Hey everyone!!! Now that I'm not having to spin wrenches on the wife's new rig I am able to catch up on all the pics I have taken and work that I have done/redone. I got my introduction completed at over in the wave section so I will just dive right in on the tech and fab work that I have done thus far. This is not intended to be a bash thread but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves on what the previous owner has done.
I purchased this Heep that was supposed to be a daily driver and needless to say it was not due to numerous electrical issues, severe death wobble (which was supposedly fixed) and leaking steering box. She needed a lot of work and re-work to make it road worthy especially since this is the wife's rig and needs to get her around town and to work while still being able to take us to the mountains on the weekends.
Upon delivery of the vehicle (3 weeks after we paid for it), there was a nice leak from the steering gear box, turns out it was not tapped properly for the hydro assist. Also that it was not the rebuilt delphi box that was supposed to come with the rig, it was a Chinese box that was swapped out and the hydraulic ram was not even installed nor was it the right size. The ram was a 1.375" ram and not the 1.5" that everyone and their mother has proven works. I made an attempt to correct the angled tap job and no luck, still leaked. So I called up West Texas Offroad and ordered a rebuilt Delphi box and their kit. Problem solved!!!
So while I was waiting for all of that to arrive I dug into the wiring for all of the lights he added to the jeep. I figured I would pull out some of the switches and see what wires controlled what because there were wires everywhere under the dash, some connected, some not... well needless to say I was not happy with what I found regarding his wiring job. So everything came out, and I mean everything! Only one of the lights he installed was on a dedicated relay and fused circuit. Everything else was a rats nest of corroded speaker wire and stupid crimp/twist connections either with a huge fuse or no fuse at all.
So with all that gone we pulled all of the interior out to paint the cage that was "clear coated" and to re-weld some of his cold or incomplete welds. After fixing some of the cage and the spare tire carrier that was not removable (I was told it was), I started to install the new switches and relays. I did a lot of research and loved the idea of the Spod and their switches, but I also liked the look of the 12voltguy dash mounted panel but I did not need the winch controls up on the dash... I was torn so I decided to go my own route and do both!!! So I put my electrical engineering classes to use and this is what I came up with. All connections were soldered and then shrink wrapped, no crimp connections anywhere in the whole setup.
Once the wiring was complete it was back to the ram assist and new box install and cutting off all the old brackets for the original ram that was to small and the stud that was welded in to put the steering stabilizer back on. It was a very simple set up but the return line was not playing nice with the pressure line and where WTO tapped into the box on top. They suggested just bending the hardline to make it work but that was not working. So a quick visit to summit racing and now we have an inline cooler and no lines at the box trying to occupy the same space. More fluid and keeping it cooler, winning!!
So after new tires, steering box, ram, mounts, lots of welding and grinding, countless hours of wiring and what seemed like an eternity, today was the first day since owning it for nearly 2.5 months that we were able to actually drive the jeep more than a few miles. It originally had a horrible death wobble but after going over every nut and bolt including getting a new set of Metalcloak upper and lower control arms to replace the stock ones, it now handles like a dream. I can turn the 37's with one finger on the wheel and there is no death wobble!! The wife was even able to take it for a drive without worry!!!
Overall we are very happy, it has been a very long and trying 2.5 months on both the wife and I but this beast is slowly coming around to being a capable and reliable rig.
Let me know what you think, we cant wait to get off road with some of you guys and girls, spring cant come soon enough!!!
-Chris and Leyanne
I purchased this Heep that was supposed to be a daily driver and needless to say it was not due to numerous electrical issues, severe death wobble (which was supposedly fixed) and leaking steering box. She needed a lot of work and re-work to make it road worthy especially since this is the wife's rig and needs to get her around town and to work while still being able to take us to the mountains on the weekends.
Upon delivery of the vehicle (3 weeks after we paid for it), there was a nice leak from the steering gear box, turns out it was not tapped properly for the hydro assist. Also that it was not the rebuilt delphi box that was supposed to come with the rig, it was a Chinese box that was swapped out and the hydraulic ram was not even installed nor was it the right size. The ram was a 1.375" ram and not the 1.5" that everyone and their mother has proven works. I made an attempt to correct the angled tap job and no luck, still leaked. So I called up West Texas Offroad and ordered a rebuilt Delphi box and their kit. Problem solved!!!
So while I was waiting for all of that to arrive I dug into the wiring for all of the lights he added to the jeep. I figured I would pull out some of the switches and see what wires controlled what because there were wires everywhere under the dash, some connected, some not... well needless to say I was not happy with what I found regarding his wiring job. So everything came out, and I mean everything! Only one of the lights he installed was on a dedicated relay and fused circuit. Everything else was a rats nest of corroded speaker wire and stupid crimp/twist connections either with a huge fuse or no fuse at all.
So with all that gone we pulled all of the interior out to paint the cage that was "clear coated" and to re-weld some of his cold or incomplete welds. After fixing some of the cage and the spare tire carrier that was not removable (I was told it was), I started to install the new switches and relays. I did a lot of research and loved the idea of the Spod and their switches, but I also liked the look of the 12voltguy dash mounted panel but I did not need the winch controls up on the dash... I was torn so I decided to go my own route and do both!!! So I put my electrical engineering classes to use and this is what I came up with. All connections were soldered and then shrink wrapped, no crimp connections anywhere in the whole setup.
Once the wiring was complete it was back to the ram assist and new box install and cutting off all the old brackets for the original ram that was to small and the stud that was welded in to put the steering stabilizer back on. It was a very simple set up but the return line was not playing nice with the pressure line and where WTO tapped into the box on top. They suggested just bending the hardline to make it work but that was not working. So a quick visit to summit racing and now we have an inline cooler and no lines at the box trying to occupy the same space. More fluid and keeping it cooler, winning!!
So after new tires, steering box, ram, mounts, lots of welding and grinding, countless hours of wiring and what seemed like an eternity, today was the first day since owning it for nearly 2.5 months that we were able to actually drive the jeep more than a few miles. It originally had a horrible death wobble but after going over every nut and bolt including getting a new set of Metalcloak upper and lower control arms to replace the stock ones, it now handles like a dream. I can turn the 37's with one finger on the wheel and there is no death wobble!! The wife was even able to take it for a drive without worry!!!
Overall we are very happy, it has been a very long and trying 2.5 months on both the wife and I but this beast is slowly coming around to being a capable and reliable rig.
Let me know what you think, we cant wait to get off road with some of you guys and girls, spring cant come soon enough!!!
-Chris and Leyanne
