TheKSmith's 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ Limited 4.7 H.O. - The Do-It-All Rig

[asphalt assault 0]

I heard on the radio this evening that a fill-in DJ in the morning is going to tell us 9 Things Men Would Never Do if Women Didn't Exist. I'm thinking along the lines of: eat using plates & utensils, wear cologne, fold clothes, etc.

 

This reminded me of that, as it is something only a single man would do since his woman would kill him for putting that stuff on the carpet. Cool stuff though, can't wait to see what you're up to. d

 

my wife was not happy when I rebuilt a 2 stroke motor in the kitchen and used the sink for washing the parts. I thought when I was done the sink would be cleaner than anyother time cause of the solvent. the smell was annoying, i did agree. (I am still married to her and it has be 22 years together.... of which we dated for 6)

[asphalt assault 0]

when you change the emissions do take lots of pics. I am thinking the same as you. I have not done any research yet other than knowing others have done it. awsome. what axles are you going with?

[LSRGreg 0]

it doesn't take much to move the emissions stuff to clear for 35's and not having to trim the front part of the rear fenders. If i remember correctly, all that has to be done is move the canister back drilling some new holes, and rebend that front part of the mounting bracket, so it will clear.

 

Looks good on the new tires. Looks like your almost ready for a front bumper! hahaha.

 

You mentioned replacing your axles.. what are you thinking about doing? I will have to do that at some point as well, and i don't really know what the best option is without spending a fortune.

 

G-

[theksmith 3,832]

it doesn't take much to move the emissions stuff to clear for 35's and not having to trim the front part of the rear fenders. If i remember correctly, all that has to be done is move the canister back drilling some new holes, and rebend that front part of the mounting bracket, so it will clear.

 

Looks good on the new tires. Looks like your almost ready for a front bumper! hahaha.

 

You mentioned replacing your axles.. what are you thinking about doing? I will have to do that at some point as well, and i don't really know what the best option is without spending a fortune.

 

G-

 

i cut out my fenders because i want to get maximum travel and articulation that i can with minimal bump-stop, but yes i realize it's not absolutely necessary.

 

thanks for the heads up on the emissions stuff, maybe i'll tackle just moving that backwards some this weekend instead of trying a complete re-location.

 

picked up some used JK Rubicon axles with lots of goodies back in the spring, just finally getting around to having them put in. Using the Iron Rock Offroad bracketry kit. Clayton has a rear kit too and is almost done with is front kit, but when I talked to him he still had some bugs to work out. Also I liked that the IRO kit is a full truss in the front, which I don't think Clayton is doing.

 

i think the JK Rubicon axles are good for someone like me, decent strength, they are only slightly wider, same bolt pattern, have abs/speedo that works with the WJ, electric lockers, all disc brakes, ebrakes easy to make work, and lots of aftermarket support, and there are braket kits pre-made. that said, they can be a little over-priced and do need some beefing up right out of the gate (gussets, sleeves). since you can easily do your own fab work, you probably should go with something beefier that you pull from a yard from a full-size and might get more bang-for-your buck.

[asphalt assault 0]

I can see why your doing the d44 from a jk. the speedo item is nice. I have talked with a axle shop and we can get D60's to do the same thing except the speedo. that would have to come off the tailshaft of the transfer case (different transfercase). yes it would then be stronger relatively but hard to say after all the truss and gusset work. it is the front axle from a jk that worries me the most. cant believe it has the title D44. just to weak to have that number. should be called a D29 cause it seems to be weaker than a D30. but with the strengthening it supposed to be good. I just dont know how good. ford 8.8 is a possiblility but if your going for that trouble than I would just go for the D60's.

 

it comes down to this for me. how much for the axles - D44's for JK vs. D60's.

 

what track bar do you run - KSMITH and LSRGreg? I am in desperate need of one and although clayton swears JKS is the strongest it is made from DOM vs. IRO which is a solid bar. I am leaning toward the IRO bar. any knowledge in these?

[LSRGreg 0]

my track bar is from TNT customs.. its DOM tubing. Solid is kinda pointless.. super heavy, and doesn't really offer more strength vs a properly sized wall thickness DOM tube..

 

g-

[theksmith 3,832]

i have the JKS bar, no problems. i think all 3 companies mentioned are making good stuff, go with whichever one you like the price of.

 

the only JKS thing i've ever heard of anyone having a problem with is my own bending their rock-sliders. i would go with someone else for those.

[theksmith 3,832]

started working on the emissions junk relocation today, pics when done. However, I did find the source of my "large evap leak" code right away (see the 2 cracked hoses?):

 

 

and i found one more thing that needs to have it's breather hose extended... the evap crap. i never knew that there was a breather back there. just like the rear axle breather, a hose runs up near the fuel filler. Apparently this is not high enough for some of the water crossings i've done because the filter for the LDP was caked full of dried mud, this is how much i was able to break up and bang out quickly before deciding that i should probably just buy a new filter:

 

 

only thing i'm not sure about is the breather hose for the evap is 5/8" hose... does it really need to be that big? or can i just tie into the smaller axle breather tube that i'm running up to the engine compartment? i guess i'll just try it and see if i throw any codes.

[asphalt assault 0]

some engineering probably used calculus and theory to come up with hose selections. I think if it is sealed there should be no problem. I have to pull mine out and find a source of a leak or I could have a valve causing a internal leak. I have the same codes. My wifes had this problem but her jeep fixed herself....LOL. I love jeeps cause they tend to do that (fix themselves if you leave it long enough).

[theksmith 3,832]

well soon as i went to fill up at the gas station i figured it all out...

 

that big vent coming off the evap area is where the air leaves the gas tank as you fill it with gas, and it has to let a large amount of air out pretty fast as your filling up. when driving and consuming gas, this is where air comes into the tank so that you don't create a vacuum in the tank, it doesn't need to suck air so fast then, but still needs to let it in.

 

when i first filled tried to fill up, the pump kept kicking off after a few seconds. all of the above suddenly dawned on me. i went up to the engine compartment where i had run the breathers to and confirmed air would rush out of it when filling up. i removed the breather cap and everything was fine... the little cap that prevents water and debris from easily getting into the hose was also not letting the air out fast enough, once it was off i was able to fill up without any problem, even with the smaller hose diameter.