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1991 YJ stock restoration

Drummer79

Drummer79

Red Skull Member
Joined
May 22, 2020
Member Number
1208
Messages
454
Loc
Washington, NC
Boring I know, leaving a jeep stock. EDIT: This new Jeep is a 1991 with 4.0 and AX 15. Everything stock including working factory A/C.

I used to have a 1994 YJ and swapped axles multiple times in it, never kept wheels and tires long enough to wear a set out without building bigger. I was in my 20s then and finally built that Jeep so big that it wasn't even fun wheeling any more in NC. Then I had to have a car trailer, and a truck to tow it, and take a week off work instead of a weekend trip to Uwharrie, etc.
These are some pics of the progression of the first YJ:
oldJeep_Side.jpg
macon2.JPG
DSCN0166.JPG

If I had it all to do over again I would have left it like it was with the Waggy axles and Chevy rally wheels. It drove great, got decent mileage, and looked stockish.. kinda like a ZR2 package kinda deal. Spring over and tons happened because I just HAD to have a Dana 300 and then well might as well not flip it and get a Chevy front axle, and then might as well go 14 bolt rear, etc..

Long story short, I just loved working on it as much if not more than wheeling it. I'm 44 now but no lie, I've already thought about Waggy axles and all for this one, but it's so stock that I've decided that I just want to fix it back up as stock as possible for the time being anyway.
I might do the vacuum disconnect cable replacement or something, but otherwise just get it all fixed up weatherstripping wise and all, new brakes, and run it like it is. I had forgot how small a stock YJ was when i walked up to this one to buy it.
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First thing I'm doing is replacing brake soft lines and flushing the brakes, and then calipers, drums, whatever else it might need. Next week it's getting new tires too cus the ones on it are old as shit. After that it'll be seals and weatherstripping and stuff like that.
 
I have had my moments of chasing tire size and getting into long drawn out projects. My truck does have narrowed D60s. Mostly because 44s by me are non-existent and still expensive unlike Superduty axles.

I feel like once you get past 35s you get into this progressively worse driving experience. That leads to not driving it as much, spending more time doing repairs, and/or getting into trailering.

Time and a place for everything. Also can't just have one truck. But I'm growing to like smaller moderate builds more and more as I get older.
 
oh this will be fun to follow.

always thought allot of the same things your touching on with this thread. looking forward to seeing what type of tinkering is to come!

:beer::beer:
 
Bought everything new for the brakes today short of master cylinder and hard lines. New soft lines, calipers, pads, new drums and wheel cylinders, etc.
When I bought it the brake light was on and the pedal felt a bit soft to me but it's been so long since I had a stock YJ I have no clue how the pedal should feel anyway. When driving it home it was all great running 75 mph for 120 miles until a few miles from home some idiot pulled out in front of me and when i stabbed the brakes one started dragging after that :homer:
As old as it is, and knowing the brake light was on anyway, I decided to just put everything new at the brakes end of the system. A caliper might have just stuck, or the soft lines might have been soft as hell causing the spongy pedal and then collapsed and locked up a brake. In any case it'll be new now. About $400 all in between rock auto and then local parts store for the front pads i forgot to order through rock auto.
 
Replace it all, not worth trying to piece it together. Especially with brakes. I'd rather spend $400 then have to change one part later on and bleed it again.
 
I ordered 4 new tires for it too.. I'll get those installed this upcoming week. I didn't buy the cheapest tires I could find, but they're inexpensive. When I bought the jeep the dew was heavy and all, and I didn't really look over the tires really hard. They're old. Cracks everywhere and saw a plug in one after the 120 mile trip home. What got my attention was after looking around sniffing for which brake was burning up, I noticed the tread kinda funky looking and rubber rolling off. So yeah, new tires before I blow one up and destroy sheet metal. I'm putting Blackhawk Ridgerunner ATs on it.
at-tread.jpg
 
Got the tires installed but no pics at the moment. I went there at 7 am with intent on making it to work and not being late by much. The brakes had unseized by this morning leading me to believe it is a soft hose issue, but those parts should arrive today.
I'm kicking myself for this little adventure though because to quote Pulp Fiction, "I shoulda fuckin better known better" :homer:
I left the tire shop heading to work, and accelerate hard to jump over to another lane and not be in the way, and the jeep stumbles a little, and I'm like "hmm that's odd, it hasn't done that before" and look at the fuel guage and it shows 1/4 tank still so I'm like hmm maybe a misfire or something.. then it stumbles again and I'm like "well that's still odd, but maybe I need a fuel filter, god only knows when it was last changed, but I have 1/4 tank" See where this is heading? :laughing::homer: I get to this big crowded intersection in 8 am traffic and sitting slight incline and the jeep goes to sounding like it's running on 3 cylinders, then go to leave that light and it's barely doing anything.. I coast through the left turn and drift into the turn lane and it dies.. Won't crank again so finally I decide ok the gauge is wrong or else fuel filter is really screwed. I called my coworker at the forest service to tell him what was up and he couldn't help, and I wouldn't have asked him to, because lately the District has been real picky about rules and use of state trucks and all.. My dad is out of town, everybody else I know in Greenville is at work or whatever.. so finally call my brother and he leaves work and goes to buy me a can of gas and bring it to me and park behind me with flashers on, because where i'm sitting is terrible in traffic right then. I also learned during this event that although the turn signals work, the hazards will not stay on unless I hold the button. Brother shows up with a gallon of gas, and parks behind me with hazards on, and i flip down the license plate holder to unscrew the cap, and WTF, no cap.. a red shop rag in place of it. :homer:
When I bought the jeep at the dealership last weekend they gave me a tank of gas with it, and they filled it up, and as far as i knew I hadn't needed gas since, so in spite of my checking the oil and coolant and all, I didn't look at the gas cap. So this rag is sopping wet from two days of rain but anyway I cuss a bit and put the gas in, and it sputters back to life. I thank my brother and go fill up with gas and then go to the nearest part store and buy Heet and a gas cap in case rain got in the tank.

I got to work late as shit and fixed my inside door handle and put door panel back on with a cheap clip to hold the linkage rod, and that's my update for the day, besides a lesson to myself that I shoulda trusted my gut when I felt like i was having a fuel starvation issue to not trust the gauge and buy gas or pull over and check fuel pressure at least.
Sorry for the wall of text without any life changing update. I might have figured out what my whistling issue is though.
 
OK so in relation to my gas situation yesterday, and apparently YJs were known for having 15 gallon tanks unless you paid extra for 20 gallon but it's same tank, and a mod can be done, etc.. I've relearned a lot of stuff I forgot in the last decade.
Tomorrow I will find out for sure but pretty sure in 90 or 91 they went with poly tank and in those early years they had some kind of issue where something inside would fail and cause fuel float to stop at 1/4 tank and therefore run out of gas. (source on that is a forum I trust way less than this one, through google search)
I was out of gas yesterday, but was only able to put 12.76 gallons in after dumping a maybe gallon in from a jug. Surely if there was over a gallon of rainwater in the bottom it would not have cranked and got me to a gas station regardless of how much part store bullshit i poured in the tank.
Anybody got any clearer recollections of this type stuff or year model specific problems that were maybe sorted by the time I had a 94 YJ?
Maybe check grounds on gauge set? maybe pickup sock on fuel pickup is degraded and gone so running out of fuel before totally empty? Another option I saw in google searches was maybe dirt and mud packed in below the tank enough to raise the bottom but this Jeep doesn't strike me as being heavily offroaded. Towed behind an RV maybe, but not a wheeler.
 
Not helpful as far as the gas goes. What engine, transmission does this have? Is it efi? sorry if i missed it.

I regretted doing the same with my first build taking it too far to a trailer queen.
 
In for the ride. I built a dead friend's YJ for myself. With an engine from another dead Pirate.

SBC, 4L60E, NP231, D30 front with chromos, 8.8 rear with disks and chromos. On 35's and a 4" lift.

Love it.
 

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I edited my original post to include details of this one and hopefully clarify a bit which is/was which in the descriptions.
I started to tear apart the front brakes this morning, my co worker who's not very mechanically inclined was along for the ride to try to help, and I got them apart to the point where I had to undo the driver front soft line and had flashbacks of doing that same project on my old jeep. I had to be able to drive this thing home today from work so I messed with it for a while and couldn't get flare nut wrench over the hard line with the torx bolt still holding the clip, and remembered fucking up the flare nut on my first jeep doing this same thing. Can't get to the torx bolt with the hard line in the way on that side, and can't get the nut undone without screwing it up, so i backed up to punt. I went ahead and ordered the hard line for that side from inline tube and it's on the way. That way if (when) I destroy that hard line to get that fucking torx bolt out I will have another on hand already.
The jeep engineers in the YJ years must have had a kickback deal with the maker of torx head hardware or something. They love that shit on a YJ.:shaking:

The parts to totally rebuild the rear brakes showed up today so that will get done soon, and that's probably why the brake light is on and pedal is soft. The reservoir for rear brakes was pretty low but not empty so I'm sure a wheel cylinder has a leak.
 
Nothing groundbreaking to add, I was on dispatch for 2 weeks and got home and between resting, work, and going sailing Thursday, I've accomplished basically nothing on the Jeep.
All the brake parts are here just a matter of installing. I'm ordering a new turn signal switch possibly, because the wipers don't work and the turns signals are intermittent at best. While I'm in the steering column I'm putting a new ignition lock cylinder in. Apparently in 1991 it shoulda been a chrysler shaped key like my 94 YJ had, but this one has a square basically GM key in it. the key ring that came with it has the chrysler shaped keys too, maybe they work for the door locks. Online shows chrysler keys for a 1991 YJ but because it's got square in it now, and it's 100 dollars cheaper, it's getting the 1990 jeep lock cylinders and ignition switch set in it.
I still haven't figured out anything about the gas gauge besides a few posts on old forums about clean the contacts in the dash. It seems to read ok til 1/2 tank then never drops lower.
 
Regarding the fuel tank, to turn your 15 gallon tank into a 20 gallon tank, take the fill hose off the tank, there's a plastic hose on the inside that extends down into the tank. Take that out. Boom, 20 gallon tank.
 
No updates on teh brakes, besides that I know which wheel cylinder leaks now. Driver rear.
Also no updates on the fuel gauge not working right either. Between working in the mountains a couple weeks and catching up on work responsibilities since getting back I haven't had time to tear the jeep apart. I've got replacement hard lines for the front for when I screw them up getting the soft lines loose up there, and got everything to rebuild the brakes all the way around, but just haven't torn into that yet still.

I did run into a new issue though, which is expected I guess with a Jeep that apparently sat alot more than it drove for 33 years since it only has 143,000 miles on it. The other night I drove it to work because I had obligations after work and can't use state truck for personal stuff, etc.. and anyway, it seemed hard to put it in first from neutral with the engine running. Otherwise it seemed ok when shifting while moving. Drove it again yesterday and with it in first gear and clutch pressed at a stop light I could feel it trying to move a little bit, so clutch isn't fully releasing. Checked fluid level when I got home and clutch master was very low. The rubber cap thing wasn't placed right though and obvious corrosion from it being that way for a while.
Short story turned long, (I talked to RunningProblem on the phone this morning I must have picked up a bad habit :flipoff2:) I obviously have either a bad master cylinder or slave cylinder. Much like the brakes, while I'm tearing the transmission out I'd replace clutch and all while doing the slave cylinder, but is it worth converting to the external slave? My 1994 YJ had a slave cylinder issue back in the day and it was a half hour repair.
If I leave it like it is, is there a good trusted brand to go with for internal slave? I've read horror stories on Google of getting bad ones out of the box and all. This one apparently lasted 33 years so if i replace it with a good one I should be fine for 33 more years. Any input is appreciated.
 
wrangleryjforum.com

Converting the AX15 internal slave cylinder to external

Every person I have talked to about the internal to external slave cylinder conversion says it is well worth it. I bought the NOVAk conversion. My issue right now is that their installation instructions are geared to removing the transmission. I just finished a rebuild of my 4.2L engine, and...
wrangleryjforum.com wrangleryjforum.com
 
RunningProblem said:
wrangleryjforum.com

Converting the AX15 internal slave cylinder to external

Every person I have talked to about the internal to external slave cylinder conversion says it is well worth it. I bought the NOVAk conversion. My issue right now is that their installation instructions are geared to removing the transmission. I just finished a rebuild of my 4.2L engine, and...
wrangleryjforum.com wrangleryjforum.com
Click to expand...
Yes, I had seen that same thread already. It wasn't very useful. Notice how I used proper grammar Mr. Teacher? :flipoff2:
 
BTW, I bought a different Jeep for it's armor... it comes with a set of waggy 44's installed. 4.10's, locker front (with Chromo axles) and LS rear, with a truss.
Either those, or the 8.8 and D30 front (both axles have Chromos) will be for grabs. This is just after I rebuilt the 8.8 and D30 with all the goodies... I just don't think it will hold up to Lilyota 's SBC I bought to honor him. It's now a 383... so I may do the 44 front and a different 60 rear.

Either pair is a bolt in :flipoff2:. Ready for a road trip north?
 
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Grendel said:
BTW, I bought a different Jeep for it's armor... it comes with a set of waggy 44's installed. 4.10's, locker front (with Chromo axles) and LS rear, with a truss.
Either those, or the 8.8 and D30 front (both axles have Chromos) will be for grabs. This is just after I rebuilt the 8.8 and D30 with all the goodies... I just don't think it will hold up to Lilyota 's SBC I bought to honor him. It's now a 383... so I may do the 44 front and a different 60 rear.

Either pair is a bolt in :flipoff2:. Ready for a road trip north?
Click to expand...
North where? On the old Jeep I drove to PA and back in a day to get axles.. twice. So yeah it's not out of the question.
 
Grendel said:
BTW, I bought a different Jeep for it's armor... it comes with a set of waggy 44's installed. 4.10's, locker front (with Chromo axles) and LS rear, with a truss.
Either those, or the 8.8 and D30 front (both axles have Chromos) will be for grabs. This is just after I rebuilt the 8.8 and D30 with all the goodies... I just don't think it will hold up to Lilyota 's SBC I bought to honor him. It's now a 383... so I may do the 44 front and a different 60 rear.

Either pair is a bolt in :flipoff2:. Ready for a road trip north?
Click to expand...
Since you bought a whole nother YJ, how about specs on it as far as transmission and all as far as going external slave AX 15? You aren't helping at all with me leaving this thing stock :lmao:
 
Grendel said:
BTW, I bought a different Jeep for it's armor... it comes with a set of waggy 44's installed. 4.10's, locker front (with Chromo axles) and LS rear, with a truss.
Either those, or the 8.8 and D30 front (both axles have Chromos) will be for grabs. This is just after I rebuilt the 8.8 and D30 with all the goodies... I just don't think it will hold up to Lilyota 's SBC I bought to honor him. It's now a 383... so I may do the 44 front and a different 60 rear.

Either pair is a bolt in :flipoff2:. Ready for a road trip north?
Click to expand...
and is the front waggy axle already shaved to fit proper without being a little bit off? or would I have to do that too?
 
Drummer79 said:
and is the front waggy axle already shaved to fit proper without being a little bit off? or would I have to do that too?
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The other YJ has no engine or trans in it.

More than likely, I am pulling the 8.8 and D30 from mine. As said, they're built as far as they will go... but I worry about 35" tires and a 460hp SBC. It would be great for you. The 8.8 kit makes the rear 1" wider on each side, so it matches the front very well. Also all new brakes and diff coverts, etc.

So a 44 front and 60 rear would work well for my Jeep...


I also have lift springs, shocks and dropped pitman arm for you. I'd really like your stock springs.
 
I live around Greensboro, NC. I’m going home to Pittsburgh, PA area for Thanksgiving. If you and Grendel work out a deal, I may be able to help with some of the transport.
 
weissguy01 said:
I live around Greensboro, NC. I’m going home to Pittsburgh, PA area for Thanksgiving. If you and Grendel work out a deal, I may be able to help with some of the transport.
Click to expand...
Unless it's the waggy axles for the lockout hub option and a deal I just can't refuse, I'm probably gonna refuse and maybe regret it later.
 
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