Messages

76

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: Drilled and Slotted Rotors ?

« on: January 11, 2009, 05:29:44 pm »

The purpose behind drilling or slotting a brake rotor is to get rid of a boundary layer of gasses that can build up under heavy braking, think running an autocross or taking some hot laps in a sports car.  Unless you're taking your Jeep to Pocono and running laps of the street course I can't see any advantage to slotted or drilled rotors.  As a side note, drilled rotors that aren't done correctly can chunk - I experienced this on a VW Scirocco I owned years ago - at an elevated speed it's not one of lifes finer moments (although it is memorable!) -
Anyhow - high quality brake components - check those hard and soft lines for rust, splits or cracks - flush your hydraulic system once a year and all should be well - if you seem to warp more rotors than normal (whatever "normal" is) you might try fabricating some cold air ductwork to force air onto the rotors (from under the front bumper, for example) - of course - if you ever take the Jeep offroad expect the ducts to disappear ...

Enjoy

Steve

77

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: Welding Spider Gears

« on: December 17, 2008, 05:49:36 pm »

in a limited slip differential typically there are centrifugal weights that detect a differential in rotational veclocity between the two wheels - clutch packs engage/disengage (they may be packs, conical clutches, whatever, depending on specific design) to "lock" the two axles so the same power is sent to both wheels -
In a "locker" it's a bit less forgiving - under given mechanical (or selected, in the case of pneumatic (air)  or electric lockers) the differential (normally unengaged to allow for decent cornering manners) is mechanically locked - making the third member (differential) act like a spool.
With a spool there is no differential - rest assured - the right wheel is going to rotate at the same velocity as the left (assuming the axle is in not snapped).
I've driven LSD's ("Posi" rears in GM speak), Lockers (Detroit Lockers, in Ford speak) and a spool (rather generic) - the least intrusive is the posi - the most effective is the spool (given the desire to travel down 1320 feet as fast as possible) - the best compromise was probably the locker (clicked and chattered on dry pavememt but worked better than the posi) -
Note - with a clutch LSD you'll need to run the correct differential fluid in the third member or you'll toast the clutches -

Yeah - it's confusing - but so are multi-variant calculus and politics ....

Peace

Steve

78

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: Welding Spider Gears

« on: December 17, 2008, 08:06:51 am »

Having owned/driven a vehicle with a spool, rather than a differential, in the rear end I'd say don't weld the gears - it's not just going around turns - you'll run like a dog down any crowned road when the surface is slick as the rear slides down the crown towards the ditch - you'll chirp around corners and you'll find various fuses in your driveline as things bind and snap.
The vehicle I owned was a 1963 Impala SS 409 with CONSIDERABLE work done to it - it's primary reason for being was to travel 1320 feet in a straight line, in as little time as possible (I could and did drive it on the street, but it wasn't fun - well - maybe it was at the time (32 years ago)  but now it'd just be work).  I went to the spool 'cause I kept spitting side gears out of my differential and I couldn't afford anything better -

My two cents .....

Steve

79

Vendor Feedback / Experiences / Re: Quadratec

« on: December 10, 2008, 06:18:38 am »

Ordered F&R shackles and sport bar grab handles for my YJ - the stuff arrived ahead of schedule and was exactly what I'd hoped it to be - I'm very impressed.

Steve

80

Vendor Feedback / Experiences / Re: L&M Tire & Wheel

« on: December 10, 2008, 06:17:17 am »

Got five BFG TA ATs (31*10.5/15's) mounted up for my YJ four were new, one damn near new (spare) - price was reasonable and the service was great - one gripe though - attention to detail - they re-used the valve stems (not a problem generally) and didn't tighten one core correctly SO when I got back to the office, after being out at a job site all day, I had to change a tire and then fix the issue when I got home (to my compressor) - bought the wife four Blizzaks on OEM VW wheels for her MK5 Jetta - nothing but good things to say about that - since I live in Abbottstown they're rather convenient as well -

'nuff said

Steve

81

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: 350 engine swap in yj?

« on: December 01, 2008, 05:48:54 pm »

If you keep it really basic (carb, mechanical fuel pump or electrical with a pressure regulator, single wire HEI ignition or (gasp, horrors) an old school distributor with points, condensor, rotor and an external coil you can keep the "get it running" anxiety to a minimum - trying to blend together computerized harnesses is a real PAIN in the nethers (this I know from a "non-Jeep" project I dug myself into a few years back that started with "why CAN'T I put an Audi turbocharged engine into a VW rabbit?" - seemed simple at the outset (both owned by the same parent company - yeah - right) anyhow I found out and - after investing time and money had a "to hell with it" moment of clarity (and offloaded the "project" to some other poor sap - although - he was warned). 
Even on (what should be) plug simple factory swaps (like putting a 350CI small block and a 4spd muncie into a '67 Chevy II that originally had 3 on the tree and an I6) problems can arise - you've just got to keep cool and work through 'em.
The less complex your engine management system is the easier the project will be - the issues of physically fitting everything in pale when compared to trying to diagnose why the crank trigger isn't firing or why the ECU just got fried ....
Keep grinning -

Steve

82

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: YJ Leaf Springs

« on: November 30, 2008, 11:09:29 am »

Thats one thing that has always confused me. People say you cant get 31's on a stock YJ. I got em on there.

As do I - no rubbing to date BUT my YJ will be going up a 1.5-2.0 inches next weekend (shackles F&R).

83

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: 350 engine swap in yj?

« on: November 30, 2008, 11:07:13 am »

There is a company called "Advanced Adapters" - they could be your best friend during this process as they've got the stuff already designed, engineered and fabricated for most common swaps.  Shame you didn't opt for a ford Y block - the distributor location (on the front of the engine, rather than at the firewall) eliminates one possible clearance issue -

Best of luck with the swap

Steve

84

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: Replace a 2.5 with a 4.0 ... or other suggestions ....

« on: November 17, 2008, 05:55:59 am »

Thanks for the caveats and suggestions - sounds like, if I really wanted to go the 4.0 route it'd be a whole lot easier and cheaper to re-jeep myself - but that's not gonna happen so it looks like I'll be sticking with the 2.5 and figuring out how to add a bit of oomph to the old girl -

Steve

85

Technical Advice and Questions / Replace a 2.5 with a 4.0 ... or other suggestions ....

« on: November 16, 2008, 05:38:23 pm »

I just mounted 31's on my YJ and it's kinda pathetic on uphills - figure the 4.0 would bring a bit of life back to the old girl - how much of a PIA would it be to swap in a 4.0?  I assume the same transmission and t-case - is it just a matter of wiring harness (firewall forward), motor mounts and the motor itself?  I've done swaps before BUT they were all pre-fuel injection / computerized ignition (although living in Adams County I could probably swap in a 1966 Chevy 327 without anyone paying attention) -

Failing that - suggestions for gearing?  Would swapping in the 5SPD diff ratios help out?  I don't pile on the miles so fuel mileage isn't that big a deal -

Thanks - and cheers!

Steve

86

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: Carburetor Choice

« on: September 02, 2008, 05:16:31 pm »

Thanks Rick.

Does anyone know if the EMPI is as good as or at least comparable to the Weber?  I have a line on an EMPI that is about $100 cheaper than the Weber but I was wondering if this is a case of you get what you pay for.

Things may have changed in the last 30 years - but back in the 1970's EMPI carbs were made by Weber .... very common on VW's ..... feeling the need to be different I ran two Del'Ortos rather than Empi or Weber ...
As a side note (and somewhat to the point) guys who were runing either Empi's or Webers seemed to be quite happy (and, as is generally the case, quite convinced that their choice was superior) - the fact that you could swap jets between Empi and Weber carbs led me to the conclusion that they were cast from the same molds ...

Steve

87

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: Three questions for the gang...

« on: August 25, 2008, 07:41:32 pm »

30 plus years of driving various vehicles - I'm convinced of the following:

Spark plugs - if they're working - are all equal - excepting price.  Think about it - you send electricity through the core and it jumps a gap - creates a spark that lights off your compressed air/fuel mixture - for my buck I tend to buy Champions or base-level Bosch but have never been a fan of the $$ platinum plugs -

Wires - I tend to run high-end wires that have the least resistance possible.

Cap and Rotor - OEM - I dislike cheap knockoffs

Oil - dead dino's for me - but I change my oil and filter every 3K - some people like syn's - more power to 'em -

Please note - I'm old - my first vehicles didn't have power brakes or power steering - in fact the first three had drum brakes on all four corners - my opinions are well founded (probably) but entrenched enough that they're not likely to change - the main thing is to have a regular schedule for your vehicle(s) - so you change the fluids and other estoterica at appropriate intervals -

One thing you never want to neglect - your brakes  - change the hydraulic fluid every two years or so - you (and the person in front of you) will be happier for it.  Also check your hard lines for rust - I almost collected a Honda FIT in my XJ this spring when a hard line went - real pucker moment -

Cheers

Steve

88

Technical Advice and Questions / Couple (potentially) questions to close out -

« on: August 23, 2008, 06:15:03 pm »

Ok - just got myself a '94 YJ 4cyl automatic -

Q1:  Checking the transfer case fluid level - is it the bolt between the output shaft and the tcase id tag?  If NOT then where the heck is it?  I can HEAR the tcase when I'm driving and presume that it needs some fluid added - never mind - already figured it out - but what size is that sucker - it's bigger than 1" (the largest socket in my set) Never mind - just found out it's 30mm

Q2: What do I put into the danged thing???  90W, 80W? again - never mind - takes ATF

Q3:  when I FIRST start the Jeep and put it in reverse I get a whirring/light grinding sound - is this terminal for the slushbox?  Fluid level seems fine - after 20 min. of driving there's no noise going into reverse - apparently attributed to the t-case being 1PT low oin fluid - no more issues

Thanks much in advance -

Steve

89

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: xj problem

« on: May 19, 2008, 05:40:28 am »

Could be one of a number of things - here's what I'd check - in no particular order -

1) ignition timing - make sure it's within spec
2) condition of spark plug wires - if they're cracked and worn you could be grounding to the block rather than the plugs -
3) spark plugs themselves - check the gap
4) change the fuel filter - if you can't recall the last time it was replaced - maybe it's time

90

Technical Advice and Questions / Re: Found Something Instresting

« on: May 04, 2008, 08:52:18 am »

differential vent perha;s?