97 TJ Heep to Zombie Killing Jeep Build by north50

9 minute(s) of a 286 minute read

The bed liner I sprayed on the grill and front of the front fenders was in a spray can like this. It is great stuff and cheap

Well a bit of a set back today. I received an email informing me that the dust shield I need to start putting the Jeep back together is back ordered to 1-11-13. Not sure if I'm going to wait or just bend back the one I have or try and find elsewhere. Just a very hard item to come by.

I did get confirmation the rear uppers have shipped from Rokmen and I received a package with some of the ARB pieces needed to hook up the rear locker. Still need to order a compressor.

Also need to buy a new vise, my little crap vise cracked while hammering out u-joints from the front drive shaft.

Picked up a Fel-Pro oil pan gasket and have everything in place to do the rear main seal tomorrow and paint up and install new parts in front drive shaft.

I had a co-worker mention how he is stock piling ammo and can't find FNH 5.7 rounds so i will be selling some of my stock at a premium and believe I will order the rock sliders I have been wanting with the funds. There will be plenty to buy again when the Obama madness blows over, just like last time he was elected. Besides I have developed a sickness for out right purchasing things for the Jeeps out of my bank account. But rather sell off something I don't use and spend that money on the Jeep. Doesn't feel like I'm dumping an endless amount of money into this heep.

12-14-2012

So it has been a good week for the Jeep. working out the rebuild on the front drive shaft

Rokmen rear uppers came in and I look forward to replacing all of the CA's with these, pure beef.

Got around to firing up my air compressor and doing the break in. Then quickly hooked up the impact and removed the front yoke from the TC so I could pull out the main shaft and replace with the SYE kit shaft.

This is a fantastic write up of a NP231 rebuild and came in useful as I'm doing a small rebuild after finding broken pieces of one of the planetary washers(plastic) in the oil pickup area of the case.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/up...-231-a-573946/

I will be replacing the front yoke, also ordered a new chain, oil pickup and front yoke seal.

and little seal thing.

Went ahead and replaced the filter and gasket on the transmission while it is out.

Some very fine pieces in the pan.

I think mostly due to the filter being full, glad I decided to do this as it looked much needed.

My FREE Extreme Terrain calendar came in, will go nicely in my office at work.

So instead of waiting until the middle of January I went ahead and hammered out the dust shield that the flex plate had been rubbing and cleaned it up.

Really want to finish this Jeep up by year end and need to get it back together to do that.

Seems I will be receiving a bonus at work so may have to pull the trigger on a GOBI roof rack to top off this build

12-21-2012

After a lot of research and price shopping I finally pulled the trigger on 5 new 35x12.50R17 Cooper Discoverer STT tires. Should be here beginning of January


What they will look like on my 17" Fuel Hostage wheels

Since I have envisioned this Jeep as a sort of family expedition (basically camping) vehicle I'm going to need more room to haul things. With the three of us in the Jeep it leaves almost no room for any gear. This got me thinking about building a trailer but I like the idea of a roof rack largely due to having it with the vehicle at all times. So if I go to Home Depot I can haul lumber or what have you home. At least until I find a diesel truck

So having settled on buying a roof rack and due to my having cut the rear light mounts out and installing flush LED's (those bolt holes are used in several different roof rack designs to support the rear) I went with a GOBI Ranger rack. The rear of the GOBI rack mounts to the frame and looks very nice. They have a special going right now with free freight, free rear ladder, free air deflector and another free accessory of your choice ( I choose the sunroof insert). The part that pushed me over the edge was the incredibly fast response I got from trailduty.comwith all my questions and then his willingness to give me an additional discount. At that point and with the prices due to go up after first of the year I couldn't resist. Anyway I look forward to posting more info on this roof rackin about 4 weeks when it gets here.

Anyone know where I can get a deal on an ARB roof top tent?

1-3-2013

As is the case for everything I touch on this pile I had to make it better than I found it. This time I'm referring to the trans skid plate.

I had previously cleaned out the "shovel" inside of the skid and repainted it but the side that faces the ground when mounted needed attention as well. Here is how it looked to start with.

Then ground clean and ready for primer

Next it was primed with self etching primer.

Finished product, amazes me every time how much better parts look just by cleaning them and painting.

New tires came in, Cooper discover STT 35x12.5R17. Really like the look of these tires and look forward to seeing how they do.

Mounted the spare today.

Rat Rod is looking sweeeeeeet

Brought it home and had to do a comparison with the ProComp 33's they will replace.

Much more to come, including action shots soon.

With the transmission and TC back in the Jeep I have laid out the next few projects. I will be swapping out the rear axle so I can measure for the rear driveshaft. Also going in are the JKS adjustable trackbar (yes this is the one I've had for some time but never installed ) and Rokmen daj. rear uppers. Also pictured is a new oil pan seal, rear main seal and a what is needed to do a fresh oil change. Along with O2 sensors that will be going in the new exhaust.