ok - I trimmed about an inch off the back edge of the shroud and I think it is indeed expelling more air out of the shroud than before. Testing it today I do think it made a positive difference and isn't getting as warm as before.

The clutch fan still is not engaging, either at all or for sure as soon as I want it to (at least not that I can hear), but I'll worry about the why and what to do about it after Moab, and we leave a week from today. So, time to batten some hatches and pack the gear, put some gas in it, and get ready for 4 days of wheelin'.

My thoughts on how to improve the cooling are, 1) I don't know how to make the clutch engage any sooner, and as such I'll most likely upgrade to an electric setup, and I'll use a single fan with a 2-speed controller from Dakota Digital - that will give me an initial cooling fan speed, and a final/big load speed. The only thing about that is I really like the mechanical fan 'always' pulling air through the radiator - that works really good, but I want a little more, so I may look into a really thin puller fan between the back of the radiator and the clutch fan.

The guy at Flex-a-Lite told me that using a 'direct-drive' fan (no clutch) could cause premature trauma to the water pump bearings and shaft etc...but I'm not sure I put much stock in that.

I have thought about using the 4th Gen Cummins fan clutch with the electric fan clutch, but I'd have to make a custom 30-to-36 mm adapter to use the CTD clutch, then I think I could wire it up to a simple switch or adjustable thermostatic switch so I can dial-adjust when it engages. Maybe... 🤔

Anyway, it seems good to go, and so I'm snapping the chalk line now before I inadvertently jack something up now with no time to make corrections. Hell, after Moab I may discover that it works well enough that no corrections are necessary. I'll know in about two weeks.

- Sam

 

This is one of the best, most thoroughly documented, builds that I've seen on here. Lots of really thoughtful things done here. Very impressive.

 

Thanks very much . It's been a challenge getting this one just where I want it (I'm basically building a 2014 "CJ Unlimited"), and I'm happy to post the results of both what worked and what didn't, and I like to pay it forward so the next guy thinking of doing this stuff maybe can make way fewer mistakes than I have .

- Sam

 

So for a whlie, just a little while, I was "the next guy thinking of doing this stuff". But seeing what you went through, knowing your tool situation is a LOT better than mine, and knowing the limitations of my temper (mostly that, actually), I've decided there's no way I'm going to wade in as deep as you did on this project. I'm strictly sticking to upgrades and repairs on my JKU!

Kudos to you! Great job on the Jeep!!

 

Thanks for that Yeah I like my off-road machine to be dirt-simple and really easy to maintain, and all of the factory stuff tends to 'get in the way' of that...so I have to go to these lengths to make it strong, reliable, capable, and easy to maintain - just how I want it. I've always loved the size of the 4-door Wrangler...but not the computers and related stuff, and so I get into project like this, modifying things to be how I want it - kind of my curse. I like the idea of 'sticking to upgrades' too - a lot...but in my off-road world it's getting the machine to that point that takes the time and effort...and I always get wayyyy deep into the weeds.

ah'rhite - after covering a few more small burns with Neosporin and Band-Aids (welding upside down sucks), the rear bumper basically done; still a bunch of finish work and paint of course, but structurally it should be ready to protect the Jeep from bumps and bruises 👍 . With this done I'm snapping the chalk line and now getting cleaned and packed for the run to Moab. Like the sliders and front bumper the rear will also have expanded metal covering it for secure footing, and the center section will be removable for winch access, etc.

(pleahh!!) - The slog through all the cutting/grinding/welding/sanding just isn't much fun...but the results are worth it...(cough, hack)...

Here's my multi-function rear rock bumper/winch mount/running board/cargo step/tail gate - when complete the kids should be able to confidently walk around the entire Jeep without touching the ground, which will be helpful for 'access' to the roof cargo rack when in use -

 

last mod before heading out - got my Mac's D-vise ready to use - mounts easy and the tail gate can swing out, etc. Nice sturdy vise and hammer pad, but I wish the thing was made from aluminum - maybe that'll be the next edition. Ultimately I'll french it into the bumper but didn't have time for that for this trip, so this'll do -

 

ok! - Kilroy's Moab shake-down run was a big success ! Mechanically the Jeep did awesome - found a few places in the suspension I need to trim or adjust, but the 'core' appears to be good to go. Ran cool enough the entire time, tho I may still opt for electric fan setup for the radiator.

Thursday (day 1) we did Top of the World, and early on I noticed the idle was hanging open for several seconds before settling back down, and fortunately we were still in range of a cell tower, so while crawling along I called Scott at EFI System Pro, and he suggested I adjust the TPS, which seemed to work.Friday we did Hells Revenge, and I think the idle was just a tad too low - it stalled once on TotW and once warming up for HR, and I had the immediate panic that the injection was faltering again, but I had the thought that I might just have the idle a tad too low, so I monitored things and it didn't stall again so I left it alone.

Saturday we did Poison Spyder, and right after I backed it off the trailer it stalled again as it was warming up, so I gave the idle screw 1/2 turn, and that seemed to cure the stalling issue - never stalled again rest of the trip 👍 . Then towards the end of the trail, I started to notice a 'raw fuel' smell, and again paniced thinking the gas tank was leaking...but it turned out to be the charcoal canister was 'venting' out of the fresh air inlet...which it's not supposed to do...and that issue is my #1 curiosity for the trip. I have a fuel vapor evap system but I'm not sure it's working correctly, so I'll need to put some time into figuring that out. There was no fuel vapor smell early on, which is when the tank is full, and when the chassis is cool - my first thoughts are it's happening because everything back there is 'hot'...but it could also be because the evap purge valve isn't working...or it's also possible the drop in fuel level is causing a 'vacuum' on the system...all of which I need to figure out. I need the tank to vent, and I was opening the fuel filler cap...but there was no 'fssshhh!!' - so I don't think the tank is creating a vacuum when the fuel level drops. Anyway, small stuff to figure out.
Then there's our '14 Ram 4500 tow truck. Driving out was completely uneventful, but mid way through the trip I noticed 'something' in the turbo/exhaust brake system making some sort of intermittent 'whistle' or 'shrill' or 'squeal' sound going between exhaust brake and throttle...ish...difficult to pinpoint exactly when...and not consistent...kind of occasionally but definitely not all the time...and man was I worried the turbo was crapping out...but the rig made the 9-hour trip home without a problem...so I'll dig a bit into those symptoms to try to figure out what that might be.

Overall a very successful...and very stressful trip. The entire time I was just 'waiting' for something to falter...for something to leak...for something to crack...or overheat...but the issues were minor and none were show-stoppers nor anything that required major trail maintenance - just an allen wrench one time to adjust the TPS. Oh, my fold-out trailer fender cracked a tab so I made a quick trip to Ken's for a quick weld repair - that was the only thing, and that ain't bad.

Now...it's time to take a break and relax a bit...and eventually I'll get back into the groove and start to 'finish' the Jeep a bit more - paint, trim, accessories, and hey maybe lights and wipers too!

Changes. Definitely going back to ram-assist steering, and probably electric fans...but not much else.

- Sam

 

...pretty sure I've discovered why my charcoal canister wasn't working properly/venting out of the fresh air intake port - I don't think it was actually 'purging' at all because I had the plumbing slightly off. I had the purge valve opening via the p-side 3/16 full manifold vacuum port, meaning it's always open, and I had the purge valve thru-plumbing going to the air cleaner, which probably wasn't a very good vacuum source. I'm going to plumb the purge valve opening circuit to the ported vacuum port (about 10% throttle to open) with full vacuum via the other port to quickly evacuate the plumbing and charcoal canister, but in doses, which should work just fine. Fine tuning...

This is how I'm going to route things now -

 

Full hydro setup is sold, and installation of the Big Bore box and associated hardware is in work. Meanwhile, some pics from Moab





Jeep wasn't ready for driving on the street...and instead of unloading it at the condo every night...



Victory pose on Top of the World

 

ok - I've been wanting to confirm what the individual ports on the big "rollover" or "main" or "whatever-it's-actually-called" valve on top of the JK gas tank, and to that end I went to the local u-pull-n-pay and nabbed a Ram tank with the same valve on it (apparently sharing the same main valve on many Mopars over the years).

To keep things clear as old fuel, here's a pic showing the terms I'm using -

Main valve -


underside -


Rollover/transfer valve -


underside -


First thing I wanted to confirm is whether or not the smaller rollover/transfer valve would leak fuel when submerged and upside down, so before I extracted the valves, I turned the tank upside down and filled the back end with water, and indeed confirmed that the rollover valve will not leak liquid when completely submerged and upside down - I think all it does is allow fuel/vapor to 'transfer' from front of the tank to the back, and vice versa.

Next, I cut out the two valves from the tank - the main valve and the rollover valve - trimmed the edges of the main valve, bolted it to a Homer bucket lid, filled the bucket with water, attached the lid, and turned the whole thing upside down to see what leaked out of where. Nothing seemed to leak from the rollover port, but the big vent and small vent initially leaked some water...but then stopped leaking - I guess there is some sort of valve in there to prevent excessive drainage when submerged and upside down - in my case when the front of the Jeep is up on a big obstacle and all the fuel is fully pressing against the valve - I wanted to know if fuel would just 'gush' out the big valve (which I am using solely as my filler neck vent)...and now I know that a little will leak out - maybe half a pint?, then stop, and that's good news.




Next, vapor venting. Using some compressed air, I hit each of the three ports to see what air escaped from the other two ports. Hitting the rollover port, a lot escapes out the main vent and a tiny bit out the small vent. Ok not bad - again this is a vapor test. Air in the small vent causes a tiny amount out both the main vent and rollover vent. Couldn't get a good seal on the main vent, but it didn't seem to result in much out either the small vent or rollover vent.

Then, the 'filler-up' test. With the lid on the bucket, I drilled a small hole in the lid, then hit it with air - the main vent indeed vented a lot, which is why when I fill up the Jeep it fills up fast and shuts off the pump perfectly. I have the main vent going directly to the filler neck exiting about 3 inches below the cap, and it seems to work perfectly.


Here's how I have the big main vent going direct to the filler neck -


I have the small vent (the overall tank vent to the charcoal canister) going directly to a charcoal canister, however I only had about a foot of hose between the vent tube and the canister. Knowing the small vent leaks a bit of liquid when submerged (or in my case with the front end up on a steep obstacle), I think there may be a decent chance of some fuel making its way through the tube into the canister, which I don't want. So, I'm going to add a couple more feet of tubing to the equation as well as a 1/4" clear fuel filter (Wix 33001), so I can actually see whether or not any fuel is leaking past the valve towards the canister, and if so it'll just puddle in the filter before making it into the hose.

Doing all of this along with the [fuel vapor purge valve] plumbing adjustments described above and I think I'll have a pretty decent way of venting fuel vapors to the throttle body. I may also add another length of hose to have the fresh air draw come from the air cleaner hat, which should fully seal the system.

So...I know this all doesn't exactly 100% verify how the big mongo main valve actually functions on these tanks, but for me it does eliminate some of the ambiguity. And again, I'm just trying to keep the immediate area around our Jeep smelling more like a newer vehicle and less like an old musclecar - as 'clean' as prudently possible, and while these tests aren't exactly 'laboratory' precise and a Homer bucket certainly isn't exactly laboratory certified equipment...for me it suffices well enough in trying to find a suitable way to keep things good enough for my simple machine. I'm diggin' it 👍

- Sam