79Chief - part two

Home of Full-Size Jeep - part 2

NUTS
AND
BOLTS
of being
an
owner
of a
FULL
SIZE
JEEP

Scary Stuff about a Full-Size Jeep (or, any jeep, for that matter)

Recently, I was happy to see a full-size jeep in some 4x4 magazine included in a list of best beater 4x4s to buy. I made a right choice! Just flipped through a "transportation" shelf in Crown Bookstore - what a world of "Buy a Used Truck" wisdom! Though I admit never following these wise advices - just buy a car that you'd like to drive, and bear with all the mishaps and breakdowns. Still, I should probably include a list of all things that's been fixed or altered since June 21, 1998 (when I got the jeep). Hope to pull everything from my memory.

1. Engine -
nothing substantial.
Replaced - oil pressure sender, driver's side engine mount, valve cover gaskets, air filter (yeah, K&N - no mileage gains, FWIW), intake air ducts, all ignition components, a zillion rotten and leaky vacuum tubes (have a steady 18 in.Hg of vacuum at idle), some ripped belts and scored pulleys, fan clutch with Hayden 2747 (went through FlaxBlade fan with spacer - won't recommend to anyone interested in four-wheeling or towing), thermostat (now-180F), radiator (with 4-row GDI unit from Radiator Hotline), starter (went through 2 El Cheapo NAPA reman units), oil pump gears.
Tuned - carburettor (leaned out the idle screws after improving ignition system).
Removed - cruise control.
Added - analog tachometer (AutoMeter), mechanical oil pressure gauge (AutoMeter).
Ignition modifications deserve a couple of words:
Box - MSD-6A, coil - MSD Blaster, wires - MSD Super 8.5 mm, spark plugs - Champion Truck 4404/4405. Read below for impressions from ignition upgrades.

2. Suspension and tires -
not too much:
Bilstein shocks all around, Pro-Comp add-a-leaves up front (replaced the 3rd leaves from stock packs), 2" blocks in the rear to level off saggy springs, Energy Suspension sway bar links' bushings and bumpstops, Rancho steering stabilizer, BF Goodrich's 33x12.5R15 Mud-Terrain tires on 15x8 black wagon wheels.

3. Drivetrain -
replaced the entire transfer case (read my Quadratrac page), straightened out and re-balanced the rear driveshaft, rear U-joint, $150 or so in transmission service for TH-400 (no problems with it so far), replaced vacuum lines for QT mode switch.

4. Brakes -
replaced both rotors and drums, all shoes and pads, rear central brake hose, master cylinder.

5. Fuel -
replaced the fuel pump and pretty much all rubber fuel hoses (thanks California for MTBE!), and gas filler cap. Gas smell was following me for the first eight months of ownership.

6. Electrical system -
multiple patches in engine wiring harness (especially oil pressure sender wire - still flaky), a patch in tailgate wiring, replaced the rear window motor (assembled one operational from three junkyard units). Fuel gauge is still inop.
Replaced an instrument panel with one from junkyard Grand Wagoneer - so that it reads 15,600 more miles than it should. Well, I'm not selling it yet...
Installed the digital clock from a GW, AutoMeter tachometer, and mechanical oil pressure gauge. These three instruments are all I trust :-)

7. Body/Lighting/Armor -
Replaced - 35/55W headlights wtih 55/65W Hellas, all weatherstripping (doors and tailgate) and roof waterproofing.
Installed - entire headliner, all side upholstery, interior lighting, factory brush guard, a pair of 115W Eurotech fog lights from Dick Cepek, and front leather bucket seats from Lincoln MK7 (wiring not done yet), a 48" High-Lift jack on the brush guard, black-finished small-truck rear-view mirrors.
Ruined - both rear fender flares from encounters with rocks (still can live with them the way they are), front fender flare, numerous paint scratches from SoCal bushes.
Bent - gas tank skid plate, from rocks in Anza-Borrego desert.

8. Communications -
Cobra CB, with 6' bottom-loaded fiberglass whip antenna mounted in the back of the rearmost driver's side pillar (replaced the 4' antenna broken on trail during the trip to Little Big Bear Peak), two hand-held Cobra CB units, cellular phone.

9. Recovery gear and safety items -
48" High-Lift jack, chain manual 3/4-ton hoist (rusted while on loan to Scripps Inst. of Oceanography), tow straps, wheel chokes; first aid kit, jersey and leather gloves, etc.

That's all I remember from the top of my head; nothing's been done as part of BIG garage project, rather some small things here and there, then and now. My jeep may not look pretty, and definitely doesn't look fancy, but she will run circles around many show-and-looks built trucks!

Somehow, seats from a Lincoln caused quite a few questions. Here at right there is a couple of pictures of them in my jeep. It took me three hours and two pieces of perforated steel angle from Home Depot to fit the seats. My brother's in the process of installing similar seats from an '84 Cougar in his '80 Cherokee.

Now, want to share the impressions of MSD-6A. Cracked open for a $139+tax at Kragen, got it up and running two hours later (I hate electrical fires, so I was being slow with wiring. You might beat me in installation speed).
First mpression - instant start. Wasn't bad before, but this is amazing.
Second impression - incredible idle.
I have (had a year ago, precisely) 90 psi of compression in #1, and a couple of 100s in others, so my idle was never rolls-roycey. Now, with at least one jug obviously working much worse than the others, it rumbles as a ferry diesel (though rattles as loud, too).
Impression three - I sat for a few minutes literally breathing the exhaust gases - no more ugly stink! Can drive my jeep with the tailgate window open!
Impression four - no noticeable mileage gains yet; ran her through 16 gals of premium gas and an even mix of thick city traffic, 45-50 mph backcountry highway driving, and 80-90 mph freeway blast. 11 mpg, up from 8 mpg in bad city traffic but still not 14.3 mpg I had with 16% overdrive p/t converted QT I had before it quit. I don't regret ditching the overdrive, but full-time 4WD seems to be an overkill in SoCal...

Now I have about $250 in ignition hardware - all manufactured by MSD except for the spark plugs. All made some difference, but most improvement came from the wires. An important note here - wherever you bring your jeep for service, the nutheads will attempt to replace your aftermarket wires with skinny OE variety, much like ditching the K&N filter. If you put any expensive aftermarket hardware under the hood, make sure the shop folks know and
remember that
.
Now, snake oil run - following an advice from a LR Series II owner, dumped a can of CD-2 glue (or whatever it is) in my crankcase. Immediate results - made my engine run a ton quieter - for the first 20 minutes or so. Afterwards, rattles and knocks came back with a vengeance. Cannot blame CD-2 for it, but nothing short of rebuilt will finally fix my jeep's tired mill. All the same, $20 for a can of Prolong was a waste of money.

Trail photos:

Black Mountain Rd., near Rancho Penasquitos, California

Oriflamme Canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Coyote Canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Marshmellow Hill, Los Coyotes Indian Reservation

Appian Way Trail, Los Coyotes Indian Reservation

Delamar Peak, near Big Bear Lake, California