XJ Mods VSB 14

[alexbrown64]

Happy New Year everyone.

Well, i thought i better get a wiggle on. Started this morning on finishing off the wiring for the pod and stereo. I had so many wiring adaptors from Jeep to various double din stereo plugs.. i decided to clean it all up and chop off the Jeep plug. Then just wired directly to the Kenwood plug. Used those doohickies that slide over the joint. They have built in solder,heat shrink.

So, got the stereo all working nicely, including the reverse camera and dvd. Wired up the CB radio and Engine Watch Dog. Plumbed in the vacuum gauge and tested it. All good. Even had a listen to some clowns on the CB cursing everyone about god knows what.

So, everything is working well.. i just have to tidy everything up and replace all the panels etc.. then go for a few test drives to make sure all is OK. After that it will be time to make a few minor adjustments to the suspension.



Cheers,

[awg]

Did you use any particular method for polishing your alloy bumper ? (looks good)

thats one of the next stages in my pimping, modify & swap the bumper, mounts & tow hook across from my spare Limited, to my DD Sport.

make it winch ready

[alexbrown64]

Originally Posted by awg

Did you use any particular method for polishing your alloy bumper ? (looks good)

thats one of the next stages in my pimping, modify & swap the bumper, mounts & tow hook across from my spare Limited, to my DD Sport.

make it winch ready

Tony, i use Purple Polish. A few years ago, i modified the bumper mounts to accept a $50 universal winch plate. Then i slotted the genuine Jeep alloy roo bar to accept the winch. Then i hand polished the whole thing with the purple polish. It needs redoing, but the stuff works brilliant.





Cheers,

[awg]

Originally Posted by alexbrown64

A few years ago, i modified the bumper mounts to accept a $50 universal winch plate. Then i slotted the genuine Jeep alloy roo bar to accept the winch.
Cheers,

did a fine job to !

Hope you dont mind I will shamelessly copy your idea

looking at the alloy bar, seems you can drop the lower third (with the lights)
which would mean approach angle is not as adversely affected vs stock
(it has a bunch of tech screws holding it together)

The mounting brackets are also way different from stock bumper, seem to act as heavy duty tie in plates for front frame

[alexbrown64]

Originally Posted by awg

did a fine job to !

Hope you dont mind I will shamelessly copy your idea

looking at the alloy bar, seems you can drop the lower third (with the lights)
which would mean approach angle is not as adversely affected vs stock
(it has a bunch of tech screws holding it together)

The mounting brackets are also way different from stock bumper, seem to act as heavy duty tie in plates for front frame

Yep, i see what you want to do. You could cut that lower 1/3 of the bull bar off. You would loose those park light/indicators though. But, the XJ has park lights in the main headlight, and you also have those upper indicators. I actually have the ones on the sides working too. When i fitted the Bushwacker flares, i had to remove the small side indicator lights. I kept the wiring and bulb/holders and just mounted them in the big side indicators lights. I think a had to drill a big hole to mount the bulb/holder in there.

As you know, the Jeep alloy bull bar has massive 5mm plates that bolt right through the chasis in about 5 places. Very strong. I think the ARB bar for the XJ used those same plates. Also, as an option (ive got the brochure, but never seen any others) you could get the Jeep alloy bar with a winch fitted.

Love to see some pics of yours when its all fitted up. Its a good fun little project.

Cheers,

[alexbrown64]

Finally i finished the interior mods.

Wired the Double Din Kenwood stereo to work with my reverse camera. Connected the system to an antenna that is mounted on the bull bar. The pod took the most time. Vacuum guage working perfectly. Gauge light comes on with the other dash lights. Vacuum at idle reading a perfect 21 in-hg.

Engine watch dog running well. Max temp was 83C on the gauge. The aux fan kicked in, so thats working well too. The new ZJ fan upgrade seems to be working well. Parked in the driveway, Tranny temps didn't get over 35C. I guess when its in neutral, its stays super cool. I will monitor the temps and set the alarms at a later date.

CB radio works well. Went through a bunch of channels and just heard folk abusing each other. I am not a CB person, but it could come in handy some day.

All in all, the pod and stereo are a great bit of kit for the XJ. I have set up a magnetic adjustable mobile phone doohicky on the plastic facia where the clock normally would go. I can now place my mobile phone there and use it as GPS. Also the Kenwood stereo has bluetooth hands free.. I set up the microphone on the drivers side pillar.

A few test drives, then the next jobs are to fit the fan shroud around the ZJ clutch fan upgrade, and then tweak the suspension angles.





Cheers,

[alexbrown64]

On a bit of a roll, so i pushed forward with a few small projects on the Jeep. Fitted the shroud over the ZJ clutch fan upgrade. Had to fab a few brackets as it didn't like my aftermarket alloy radiator. Also fitted a decent latch to the rear cargo door, and a noise supressor to the FM radio.

I did some driving and a heap of idling. Temps never got over 90c on the Watchdog and just under half way on the gauge.

Next job is definitely checking the drive line angles.. and then finally, she will be ready to go in and get the G2 456 gears fitted up. Will take her to 4WD USA in Perth. Hoping they can fit the new gears and any bearings that need replacing and also test drive her to check for anything i have missed. She may need offset ball joints. Not sure yet, as i have my castor set up so that the front is very light on steering and does not pull. but when the front is reset, it may want to pull a bit.

Cheers,