January 10'-11' Build off 1996 Grand Cherokee

[BulletsRain]

Bought this Jeep in May of 2009 for $3400. As my first car, it isn't perfect, but I love it.
It is a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with the Inline 6, 4.0 liter engine and it Automatic.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0218001513a-1.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1866-1.jpg


It has around 145,000 miles on it.

It's got all the nice features of the limited. Power windows, mirrors, A/C & heat, leather seats, volume controls on steering wheel... cruise control.. the nice little display screen by my Shift lever... 4 wheel drive (Hi, Lo, Part time)

It's in good condition mostly and runs great. Just a few minor things that need to be fixed and replaced.

What I've done so far:

First Addition! A Flowmaster Super 44 muffler and stainless steel tip.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1869.jpg

Video
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/th_DSCN18651.jpg (http://s513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/?action=view&current=DSCN18651.flv)

I've had to get the radiator replaced twice... It had a crack it in, and when they put the replacement in, they broke a part on it so it still leaked.

The stock radio and speakers (Infinity System) were mostly bad. Radio didn't work, and front right and rear right speaker didn't work.

I replaced the Deck with a cheap Dual stereo. I used some blaupunkt speakers for the front speakers, since the owner of the car threw them in with it. Then I replaced the rear ones with Memphis 6.5 in speakers. For the most part it sounds good besides one speaker rattles.. but I'll fix that soon.
I also got some blue neon lights under the dash to light up the floor :D
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0302001628.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0302001629.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1870.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1872.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1874.jpg

I also have installed a CB radio. It's a Cobra 29 WX NW BT.
Got a big 50 watt PA speaker in my bumper to yell at bad drivers and use for other various occasions.
Using a K40 mobile antenna.. it's 58 inches long.. ya I get a lot of looks..
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0302001629a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0302001629b.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0302001633.jpg

I like the whole blue interior lighting thing I got going.. so who knows maybe I'll go all out and light the whole inside of the car up.

What needs to be done:

New headlight housings (Mine lights are so dim I have trouble driving at night. Yes I've tried rubbing compounds and such)
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0302001632.jpg

New head liner
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0302001630a.jpg

Replace the back window cleaner thing...

Fix a few spots on the paint..
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1867.jpg

New driver side Mirror..
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0302001631.jpg

Maybe new wheels... and some big tires and a lift... :roll: :roll:
If you look close you might be able to see a little bit of the PA speaker.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1868.jpg

And a few other things/additions to come.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0302001630.jpg

[greenday]

I gotta say thats a pretty nice deal for the money. I also have to say I wouldn't have thought a flowmaster 44 would sound worth a dang on a 6-cylinder, but WOW! It sounds really nice, maybe because it's inline? I assume it's very smooth running as well. Interior looks cool, I'd just take care not to overdo it, I see a lot of them that are. PA and CB ought to be cool too, overall I like it. Rad issue sounds kind of lame though, that stinks you have to replace it yet again...but...oughta be a real nice vehicle when you get those few issues patched up.

[AJB32690]

My favorite part has got to be the airsoftgi license plate cover, lol.

Anyway, not a bad vehicle for your first, just be sure to keep up the maintenance on this, because they go south fast if you don't. About 1/4 of the people I deal with at work are buying parts for Jeep Grand Cherokees... And I'm not exaggerating.

[stang_racer]

hey can you get me a pic of that engine bay. if my memory serves me right that engine shouldnt be a l6. should be the v6. xjs had the famous 4l six not zj's as far as i know. atleast ive never heard of a 4l 6 in a zj...

[BulletsRain]

Yea stang, I'll get a pic up tomorrow. I am pretty sure it's an Inline 6... but I'm not too smart when it comes to cars... but I've heard of ZJ's having the inline 6's..

Thanks for the replies guys.

I forgot I had that Airsoftgi license plate on there... :bigwink:

[stang_racer]

lol well yeah hey if you need any help, hit me up with a pm i like to think of my self as the resident jeep guy on here lol. after owning three cherokee xj's.... and working on countless other jeeps lol.

[texan_idiot25]

It's the 4.0 straight 6, and the higher trim levels had a V8. They didn't put the "global" V6 into Jeeps until the last gen Cherokee.

Sweeeet Jeep though, comfortable and capable

[stang_racer]

NVM still get that engine pic, but i just listened to the vid now and im almost 98 percent sure it is the 4l 6! nice score. those motors are good for upwards of 450000kms or 300000 miles if not more. just stay on top of your oil changes

[texan_idiot25]

Jeeps change their own oil. All over your driveway.

[BulletsRain]

Yea.. Straight 6.. that sounds right.

Anyways to the pics!

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0303001728.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0303001727b.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0303001727a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0303001727.jpg

[jabari]

Sweeeeeet. I love jeeps. If you put a lift, are you going long arm or regular one?

[BulletsRain]

Sweeeeeet. I love jeeps. If you put a lift, are you going long arm or regular one?

Well... I was looking at the 3.5 inch lifts from IRO (Iron Rock Offroad)..
But.. I mean, parents don't like the idea of me lifting it.

I'd probably need some new tires too, which I'd say mine have around 80% of tread left still..

Who knows what the summer will bring. If I'm working a lot, I'd say the possibility of lifting it would increase ;)

[stang_racer]

Jeeps change their own oil. All over your driveway.

false. atf via front seal is more along the lines of what truthfully happens

[AJB32690]

false. atf via front seal is more along the lines of what truthfully happens

Really? Ive seen more of them damage oil pans than blow front seals.

[BulletsRain]

Changed the oil today.... didn't even think about taking some pics of all that nice oil you guys have been talking about. :bigwink: :lol:

Nothing new really... Fixed a interior light.... nothing worth showing. :roll_eye:

Getting new headlight housings or at least clearing up the ones I have now next week.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1879.jpg

Also going to try and order some clear corners... to get rid of that orange side marker.

Once my headlight housings are in good shape, I'm going to order some 8000k HID's and some 3000k ones for the foglights. It should turn out good.
I want to replace all the other bulbs with LED's possibly, or just brighter bulbs.

I am thinking about tinting the rear taillights... but I'm really unsure about doing it. I want them to be seen, but I think that tint style looks good. Kind of thinking about some LED taillights.. but for now I'm just going to worry about the front.

More updates as soon as I am able to do things. :nod:

[BulletsRain]

Got the new housings. Ordering clear corners and then my HID's.


Old housings
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1880.jpg (http://s513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/?action=view&current=DSCN1880.jpg)


New housings!! Much much better!
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0322001342.jpg (http://s513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/?action=view&current=0322001342.jpg)
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0322001343.jpg (http://s513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/?action=view&current=0322001343.jpg)

[BulletsRain]

Got the clear corners in. They were pretty easy to put in, just hard to get the bottom screw in and out. Here are some pics

I like how they look.

[Edit] - I also got a 2 inch "Budget Boost" but.. Not sure if I'm going to put it on or not. Found the spacers in my dad's shop. Totally forgot the owner had gave them to me.

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0331001643.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0331001644.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0331001833.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0331001833a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0331001834.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0331001834a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0331001834b.jpg

[BulletsRain]

- Updates to come.

Ordered several LED accessories for the interior and exterior.
Planning a light bar build...
Going to order those HID's soon...
Picking up a tailgate LED light bar maybe this week... If it doesn't look good I'm just gonna return it. :lol:

[BulletsRain]

One order of LED's came... BTW... Superbrightleds.com is an awesome place for LEDS!
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0510001622.jpg

my rear license plate now looks like this at night... My cell phone camera doesn't do it justice. It looks much brighter than that, and the whole license plate is clearly visible.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0510001835.jpg


I got a tailgate led bar yesterday, but it was pretty flimsy, and felt weak. The way I wanted to mount it I couldn't, so I just returned it and will be rigging up a custom one.

I am really wondering about a 2 in budget boost... I have a 1 3/4 inch kit.. which would probably work for what I want. I might as well put it on since I have it... and maybe next time I need tires, I'll just go 1 or 2 sizes bigger. :nod:

Man... I really need a new headliner... it's sagging real bad. :blush:

[BulletsRain]

Got my vinyl decal to cover the third brake light in the mail today...

I got it put on in about 45 minutes, had to cut little pieces to fill in little gaps of light. :)
I really like it. I think it is a nice little noticeable detail that people will see. :bigwink: I'll get a picture of it in the dark up soon. But for now, here is my quick cell phone pic of it.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0512001627.jpg

I also found what I'm going to do to fix my headliner!!

[CJA94]

Awsome this Jeep is just so beutiful and the lift would be nice and do you plan on painting it.

[BulletsRain]

No plans to paint the entire vehicle, besides the spots that are peeling on the roof. I do plan to paint the roof racks and maybe my rims.

Thanks for the compliment. :bigwink:

[BulletsRain]

Tonight I decided to paint my luggage rack since I had time. I probably should have waited till next weekend... but I like doing things so I went ahead and did it!

I sanded the racks and rails down and sprayed it a new flat black. I will probably shoot another coat tomorrow morning, and then put them back up in the afternoon if it isn't raining... which it is suppose to do... all day long... and Sunday... :nodno:

But here are some pics from tonight... (Photobucket is acting up, pictures might not appear.... )

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0514001901.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0514002025.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0514002229.jpg

[Bananabrain]

Looking good, That flat black will look good on your jeep.

[BulletsRain]

Thanks Banana! The rails look a lot better than they did before! :D
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0515001455a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0515001455.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0515001456.jpg

I got some more cold cathodes, and I but the new ones up front where my old ones were, and put the old ones further back under the driver and passenger seats, to light up the rear floor by the bench seat. It looks really sweet at night I think.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0515002019.jpg

The switch that controls the under dash lights
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0515002021a.jpg

I know my stocker is boring... but I'm trying to make it not as boring... slowly but surely. :thumbsup:

[CJA94]

Nice keep up the good work and by the end of this project its gonna be beutiful.

[Bananabrain]

Yea, those roof racks look good flatblack and now that their mounted they look even better.

[BulletsRain]

Well. I decided to dig up my 1 3/4th inch spacers. I want to put them on!
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0516001426.jpg

I was asked for a picture of the back under seat lighting on another forum, so I went ahead and posted them here too. :nod:

With Flash
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0516001434.jpg

Without Flash
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0516001434a.jpg

[BulletsRain]

Ordering new side mirrors after this weekend. I am going with a black color. It should look good.

At this point I am just fixing all that needs to be fixed, then going to start saving for a lift and tires. :nod: I'm thinking by the end of summer I should have it! :eyecraz: :roll_eye: :o :o :D :D

WOOT!

[Bananabrain]

Cool hope you get enough to buy the lift.

[BulletsRain]

Yea I'm trying to just sell a bunch of stuff to help me fund this project! :bigwink:

[BulletsRain]

Updates! (Didn't want to write two separate things, so just copying this from JeepForum.

Well... on that little trip to SMORR yesterday I had the windows all the way down on the highway and my darn headliner pretty much almost just ripped off. It was bowling foam all in my eyes and all over so I decided it was time to take it out. So I am going to spray it with bed liner and make sure it looks good, then put her back up.

Also, while the center roof console and back cargo lights are out, I'm going to upgrade the bulbs to LED's. Putting in the order right now. :thumbsup:

I was really surprised I only broke one thing while I was taking all the side panels off and stuff. BTW, the rear panel by the cargo light... yea make sure you take the clear lens off, and then unscrew it... I kind of forced the panel out from around it... :eek:

Here are pics of the day!

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0523001540.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0523001541.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0523001628.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0523001628a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0523001557a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0523001557.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0523001636.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0523001637.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0523001642.jpg

[Bananabrain]

Bummer about the headliner. Its kinda weird how a vehicle thats only 14 years old could have that problem. Like a vehicle being older than that not having that problem, like my truck its 18 years old and its still intacked, just like it came out of the factory. lol

Hope you get it fixed though.

[BulletsRain]

The felt part was coming off, not the actual fiberglass part. I'm going to spray the fiberglass with bed liner. It should turn out pretty good and look good. I've seen several with it done, and it looked good. :nod:
I'll get it done sometime this week. I gotta go buy bed liner. Also have to order up new mirrors. :roll_eye:

Then after that stuff... and maybe HID's cause I want them... I'm good to go on the lift. :nod:

[BulletsRain]

I forgot to post pics of some of the offroading.. wish I would of brought my camera... instead of my phone. It died half way through.. but I should of took my pics, but it was so intense. :eyecraz:

I parked my Jeep, the trails were really washed out. :roll_eye:

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Offroading/0522001038.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Offroading/0522001039.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Offroading/0522001040.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Offroading/0522001041.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Offroading/0522001117.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Offroading/0522001158.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Offroading/0522001222.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Offroading/0522001223.jpg

[BulletsRain]

Got my headliner sprayed, it turned out not to good. The darn glue spots from the Previous owner pretty much ruined the whole thing. For the most part it looks okay. If I would have used a thicker bed liner I think it would have worked nicely. Oh well, only $20 bucks wasted. I'll get it redone with some black felt once I can get a chance to go up to St. Louis.

I got all my LED interior lights in. Cell phone doesn't pic up the lighting well enough, so tomorrow I will get pics with my digital camera. I must say, it is bright when you open up a door! I won't ever lose anything again that's for sure.

The next thing I want to do is replace my driver's side mirror and go ahead and replace the passenger one too. Then after that's done I will get HID's.
Don't worry, the lift fund is building on the side of all this. :lol:
I put my dirt bike up for sale and if that sells, my lift and tires are bought. Then I'll just need like $200 for wheels.

Anyways, enough ranting...

Here are some pics..

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0528001719.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0529002019.jpg

[Bananabrain]

Looking good, the liner doesn't look to bad in the pictures, but then agian I haven't seen it in person so I can't reallt say much.

[BulletsRain]

In some spots it's real good, other spots it sucks. It will be fixed mid summer probably. For now I'll live with it.

[BulletsRain]

Haven't updated this for a bit, sorry bout that. I'll just copy my posts from JeepForum.

My interior LED lighting.

5/30/10
Took pics of the interior lights.
Sorry for blurry pics....
If anyone wants a bulb list or anything lemme know. ;)

I still have to replace both driver and passenger side foot well lights. Oh and BTW... if you take that crappy plastic cover off the lights in the foot well they are like 2x brighter. :thumbsup:

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1977.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1976.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/DSCN1981.jpg

6/3/10
Well yesterday I was driving to work, jamming to some Guns and Roses, when poof my Radio shut off and my VIC shut off. My VIC had been blinking like crazy earlier that day. It was telling me all sorts of good information, like how I was in 2wd and 4 lo at the same time! It also said all my doors were open! Crazy stuff!

Well anyways, I started to push buttons with the "WTF" look on my face... but then I smelled a familiar smell. Burning plastic... I started freaking out, ready to pull into the nearest parking lot to put out a fire, but nothing happen. My first thought was that it was just a blown fuse, and I had smelled the fuse and that was all...

Well I was wrong. After about an hour of checking fuses and reading the manual to see what fuses controlled what, I finally pulled out the right fuse. I saw that it was broken, so I thought no biggie, and popped another one in. Immediately after I heard a faint pop, and then smelt that same smell again. I looked to my left to see smoke rolling out from where the VIC is. I rushed to pull that fuse out. I don't even like the thought of having something in my vehicle that could cause a fire, so I got to work on pulling that VIC out.

I got the dashboard and stuff out all in about an hour.
Here are the pics.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0603001623.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0603001655.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0603001655a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0603001655b.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0603001700.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0603001702.jpg
Burn spot?
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0603001705.jpg
The smoke I was smelling came from this spot, really glad it didn't catch the board on fire. Then I would have had a big problem.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0603001706.jpg
Closer pic of the damage
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0603001706a-1.jpg

Time to go to the junkyard and see if I can find another one! Oh, and yes... unlike some I like my VIC. Maybe I can find a 5.9 grille too!

6/7/10

Alright so the VIC problem has been fixed. Got a replacement from the Junkyard for $30. Not bad :thumbsup:

So I got the dash put back on today. I also wired in 3 white superflux led lights from Oznium in the glovebox. I also put a blue superflux in the cigarette lighter.
Here are the pics!

Lights in place ready to be wired together
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0607001602.jpg

Glued in place with some hot glue
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0607001610.jpg

Soldered wires, and glued them to be nice and tucked away.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0607001646.jpg

The lights stick out a little bit. I don't mind it though. It's mostly just because I couldn't find the right drill bit.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0607001610a.jpg

The lights on. Oh, They are wired in a series getting power from a 194 base that plugs into the factory outlet for the original light. This way the push button switch still works. :2thumbsup:
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0607001931.jpg

I put a piece of paper in there just to show the brightness. Now this is with the Jeep off, I'm sure running the light would be a bit brighter. My battery isn't the best! All these LED's are sure helping though... darn incandscent bulbs!
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0607001931a.jpg

Here is the cigarette lighter... I think it's pretty sweet and yes... it really does look like that.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0607002038.jpg


While playing around with that little blue superflux I put it in the shifter light and it was awesome. So I'll be ordering more LED lights for the Shifter and 4wd shifter and also the key light. LEDs ARE AWESOME!

6/8/10
Got my new piece of mirror glass installed today. I like it!
Now I can actually see with my driver side mirror. :2thumbsup:
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0608001801.jpg

I think I'm going to go ahead and order HID's... 6000k for headlights... 3000k for fogs.

Yes I know... I have stock housings... and it will most likely glare...

The only times I drive at night are when I work night shifts or stay out late at friends. The town I live in really shuts down at night. I have seriously drove home from work before and only passed one car during a 15 minute drive. There are also not a lot of street lights around my neighborhood... and you know how those deer like to pretend to be ninjas.... :teehee:

^ That was to the haters of non projector true HID housings. There is tons of arguments about it.... as I'm sure some of you know. Not looking to argue with anyone about it.

As of today, 6/12/10, I have HID's on the way... basically just some small things left to do... I got the money to buy my lift kit, but I don't quite have the funds for tires and wheels yet. Well... I mean I do but, I wouldn't have any money left over which would be a bad thing. More updates to come. :nod:

[Bananabrain]

Really starting too look good. As for the LED's were did you get them and what are some of the specs on those? Like brand, size, etc... lol

[BulletsRain]

Really starting too look good. As for the LED's were did you get them and what are some of the specs on those? Like brand, size, etc... lol

Superbrightleds.com for the interior lights. The dome lights have festoon bulbs, and the courtesy lights use 194's on the doors and ba-15's under the dash.

The festoon's I used were the 4410-x9, they were a tad bit long... but they still work
I used the WLED-x5 for my 194 spots
and for the BA-15's i used the 24 led 1156 bulbs they have.

For the glovebox lights I went to oznium.com and used the superflux leds, and same for the litte cig lighter.

You can use http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/LampReplacementGuide/ for a bulb reference to your vehicle.

Basically I tried to choose ones that would work best in the spots I had them.
If you look at the degree of the angle of light output it helps. For instance the festoons I got but out 30 degrees angle of light... so I got them because in my Jeep I got two little dome lights side by side, so I figured it would cover at least 60 degrees shining down, if not more.

Overall I'm pretty satisfied with them, they are bright at night and I can even see spots during the day that I used to not be able to see.

OH and all mine are a cool white color.

[BulletsRain]

As of today, 6/16/10 .... My HIDs are still waiting to be shipped. The company I ordered them from has been receiving around 500 orders a day, so they are a little behind. They should ship out tomorrow and if they do I would expect them here by mid next week. For $95 for two kits and the ballasts I can't really even start to complain about shipping.

I'm still looking at lift kits. Parents really dislike the cost of a 4 inch lift.. but I'm trying to do my best. I'm weighing all my options and getting pricing locally and from online sources then I'll make a decision. Unfortunately my parents have final say... but who knows what will happen.

I'll keep you all posted!

[BulletsRain]

6/23
Ok so I'm taking a lunch break right now before I start on the HID's. It's hot out...

Anyways, I wanted to put the blue shifter light and 4wd shifter lights in first.
I got two High Power SMD 120 degree 194 bulb's in blue.
They are bright!!!
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001253.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001255.jpg

Okay, so it took a while to get to the 4wd shifter light since the way I have my CB mounted, but I finally got to it.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001410.jpg

Oh and on the 4wd shifter, not all of it displays blue. There are some green filters or something so 4 part time and Neutral show up green. It still looks awesome though.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001423.jpg

Here is all the leds I got today
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001250.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001258.jpg

The yellow ones are for the front parking lights.
Of course I always have to put the decals on. I have one on my driver side window too.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001252.jpg

This is all the stuff for the HID's
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001304.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001305.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001308.jpg

The fog lights kind of have me wondering if I got the right ones.... they have some plastic containers around them that don't come off.... but I'll go see how it works. Just got to print the instructions out first.

Oh, and if any of you are wondering... They are DDM Tuning HID's
6000k hi/lo beams
and 3000k for foglights.

It took 13 days to get them. Ordered on 6/11, shipped the 6/18 and got here today the 23rd.

Later in the day on 6/23
While... it's all done... but I don't have pics! My battery died since I was pretty much working on the jeep from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Anyways... I will have pictures tomorrow.... but I must say the Lights are FREAKING AWESOME! I am so happy with them. I aimed them down a bit and turned them on when it got dark and man... those lights shine pretty far! The fog lights are awesome too!

I did have to modify the bottom cover on the fog lights, but only by drilling a 7/8th hole.

BTW, I used double sided tape to hold the ballasts in the engine bay, and to the unibody under the bumper. DDM didn't provide any tape, but I had some laying around.
Did anyone else mount there's like that? If not how did you do it?

The Hi/Lo works flawlessly! The fogs shut off just like normal when the hi beam kicks on. I can't wait to drive this thing tomorrow night. I was so ****ed when my jeep wouldn't start! I had to take my Mom's van to buy a battery charger... :mad:

I also put the LED parking lights in and I'm loving them too. I did the corners and the corners next to the turn signals. The thing I noticed though, was that when you have your emergency flashers on, the corners don't flash. Guess I'm going to have to pick up a LED flasher.

Here are the pics. More to come tomorrow!

Bye Bye Halogen!
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001603.jpg
HID's In
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001603a.jpg
HID's in fogs
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001905.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001906.jpg

Stock halogen 194 parking light
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001743.jpg
5 High power SMD led 360 degree light in, it's Brighter!
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001744.jpg
In both now and looking good!
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0623001756.jpg


6/24

I must say the HID's are awesome... and I got a lot of looks. I think it's because of the yellow fogs. No one flashed me at all. I had them aimed down really far, so I stopped and aimed them up more so I could have more visibility and even then I wasn't flashed. I am thinking about aiming them up a little more even. I'll see about that tomorrow.

Like always, pictures will show glare... and my cell phone isn't the greatest camera to use, but it works.
In this pic there is some glare, but standing where I was standing when I took the picture, the headlights weren't shining in my face, and they weren't glaring.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0624002104.jpg

You can somewhat see the color contrast. BTW... they aren't aimed up that high, my driveway is very steep. But this picture shows how bright they are.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0624002221.jpg

6/27

I got some daytime pictures today. Still haven't gotten flashed yet. :thumbsup:
I think I have them aimed just right.

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0627001436.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0627001437a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0627001437.jpg

[BulletsRain]

Good news... Lift is coming probably in August maybe. I gotta get quotes and such still and figure out what tires I want to go with, but it's a WIP.

I'm picking up Cragar Soft 8's next weekend.

[Bananabrain]

Those leds look sweet. Can't wait too see the lift when you get it.

[BulletsRain]

Those leds look sweet. Can't wait too see the lift when you get it.

Yea I love LEDs. One of my parking lights is dim and flickering so I had to order a new one, but oh well. :lol:

[BulletsRain]

I picked up the wheels today. Just another step closer.

[Bananabrain]

Rock on .lol

Also how did you know what size Led's to get for your dash & shifter, etc...

Because I am wanting to replace all of mine with red lights & get rid of the green lights on my truck.

[BulletsRain]

Rock on .lol

Also how did you know what size Led's to get for your dash & shifter, etc...

Because I am wanting to replace all of mine with red lights & get rid of the green lights on my truck.

This should help you
http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/LampReplacementGuide/

Sometimes its hard to figure it out. You might have to find a forum with some guys who have the same make truck of yours and see if they changed any lights. Since I'm on Jeepforum, thats how i found out the bulb guide for mine. That site helps though.

Forgot to post pics that I took the other day. I did on the other forum so I might as well post here too.
7/20

Washed the Jeep today.

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0720001900.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0720001900a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0720001901.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0720001902.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0720001902a.jpg

[BulletsRain]

Sweet! Post up some pics.

Okay well this deal got even sweeter. I originally drove about 50 miles round trip to get the 4 wheels, center caps and valve stems. So about 4 hours after we got back I get a call from the guy, and he said he found the 5th wheel. I was about to ask how much he wanted for it when he said it was mine if I could come pick it up. So I went back for another 50 mile round trip and got that spare. Five cragar soft 8's, valve stems, center caps for all, all for $150.

I just go lucky and man I couldn't thank that fellow more. :thumbsup:

Here is a pic.. since you wanted one :laugh:
The 4 others are at my house in Springfield... I'm in ST. Louis atm. Dad hauled the other wheels home.

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0725001931.jpg

[Bananabrain]

Those are some sweet wheels. Can't wait too see em' mounted & wth the lift.

[BulletsRain]

Got my headliner redone. I got it in black. It looks good :thumbsup:

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0728001537a.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/0728001537.jpg

[Bananabrain]

that looks really good. The black and gray/tan goes together very well.

[BulletsRain]

that looks really good. The black and gray/tan goes together very well.

I thought so too. Thanks

[BulletsRain]

Putting an order in right now.... :D You all can probably guess what it is... :lol:

[BulletsRain]

Missed a few posts so I'll update. Lift kit came last week, got it put on today. Pics tomorrow... here is my post from JF.

Still nothing?

Wow your good, you posted right when I got the Jeep, no joke.

It took the shop 12 hours to complete. They ran into some problems a long the way and had to fix them. They also only had one guy working on it. Apparently they didn't have the right spring compressors so they had to take the front LCA's off.

My Mom and Dad dropped it off at my work at like 9:20ish. After they went out to eat and took it... :rofl:

It looks awesome! Sure looks a lot higher than 3.5 inches though! :thumbsup:

It still needs to be aligned, the shop said they didn't have the stuff to do it with so it will have to be put off a few days. Driving around though, it didn't really seem all to bad. No DW yet.. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I am very pleased with it, and love it. It looks like a beast now.

Although... there is a problem. One of my freaking Cragar Soft 8's had a hole about the size of a pin head in it. So it is slowly leaking air. Good thing I got 5 rims, we are going to fix it tomorrow.

I will post pics up tomorrow. The jeep looks great though, even with my 5 old tires and wheels in the back it didn't even look like it was sagging. :thumbsup:

[blue504life]

whats up with the 3K in the fogs. all the same in more annoying to other drivers ;)
i got that same kit form DDM, really nice kit

[BulletsRain]

whats up with the 3K in the fogs. all the same in more annoying to other drivers ;)
i got that same kit form DDM, really nice kit

They are down low and 3k is a yellow color which is what most fog lights used to be. It's better visibility wise in the rain and fog. I don't see how the fogs could bother anyone considering they are so low though... although now they are where my headlights used to be :lol: :lol: :lol:

I need to do some re-aiming. The fogs are nice though.

[blue504life]

They are down low and 3k is a yellow color which is what most fog lights used to be. It's better visibility wise in the rain and fog. I don't see how the fogs could bother anyone considering they are so low though... although now they are where my headlights used to be :lol: :lol: :lol:

I need to do some re-aiming. The fogs are nice though.

i see what you mean, i just like all the same color, atleast for my car.

never knew 3k was standard for fog lights. guess thats my the fogs on the lexus are yellow

the fogs on my focus shine about 4-5 feet in front the car. people sometimes flash their highs when i use just the fogs. i enjoy annoying people

[BulletsRain]

My fogs shine 10-15 feet out. You can see them pretty well though. They are aimed lower though, so I really don't think they should bother people too much. My headlights might be a different story.

[Bananabrain]

Whenever I had my foglights on people flashed there lights all the time at me & I had them angled down & my truck sits really low compared to the vehicles that are flashin their lights at me. lol

But I can't use them now since the ground isn't connecting right & its causing the switch too get realy hot really fast.

Also get some pics up of that jeep.

[BulletsRain]

Got Pics up. I love the way it looks and my friends are jealous now. :2thumbsup:

It still needs alignment and it's gotta get re-torqued next week. My rear brakes are almost gone too, so I gotta get some new ones. Also probably need a rear track bar, but it's not urgent.

PICS!

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100828132427.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100828132438.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100828132456.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100828132523.jpg

[Bananabrain]

Nice, looks alot taller than a 3.5inch lift. i can see a some slight toeing in on the front but not really that noticable.

[BulletsRain]

Well, it hasn't been aligned yet and in the picture the wheel was turned slightly.

[BulletsRain]

News of the day I guess. The questions mostly apply to the other forums I have this stuff posted on.



So I took so more pictures while I was out testing the 4wd. I haven't got any vibrations up to 45 mph so I think that's a good sign.

I do have some issues to look into.

The front right tire sticks out further from the fender that the left front tire. I have IRO's track double shear track bar and bracket up front... The jeep still hasn't been aligned, it's getting aligned sometime this week, but do you guys think that it's just the alignment causing this?

Also, the rear right tire sticks out further than the lift side, but you can definitely tell the axle has shifted because one shock is slanted slightly. The rear still has the stock trackbar, so I suppose a new track bar would fix this issue right away.

Please let me know if any of you guys have input about the front tire though.

Here are the pics. There is a highway near by and a car honked at me while I was taking them lol. I also got nice jeep yelled at me today from across a big intersection.

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/20100829192639.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/20100829192630.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/20100829192659.jpg

[Bananabrain]

I think an alignment on the front should solve that problem & as for the rear I'm not really sure. Should ask a shop & see what they say about it (I would do that when you get your alignment done.)

[BulletsRain]

I think an alignment on the front should solve that problem & as for the rear I'm not really sure. Should ask a shop & see what they say about it (I would do that when you get your alignment done.)

Oh, btw your right about the toe in. I didn't see it in the picture, but at work today I noticed it.

The front is being caused by my front trackbar. I just need to adjust it, and the rear will need a new track bar.

[Blade.]

Independant rear suspension i.e. coils and struts? If so you should be able to adjust the toe, and camber also on the rear.

Simple fix really, just time consuming. Oh, take note. If your Camber and Toe are off, you will have different types of tread wear, and could possibly be paying more for fuel as the vehicle becomes un-efficient with wore tires.

Tom.

[texan_idiot25]

Independant rear suspension i.e. coils and struts? If so you should be able to adjust the toe, and camber also on the rear.

Tom.

This is a Jeep, there is no such thing as IRS on a real Jeep. Rear axles need alignments too, especially after suspension work. When you see trucks driving crooked, it's either frame damage or an axle that's a few degrees twisted.

[BulletsRain]

Independant rear suspension i.e. coils and struts? If so you should be able to adjust the toe, and camber also on the rear.

Simple fix really, just time consuming. Oh, take note. If your Camber and Toe are off, you will have different types of tread wear, and could possibly be paying more for fuel as the vehicle becomes un-efficient with wore tires.

Tom.

No IRS on my Jeep. I do believe some of the newer ones have them.. :nodno:
I have coils front and rear.

I pay for more fuel as it is anyways. I get 12-13 mpg city now. Which really isn't all that bad IMO.

It's getting aligned tomorrow.

I need a new track bar for the rear to fix the issue.

I also need to look into new U-Joints... I have a clunking/popping noise when I am driving. It happens at random times... when I'm braking.. or a small bump... even on turns.. or when I start up from a stop. The U-Joints are like 14 years old... so it's probably them. Either that or my brakes... which would be a super easy fix.




This is a Jeep, there is no such thing as IRS on a real Jeep. Rear axles need alignments too, especially after suspension work. When you see trucks driving crooked, it's either frame damage or an axle that's a few degrees twisted.

Tex is correct

[Bananabrain]

No IRS on my Jeep. I do believe some of the newer ones have them.. :nodno:
I have coils front and rear.

I pay for more fuel as it is anyways. I get 12-13 mpg city now. Which really isn't all that bad IMO.

It's getting aligned tomorrow.

I need a new track bar for the rear to fix the issue.

I also need to look into new U-Joints... I have a clunking/popping noise when I am driving. It happens at random times... when I'm braking.. or a small bump... even on turns.. or when I start up from a stop. The U-Joints are like 14 years old... so it's probably them. Either that or my brakes... which would be a super easy fix.






Tex is correct

My truck makes a clunking/clanking sound, thought it was the U-Joint (Rear one) since that is were the sound was coming from, checked them turned out they were nice & solid & in perfect shape, so after some listening & driving we found out that my rear end is starting too wear out & causing it too slip & make a clanking sound. So now I have to shift my automatic manually to help baby/ save the rear end, since I can't afford to replace it right now.

[BulletsRain]

My truck makes a clunking/clanking sound, thought it was the U-Joint (Rear one) since that is were the sound was coming from, checked them turned out they were nice & solid & in perfect shape, so after some listening & driving we found out that my rear end is starting too wear out & causing it too slip & make a clanking sound. So now I have to shift my automatic manually to help baby/ save the rear end, since I can't afford to replace it right now.

I don't like the sound of that.... but if it's the axle I have no problem with laying down cash for a Dana 44.

I am almost willing to bet it's u-joints... if they are 14 years old... they are way past due for a change! :lol:

[texan_idiot25]

I also need to look into new U-Joints... I have a clunking/popping noise when I am driving. It happens at random times... when I'm braking.. or a small bump... even on turns.. or when I start up from a stop. The U-Joints are like 14 years old... so it's probably them. Either that or my brakes... which would be a super easy fix.

but if it's the axle I have no problem with laying down cash for a Dana 44.

I thought the 44 was standard on the rear?

U-Joints will clunk when you change from R to D, and vica versa. When they do die, they make a hellacious grinding noise that's like rocks being crushed, and also a constant scraping/whiring/whining noise as you put a load on it (acceleration). Needless to say, scary noises!

If the clunks came after the lift, check all suspension bolts.

My truck makes a clunking/clanking sound, thought it was the U-Joint (Rear one) since that is were the sound was coming from, checked them turned out they were nice & solid & in perfect shape, so after some listening & driving we found out that my rear end is starting too wear out & causing it too slip & make a clanking sound. So now I have to shift my automatic manually to help baby/ save the rear end, since I can't afford to replace it right now.

Manually shifting an auto does nothing to save your rear end. Every mile you put down damages it more and more. GM axles are dirt cheap, I picked up a 3.73 12 bolt (stronger than yours) for $300.

[Bananabrain]

I thought the 44 was standard on the rear?

U-Joints will clunk when you change from R to D, and vica versa. When they do die, they make a hellacious grinding noise that's like rocks being crushed, and also a constant scraping/whiring/whining noise as you put a load on it (acceleration). Needless to say, scary noises!

If the clunks came after the lift, check all suspension bolts.



Manually shifting an auto does nothing to save your rear end. Every mile you put down damages it more and more. GM axles are dirt cheap, I picked up a 3.73 12 bolt (stronger than yours) for $300.

Well I only shift it when I am stopping, which is when it clanks as I slow down I know were the shift point is speed wise & rpm wise & I down shift through the gears until I am stopped. Which keeps there rear from clanking if I do that, if I don't do that then It clanks until I am stopped.

Also I am on the hunt right now for a 12 bolt rear end with 3:73 gears (Like the one I have now) & if I can get one with some disc brakes & maybe a posi on it that would be nice.

[BulletsRain]

The dana 44 came standard on the Grand Cherokees with the V8 engines, or a tow package. Pretty sure I don't have the tow package because then I would of had tow hooks. The 35 is a weak axle... but it can turn 31's just fine.

I did some research and found someone who had the same exact noise and from the description its exactly like my issue. The problem was the U-joints. My are rusted, which means they are BAD. So new U-joints going on this weekend. Hopefully nothing breaks before then! :eyecraz:

[BulletsRain]

Wow I haven't updated this thread in the longest time.
All of it is posted on Jeepforum.

Maybe one day I can transfer it over.

[BulletsRain]

Okay so refresher on things... up to the current point.

Clunk was the U-Joints
So, I didn't get a chance to post pics of the driveline work. I got all new spicer u-joints and I got my drive shafts rebalanced. They also painted them black, which made me happy.

This cured most of the clunking noise, but it is still there. I believe I have figured out the problem though. Since the rear axle is shifted to the passenger side the right rear sway bar is hitting the coil spring causing a clunk. So, as soon as I can, I'm ordering up a new rear track bar.

Here are the pics.

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100908174159.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100908173937.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100908173905.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100908173856.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100908173850.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100908173840.jpg

Then I got took hooks
Got my tow hooks and brackets today! I got to sanding on them right away them shot them with some flat black paint. They look brand new.

I'm going to go get new hardware for them tomorrow then put them on.
I'll take pics tomorrow. Pics are always good :thumbsup:

Brackets before sanding
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100930161055.jpg

Hooks after paint
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20100930161049.jpg

I'll get pics of the brackets painted tomorrow or later tonight. :thumbsup:


Does anyone know where to get factory color paint? I got a couple spots on my roof peeling pretty bad and I would like to get it out of the way. I also have various other small spots around the vehicle, and I would really like to do it myself and not have to take it any where to get it done.

[BulletsRain]

Tow Hook install

So what was a simple tow hook install turned into an afternoon into evening project.

The darn plastic clips that hold the bumper on were being a PITA, so I finally just cut them off. After that, the left side of the bumper wouldn't budge. When that finally came off I got to work installing the tow hooks. It was all going good, until I got to the bracket that holds the hook.

The shop that put my radiator in like a year ago, freaking messed it up. This was after they had already put one in wrong. They didn't line up the bottom radiator bracket with the little snap in plastic thingy. So The radiator stuck out further on the driver side, than the passenger side, not allowing the tow hook bracket to line up right.

After an hour or so moving the radiator around trying to get the clip out, it finally just broke. So I said screw it, forget that little plastic clip. With the clip gone, the radiator when into place and the tow hook bracket went on now.

Everything after that went fine... except the 30-45 minutes I spent at Autozone looking for the right plastic rivets and then waiting in line. :rolleyes:

I hate it when you run into stuff that you have to fix along the way, but hey sometimes it makes the day more fun. :2thumbsup:

I didn't get pics of them on, because it was like 8 pm when we got it all done. Too dark for pics. I'll get pics tomorrow, but here are the ones I did manage to find time to take. :laugh:

These brackets painted
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101001164912-1.jpg

Bumper and grille off
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101001164904.jpg

Where my PA speaker is located
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101001164948.jpg

Where my ballasts are for the HID lights in the fogs
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101001164930.jpg


Pics of Hooks...

Just uploaded some pics of the hooks..

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101003145449.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101003145453.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101003145512.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101003145520.jpg

[BulletsRain]

CB antenna Fail

Well, planned to mount my firestik today... but... we got in a hurry, drilled the hole way too big on the first mount, cut and grinded a second one, painfully drilled another hole. Then we drilled the hols under the driver side tail light, well a little in front of it... Well guess what? We never freaking measured the mount so it was way to short. It needs to be about 2 inches longer I think. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Pics..

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101009152551.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101009152556.jpg

Spot where it's mounted
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101009152605.jpg

Small tight hole to reach the bolts to put the nuts on. That hole made me mad.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101009152614.jpg

As you can clearly see, this mount = fail.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101009194902.jpg

More

Alright well first off, I got to drive in some dense fog this morning. I think it's weird because the camera pics look so much clearer than it actually was. At one point I was using my phone to drive because I could see the road with the phone and I really couldn't see more than 40 feet in front of me. Anyways, took fog pics.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012073233.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012073505.jpg

Got the mount done for the antenna.. it is Stainless steel, and I painted it black.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012155115.jpg

Location where I decided to put the bracket...
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012155129.jpg

Coax cable running through this hole
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012155138.jpg
This is right behind that removable panel in the rear cargo area on the driver side in ZJ's.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012155148.jpg

Also decided to paint this step thing
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012155211.jpg

I had to take a pic with the bumper off
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012155326.jpg

The mount done
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012180125.jpg

Antenna
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012180132.jpg

Another pic
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012180221.jpg

Step thing
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012180837.jpg

Random pic out when I was trying to tune the antenna tonight..
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101012190737.jpg




Okay... and now I think I have a problem. When tuning the antenna, I got really really high SWR's. I checked my coax, moved the washers around to see if that was it... nothing changed. It reads the same high SWR every time. I finally got a hold of my friend to see how the washer went, and I had them right so I was really confused. He said I should of sanded down the spot where the bracket mounted to the body, and I probably should of...
What do you guys think is causing the high SWR? I mean I know I mounted the antenna low, but I kind of figured it would still work... Do I need to raise it up more?

I just really want to get it right... I haven't had my CB hooked up in a long time. I want it back :laugh:

Any help is appreciated. ;)

[BulletsRain]

Rear trackbar on

Finally got the rear track bar on..
Adjusted the front and rear so now my axles are mostly centered. It also fixed my clunking noise, but I have a squeaking noise coming front up front somewhere on the right side. Probably a bushing on something.

I went to the off road place today and there was two lifted Zj's there. They were badass!

Anyways, pic
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101022154705.jpg

MOre Updates...

Well set up my old Wilson Lil Wil for a temporary setup to have when wheeling this weekend. Oh yea, don't know if I mentioned but my buddies and I are running some trails with Ozarks Jeep Thing this weekend. Should be a good time, we are hitting some light trails in the afternoon, then hitting mild trails around 7:30 p.m. so night wheeling! :thumbsup:

Hopefully my dad's work will make me the new bracket for my firestik soon, so I can get it on there. I'm also finally picking up my 5th spare tomorrow. It's taken so long because.. well I was low on money, and my 5th wheel had a tiny hole in it so it leaked air. Hopefully we fixed that problem.

Anyways, pic for the day.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101025165820.jpg

Off roadin pics

Well, one of my friends backed out from going because he wanted to watch the MU game, so we didn't go to SMORR. Instead we went to Gladetop in just my jeep, with 8 other jeeps. It was a fun time, my ZJ did great. It has some new trail badges too. It earned some trail stripes even, well maybe not some more like hundreds... :laugh::rofl: Seriously though, when you wheel on ATV trails, they can get pretty narrow. Nothing we can't buff out though. I was really impressed with my Jeep though, and I'm glad I finally got a chance to go.

I took some pictures, but I wish I would have taken about 100 more... :laugh:
We wheeled for about 7 hours, until it got dark. They were going to go up the road about 30 minutes and night wheel, but I decided I didn't want to chance braking anything, since I hadn't yet. :2thumbsup: We even did some rock crawling too, actually there was a lot of rock ledges and stuff, pretty small stuff, but for my first time out it seemed big. :laugh:
Anyways here are the pics.

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101030154816.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101030160217.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101030170302.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101030170432.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101030170622.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101030170643.jpg

[BulletsRain]

Christmas Spirit

Dang, I still haven't got that ARB Bumper yet. Luckily the guy is being very nice and still holding it for me. I haven't been able to sell my dirt bike yet, but hopefully this buyer will buy in the next week or so. I'm so anxious to get the ARB.

Meanwhile I haven't done much to the Jeep, but I did add a nice little Holiday touch today.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20101205141556.jpg

ARB bumper i got

Sorry it took so long to take pics of the bumper.. I started working on it today. I have it propped up on the saw horses. I'll try to get better pics when i work on it with my jeep out of the garage.
Still needs more sanding... but we got the dents mostly out. At least to the point that the areas look straight. :thumbsup: I'm debating just sanding the whole thing back to bare metal. But who knows :rolleyes:

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110103124253.jpg

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110103134356.jpg

Minor snow wheeling

Well went wheeling today at SMORR. It was fun. Turned out we only had 2 vehicles, but it was still a blast. We were the only two vehicles in the park the whole day. It was pretty muddy and sloppy, definitely in the valleys. There was still some snow covered trails though and the iced over creek which broke my bumper. Just more motivation for me to finish prepping and painting my ARB bumper!

I will post the video after I upload it on youtube!

Cool little part we had to go through.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110116141247.jpg

Getting ready to face the dreaded creek.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110116134142.jpg

Buddy got stuck in the creek, had to winch himself out. The Ice was about 6 inches thick, and he fell through and his rear axle got hung up.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110116134150.jpg


I wish I would have taken more pictures! The scenery was pretty awesome! :thumbsup:

[BulletsRain]

Video of me not getting stuck

Video is up! It was a crazy day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbaRK1cBzY

Had some fun climbing snow mounds Yesterday. Climbed some more today as well.

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/SNOWMOUND.jpg

Got the radio in Tuesday evening. Only took a little over two hours. I was surprised to find the people that installed my first one hooked up the speakers wrong. That's probably why it stopped working. Anyways, I took some pics of the install.

Oh... and I got a few more little misc. things... but I think I might be getting a new horn... :teehee::teehee:

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110125165906.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110125174525.jpg

Bracket is on the wrong way in the picture... whooooops! :teehee:
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110125174543.jpg

Yea I've thought about just spraying it, but it's been so cold here and I want the paint to dry good. If I can get it powdered coated for a decent price I will. IF it's too pricey I'll just paint it myself.

The Strobes turned out really nice IMO. They are cheap ones, which I really could care less. I really couldn't justify spending $80 for a single strobe light. That's why I cheaped out and got them for less than $20. Sure, they are cheaply made... But I can open these ones up and actually change every thing in them quite easily if one goes out.

I mounted them on the crossbar, evenly spaced. They have 3 different strobe modes and are actually pretty bright considering their size. I will get some pics from further away soon. My camera doesn't record the strobe pattern well, but here are a few pictures. The rear strobes haven't came in the mail yet, but they will be mounted inside the Jeep.

I'll get a video of them too. I had one, but they were just taped on for mock up and testing purposes. Now that they are mounted and aimed right it will be better.

Oh, and I need to get black zip ties!!!!

On the white before transition to the amber
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110130204018.jpg

Timed it just right.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110130204040.jpg

Got a few pics. It's been a crazy week. We have had 4 snow days, and I've been driving around trying to help people out.

Tonight I pulled a Yukon out of a pretty deep ditch. Then I directed traffic around another truck pulling a car out of a ditch. The strobes help so much in this kind of weather, which is exactly why I put them on.

The Jeep looking good while directing some traffic.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110204190302.jpg


But then somewhere after that, the bumpy, icy roads broke my rear left shock mount. The mount was broken when the shop that put my lift on replaced the shock. So they welded it back on then, but they must of done a really bad job welding because it broke again! :nono:

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110204211611.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110204211618.jpg

So now I gotta take the shock off until I can get it welded tomorrow or Sunday.

[BulletsRain]

my buddies with tjs both have XRC-8's. they are good winches just a little slow sometimes. but the XRC-10/12 would work great on our zjs IMO. and yeah my dad had recently just bought an air sander before i got the bumper so i used that and went to town haha i think i was using 100 grit IIRC. harsh enough to take down the surface but not leave scuffs and digs everywhere. once i was satisfied with the sanding i sprayed it down and wiped it dry and then started spraying.

I wish they would of went into production with the XRC 10HD. I'm kind of decided that the XRC 10 would work just fine. Winchdepot.com has them for $399 with free shipping and a free cover. :thumbsup:

I mean if I got the XRC 12, I'd be paying just $100 more for 2000 lbs more... but, the 10,000 lb is already more than double the weight of the ZJ, so I'd think it will do just fine.

Oh and my parking job at work yesterday. The rear sway bars are definitely hitting the coil springs when flexing. My previous clunk it back, and It only occurs when starting from a stop. So I am assuming it is the sway bars hitting the coil springs again...

Pics of Parking Job
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110207170050.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110207170058.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110207172532.jpg

The sway bars when flat on the ground... they seem close. Do they look right? After finding the front sway bars on wrong, it wouldn't surprise me if these got put on wrong as well.
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110207214101.jpg


MY JEEP NEEDS A BATH!

Snow Pic of the Day
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110209140004.jpg


After this I rammed two snowmen over.

In my defense, they were built too close to the road.

Well, changed the diff fluid out, painted the cover, and got it all back together today. It looks pretty good, I'll just have to get around the painting the axle when it warms up.

Although it didn't solve the problem. I checked the transmission fluid, and it needs to be changed but it isn't low by any means. I didn't check it while it was Hot and in neutral though...

How do you tell if motor mounts or transmission mounts are bad?

Also how many transmission mounts are there? I got under the jeep and tried to shake everything down there.. and nothing moved or had any play. All the control arms felt solid, although the bushings will need to be replaced soon.

When I test drove it after we changed the fluid there was still the clunking noise. I drove it around for a little bit too to let the fluid lube the gears... it was still clunking. I started noticing it is clunking when shifting into 2nd as well.

My Dad is calling up the transmission shop tomorrow and going to see if we can't take it by them and have them look it over and try to pin point it.
It's driving me crazy though.

Anyways... here are the pics from today :)
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110213125516.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110213125541.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110213125557.jpg
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/20110213134810.jpg

Yes the left wheel is off the ground. Shadows make it look it wasn't... but it was.

When video starts the Jeep is just idling in Drive.

When I say it wasn't moving... I gave it a little gas.


http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/th_20110215172101.jpg (http://s513.photobucket.com/albums/t339/BulletsRain/Grand%20Cherokee/?action=view&current=20110215172101.mp4)

[BulletsRain]

FOR UPDATES START AT Post #77 and go from there.

I'll try to keep this thing updated more.

[Bananabrain]

Can't wait too see that front bumper on. Also my truck has the same clunking noise when down shifting from 3rd to second, thats the only time it ever does it. Already checked my U-joints and they are fine, transmission fluid is ok same with the rear (wouldn't hurt too drain them & put some fresh fluid in) if you find anything out about the clunking let me know, mine could be having the same problem.

I like it when your buddy says your bumpers gone & your like its ok I have a new one. lol

[texan_idiot25]

How do you tell if motor mounts or transmission mounts are bad?

Also how many transmission mounts are there? I got under the jeep and tried to shake everything down there.. and nothing moved or had any play. All the control arms felt solid, although the bushings will need to be replaced soon.

There's one trans mount, a transfer case mount (I think it's just one), and 2 motor mounts. You're not going to be able to check it with your bare hands. Power brake it with the hood up, and watch the motor. This is what a busted mount looks like: :lol:

s9D7Q2CCMWk

Not only does it jump up several inches, but you'll feel it land back down on the mount's bottom. It's more of an annoyance than anything else, it can't break out of the mount like oldschool motors (Old school Chevy V8s and their mounts were notorious for this, which brought on the common practice of chaining the engine to the frame just in case). It will eventually tear up the trans mounts though from flexing them around.

I wouldn't be surprised if your TC is making the clunking noise. Mine does if you jab the throttle hard while rolling at higher speeds. Said to be a loose chain. It seems like every time I do something, the suspension creaks more and more, but everything is still tight underneath, guess it needs a good greasing.

Also, you know what's ****ed up? Compact spares. Innocent little twig went into my sidewall. Then it became a mad dash to get back to the street and to a gas station so I could air it up and get hom.

http://hphotos-snc6.fbcdn.net/172417_10150095763498579_669203578_6394206_599754_ o.jpg

This motorcycle tire is useless offroad.

[BulletsRain]

I have a full size spare. My jeep came with it when I bought it, and then I bought five 31x10.5's so I still have a full size spare.

The motor mounts were inspected by a shop and they said they are fine. I might go do that test though just to see.

I don't want it to be that chain in the Transfer case.... but it could be.

The transmission shop said my tranny and transfer case were all in great shape though... who knows...