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JK Write-UpsBulletin board forum regarding useful installation write-ups, budget fixes and homemade solutions for the Jeep JK Wrangler (Rubicon, Sahara, Unlimited and X).
earlier i mentioned issues with the transmission.. well see we got a pre LS 4l60e in robs budget search. its a 98/99 so it has the PWM pump so thats all good as it will work with the LS ecu. when we first fired it it sounded like it was just eating nuts and bolts.. short version is we didnt add the torque converter pilot adapter. 300 ls to 298mm pre ls... 2mm yeah biggggg difference. rob split the trans and popped an adapter in there.. all better....
rob sent me these videos... sorry for the grainy one, its what i got...
With any learning curve or 'product development' project, the goal is to find the right combination of parts that make the swap-or project- easier faster simpler etc but does not sacrifice quality etc... point in fact... on Robs LS build here, I used [2] elbows to make the 90* turn up off the water pump, subsequently [4] hose clamps... one outlet is 3/4 while the return is 5/8 on the LS pump. the Jeep is 5/8 5/8, so no matter the 3/4 still has to drop down. its what the parts store had on the shelf to solve the problem at hand. did it all work- yes. is it 'clean' - ehh acceptable but not the way we like to produce things. so I wanted to find a better- red rock- solution.
With a little more time to focus on these little things, I was able to source universal heater hoses with a single 90* bend in them and various different lengths on the long leg. Perfect- just eliminated [2] elbows and those 4 hose clamps. Ordering the 5/8 hose in the longer length, gives me the left over hose to make the run from the 3/4-5/8 reducer coupler to the firewall, cheaper than using bulk hose. 2 parts changes in the build= savings in 3 different places, plus time savings in eliminating 4 connections, also eliminating 4 potential leak spots. WIN across the board.
Addressing the LS Steam port issue- we need a steam port somewhere... $15 later, steam port 'T' for the return line into the water pump. splices into the heater hose. done.
when we get these kits into production, the return line will have the steam port splice already installed and clamped on the hose. same with the 3/4-5/8 reducer.
stay tuned for the GOOSE Build and you'll get to see the little differences in the installs.....
just got back from spending the week in MI, got some family time in and got some time in on the rigs. Tantrum is 95% complete, running and driving !!!
took it out on its maiden voyage the other night and everything did its job, trans shifted, etc... rob has since put some miles on the rig and is enjoying it OTHER than the fact he hates the muffler he picked. he said i didnt have to tell him 'i told you so' lol.... needless to say he is going to cut it out and put in something 'different.'
the cut files for the frame mounts worked out just as we thought so win there. going to make changes on the tabs with the skid plate mounts. got the engine/trans/tcase mocked up into the GOOSE.. seeing that i had it on the hoist, i went ahead an built the exhaust out for that rig whilst it was suspended...
ok on to some of the finishing tasks- shifter cable mounts for trans and transfer case
transfer case.... with the stock jk cable used a stock cable bracket off a patriot or something and cut it up to fit my needs. i didnt get a chance to copy it out onto cardstock so when i do the bracket again for the Goose ill be sure to get my templates done so i can turn it into a CAD file.
For the tranny and TCase cable connections I welded a stud in place and got rid of the ball and socket idea. Standard cable fits over the bolt and used a Nylok nut and two larger panel washers so that if the ball collapsed I would still be able to change TCase or tranny gears. My TCase came off on the trail in the middle of a mud hole trying to go to L range and left me in neutral. Hence the better idea than Mopar's.
sixty4x4... great minds think alike lol.. i did just that on the tcase lever- well close. got rid of the stud and for now, ran a bolt through it and the shifter cable eyelet. the stock shifter cable bushing was already long gone. the id of the eyelet iirc was about 7/16 so a 7/16 bolt a few washers and a properly adjusted lock nut and we're shifting. i ran into one issue but i think its resolvable with a new cable, and or like any other t case, it needs to be 'rolling' just a little bit to ease it into 4wd low. dead stopped the stock jk shifter cable doesnt have enough strength in it when it is extending into the 4wd low position and the cable starts to give/deflect. robs been chasing some other bugs lately and he has 2wd, 4wd high neutral without any issue so 4low isnt at the top of the list right now.
we had a sloppy shifter lever in the budget 4l60 he got. a call down to the local trans shop we use resulted in a 'those transmissions are notorious for the nut on the end of the shaft inside the trans backing off and creating the scenario you got." rob dropped the pan to find this said nut, hanging on the end of the shifter shaft by 1 thread, so we'd say this was our culprit.
as far as the front output on the 241c- got the AA adapter yoke for $60 and fit just like we hoped. absolutely surprising to us is that his stock front driveshaft- swapped out years ago to a woods DC shaft- fit the set up so no new driveshaft or additional cost needed there!
right now hes got about 80 miles on the jeep- primarily because he only lives 2.5 miles from the shop- hes made a few other runs around town and hes dealing with what we believe to be a stuck injector. stuck open injector . hes getting a pluff of smoke on start up, rich smell out of the exhaust and said he burned through 1/4 tank on a short run to his kids football game about 15/20 minutes from the house. i mean not surprising at all as the injectors have been sitting in the intake and im sure the PO didnt drain the fuel from the lines... and the engine had been sitting in the back of the shop for id say almost 3 years. i wouldnt be surprised if more than 1 were failing. hes got some new injectors on the way and hopefully that will be resolved this week.
budgetwise, rob did end up selling a six speed trans the other day so we'll take that $500 sale and drop it into the spreadsheet. I should be almost all done with the project spreadsheet -- as the jeep is running and driving. the only system that we have not 'completed' is the AC system. we got the AC compressor adapter in so rob just needs to figure out line and fitting placement. i left him a bag of fittings so he can tell me what works 'best' to complete the system. stock line from firewall to condenser, the #10 stock line will be cut and married to a new #10 line that will run to the compressor, then just have to build a new discharge line from the Compressor to the condenser with a pressure switch and high side pressure port in it. thing is temps dropped in MI the other day to mid 40s-60s so AC lines arent on the top of the to do list. ill just budget it out based on the fittings and estimated hose lengths as soon as he provides that info. if he doesnt get it to me in the near future, i should be at that point on the GOOSE build im doing here in AZ which is the sister build to Robs.
One thing I now know for sure on this build program... The stock GEN3 truck driver side accessory drive brackets WILL NOT WORK with the JK/JKU swap. The primary issue is the power steering pump assembly, contacts the stock JK gear box. either the engine would need to go back another 1 or so which cant happen with the exhaust headers, or the gear box would have to be moved forward that same 1+" which isnt going to happen. SO short version is that ICT brackets and a LS1 ps pump is going to be required- UNLESS theres a replacement saginaw type 2 pump out there with an external reservoir that will drop into the bracket and has the correct pulley offset. maybe ill give PSC a call this week and see what they know.
ok my apologies as i have been busy. have a hemi swap in from tennessee, working on the goose project which is LS retro swap #2, designing actual parts for the 'kit' from my original solutions in robs jeep here... as well as rentals coming in and out... and just was advised we have to find a new shop in MI as the landlord is selling the building and not renewing our lease soooooo Good Times
couple quick updates.. Rob took the jeep out on its shake down run last weekend and it did well. a few bugs to be worked out in the actual tune.. it needs to get an actual tune in it, not just the standard security vats delete and emissions shut off stuff. also rob split a trans line as he moved them when putting the ac bracket and compressor in and didnt secure them in the right spot... nor check the bump on the rig... so hes learning... a quick splice and some clamps and he was back on the trails. he said the stock jeep radiator worked and brought the jeep back into normal after hill climbs or obstacles.... but he said he would rather have a bigger radiator in it in the future. ENTER the radiator combo set up Im doing in the GOOSE build...
everything stock functions as it should other than AC controls from the factory switch. ac will be a stand alone system... lights, turn, windows, wipers, sprayer, radio, heater, defrost etc low speed and high speed fan functions as well.
over the last few weeks back here in az, i took my original solutions from robs jeep in reference the ecu mount, TAC mount, relay box mount for starters and created some prototypes with the help of my local plasma/cad guy. after my conversation with rob and cooling considerations, i started designing a new radiator mount set up that would mount a big 2 core 3" wide radiator with dual 12" fans... theres a few set up like this out there but their associated price tags just are seemingly excessive so i wanted to see if i could produce a similar product at a better price point... i believe that i will have achieved that.
DIY kit parts that will be coming out...
ECU mounting tray and ecu brackets
TAC module tray
Relay Mount bracket- tray tie-in
radiator mount kit for red rocks cyclone Radiator and Fan kik
trans cooler bracket and full kit- cooler mounts compatible with radiator upper mount
engine cover- matches radiator upper mount plate and gives the engine bay a trick look overall.
All in all its has been a fun project and ALOT has come out of it.... when rob was at the jeep event, he said if he wasnt driving.. he was talking to people... adding that guys from another offroad shop spent 30/40 minutes climbing in out under around the jeep... so i believe it hit its mark across the board.
OK for the numbers.... doing it ourselves with fabbing the majority the needed brackets from left over flat sheet or home depot offerings... and utilizing the the cooler mount and the old trans mount version 1.0 we repurposed from our hemi kits... overall it went well. the cooler mount you could make from HD flat strap and the trans mount from a piece of flat sheet as well but we had them readily available.... and will now make them readily available to everyone..
ok here we go... i figured out how to save the spreadsheet as a image but apparently not how to resize it lol
09-14-2022, 09:51 PM
right turn 
. hes getting a pluff of smoke on start up, rich smell out of the exhaust and said he burned through 1/4 tank on a short run to his kids football game about 15/20 minutes from the house. i mean not surprising at all as the injectors have been sitting in the intake and im sure the PO didnt drain the fuel from the lines... and the engine had been sitting in the back of the shop for id say almost 3 years. i wouldnt be surprised if more than 1 were failing. hes got some new injectors on the way and hopefully that will be resolved this week. 
