Nate's crappy 93 XJ

Kevin B. · Dec 5, 2013

I love the weight reduction.

N-Smooth · Dec 5, 2013

Thanks man. I'm trying to make it light so we can use your balloon jack on it even with leaky exhaust

Kevin B. · Dec 5, 2013

Keep stripping weight like that and we won't need a jack at all.

N-Smooth · Dec 6, 2013

I was able to break away from being Mr Mom for a bit today so I took the ol' girl out into the field for some snow action. It's amazing how much more challenging the climbs are not only when there is snow but when the ground is really frozen. This climb was really requiring some hammer and I was glad to oblige.

And of course, no doors means snow just goes everywhere. I was driving through drifts and big puffs of powder were flying up in my face like I was snowboarding. It was fun. I can't wait to get out to The Snakes once they get a couple feet.

On another note, I'm happy with the throttle body cleaning. Throttle response seems a little more snappy. I'd like to get the bottom half of the TB bored, anyone know of a good machine shop that would hook me up?

N-Smooth · Dec 8, 2013

We got some great snow overnight! In spots it was over halfway up my 33's and I was fighting to keep moving. Other places it was just a nice Sunday cruise.

blznnp · Dec 8, 2013

were you driving this thing on mountain view corridor a week or two ago?

N-Smooth · Dec 8, 2013

Guilty as charged. You could even see me out in the field probably, right by Mtn View

blznnp · Dec 8, 2013

didn't see you in the field, but a week or so ago I was coming home and turning off on 78th to head home and saw a jeep just like yours driving south on mountain view. If you could go straight through at 62nd, that would be perfect for you to drive over to that dirt pit.

N-Smooth · Dec 8, 2013

Yeah, we had a showing of our house and I usually park my jeep somewhere but didn't plan ahead so I just drove it to my dad's house in Daybreak. It actually handles the road really well. I'm sad that it will be getting OHV registration after this month

I actually play in the field in between 56th-MV & 70th-78th. It's probably a block from my house to dirt. That's one reason I'm not sad about being in my house for a while longer. There were snowmobiles out there today.

N-Smooth · Dec 12, 2013

Got a few minor things done. Ordered up some cage padding finally. Something like $14 for 9 feet of it from Jegs. It's pretty cool cause it's thicker on one side. I'm putting it on the B pillars on both sides and toying with putting it above the door opening on the driver side cause I'm always hitting my head on that part. I'm thinking I'll duct tape it at the top and bottom to keep it from twisting and then throw some zip-ties in the middle. Ideas are welcome.

I also finally caved and bought a propane heater for these ridiculous temperatures we've been dealing with. I normally borrow my dad's "jet style" one but it's big, loud and burns the propane very quickly. Yes, it gets my garage to t-shirt temps in minutes but it's costly. I got a tank-top one from HF for like $60 and even got a new 3-ton jack (quick pump even) because my 10 year-old HF jack finally died. I love the heater and the jack! I had snow and ice just sitting on my jeep from Sunday and the heater on the low setting melted it all off in an hour or two.

N-Smooth · Dec 12, 2013

I've also been working on tuning it up since cleaning the TB the other week. I took the IAT (intake air temperature) sensor out of the intake manifold, cleaned it and moved it to the back of the airbox lid. There are a couple of reasons for doing this. For one, it's right next to the CCV which dumps oil mist into the manifold and gunks up (technical term) the sensor and two it will get a colder reading from the airbox and richen the A/F ratio. Supposedly the 4.0 runs pretty lean in stock trim. I intend to increase air-flow in and out of this motor in the future so it should be good for me. Some people say it's a stupid mod, others say it's awesome. I figure my jeep is the perfect guinea pig for such a thing. Plus I'm into it all of like $3 for the pipe plug on the manifold and some wire I had lying around for extending the plug wiring.

blznnp · Dec 13, 2013

When you say the torpedo heater was costly, how fast would it go through a tank? I need to get one an was leaning towards a torpedo one

N-Smooth · Dec 13, 2013

I used a tank in a weekend iirc. It's not even just that, it's how loud they are and the fact that I have a little 2-car. If I had a bigger garage I'd consider one.

N-Smooth · Dec 13, 2013

I posted a thread about the CCV system with no replies. I'm putting it here for future reference

xj_nate said:
So my '93 XJ 4.0 has a CCV (crankcase ventilation) system. It consists of one large elbow at the front of the crankcase that goes to the airbox for a clean air supply and an elbow at the back that has a small orifice and goes straight to the intake manifold for vacuum. I suppose the idea is to not over-pressurize the crankcase and to burn off all of the "oil mist" for emissions reasons. I hate it. The stupid orifice gets clogged very easily and it causes the famous blowby to happen, make the filter oily and in turn the throttle body and intake manifold are messy. When the orifice isn't clogged all of the oil mist goes into the intake manifold directly and makes a mess in there. On top of that, being that the jeep is 20 years old, the rubber and plastic lines crack and fail.
Here is a picture of the system. Yes the back elbow has duct tape on it because it is cracked.
View attachment 87212

My question is, since emissions are not a concern for my jeep as it is going to be OHV registered by the end of the month, what is stopping me from removing the whole CCV system? It would seem that not over-pressurizing the crankcase would be my only concern at this point... no? I'm thinking about getting another one of the front elbows (they're the same size), connecting them both with a T and putting a lame little breather filter on it. If it makes an oily mess I suppose I could rig a little oil catch can in before the filter. I would of course plug the hole in the intake manifold, just like I have for these other 2. And the line from the airbox as well. I need to finish up the one on the other side anyways as it's currently plugged with duct tape
View attachment 87213

Thoughts? Comments?

N-Smooth · Dec 13, 2013

I ended up doing exactly like I planned- two new elbows going to a single breather filter. I taped off the breather port on the airbox and added a zip tie for good measure. Lowe's was out of 1/4" pipe plugs so I put a vacuum cap on the intake manifold side until I can get the right plug. I think it turned out well and I'm happy to have no more oil on my air filter or in the intake manifold. That should make for a cleaner burn!

I also finally got my heater hoses buttoned up. Since I took out the heater core I just had one hose making an impossible U-turn so it was suction-ing closed. Since no one seems to make a U/180 degree, I threw a 90 degree elbow in there and it will work fine.

N-Smooth · Jan 16, 2014

I took off my links and tracbar and painted them and the brackets finally. They've been rusting since April!

Also got my rock lights installed. I've had them for over a year. They're LEDs, a string of 20 with 4 on each module. I put 4 on both front corners, 2 under the oil pan, 2 on the DS "frame" in the middle, 3 on each rear corner and 2 in the rear middle where the gas tank used to be. They have a very low amp draw and I have them wired off a relay that is triggered by the park lights. I've got enough switches as it is.

This is what they look like and they're just over $20 for the set of 20.

I could definitely use some more in the middle but it's hard to find a spot for them. I ordered another 20 so I'll figure something out. I also need one or two inside and under the hood would be cool cause the stock one sucks.

blznnp · Jan 16, 2014

are those the ones that I have seen on other forums, from china or something? they look good

TJDukit · Jan 16, 2014

Looks good, makes me want to add some more to mine.

N-Smooth · Jan 16, 2014

Thanks guys, I'm pretty happy with it. I have been night wheeling with just headlights since I broke my last halogen rock lights. I'm excited to use LEDs.

Yes they are from China. A guy on pirate sells them on his site horsepowerjuice. He charges like $15 more but you get them faster. I purchase them from suntekstore and just exercise patience lol

N-Smooth · Jan 25, 2014

Yay for WOTR!

I was screwing around on an obstacle on Double Sammy and it just went right over. Usually it will teeter a little and I know exactly where the tipping point is but it just went fast this time. It's a good reminder that it's not always going to be predictable. It didn't even really damage anything and they had me back over in like a minute.

Nate's crappy 93 XJ

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