I bought this 95YJ on June 11, 2013 and have been working on it a little bit at a time since then. I thought it was about time to start a build thread and bring everything up-to-date. The picture below is shortly after I bought it. At this point all all I had done was remove some window tint film that was faded and worn and replaced it with 35% (New Hampshire limit) in the back and rear windows and put on new licence plate backing and frames.
In August of 2013 I found a leak in the rear brake line and decided to order a full brake line kit (Link to thread). This was a great set and to date still looks as new as the day I put them in.
Next I replaced the distributor cap and rotor, plugs, plug wires, air filter, oil and oil filter, fuel filter, transmission oil and transfer case oil.
After that, I pulled off the front and rear differential covers, cleaned and inspected the gears, sanded down and repainted the covers, remounted the covers and filled with new fluid.
At some point during that summer, I had put in a Sony XPlode receiver, an Infinity Basslink subwoofer and amp, and made two rear speaker boxes to hold 6.5 inch Dual speakers.
In February 2014, I decided to put in LED dash lights (Thread Link). That was a fun project. Such a simple thing made such a huge difference in the looks of the dash and visibility of the gauges.
Installed vinyl flooring in the back. Put down adhesive duct insulation first to cut down on noise and heat. Haven't done the front yet, because I've got two water trickles that I want to trace first.
looks great an the fact you found a clean jeep helps. the water leak could be the rubber around the hard top to windshield frame in the corners. have someone run the hose while you look for the leak(with no nozzle on the hose)
Sick jeep bro. You gave me some great ideas! Like the para cord handles are just badass, and if I'm ever stranded I could take it apart and use it to make a harpoon or something lol in all seriousness though, where'd you get those seats? They're exactly what I had in mind for my jeep but can't find anything like em.
Thanks! My mods are pretty mild right now, but I'm having a great time doing it.
They are Smittybilt Standard seats that I got from Morris 4X4 (LINK). I got the non-reclining, but they also come in recliners. They attach directly to the YJ seat rails without drilling and all hardware is included. They shipped free, and I got them in about 3 days. If you change out your seats, I recommend pulling the old seats out rails and all to do the switch (I got the same advice on this forum before doing mine). It's next to impossible to unscrew the seats from the rails while they are in place unless you are very flexible and patient. Besides, while the rails are out you can clean, paint if needed, grease the slides, and put them back looking as new as the seats.
I'm checking with a moderator to see if it's okay to post a "how-to" on this topic. I know that seems silly, but someone locked one of my other threads because it was similar to another thread.
Made my own speaker bar and replaced the small boxes I made before. Made box, cut holes, insulated, and wired (1st picture). Box shown sitting on the black denim fabric which is the same as the material on my new seats. Then my wife sewed the padded fabric cover for the box, and I painted the speaker covers blue, mounted the speakers in the box, added a dome light, made metal brackets to mount to roll bars, installed, and wired (2nd picture).
My power steering pump died on the way home from work last week. I picked up a new pump, pulley and belt. While I was at it, I decided to put a new 90 amp alternator.
After changing the Alternator and PS Pump, I was facing the dreaded belt squeak. I searched this forum and other sources to see if there was an easy way to know if the belt was at the right tension. I tried the "push with your thumb until you can't push it more than 1/2 inch" method and it still squeaked. I tried the "tighten belt until you can't twist it past 90 degrees" method which worked that day, but started squeaking again the next morning. I then decided to try the "buy a $20 ACDelco MP2242 Professional Serpentine Belt Tension Gauge and get in in the mail the next day method" and combine that with the "look up the correct tension (used belt 140 to 160 lbs & new 180 to 200 lbs)" method and it worked like a charm! Not to mention the peace of mind of doing it right.
After a long winter, it finally warmed up enough for me to swap out my transmission. It had been grinding a little going into 2nd and 4th gear, but it still drove fine. Recently it starting shifting really hard, so I decided it was time for a change. The previous owner had an extra transmission to put in it and he gave it to me with the Jeep. I took out the old one, then over the weekend put the newer one in on Saturday, attached the original transfer case on Sunday, and then today I reconnected everything (drive shafts, wiring, skid plate, etc.) and filled the fluids. It runs great! I didn't realize an old YJ could shift so smoothly! :bop: Now I need to rest all week, 'cause I'm not as young as I used to be. I tried to pace myself, but I'm still worn out.
Went out in the New Hampshire woods today. Old Sandwich Notch Road in Thornton, NH. It's a mild trail, but was a lot of fun. The scenery is great.
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