xaza's 94 XJ Build

Got a good start done today. Got radius arms dropped and inspected, greased and reinstalled. Found a bent bolt causing radius arms to hit each other on one side and repaired. Got factory control arm mounts cut away better, should prevent another noise. Popped out and pressed in new upper axle bushing. Most important repair of the day was cracked exhaust manifold got replaced with a Banks revolver header. Tried the JY but they were all cracked and didn't want to waste more time driving around trying. Got a couple welds to take care of, emergency brake cables and a few odds and ends to finish up tomorrow.

Managed to get last weeks list done and get truck out to the trails for a wonderful family day. Truck did good, but brake calipers were not releasing making a bit of brake noise. Got the brakes pulled apart and found drivers side caliper wobbling around. Bolts were snugged all the way down. Determined steering knuckle needed to be replaced along with calipers and pads. Ordered steering knuckles to do both sides. Picked up brake rotors and calipers and ordered in my pads, should arrive today and be back together. While looking at passenger side wheel bearing assembly was leaking so went ahead and replaced it with a Moog (3 year warranty). Wylie managed to get it all done after work yesterday, I am truly blessed to have such a great brother. When pads arrive just have to load/mount calipers and bleed the brakes.

Wiley is a great brother, I can remember a few posts like this over the years. Don't forget how great a brother you are for giving him the opportunity! :lmao: I still use your "pushing his potential" line every now and then. :thumb:

So did you go high steer?
You got new knuckles its a good time to get the highsteer.

Nice upgrades Cliff!
Love the build the XJ is looking awesome.

[quote=dieseldoc;292835]So did you go high steer?
You got new knuckles its a good time to get the highsteer.[/quote]

They are just new OE knuckles because of the wear on the old ones allowing caliper to move around. I have considered tapping out and running OTK steering but just recently installed the Currie Currectlync steering and it is driving better than ever, as is. I have to get some trails in and am trying to just get it 100% trail worthy to get some windshield time. This has been a very slow start to my wheeling, normally would have 15-20 trails run this late in the year. I am rumbling the idea of going to 7.5 inches lift and if I do I will likely need to raise it then. Upper tie rod end is about at it's end even with longer drop from pitman arm.

[quote=Paul;292832]Wiley is a great brother, I can remember a few posts like this over the years. Don't forget how great a brother you are for giving him the opportunity! I still use your "pushing his potential" line every now and then.[/quote]

He is truly one of a kind and the best tool I have in my arsenal. He has spent many hours working on my truck while I am at work or on emergency service calls (like yesterday) or even when I am just whooped from a hard week and crash on the couch when I get home. He is always go go go, where as I am always slow slow slow (except driving on highway, we switch then) He is not big on group settings and socializing where as I am a bit of a socialite. We compliment each other and both push each other to achieve that next level within ourselves. He is truly my best friend.

well get'r donne so you can wheel man!

very nice uild you will get tons of play time with it. the build always takes time.

mine will take forever with the funds as they are!

Had to straighten driver side upper bump stop mount after detonating bump stop from axle not hitting flat. Adjusted axle to sit properly and replaced bump stop bushing yesterday. Pads installed and brakes bled. Might be changing pitman arm length for more ideal steering geometry but truck is an alignment away from another test trip...I think

no more stacking blocks to make jack tall enough to lift truck

Nice jack and spreader bar.

Looks like you got lots done.
Now you got to go play this weekend.

After installing the cage the factory mirrors went from too small to worthless. You either see a bunch of cage or they are turned out too far to be much help. Found the solution to this with 94 Ford F250 mirrors. Not sure if the sheet metal would hold up to a nut/washer and didn't want to have to fumble around inside these tiny doors. Decided to make some backing plates with some nuts and strip metal. To cover the corner of door where factory mirror was removed I picked up extra covers for the inside of the doors at JY. I trimmed them and attached using weatherstripping glue. I will go back and make a solid bead on the outside with clear silicone to make sure there are no spots for water to sneak inside the door. I have not driven it yet but the mirrors look great. They moved out far enough to see around the cage with a good angle yet in tight for trails. They have maintained their ability to fold in and tuck nicely into the line of protection the cage offers. The glass is much larger and does not taper down at the outer edge like the factory mirrors. Line of sight looks good for pulling trailer now also.

I see what you did there Cliff 94 to 94 lol. Good fix on getting around the cage and keeping the folding feature. Nice Work !

Looking good!

For the trip to Twin Cone and then a couple weeks ago when we ran Hackett Gulch my brake booster has not been working. Replaced that with a dual diaphragm booster and high pressure master cylinder. Firewall needed to be massaged to fit. At the same time we also eliminated the rest of the ABS to make room for an air compressor. Picked up a proportioning valve off a Cherokee without ABS which gives us 3 outlet ports instead of 2. The T for the front brakes was previously done at ABS unit, which is being eliminated. Replaced the spring in prop valve with a 4 wheel disk ZJ spring. There is definitely an increase in braking but it seems under heavy braking the pads and calipers are doing what they can. At 10 mph in dirt, front tires lock up and rears almost do.

Nice upgrade!

Keep us updated if you get the brake problem figured out. I have one of the dual diaphragm boosters sitting in my garage I haven't gotten around to putting in.

[QUOTE=dscowell;307137]Keep us updated if you get the brake problem figured out. I have one of the dual diaphragm boosters sitting in my garage I haven't gotten around to putting in.[/QUOTE]

At first there was not much improvement. Adjusting the pedal took a few attempts to get the full stroke from master cylinder. There is an improvement now. Still more upgrades needed but pedal pressure is easy and truck stops safely. Next step is dual piston calipers and a pad/rotor upgrade(or maybe full width 1 ton axles) Everything is brand new so I will wait until I wear them down.

Finally got back to working on brakes. Tested and found my vacuum at 13 hg, needs 18 for booster to work correctly. In the future I will need to try and get vacuum back up but for now I repaired what leaks I could find. Not much change so I went to the JY. I pulled a vacuum pump out of an Audi A6 and installed it to brake booster. Can maintain 20 hg at booster now. I am ordering a vacuum pressure switch that will be able to maintain booster at proper vacuum and cycle off pump when not needed. I will be tidying up the wiring and heat shrinking it when I get switch installed but wired it in for testing through a toggle switch and relay. Also going to move vacuum canister and use it for booster to further reduce pump cycling. Running pump I was able to lock up front tires at 35 mph on dry pavement.

Vacuum switch
[URL]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BZODN9A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A24QG0FLSQVG2B[/URL]

What vehicle is the booster normally used on?

The booster is made for a Jeep upgrade for Cherokees and MJs. It comes with a high pressure master cylinder also. Over priced for what it is. It is essentially a dual diaphragm booster from newer Cherokee that has the rod modified to work with older Cherokees brake pedal. This is the most expensive place I found but has best information.
[url]http://www.morris4x4center.com/hd-brake-booster-conversion-kit-with-1-1-8-bore-master-cylinder-ddbxj1.html?gclid=CjwKEAiArvTFBRCLq5-7-MSJ0jMSJABHBvp0M42QggoW5Gv2gzOR1cOY4rQnrrMDoXjL6JlsIO5i1BoCaRbw_wcB[/url]

WOW! At our elevation, 17-inches manifold vacuum at idle, is nothing to cry about!

I did find these instructions online: [URL]http://www.quadratec.com/Assets/Installation/173079.pdf[/URL]

Later tonight, I'll be looking up MC piston diameters...