1990 Cherokee XJ Build

RunningProblem said:
If one or two lifters are bad are you going to swap them around to see if the noise changes?
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If I have to pull the head, I’m going to just put a whole new set in and physically test them to make sure that they pump/squish.

What’s interesting is that when I took the ones that were originally in it out (I assume they were OEM, so, 210k on them) probably 7 or 8 of the 12 didn’t actually pump up and down at all, they were completely stuck with gunk. I opened a few up and cleaned the pieces out and put them back together and they started pumping again. But, rather than do that to every single lifter, figured I’d just throw a new set in.

I bought the Crower Camsaver lifters last night. They’ve got a special valve setup, and they are also machined on one side to allow oil into the bore they sit in. This guy did a great lifter comparison of several different styles: Lifter comparision? - Jeep Strokers

I think the problem is that there are only a couple places even making these 4.0/4.2 lifters anymore, and most are overseas or in Mexico with **** quality control. I should have cleaned out my OEM filters instead of buying new inferior ones. I think I threw them away, too… (I haven’t been throwing ANY other parts away, I’ve learned to hang on to everything until the job is completely done lol.
 
This may be a dumb question, but when I pull the head to change the lifters, do I need to use a brand new head gasket, or can I reuse the new one I put on recently?

It’s a FelPro Permatorque Severe Duty.

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They are like $40 so I’d really rather not put a new one on.
 
RunningProblem said:
Silicone caulk would be my guess. A second option would be to just accept water will get in and use the metal trim like what I used on my fenders after cutting them.
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When I ran the wires for ditch lights into my cowl space, I used a rubber grommet and then filled it with silicone. It hasn’t leaked at all.

My roof on the other hand…
 

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Oh new turn signals too. Smoked black and with LED DRLs/switchbacks. $90 on eBay, they are decent quality and came with resistors to fix hyper flash issues.

The cheapo OEM eBay copies that I bought when I did the whole 1998 front clip swap, were brittle and cracked after only a year in the sun.
 

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Mittnz said:
Oops, sorry, should have looked at the link, I was just looking at the image.

I meant this style: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-hydraulic-pipe-bender-32888.html
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Just going to kink them unless you get ridiculously large piping (no tube, doesn't fit correctly). You can fill with sand to prevent this...

But you're $300 away from a real bender. Less if you peruse FB Marketplace like most of us do for fun anyway....



I went this exact path. That "bender" blows goats. If you're really strapped and want to use a conduit bender for this, might be cheaper to just rent a "triple nickle":

www.greenlee.com

555 Series Electric Benders | Greenlee

Looking for electrical conduit benders like the classic 555 - Triple Nickle? Greenlee has the professional tools and accessories every electrician needs!
www.greenlee.com www.greenlee.com

Or, drive your ass down to San Diego and use mine (JD2 or that 555). :flipoff2:

Mittnz said:
This may be a dumb question, but when I pull the head to change the lifters, do I need to use a brand new head gasket, or can I reuse the new one I put on recently?

It’s a FelPro Permatorque Severe Duty.

IMG_7678.jpeg



They are like $40 so I’d really rather not put a new one on.
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Has it been torqued down? Yes? Replace.
 
Mittnz said:
If I have to pull the head, I’m going to just put a whole new set in and physically test them to make sure that they pump/squish.

What’s interesting is that when I took the ones that were originally in it out (I assume they were OEM, so, 210k on them) probably 7 or 8 of the 12 didn’t actually pump up and down at all, they were completely stuck with gunk. I opened a few up and cleaned the pieces out and put them back together and they started pumping again. But, rather than do that to every single lifter, figured I’d just throw a new set in.

I bought the Crower Camsaver lifters last night. They’ve got a special valve setup, and they are also machined on one side to allow oil into the bore they sit in. This guy did a great lifter comparison of several different styles: Lifter comparision? - Jeep Strokers

I think the problem is that there are only a couple places even making these 4.0/4.2 lifters anymore, and most are overseas or in Mexico with **** quality control. I should have cleaned out my OEM filters instead of buying new inferior ones. I think I threw them away, too… (I haven’t been throwing ANY other parts away, I’ve learned to hang on to everything until the job is completely done lol.
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If you're going to replace all of them, and check them before you install them I'd say it is worth spending another $40 n a head gasket to avoid IT being bad and causing bigger problems. Cheap insurance at this point.
 
Mittnz said:
This may be a dumb question, but when I pull the head to change the lifters, do I need to use a brand new head gasket, or can I reuse the new one I put on recently?

It’s a FelPro Permatorque Severe Duty.

IMG_7678.jpeg



They are like $40 so I’d really rather not put a new one on.
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Absolutely install a new head gasket.
 
RunningProblem said:
Exocage protects the body, and doesn't take up headspace.

What interior cage do you have? Build your own or a kit?
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The RockHard4x4 sport cage. I like it!


(Back when it was red).
IMG_9105.jpeg IMG_5037.jpeg


Only complaint though, with the Corbeau seats on their XJ brackets, you’re sitting up high enough that the tube that would normally go from left top windshield to right top windshield, is directly in your line of sight. You can kind of see where I cut it off and ground off the welds, right above that grab handle. I have a piece of DOM and clamps to create a clamp-on cross bar that I would just move up a bit, but, haven’t gotten around to it.

And then when I bought the XJ, it had no back seat, but I wanted to do a rear bench seat with 4 point harnesses, so I was looking at the RockHard “rear harness bar” but they want like $400 for it, with shipping and all. So, I made my own out of a cheap “universal” Ricer/Tuner harness bar, the bends were in the perfect place, so I hacked the ends off and welded on tube clamps. It was one of the first things I ever welded, so it’s terrible, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere.

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Rockwood said:
Having my bare noggin in close proximity with .120" DOM tubing skeeves me the **** out. XJ interior is tight as it is...
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Nah, you’d bounce right off the pool noodles that are zip tied on :bounce:

I bought a bunch of Longacre SFI padding a while back, I didn’t realize that stuff is made to take like, helmet shots at 80mph, and that it is actually pretty damn dense/hard.

The real fun will be anyone who is unbuckled in the back knocking their teeth against the harness bar for the front seats. :dustin:
 

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Rockwood said:
Having my bare noggin in close proximity with .120" DOM tubing skeeves me the **** out. XJ interior is tight as it is...
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Yup.

Mittnz said:
Nah, you’d bounce right off the pool noodles that are zip tied on :bounce:

I bought a bunch of Longacre SFI padding a while back, I didn’t realize that stuff is made to take like, helmet shots at 80mph, and that it is actually pretty damn dense/hard.

The real fun will be anyone who is unbuckled in the back knocking their teeth against the harness bar for the front seats. :dustin:
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This is why I wouldn't do the internal cage. The cage protection hurts almost as much, I don't want to wear a helmet, and visibility. Nice idea with the clamp on rear seat belt bar.
 
RunningProblem said:
Yup.



This is why I wouldn't do the internal cage. The cage protection hurts almost as much, I don't want to wear a helmet, and visibility. Nice idea with the clamp on rear seat belt bar.
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Yeah, I ended up not using any of the Longacre stuff (I still have several sticks of it if anyone is interested or needs any.)

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I ended up just using the foam stuff, but the hole is kind of offset, so, there’s more foam on one side.

And then I hadn’t seen these before, but, the low profile zip ties are a really clean way to do it. No sharp zip tie ends to catch fingers/hair on.

IMG_0500.jpeg


I have seen one or two very custom XJ hybrid/exo cages where the tubing also extends to the engine bay and becomes a support for coil over mounting, that were pretty nice and that I’d be happy with.

There’s also a guy here on Irate who has an entire tube chassis XJ, which I have never seen before in my last two years of XJ internet scrolling and ****. It’s impressive!
 
Wait until you guys see what I’m doing it’s so stupid hahaha.

IMG_0574.jpeg

I rebuilt this alternator with a new higher amp stator wind, brushes and bearings etc. Powder coated it, and got it installed on the 91+ XJ Alternator mount with the eBay aluminum brackets. But, then realized that there is supposed to be an idler pulley on this 91+ bracket, and this one doesn’t have one? (My stock compressor mount also has the idler pulley. So, by moving my alternator up from the lame stock Renix location, and replacing the compressor with it, plus running an overdrive pulley on the alternator and on my PSC steering pump, AND getting rid of that idler pulley… I need a super short belt. I gotta make sure tomorrow everything is spinning the right direction in my scenario.

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RunningProblem said:
Might as well start a striker build and be ready for KOH 2027.
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Assuming you meant stroker, and yeah I’m halfway there at this point…

I’m really hoping that I can solve this ticking issue without having to pull the pan and everything. If I can just pull the head off, replace the lifters and cam, and call it good, I swear, God, I won’t modify anything else ever again…

There are reman short blocks, bored .40 over that I could do a proper stroker build (rather than my in-frame rebuild) with, and then just swap in… I have heard strokers are really finicky though. Like at what point do I just LS1 swap instead?
 
You could come pull the 4.0 remix engine and trans mission from mine and stick ME with doing the LS swap.

Blondjon on NAXJA had a striker.ifjt still be for sale. He is also on the book of faces and could probably tell you about it. I believe his was really enjoyable for him.
 
My current problem (before I move it back inside to pull the head and do the cam) is belt routing. The attached diagram is the stock 4.0 routing. I removed the alternator from the path, and put it where the AC is.

Because of this, I only have like 20% belt engagement on the back of the mech fan pulley. Some guys just delete it entirely and run e fans but in all the reading I have done about this, the mech fans blow even the pricey Mishimoto fans out of the water, as far as air moved. And one thing I’ve never had with this jeep is overheating issues, so I feel lucky and don’t want to **** with the cooling system.

So, I mounted a random ribbed idler pulley that I had down on the timing chain cover. This sort of works (in my pic, my belt is too short, but you guys get the drift). But, I think if anything I will move the idler pulley back over to the old alternator mount, which will put it closer to where the old alt was. I just don’t like that I am having to add add’l pulleys because I don’t want the setup to be way too custom (and not easy to replace should a part break while I am in Bumblefuck, CA. And it will.)

Idk, I’ll have to put some more thought into it. I’m thinking something simple like this Amazon.com: VANJING Drive Belt Idler Pulley Compatible with 2014-2024 Chevy Silverado 1500 Suburban Tahoe Cruze, GMC Sierra 1500 Yukon, Cadillac Escalade Replacement for 419-091, 12720530, 12700122 : Automotive that has a standoff, and I can just bolt to the old alternator bracket.

Also bonus pic of my gf welding for the first time. We’re working on that gas can carrier for the Honda Monkey.
 

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Of course I started looking into e-fan conversions...

Thought this was cool though, asked AI about the highest CFM fans you could fit in the XJ radiator, had it fetch the specs, and then asked if it'd generate me a waterjet template to cut the shroud. Here's the file if anyone is interested:

1777209365204.png


Another one for the "wHaT gOoD iS AI iT gEtS eVeRyThInG wRoNg" crowd here.

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(Although, it would probably be cheapest to just buy one of the ****ty eBay shrouds with the chinese fans, and then replace with quality fans.)
 

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Once you get the shroud and confirm it works, you should add the file to the Resources section.
 
Gumbybronco said:
Once you get the shroud and confirm it works, you should add the file to the Resources section.
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Yeah sure. I don’t think I’ll pay to have it cut, I can probably buy the shroud mass produced for cheaper, but I can verify the dimensions and cuts in the file are correct.

If anyone has any other ideas for drawings of brackets, parts, whatever, let me know. I’ll run as many as you can think up, I just like seeing what does/doesn’t work.
 
…holy ****.

I’ll print this right now, but, there is no reason that it wouldn’t print, looks accurate to me.

When it asked “do you want me to generate the CAD file for you?” Even I rolled my eyes and was like, there is no way in hell this is gonna work, and I am a big-time AI shill. (For work, mostly.)
 

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What a time to be alive haha. The press-fit of the bearing was perfect, I had to hit it with a heat gun just to make it the tiniest bit softer, and the bearing squeezed right in with my vise.

I totally forgot to set the walls and infill settings, so, this one wouldn’t be super strong but I am printing another as we speak.

IMG_0700.jpeg
 
Mittnz said:
…holy ****.

I’ll print this right now, but, there is no reason that it wouldn’t print, looks accurate to me.

When it asked “do you want me to generate the CAD file for you?” Even I rolled my eyes and was like, there is no way in hell this is gonna work, and I am a big-time AI shill. (For work, mostly.)
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what the ****. this is bad ass. talk about carrying spare parts game changer. we have had a one of these pulleys fail on a trip and found a junk car and stripped one off, but damn. this is so easy...
 
chaplinfj60 said:
what the ****. this is bad ass. talk about carrying spare parts game changer. we have had a one of these pulleys fail on a trip and found a junk car and stripped one off, but damn. this is so easy...
Click to expand...
Totally dude! I'm trying to think of more use cases here, like, knowing that this is possible, how can we really leverage it to either make some money, or help people out? (Or both)

The printing of the parts, is easy. That probably cost me 30 cents worth of ASA filament. I have some "hard to find" parts that I have taken measurements of and stuck in a folder to try to model when I have free time, that I was gonna try to reproduce and sell. But, now I'm more interested in the actual model creation. I'm not great with CAD but I can put text on things, make simple changes, I've built some plastic brackets/mounts with it. The pulley that I would have made wouldn't have been nearly as good, and it probably would have taken me 15 prints to get it even mostly right, but this was first shot, AI nailed it.

Claude is building out a "Pulley Creator" single-page web app that I'll link here shortly, so you guys can generate pulleys by just entering measurements, rib count, etc. If you don't have a 3D printer (they are so cheap nowadays, DM me if anyone is considering getting one and wants advice, we can have you printing stuff for $200, potentially less even if you're really on a budget.) there are online services where you upload your file and then get quotes from 100+ different people and pick the quote you agree with, and they'll print your stuff and mail it to you. So, you don't have to nerd out on 3D printing **** and tear your hair out trying to get ASA and other "exotic" plastics to print well.
 
Mittnz said:
Totally dude! I'm trying to think of more use cases here, like, knowing that this is possible, how can we really leverage it to either make some money, or help people out? (Or both)

The printing of the parts, is easy. That probably cost me 30 cents worth of ASA filament. I have some "hard to find" parts that I have taken measurements of and stuck in a folder to try to model when I have free time, that I was gonna try to reproduce and sell. But, now I'm more interested in the actual model creation. I'm not great with CAD but I can put text on things, make simple changes, I've built some plastic brackets/mounts with it. The pulley that I would have made wouldn't have been nearly as good, and it probably would have taken me 15 prints to get it even mostly right, but this was first shot, AI nailed it.

Claude is building out a "Pulley Creator" single-page web app that I'll link here shortly, so you guys can generate pulleys by just entering measurements, rib count, etc. If you don't have a 3D printer (they are so cheap nowadays, DM me if anyone is considering getting one and wants advice, we can have you printing stuff for $200, potentially less even if you're really on a budget.) there are online services where you upload your file and then get quotes from 100+ different people and pick the quote you agree with, and they'll print your stuff and mail it to you. So, you don't have to nerd out on 3D printing **** and tear your hair out trying to get ASA and other "exotic" plastics to print well.
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That's bad ass. Thanks
 
Ten minutes later I have presets built in for the more popular off-road rigs.
1777444363985.png


If anyone has an immediate use case and can help beta test, tell me what you need and I will print and ship it out to you (for free). I have a handful of the bearings as well.

In exchange, you gotta try the pulley out and let me know how it goes. If they work well, I could offer them for cheap as a service. And, like chaplinfj60 mentioned, maybe we can use this to recreate commonly needed “oh ****” spare parts kits. Imagine getting a box of 3D printed “strong enough to at least get you home” XJ parts that could potentially fail, for like $100.
 
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