/16-20), $6 on 3 bolts (fine thread grade 8, sheesh), and now I have the rear seat mostly installed.

I say mostly because the seat has some little adjustable feet at the rear edge that aren't there because two were rusted/broken.  I'll put the center one in for support at some point...it's soaking in the Phosphoric Acid now.

I also got my headlights mostly figured out.

They weren't working when I bought the Jeep and I found the dimmer switch missing (I found it free-ranging around the interior).  This is a GM style column with a dimmer switch on the column operated by the turn signal stalk.

When I installed a new dimmer switch, I found my headlights on all the time.  It was an adjustment issue.  You have to set the dimmer switch correctly or you activate the "high beam" circuit all the time (as if you were pulling on the dimmer stalk for "flash-to-pass" function).

I now have it adjusted more or less right, but still sometimes my brights stay on and I have to fiddle with it to get them to turn off.  I'm convinced I have an issue farther up in the column with the linkage.  Maybe someday I'll figure that out.

I had a nice little development this week.

A guy a couple hours away posted a YJ hardtop on the marketplace.  The ad had this one terrible photo and zero text description.

The asking price was below-market ($350) and it wasn't nearby.  But look behind the top.  Full doors!  

Finding a hard top is fine and something I want/need.  But then I need the doors to match the hardtop and those seem to go for about as much as a hardtop goes for.

I figured it would sell in an hour but messaged the guy anyway.  Something along the lines of,  "Is there any damage to the top?  Cracks, etc."  I sent that message and forgot about it.

Several days later he answered that it didn't have any real damage and was in usable condition.

So I inquired about the doors...are they available?  The answer was "Yes, I'll sell the doors and top together for $500."  And the race was on.

The next day I did a whirlwind, across-the-state-and-back-in-a-sketchy-GMT400-shortbed trip and I've now got a hardtop AND the doors to go with it.  

It actually lowers my anxiety quite a bit about this project.  I knew these pieces of the puzzle were going to be hard to come up with for a reasonable price.  I seem to have gotten as good a deal as can be had on them.

Outstanding score! Love the build!

I need to replace the top on my '97, but I'm also just eyeing the idea of going with a hard top. Yeah, I can't put it down on the fly, but the battering wind noise above 55MPH is killer.

My plan, which is admittedly based on absolutely zero experience with a Wrangler prior to this one, is:

Put a hard top on in about November, give or take.  Remove hardtop in about April.  When the hard top is not on I'll plan to use a shade like what's on it now (Bimini/Bikini/flap-of-vinyl/whatyoumaycallit) because I'm sun-averse.  I expect doors and hardtop will always be in the same place at the same time

That plan is subject to change, but you have to start somewhere ;)

I'll be honest, given where I live, the time the top and doors come off entirely is in the winter, hah. Biggest thing is that I don't drive it nearly as much as I used to.

Ah, yeah.  San Antonio is probably prime for winter jeeping.  Winter jeeping here (Missouri) will be about keeping my toes and the windshield defrosted (definitely in that order).

Nice square headlight! I know it is not the iconic jeep but I always loved the squares, in like, a quirky sort of way! If I were to own one it would be from that gen for sure. Good job on it. 

In reply to Boredom :

Thanks!  It really has grown on me.  I mean...I was never really not a fan of the YJ, but I'm more of a fan now that I own one.

Here are a couple photos I took yesterday just for fun:

What has NOT grown on me are the wheels.

Special thanks to local GRMer Psteav for 40 minutes of driving to help with 30 seconds of lifting the hard top out of the truck and onto some sawhorses.  He also got to experience a gravel tour of northern Boone County, MO, with me in the jeep.

Years back I had a pickup with a topper on it.  At that time I built a little sling rig to help remove and install the top from the truck.  (It's the two-by and rope contraption seen laying on the floor behind the top in the photos above.)  I believe that will be well suited for this jeep hard top as well.  Now I don't feel so bad about it being a tangled mess propped up against the barn wall, unused for the past 5 years or so.