[ejschultz]

All I really know about them is the 4.0s supposedly have a better intake manifold than the ZJs, they have a more refined suspension, better ride, lower gas tanks, a triangulated rear axle (no rear track bar), and an optional 242HD. For serious off road use, WJs have better unibodies that don't need to be reinforced. For ZJs, you'd need to reinforce the unibody for very serious off road use.

 

[RedlegWJ]

WJ trackbar has a bushing on either end and true cross over steering. The rear upper a-arm isn't a true triangulation and whether a good design or not, jeeps excecusion of the design, is a little flimsey. Aftermarket replacements are finally available though.

 

[ejschultz]

Haha. There you have it. I didn't claim to be a WJ expert by any means. I should have known that it wasn't a true triangulated rear axle; I know what the upper A arm looks like. I'm definitely 100% familiar with ZJ short arm suspensions and somewhat familiar with their steering setups. I haven't really changed my steering other than my steering stabilizer. I've wondered how the OTK steering would benefit my ZJ from time to time when I see someone talking about it or come across a kit for sale.

 

[cykaaro]

Always good info to know!
WJ is in the shop. Tranny was acting up and showing no fliud. Put some in and was showing 1/4 on the stick. Added a bit more and it started puking out the bell housing. My mechanic said bring it in right away (of course way late for work today). So they started droppong the driveshafts and removed the t-case which once started to seperate started puking again. Never saw rtv used on ti-ase to tranny before. Now I know why. So rear seal needs to be changed. Tomorrow morning the tranny will get dropped and inspected for the cause of the leak. More than likely though rear and front seals are toast. Great. At least the tranny never trigged the overtemp to come on nor has any noticeable issues. Hopefully easy fix. We shall see.

 

[RedlegWJ]

Not picking on anybody, just pitching in. And I see I can't spell, must not have had my coffee.

That's why a Wj knuckle swap is economical. May not be full high steer, but higher than ZJ with the added bonus of eliminating the "T" steer. Plus the benefite of better brakes.

I put rtv between the t-case and tranny to keep them from fuzing together from oxidation. There is a weep hole between the two that shouldn't be plugged. It's to let you know when a seal is bad before things get out of hand.

 

[ejschultz]

I knew you weren't calling me out on my lack of WJ knowledge. I'd like to learn more about the different models so that way I can help people out more when they have questions regarding models I'm not totally familiar with. I know a little here and there about a lot of different models, but I know I don't know everything there is to know. I do what I can to read and try to figure out who knows their stuff and who doesn't and who I can believe as a reliable source and who I cannot. Even with all the good information out there, it's hard because for every good piece of advice/knowledge, there's 100 bad ones.

 

[ejschultz]

Black wheels? Sure...

 

[ejschultz]

I don't have any pictures of the work I did today, but I figured I'd let you all know that I did the 703 injector swap. It went pretty smoothly and the idle is now the best it's ever been. I'll comment after a couple tanks of gas about the mileage differences.

 

[ejschultz]

I got my Niner grille, painted and cleared it yesterday, then I installed it today.

Since it's dark, that's all I got. I'll see if I can get a better pic tomorrow.

 

[85IrocZ-28]

That looks really sharp!

 

[ejschultz]

Thanks man!

Next is my 242 swap, then finally wheels and tires. I have the 242 sitting in my garage waiting to go in. I'm not doing wheels and tires until then. The 249 has the tendency to wear the front tires pretty quickly; I don't want uneven wear on new tires.

 

[ejschultz]

Better pics, as promised. I almost ran out of daylight again but I was able to get outside and get these pics.

I thought it looked like it needed a little more clear coat this morning, but it actually looks pretty decent as is, considering my painting skills.

 

[ejschultz]

Since I already have a 242 sitting on my garage floor waiting to get installed, I decided to jump to my next venture and order some wheels. I ended up with a set of 5 US Wheels Stealth Crawlers. They're 15x8 with 4" of backspacing. They'll be sitting in their boxes on my garage floor until I get the transfer case swapped. After that, I'll order some tires from TireRack, drive out there with the wheels in the back of more than likely someone's truck, get them installed, and bring it all back home to put them on my Jeep. It'll be done for a little while then... At least it'll be done until I have a house and whatnot.

 

[ejschultz]

I got my tires mounted on my wheels today. 31" Duratracs on US Wheels Stealth Crawlers 15x8 4" backspacing. I had to go and test them out too. The front bumper needed to be trimmed just a little to stop some rubbing.

Now, all I have to do is install my rear upper adjustable arms that I've had sitting in the garage for months and swap my 249 for my 242 that has also been sitting in the garage for months. After that, I should be done for a while. Should be...

 

[cykaaro]

How's things? So did you get everything done up yet? Most of things are on hold for me for a while.

 

[ejschultz]

Well, I got some stuff done. I'm working on getting a day on a lift to do my transfer case still. After that, I'm pretty much done for a little while with mods. I still haven't fixed that stupid leak but I managed to block the fuse panel and air bag wires so nothing shorts anymore. I am in need of a rear main seal but that'll probably get changed next weekend. I also see motor mounts and a trans mount in the near future. My wife and I recently had our first child so I'm trying to not spend money on things I don't need.

 

[ejschultz]

I didn't get pics of the process, but today I installed an Aussie locker in my 44a with the help of a fellow Northwest Indiana Jeeper.

 

[ejschultz]

I had a pretty busy day with the ZJ yesterday. I, with the help of a fellow NWIJ member, swapped my 249 for my 242 finally, cut my rear DS to fit properly, swapped my rear progressive coils for regular coils, changed my IRO upper rear arms for IRO upper rear adjustable arms, and changed my RC Nitro 9000s for some Doestch Tech DT3000s. I haven't had the chance to drive it yet because I stripped a bolt for the rear passenger side shock somehow. I'll match it up today and get it fastened to test it out. The 242 is good though. I did drive to lunch after that was installed before all the other work commenced.

 

[ejschultz]

I recently removed the bumper cover, trimmed the fender liners, removed the fog lights, and painted the factory bumper that's under the bumper cover. It looked like crap after I pulled off the cover. Here's some pics of the front of my ZJ now. I'm getting it all ready for a trip to Bundy Hill in June.

 

[ejschultz]

Okay, I have a couple of updates. First, I replaced my windshield. Apparently (and hopefully) it fixed a leak that has plagued my ZJ since I've owned it (the PO complained about it too). I don't have my huge sunstrip anymore but I'm okay with that. I also picked up a set of JCR stage 3 sliders for my ZJ. I've primed and painted them. When I get the time, they're going to get installed. I'm thinking maybe the weekend after next. I don't know for sure. I'm also working with a fellow member of the Northwest Indiana Jeepers to build a rear diff skid. I banged it a couple times pretty good at Bundy Hill last month and got lucky not cracking the aluminum pumpkin. The steel we picked up for the skid is 5/16" stainless. I don't think I'm going to have to worry much about it anymore.

Here's some pics of the sliders so far...





That's all I have for now. I'll get some more posted when I actually get them installed.