XJ Mods VSB 14

[oldon]

Don't have a pic, sorry mate, can't get to jeep either. Convoluted Technologies in Sydney was where I sourced it, the stuff I used is called polygonal exhaust convolute I think. Look for it on ebay, put in something like convoluted exhaust flex & you'll see plenty. When ordering, the outside diameter of your exhaust pipe is the size you need. It's easy to fit, just chop a section out of your pipe, cut a section of the convolute allowing for a good overlap, slide it over with a coat of antiseize & clamp it down with stepped lap band clamps that are available from the same mob. There are other types available, woven stainless mesh is one, you'll see that if you look on their site. I put mine in front of the g/box x-member to allow flex between engine that moves on it's mounts & the fairly solid mount on the cat. The stainless mesh is probably more flexible but I went with the other as I was familiar with it from trucks. I think Rangers might have a pic of the stainless mesh one in his xj buildup on here, if it wasn't Luke I don't know who it was mate.

[alexbrown64]

I have a 2.5" x 6" braided SS flex pipe being express posted. I have fitted the headers and intake etc.. that part went well. Fitted the Wildcat down pipe and it hits the transmission. Its only just, and i can pull it away by hand, but it rests up against it. This would rattle and clang. I think they put a whisker to much bend on the down pipe where it sweeps under the tranny and thus hits it. Options are to get a muffler shop to heat the down pipe bend and pull a little of the angle out, or i can make a 5mm alloy spacer that would fit in between the header and down tube joint... thus lowering the whole thing 6.5mm (with the two gaskets).

Cheers,

[alexbrown64]

Its a sprint to the finish now...

My 6" flex joint arrived so i set about measuring everything up, and then went to the local muffler shop. I showed him what i wanted and he came up with a great job on it. I had decided to go with heating and bending the twin tubes to take some of the angle out. I gave the muffler bloke a hand and we tacked the 4 bolt flange to his work bench, heated it up and i pulled the bend out. It worked, and a trial fit up gave me about 10mm clearance under the tranny and everything lines up nice. The flex joint really does have a lot of flex and will take a lot of pressure away from the headers. It was getting dark, so tomorrow will be fit up time with lots of permatex tail pipe sealer and new clamps.

[alexbrown64]

On the home straight...

Got everything bolted up and kicked it in the guts.. started first kick. Lots of smoke and noise, but all seem to be settling nicely.

New high flow water pump, new rad, new thermostat and housing, all new hoses, including heater hoses.. 70/30 glycol mix,
Exhaust all buttoned up and fit well with headers about 10mm off the transmission.
Fans all rewired after a fault in a relay. Tested and first fan comes on at about 90C together with the Derale transmission cooler fan... sounds like an aircraft taking off.

Still a bit of testing to do, tidy up, reconnect front drive shaft, and sort out fault with one of my onboard compressors that drives the remotely operated oil adjustable Rancho shocks. (box on top left of pic)... then a test drive... just up the street as it still needs engineer, pit inspection and re-licensing.



Cheers,

[alexbrown64]

She is now ready for a test run.

Jumped under the XJ and fitted a missing sump bolt and then went around and nipped the rest up lightly. Most of them were only finger tight!

Compressor was an easy fix... it helps when you reconnect the red power wire!!

When i first started her up yesterday, i had a few drips of glycol hitting the exhaust and i noticed some liquid hanging from the bell housing. Removing the head, heater hoses etc... got a bit of glycol splashing around, so i am hoping its just a bit of residual, and not the dreaded rear welch plug. I went out with a blue light last night and there was glycol glowing green everywhere... so i gave it all a hose down this morning and will keep an eye on it.

One of the last things on the list is fixing the interior lights and replacing the globes with LED's which i am keeping an eye on another thread for info on that.

I have also been looking into making my own cheap pressure tester, using an old radiator cap, drilling out the centre and fitting a tube valve. Block off overflow tube, then using a pump with pressure gauge to pressure up to 16psi and check for leaks and pressure drops.

Cheers,

[alexbrown64]

Took her for a spin up the street and nearly all systems are go. LPG kicking in well, temps down, fans on, interior lights all back up to scratch, everything going well, except.... the ABS light comes on. A few months ago some of my wheel bolts had wound themselves in towards the brakes. They hit the ABS wheel sensor and was causing a clacking sound and the ABS light started coming on. I fixed up the studs, and straightened the sensor, but i think there must still be a problem. Start car, ABS check light comes on, then goes out. Drive car and ABS light comes on down the street.
Before Christmas, i bought an OBD1 scanner and it came with all the Jeep modules and ABS plug etc...
I think this is going to come in really handy soon to check error codes and find the fault..



Cheers,

[junglejuice]

Maybe the sensor is shagged...