BigTuna117

Today the Jeep received an addition which is both useful and functional! I purchased a Remote start system from Syracuse Synergy, a small company which specializes in setting up remote start systems which are about as close to plug and play as you can get! Pre-flashed for the platform and ready to rock, It comes with the remote start "brain" and bypass module already hooked together. All you have to do is wire it in, and program it to your key! A pretty reasonable price, too. They (well, he, I believe William is a one man operation) also give you any support you may require, via e-mail, Facebook, or even Text message. That being said, I reckon it's pretty fool proof. Here's the system I ordered from them. They also offer a more "basic" system which does not utilize a 2 way remote. http://syracusesynergy.com/product/rs2waywj/

Well, we've all come this far, it'd be a shame to stop now! In my case, Alot of the things I test on the Jeep are a little less conventional in scope, like the Oil Cooler, Headunit, or dual-core radiator. I like being able to report back to a group and receive consensus on those mods. I keep this build page (and a "copy" build page on OverlandBound's forum constantly updated because I receive good feedback from both pages. I like ORP, I've met you guys (you are my friends) and I'd like to do more trails in the future. It's just a long road from where we were to being ready to roll again. Almost there.

It actually comes with Play store right on the bugger when you buy it! It does come with a .apk installer as well. One of the major issues that the earlier units had with play was that alot of them used a strange Hybrid Android/WinCE abomination. It made it so that most apps couldn't recognize the unit as Android (because it technically wasn't). In this case, All of Joying's current models run pure Android, and the functions which required WinCE to run have been rewritten into apps, which I can say are so far pretty well thought out and function pretty well. As for the sleep debacle, I found out it's actually a limitation of the motherboard itself, and the way the CPU behaves when Android move into it's "sleep" behavior. Joying has other new units they are working on which do support sleep... or "Quick Boot" at they are calling it. Full cold boot of the unit takes about 30-45 seconds, so it's not too bad waiting. Once my next modification to the Jeep is complete, that won't even be a huge issue.

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.

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:

Thank you for the kind words. So far, I can say that the Oil Cooler has been a good addition.

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!

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...

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!

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!

While y'all were out @ Cinders... Meanwhile, I've been diagnosing a temperature issue in the Jeep. It's not so much that the Jeep is overheating, rather more "bouncy needle syndrome" Than I'd like to see. Some fluctuation between 190-210 is pretty much expected with the aftermarket setup, as the system heats and cools under load, BUT... 215-220 tells me something is afoot. I replaced the rad cap (which was the wrong pressure it turns out), which helped some. My suspicion is actually the new Y pipe. It not only has larger catalytic converters on it, but a section appears to run closer to the oil pan than on the previous y-pipe. The temp spike seems to correlate more with engine rpm rather than load, which leads me to believe that perhaps the new Y-pipe is splashing excess heat into the oil via the pan, and causing the system to run hotter than expected. Today I further tested this theory by clamping on a piece of 2" exhaust wrap parallel to the "close contact" point, Using this wrap material as a makeshift heat shield rather than wrapping the exhaust, I was able to drive to Las Vegas and back (about 1.5 hours each way) without passing 215. I will double up this piece of wrap and see if I can push temps down further. I will also probably add an oil cooler at some point in the near future, too.

Recently I discovered a Travco enthusiasts page on Facebook. I was able to ask a few questions about the charging system, and receive some answers. The solenoid does work to charge the house/engine batteries, but is actually operated by a secondary module for when it is connected to 115v. which explains the various "thermo-breakers" I found near the solenoid. These operate based on heat/resistance, and self-reset based on such. Apparently this was Travco's unit of choice, and was used all throughout their models in the late 70's. Further investigation is required. I have been told to look under the rear driver's side bed for this unit. One kinda-sucky thing about this is that in order to activate the unit, you would have to lift the bed up to flip the switch every time you dock. Perhaps I'll look into modding gas struts into the bed "lids".

God knows this is true! Like the time the alternator snapped one of it's bolts and we had to hold it in place with Zip-ties and a wire coat hanger to limp her home!

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN After 4 years of sitting, 3 of which with no life, she has awoken from her deep slumber! We're not entirely sure what we did to wake her up, but she has been started at least 3 times in the past week, all of which she fired up on the first try! We've used this sudden momentum to put several needed repairs in motion, so that she can be back on the road soon. Saturday she got a fresh set of Triange 14 Ply R19.5 tires. The old meats were pretty rotted out given their age. Sunday we took her out for a wash, despite most of the power across town being out. We did find a Terrible's wash station still open in the old town, though. Yes, the T fell of. Yes, we still have it. Yes, it's getting put back on soon. Small by comparison Up next we need to get her into a shop and have these engine electrical gremlins squared away one and for all. Then, she'll need to visit an RV specialist shop to have the cracked water main repaired. And new brakes. Should probably mention those. REALLY needs new brakes. And the rear A/C unit failed, too. It was original, so I can't say we weren't anticipating that one.

Interesting, something has broken the last two videos I posted. I wonder how I go about fixing this?

Finally began re-working the exhaust. I began to see severe power loss consistent to a clogged catalytic converter. I cut the main cat off, and replaced the Y-pipe. Mine is equipped with the dual mini-cats for California compliance, so of course that's the model I went for. New O2 Sensors all around too. This is also a pretty good example of what the Anker Roav dash cam is capable of. I still need to install the new muffler, But it's looking like that will be next week.

Thank you! Here's to maybe actually getting to wheel this year.

I decided to upload a review of the Core 4x4 Control arms I've been using for the last few years.

Oh yes. Hopefully this year, too.

Now we get to one of the most important parts of the build thus far. The part where I play "Lets pay money to fix a bunch of self-inflicted problems but also look cooler at the same time." Recently I bought IRO's front long arm upgrade kit, which meant it was time to install them! Basically, everything suspension related over the last 4 years has been leading to this. As it turns out, the IRO adjustable arms no longer use a stop-nut to cease the adjustable joint. A built in clamp holds things quite securely, and without the hazard of the stop-nut loosening. I did find that my Core 4x4 short arms did hold up pretty well, all things considered. With all of the overall adjustments to the suspension, I found myself with a completely re-aligned front axle, and fresh, proper angles in the rear. All of my driveline vibes, bump-steer, and strange clunks and rattles have disappeared. She purrs down the road, with only engine roar audible. The new control arms themselves are extremely beefy. Even though I went with IRO's older "Iron Y" 3-link Radius Arm setup, I feel like this is a great value for someone looking to go to 4" on a budget, or if you have been slowly accumulating parts like I have. I didn't take any pictures while working, it took long enough without the camera in my hand! There are a few parts to work out, though. The Jeep WILL NEED extended brake lines and coil retention in order to articulate past "sway bar normal." In other words, disconnecting the sway bar is currently not an option, unless I want to use my brake lines as limiters. But for now, she behaves much better on the tired Mohave Valley roads, so I'll take that as a victory.

Well, after a brief interlude, and a moment to re-think my game plan regarding all of the repairs I've been trying to complete, we return guns blazing, ready to tackle several maintenance related tasks and repairs. Today I mustered up the courage to pull the carpet and replace the parking brake cable. This job was a serious, 3 hour PITA, and the legs, knees, arms and head. 18 year old carpet is rather stubborn and doesn't like to move out of its conformed position. Also, re-tensioning the lever was... interesting. As many know, there is supposed to be a lockout which allows the mechanism to spin freely inside the lever, allowing you to easily re-tension the the spring inside. Most can't figure out how to get the thing to lockout, so they just force the spring back onto its peg. Somehow, I managed to get the lockout activated, and the system self tensioned. Don't ask how I did it, because I'm still not sure. lol I also spent 2018's first 110+ degree day (Sunday) out painting the Jeep. The fenders were looking pretty gnarly given the under body coating I used had mostly worn off. Surface rust had begun to form, and I couldn't spare any more time putting it off. after careful sanding, a couple of coats of Primer+Paint was put on, and it looks pretty sharp again. I feel like I've got a pretty good start on the summer. More cool things are coming, too!

Happy (slightly belated) Birthday!

I'm disgusted by the very thought! In all reality, if anything ever ends up happening to this old bucket, my next target vehicle would probably be a Tacoma. I have no complaints, she's always gotten me home, and that's something to be proud of, I think. Just keep on replacing the worn out old parts.

Well, it's starting to warm up, rather quickly I might add. I just had the bad axle half shaft and hub assembly replaced today. She also got a fresh set of brake pads, and given proper bleeding, and the brake booster I installed last year, she stops on a dime again. I still need to adjust front axle caster, but that will be done when I install leveling spacers, which will likely be towards the hot months. Oh, and my e-brake cable snapped. So I need to replace that now too. And the rear hatch lock ceased up. At least it's ceased in the "locked" position. And my mini-cats are starting to clog. Imma be a busy boy. At the very least, she's drive-able. I've spent the better half of the last two years getting her back to the point where she MIGHT make a trip, with anybody really. Putting your nose to the grindstone can really suck the life outta you, but it can really pay off in the long run. I'm looking forward to camping and actually using the Jeep this summer, hopefully.

So far I haven't had a real chance to mess with it. Video quality is pretty great, I'll have to download a 5 min clip and drop it on here. I'll have to sift through the settings and see if is supports that.