Search and Rescue JoKe (2014 JK)

[SuperBuickGuy]

I'm a good week away from getting the majority of the parts, but did the shop shuffle and got into where the work will transpire

maybe if I just drop it, it'll fit?

so background
I loathe Jeeps. Poorly built, and filled with trail Barbies. So what does my wife choose to transport her Search and Rescue (herein SAR) bloodhounds? a Jeep. We've owned it since new, it has 200,000 miles on it, almost didn't make that when the idiot Jeep dealership monkeys couldn't put a fuel line on (and it sprayed gas throughout my garage.... but I digress. I've spent a lot of time making this the 'perfect' pet carrier for my wife and when the engine got tired, I convinced her that a r2.8 with TR4060 was the right choice... truth is I'll make this less Jeep thus it will have less hate from me. As I don't want to build another vehicle for her, this one gets rebuilt. She has a diesel Colorado to drive in the mean time - and who knows, I may source a pig body and really confuse the other haters with it... but for now, repower.

to give context on how much I don't like it... this was its first visit to the internet

With that said, it's a manual-equipped rig

I'll post pictures of the other mods to this as we go along, but it has electric powered a/c, fans for dog cooling, inverter power to recharge batteries, 'house' batteries, water tanks, awning, and 2 kennels for dog segregation, plus lots of drawers, shelves and such to allow her to store all her gear.
this is the 3rd little terrorist we've owned - and she did pass her national certification today.... she's a bit larger now.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

psyching self up to work on it.
I will say here for those who don't know me... my wife came encumbered with a Smart Car and a Prius. Now she's got a Jeep and drives a diesel Suburban as backup..... so this is such a far eclipse of what she had (though the Smart car was fun in a barstool-that-handles sort of way) before that I really should focus on that.... but it ain't a FJ40 so it will always be the bastard step child.

so far so good

for those wondering how to get the airbox base out... pull violently... works great

things progress

the last major parts arrive next Tuesday... hopefully I'll be ready to stab by then.... I may have a project or two also going along in the background

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

not much to photograph.... just removing parts

and fluids

 

[BILT4ME]

I think you have the second worst potato-cam I've seen on here.

FOCUS!

I keep cleaning my glasses thinking it's me.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Spent the day mostly on the Heep
first underside

got the trans and transfer case out

then time to start pulling the motor

and got here - just need to disconnect a lot of wiring.... not sure why they have a huge plug on the top.... sure be easy of that was the full connection, but nope

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

big hole

at some point, I'm going to sell the motor and trans.... but not before it's working again

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I realize I should re-introduce the JK in its current configuration...
the centerpiece is a double kennel over 2 drawers which covers the battery box.

One window is removeable and I'll fix the other one to be removable as well in this rebuild
front has better radio, HAM radio, and seat heaters

there is a seat that fits in half this space, I'm going to do better when this is done because it was cumbersome at best

otherside, stainless prep shelf (so she can do food and stuff on it), under are 2 drawers with clear faces so she can see, also there are lights above the drawers so she can see at night

and frankly there's a landing light amount of lights inside because most SAR missions are at night
Outside it still has the foxwing which opens 270 degrees and provides weather protection

and all of that will be gone when I rebody this - still don't know which - Land Cruiser or Land Rover but that's the next step after this swap works right

I hate working on dirty stuff, so today was cleaning

pretty sure I can use the stock radiator

and all that dirt came from the radiator..

need to get some bolts tomorrow to bolt the engine to the stand

and tomorrow there should be a picture of all the rest of the parts.... still need to drain the fuel tank but it's the season for mowing lawns so it's good timing - what's fun is I have 2 gas-powered vehicles now - which makes using up the gas actually an issue

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

shiny new parts

more shininess

new motor mounts

maybe I should get the gas out

well look a hole

seems like a lot of room, but it's not

well sure, if I use the gas axe

stuffing

oil filter - you have 2 (maybe 3) options with the kit - to remote relocate... problem is... where?

another view of the problem

there's another unseen problem - the shifter is about 6" too far forward
I might cheat 3" before a major firewall remodel

I've seen this fit - so I know it must but at this point... wow is it tight

a/c won't fit in the 'stock' location but I have a mid-mount... problem is I'm not sure it will fit there either

yet still, I've done tougher but it is going to be quite a mountain to climb

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

onward
I can set the transmission on the original cross member - it needs a lot of work to make it work but it works

time to move it back over where I can move it with the crane

the crane

it all needs to come back out to put this bracket in place

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

clutch fitting
storytime, I have a person at Centerforce 'looking' and a message to Quickdraw about what clutch/pressure plate works with this system.... so far, crickets. While I'm waiting (4 days and counting) for their input, I did this.
Removed the clutch/pressure plate from the stock set up and bolted it in place on the new flywheel.

with 'new' throwout bearing in place

so here's the problem, it does bolt up but it may not work. I had a double clutch setup for a LS/t-56 combo, it bolts in place on an 11" flywheel (thus can 'fit') on pretty much any V8 GM vehicle.... problem is it doesn't give enough room to fully disengage the clutch.... this one - I don't know, my calibrated eyeball says the fingers are too tall - thus it will start slipping pretty quickly as there isn't enough pressure on the flywheel to hold the clutch in place... the aftermarket bellhousing allows for quite a bit of adjustment but I'm still stuck back on the 'may not be enough pressure' .... will call other manufacturers next week because clutch/pressure plates start at $700 and I really don't want to deal with something that doesn't work - because there's no returning a used setup.

so I wait. I have the new shift setup on order - meaning I can't set the engine in place until I know where everything is going to land (especially in the vertical). I also maybe put a short lift to gain some oil pan clearance (which my wife won't like)....

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

spent most of the day, doesn't look like I did much at all
of course, to get that a/c pump in place required removing the motor... but that's easy

and while I was in there, remove what was left of the motor mounts... note the rust?

mark my words, that will be a Jeep buy back eventually.....
before removal of the plate

now nice and polished up

then started the process of designing a rear mount

yep, that's all....

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

starting to narrow into where the motor is going to live
as usual, starting with the rearmost

it's in there, but not right - the motor's rotation threw me off and I got the trans 3/4" to the passenger side... ah well

this rotation... what a pain to get it leveled

but now it's about where it needs to live

the biggest headache is this low pressure line on the ps pump. It can't be rotated - it's cast into the housing

after getting it in place, I have plenty of room behind the motor (thought I will put the radiator in place before I go full weld

not sure how these "for a JK" mounts are supposed to work. If you weld them to the frame the upper control arms will hit them

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I think I'm to the point of fab. Maybe.
I finally bought a engine holder.... which allows me to compress the suspension

and try different altitudes

the most challenging spot

well now all I have to do is fab mounts... all

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

time for mounts

driver's side

actually sitting on its mounts... that said, the passenger side sagged so there will be some cutting and lifting tomorrow night

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

another day on the heep

cross member finishing

fun fact, cat can't stay on with the motor mounts in place

yes, now flat - the biggest problem was the mount compressed more then an inch... this compresses but only like 3/8"

motor mounts welded and painted

other mount welded and painted

in other news, why I hate heeps.... see the stud? that is right dead on top of the transmission... creates clearance problems and a fantastic way to take skin off hands

truth be told, I'm not a fan of how this fits in the Jeep.... my wife is not tall, so a reasonable lift just isn't a good idea (happy wife, happy life) I'm still lifting in 2.5 inches but the right way would be to lift the Jeep 6" or so and lower the motor... probably why a friend went with a 4BT... that said, I didn't because, while I think the 4bt is a fantastic motor (heck, even had a NA one in a case skid steer), making the motor as close to turn key/self tuning was the key to going with the e-version of the 4bt

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

onward, installed the clutch and adjusted the clutch fork

tomorrow, install... though I realized that I'm going to have one problem - I don't have the plug for the top of the transmission (reverse switch).... hope I can get it later - all that money for a installation package... not seeing the value in them

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

unchained

clutch installed

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

time to make some bits to keep from dropping a very expensive transfer case

and installed

had to modify the t-case control bracket to fit

quickdraw brands. screw them. 3 weeks ago, I asked them for pictures or drawings on how this goes together - f***ing crickets. Never buy from them, they're no cheaper then what you can compile yourself - and with everyone else, you get instructions.

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.... for the money it costs to get stuff from them, and the radio silence when asking even the most basic of questions.... I hear they'll be at SEMA... yeah, we will talk... might even record it.
that list:
belt is wrong? it clearly is because even the Cummins manual shows the belt routing like I have it.
who needs the air intake box they sent? unnecessary and a needless expense - pretty sure it won't work
the shifter - they sent just a gear shift - there is no f****** way, you need a 5 1/4 offset shifter (and the bonus is the shifter doesn't work with it)
no instructions for the motor mounts
missing trans mounts (part of that cricket conversation above)

in happier news, driveshafts are in... little bit of work on the cross member and that's done.
checklist:
driveshafts: done
clutch: done
motor mounts: done
trans-mount... just a bit of die grinding

I'll try to get a belt tomorrow... while I did have options on routing for the 6.5 - I don't see another way of running this so I get an inch or so more of length.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

got some parts today - didn't do a lot because I have another project coming in tomorrow.... just what I need, right?
shout out to AEV, I've never had trouble with any part they supplied

2 1/2" lift... of course Summit is now shipping from wherever they feel like - so nothing arrives in one box anymore

Jeep is turned around so it's on the lift correctly - before, without the motor, it really doesn't make a difference but now... yeah, she's a big girl

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

time to reinstall the core support

then the pieces I got yesterday

starting with the back

bumpstops.... I like this kit, well thought out

anyway, that's it for tonight....