BigTuna117 33 Posted September 30, 2018 Well, the last week has been full of excitement and Jeep mods. Last weekend I had a chance to install the Hayden 459 Ultra-Cool Engine Oil Cooler Kit. Even though 459 is the PN for the "Light Duty" model, I believe it is sufficient for my application. I wanted to see if I could pull some of the heat out of the oil, further reducing strain on the cooling system. Cooling the oil should also improve the long term lubricity of the oil (I'm thinking about crawling here). I've found during my torture tests (Highway driving, slow urban driving, and everything in between) that as the vehicle temp raises, the oil pressure is a bit higher overall, though it never dropped below the normal "40." During this install, she got a fresh filter and an oil change. She's a happy girl! Overall, not bad. Cooler installs with nylon plugs, kind of like zip ties. I bought another set of those, just in case. Another adventure was getting hold of a set of Panavise mounts for the Jeep. @theksmith had them in his WJ, and they haven't really changed since then. Panavise asks $25 for each, and $20 shipping for the set of two, so I ended up looking elsewhere. I scored a gently used set for $20 with free shipping on ebay! I Mounted my CB hook on the right, and a wireless charging phone cradle on the left. Looks much more clean than the vent hooks which generally have a tendency to fall off mid-trail. Eventually I'd like to install HAM radio in the Jeep, and I can adapt the Panavise mount to accept both Mics in the future. The current hook doesn't interfere with the tablet mount, either! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzJeepChic 2,397 Posted September 30, 2018 It's looking really good Michael. Great write up too. It'll be interesting to hear if the oil cooler helps with overall cooling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigTuna117 33 Posted October 3, 2018 So, I had the opportunity to run Moss Wash in Kingman with a good friend on Monday, and boy oh boy, were the discoveries we made on the interesting side. I used the trip as an excuse to shake the dust off of my tablet and use it to navigate, and pull data off of the OBDII port. The overall results of the trip we're nothing short of excellent. This was the first moderate, non-exploratory trail she's been on in about two years. So, two years of mostly untested, fresh refits put to the test. The suspension cycled great, but will be phenomenal once I get extended brake lines and coil retainers bolted up. The new transfer case took the abuse no-sweat. And the one that made me nervous of course, engine performance. The 4.7 surged forward with very little issue, finally! Engine temps remained under control, and oil pressure remained higher than previous. The re-worked cooling system kept the Jeep between 190-208 degrees, which is pretty spectacular for crawling up the side of a mountain. On flat and downhill crawling, it would at times dip as low as 180, which is as (absolute) low as you want it to potentially go. I haven't really had a chance to look at other factors until now, either. The reworked intake & snorkel means that air at the manifold is anywhere from 10-20 degrees cooler than stock! Once I insulate the plumbing for the intake, it may drop further, too. I'm very pleased with the performance overall. It's very gratifying to have all that hard work come together like it has. And some questions were further dug into.... One thing we noticed is that my 1st gear crawl ratio seems steeper than the later model WJs. We were wondering if maybe this ties into the previous "Factory WJ/WG Hybrid" idea. In 1st, 4-lo, Pegasus will pretty much just crawl over just about anything on it's own. Curiosity continues to grow on this topic. First time leading a trail run of any sort, too. Exciting! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 3,685 Posted October 3, 2018 pretty photos and really happy to hear everything worked well on Pegasus for your "test run"! maybe we'll get to do a trail together again finally Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzJeepChic 2,397 Posted October 3, 2018 You can show us some of the cool trails up there now that you're getting into being a trail leader! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigTuna117 33 Posted October 4, 2018 Well, to be fair, I have a few available! I've also spent a better part of the past two years gathering navigation data for the state and beyond... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigTuna117 33 Posted October 21, 2018 Well, I got to drive the Jeep to Sedona on (last) Sunday and run Broken Arrow Trail. Overall the performance was excellent and the Jeep drove admirably. Driving to Sedona (4 hours each way), running Broken Arrow, and plenty of time at idle, The Jeep consumed about 25 Gallons of gas total. I punch the numbers into my calculator, and that averages out to about 16 MPG. Much better than my previous two trips, where I averaged 8 MPG, and 6 MPG the time before that. There was a pretty stark difference in performance, too. This time around, it seemed like her power curve was correct again and she commanded herself pretty dang well up the hills and across the valleys. It's starting to look like we are truly on the mend! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigTuna117 33 Posted November 11, 2018 Nice rig! I like the idea of having an oil cooler. Thank you for the kind words. So far, I can say that the Oil Cooler has been a good addition. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigTuna117 33 Posted February 5, 2019 Not a whole lot new to report. The cooling system, despite having a much higher overall capacity to stock, continues to self-regulate extremely well in the cold. I was afraid I'd have issues with "Engine too cold" CELs given the High flow T-stat, dual-core rad, and Explorer 11 blade clutch fan I put in at the end of the summer. I still feel like the oil cooler is probably doing good things, but we'll wait for that oil to come out in a week or tow and see if it has broken down much. In the meantime, some good shenanigans coming up hopefully for tax season, so stay tuned! Also I did a quick 3 year update video on the Kanati Trail Hog A/Ts. So here's that: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigTuna117 33 Posted February 28, 2019 After many years of abuse, I finally decided to go ahead and replace the Clarion CZ-302 which has powered the Jeep's audio system for many years now. In recent times, it's bluetooth functionality had become fairly cumbersome and problematic to use. Since Andriod connectivity was the primary reason I was interested in this HU originally, and the rise of cheap-ish Andriod powered head units becoming readily available, I figured I'd cut out the middleman and give one of these units a try: My first impressions of this Joying branded unit are relatively positive. The unit is extremely snappy, and handles media extremely well. The only thing that irks me about this unit is that it doesn't support a sleep function- a gift and a curse. It won't run the battery down when the vehicle is off, but this means it has to cold boot if the vehicle is off for more than a minute. The fortunate part is that cold boot is rather fast. I let the Jeep warm up for a minute or two in the mornings anyways, and after my next mod is installed, that will seem like less of an issue anyways All in all, it's an addition that could be great, or could bite me in the butt down the road. It does have a 2 year warranty, so that is helpful for a while. It's the great experiment, I suppose. I can say that playback, radio, and the like sound fantastic, especially when compared to the early Android units which had interference issues. The real test is gonna be seeing how it holds up to the abuse offroad. It appears to be sturdy and well-constructed, so that seems rather hopeful. Another bonus is that Joying has been extremely receptive in answering my questions on the unit. I hope it lasts a pretty long time, honestly. We'll see in time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
