Dang those are some tall springs.
Pump didn't get returned in the metal cradle I sent it in, so a solenoid broke. They are sending a replacement.
Dang those are some tall springs.
Pump didn't get returned in the metal cradle I sent it in, so a solenoid broke. They are sending a replacement.
Beep beep
Dang, jeep is fun. Everyone should own a vehicle they can just aint care all over the place.
Has been doing this weird long crank thing, if its cold. Starts fine, sat for a week? Starts fine. Sat for up to an hour? Starts fine. Sits for 4 hours after getting full heat into the engine? Long cranks. Found some TSB's about the long crank, a few of them pointed to the fuel pump. PO said he tested the fuel pressure and it was being lost towards the pump, made sense.
Changed the fuel pump, still long cranks but only for like half the time haha. I also changed the fuel filter, which internally has the fuel pressure regulator... that was interesting because the inlet and the outlet were marked as such, but the "flow" direction on the filter itself was opposite the inlet and outlet which is cast into the plastic mold of the fuel filter. I just put it back got the old one was, which was probably the original fuel filter.
Also changed the plugs just for fun, see if maybe there was a sticky injector, one plug would look different etc etc. Nope, the electrodes were eroding so they were pretty old. They were NGK, so have been changed, but not for a while.
Then I changed the springs, I got metalcloak dual rate springs from a TJ, advertised as 6" lift springs but net 6 1/2-7" of lift on the WJ's. You just have to cut this pig tail off the top of the front springs and everything drops right in.
This kind of solves a few problems all at once. First off, the rough country springs were too soft and when I set the winch on the front and the bumper on the back, it squatted the whole rig. These tires are already too big, so that wasn't helping anything. Next, it had 4" lift springs and 2" puck spacers.. which is kinda bush league and didn't get me the lift I need for these tires, they can also pop out of their perches at full droop. Metal cloak springs are for a fully loaded unit, winches, bumpers, sliders, gear etc.. so they don't squat excessively when loaded up and the dual rate also means they have the longest extended length of any similar spring on the market, so they shouldn't pop out.
On the tallest settings for my jack stands and on blocks I had to use a spring compressor to get the new springs in with the axle sitting on the ground. So.. it sure feels like these should never fall out. When I got to this point I also realized that the old spring spacer removed the factory rubber spring isolator on the rear bottom coil spring, so I had to order those. I did set the springs in and flex'd the whole truck out so that I could order extended bump stops to keep it from stuffing the tires and flares.
When I first dropped it on the ground it worked out to about 1 1/2" lift all around from the old springs.
I drove it over about 50 km of gravel roads, then down some quad trails, then across a rocky shore, back and forth to town a couple times and it settled in such that the total lift after settling worked out to about another 1"
I also got a roof rack and put the spare tire up there for now, bonus round a 37x13.50 mud terrain with a 17x9 steel wheel weighs around 125 lbs lol.
Setting the bumper and winch on with these springs it hardly budges it, and the ride quality I would say is still comparable to the softer springs.
Once I get the spring isolators in, I have to remove the springs for the bump stops, then I can move that rear axle rearward (right now it is too far frontwards) to make more room at the front of the rear tires for the flares (and so the bump stops actually contact the factory rubber bump stops), I can then set the pinion angle and install the lengthened driveshaft so that I have more slip yoke engagement.
Basically, the driveshaft length needs to change as the suspension cycles. It does this by having a yoke in the transfer case that can slide in and out as needed. When you lift the whole thing 7", that is longer than that driveshaft was ever intended to be and people's driveshafts will fall out or their output shafts can snap off the transfer case due to the limited engagement. There are a couple remedies, cheapest (cheap jeep) is just getting a longer driveshaft, I got one that came with the jeep so that's what I am doing. You can also get a kit to eliminate the slip yoke in the transfer case and the movement then comes from the driveshaft instead.
Also, before installing the flares I am going to fix up those rear arches. Re-bend the metal so it looks better, then tack that in to place, then seam seal over the joints and paint with a rubberized undercoating. Then the flares can go on.
Also frigged around with the cars a bit,
Also frigged around with the cars,
Bought additional car storage, so moved the 3 and 6 into there. That was a production.
Took them all for a little drive to get the fluids moving around, get the brakes moving, clutches blah blah.
Moved the OG Advans from the 6 on to the 7, I actually like it a lot.
Evo 7 AYC/ACD pump came in, found that one solenoid had snapped off in shipping. Company shipped a new one, got that installed, then installed the pump back into the car. In the process of bleeding it, I found that the other solenoid was leaking. I assumed it was the o ring, took it out, replaced that, re-installed it, re-bled it... then noticed it was still leaking. Removed it AGAIN to find that yup, the other solenoid had also broken.
Installed
Bleed box hooked up, I bought this one off a guy for too much as it turns out this is a cheap copy. You should only run the pump 5 seconds at a time, while doing so it smoked that on button. I ended up having to jumper it to get the pump running, and jumper the other buttons which were also garbage. It actually started smoking, so that is nice.
The crack I hadn't noticed that was leaking.
Got to working on the jeep, and dang does this thing droop that rear axle and dang do I wish I had a lift lol
Highest setting of my jack stands on some sketchy wood I still couldn't drop the rear axle far enough to get the springs out without the spring compressors.
The old bump stops, there is an upper spacer that you can remove. Of course that bolt broke. I drilled, and drilled, and drilled, and drilled with my crappy Canadian Tire drill bits and went through about 20 of them (yes I was using a drilling lubricant rapid tap), then I broke an ez out in there. So... I just cut the mounting plate that houses the captive nut out. Then had to run to town, grab my brother's welder, re-wire a plug in the shop for 50A 220 plug, then just welded new nuts in and welded the plates that housed the captive nuts back on, so that I could install these iron rock offroad extended bump stops. When you raise it without extending these, and then have too big of a tire that it shouldn't have, a guy needs to extend those bump stops so the tire doesnt stuff so bad on full flex and limit it just before that stuff.
Captive nut welded to the plate
Welded back in, bump stop installed
Then I was able to set the axle distance perfect. You drop those control arms, screw out the heim joint, re-install, use a digital angle finder to set the pinion angle to match the transfer case angle.. and boom you're set. At this point I went to install the lengthened rear driveshaft it came with to find... it fit but it was too tight. I had that all dialled, like dialled. The bump stops were making perfect contact with the uppers extended ones, the pinon angle (of 6.10 degrees was perfect)... so what choices did I have?
If I put the stock length back in, it was running with like 30% yolk engagement.. not good. After moving the axle back, I stressed that to 25% maybe? If I am being generous? So that wasn't to work.
I decided to just push that axle further back, yet again (re-set the pinion angle) so that I had 3/4' of inward movement on the slip yolk (this might seem tight, but you have to think as the rear end articulates and moves, the distance is set by the rear control arm, which is fixed basically just behind the transfer case. Essentially, what happens is the axle movement is backwards as well, as it goes up. So, 3/4 is fine.
Eventually, I am going to remove this rear driveshaft, take it back to pat's driveline, have them remove about 1" then move the axle back to where I had it and where it needs to be.
ALL THINGS THAT COULD JUST BE FIXED WITH A 35" tire as well lol. These tires are just too big, but they look too rad for me to care... also this is cheap jeep, I don't want to spend tire money.
WRT to the long crank on the 4.7 - I had exactly the same weird symptoms - it ended up being 2 injectors weren't sealing properly, popped all of them out, pressurised the rail (CAREFULLY) and found the 2 culprits. Popped new ones in and never had a long crank again.
In reply to paul_s0 :
Interesting, it does seem better with the fuel pump replacement, but once in a while it still does that if the engine is warm. I did find a TSB about a re-program for that year for those temps it seems to happen at. BUT, I am more suspecting of the injectors already since I was losing pressure at the rail. I have tried to run a couple cans of injector cleaner through to cheat the system but so far it hasn't worked lol.
Took the 6 and 7 to a local meet in the smoke.
New solenoid was expedited to me, installed it, everything seems to click but I don't think the bleed box is working. It actually started smoking, so I have a new one on the way. Its either that or the pump has some issues and isn't pushing pressure (whether that is because the pump plate was damaged from residual media blasting, got burned out [I was only running it for 4-5 seconds at a time so I doubt that's the case] or the bleed box just isn't working [smoke usually isn't a good sign of things working well]) is too be determined. (or it is just cavitated and has some air pockets)
For now, at least I have the pump in place, no more leaks, and can drive the car around.
Nobody cares about the jeep, so here is some more jeep update. This jeep is probably the best 5000$ I have ever spent and I am having fun buying cheap plentiful parts from rock auto, and fixing simple things easily. Plus, its fun to wheel.
Made the mistake of looking at the rear brakes while I was frigging around with those lower spring isolators.
Rear pads were living on a prayer,
Rock auto'd some brake pads from the RSS feed, then went and selected a cheaper set of rotors from the same warehouse which was a name I actually recognized. Went with a semi-metalic pad to get some more initial bite.
Everything went together without a fuss, the hardest part is getting these tires on and off lol.
Rears:
Fronts:
I also ordered these hubcentric rings, which the guy at kal tire said was a very "specialized item", which makes me wonder how many trucks are out there that are lug centric like this unit was when I got it.
The jeep always had some pulsing on the brake pedal, which is now gone. The tires also kinda shook a little at highway speeds (but better than I was expecting with rusty old steel wheels and 37x13.50 mud tires.. for those that don't know, difficult to balance. Even with 285/75/16 in the past I have had to resort to the balancing beads in the tires), that is also like 95% gone now? I assume that is due to the hubcentric rings. I also feel a lot better with hubcentric vs lugcentric.
Also, with fresh fluid and the fresh rotors and pads, after bedding them in, the braking feel is much improved. Feels like I actually improved my stopping distance pretty significantly.
Hey, pretty sure I found your old car: https://www.starquestclub.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/150442-finally-got-my-beloved-starion/
Seems to be in good hands.
obsolete said:Hey, pretty sure I found your old car: https://www.starquestclub.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/150442-finally-got-my-beloved-starion/
Seems to be in good hands.
That's it. New owner is taking care of it, we still chat about it every now and again and he keeps me updated. Super nice guy.
Did some work on the Jeep today
Shock mount broke, I noticed it during brake job.
Then it broke broke lol. Popped out while I was frigging around in the dunes.
One of the tabs broke so I had to repair the bracket
Fixed
New rotors and pads are good, I drove around for a week with them without issue, but then when gf was driving it she lost the pedal.
Bled the brakes, seems fine now but I’m still confused why I lost the pedal. You could pump it and get it working. Couldn’t find any leaks, evidence of witness marks, nothing. I did get a bunch of air out of the front right line when I bled it, so let’s never think of it again.
Mounted the winch finally. Took a long time.
“Bridge was here”
I did notice it was crunched but wasn’t sure yet how it would complicate the winch install.
Turns out it was really crunched lol.
So anyways. I started cutting… and winching and pulling lol.
And ended up pulling my truck and the Jeep around
I also installed the ac condenser again now that that bent metal was out of the way.
It was actually a pain to move that metal at all. Eventually I cut a bunch of reliefs cuts, but some of the metal was so fatigued I just rebuild it with some 1/8” steel.. which isn’t pretty, it it seems strong.
Anywho, didn’t love the idea of 3 bolts on the bottom of the frame rail then those two on the upright section with that E36 M3 metal I welded in, tin can on the other side and didn’t love that the moustache bar was bent and vulnerable. So spent a bunch of time welding tabs on the moustache bar and getting that straight, then built a guard out of 50$ of material.
Mounted everything, added new fasteners to the winch plate to the lower guard, used some m10 rivnuts in the moustache bar, used a bunch because I don’t know how strong they’ll be, but I think everything working together will be beef cakes.
Painted everything this morning, and mounted it up.
Wired everything so it’s also hidden.
Trimming the bumper… could have been done better but I think it turned out well.
Haven’t posted in a while but still doing stuff.
Jeep finally got the fender flares on, rear arches welded up, seam sealed then painted.
What I had to work with.
Welded
Brush on seam sealer masked to paint
Painted
Didn’t like this gap
Built these
Installed the flares
Went hunting
Made it home
And somewhere in there I installed those LED pods and sold the Pajero.
So fun story, new bleed box arrived couldn’t get it to bleed. Sent the pump back under warranty, months later they fixed it and didn’t really say what was wrong, but I installed it and everything is working great. First time the ayc has worked since reaching Canadian soil.
Another fun story,
Back in 2014 I bought an evo 5 at auction, my exporter and I wanted one with a little less rust, sent it back to auction. The guy I sold it to at auction actually responded to pajero for sale ad, asked for more pictures, noticed an evo in one of the shots and said oh I have an evo as well. He sent me a picture and I recognized those wheels immediately and asked when he got it, turns out it’s the exact car I sold him and I said I’ll sell you pajero and take those wheels on a partial trade (always liked them). So 9 years later they returned to me lol.
Evo 7 getting some attention. Had the underside dry ice blasted, rust encapsulated, painted, then honey coated.
Beforehand
After
Out for a rip
"Honey coated"?
That looks like the stuff Volvo used on my car that a persistent power steering leak has washed off on the left side. What is it, and can it be DIYed?
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
It's like a waxy bitumen, goes on hot then dries, so not exactly DIY-able. It's similar to what a factory undercoating from Porsche / VW might look like, where in it doesn't attract dust as prominently as a typical oily spray and it doesn't drip or make your hands all messy when you're working around it but it eventually just washes off.
TPerkins- sent you a PM regarding Mitsubishi parts.
In reply to Recon1342 :
I responded, did you not receive it?
Not the first tow truck for the Jeep and likely not the last. Thankful for AMA. It broke down in the woods like 12km from the Highway, which was 80 km from home. I used my booster to limp it out to the road where the tow truck could come and by that point I only had a half charge left and didn’t want to risk not making it home and dying on a dangerous part of the highway like a blind corner or something.
In the bush I had my tools so I took all the connectors off for distribution block, battery, grounds, alternator plugs and cleaned them. No change.
Good example of preperation. When I am that remote in the woods I always have a satellite phone, cellular signal booster, GPS, first aid kit, food, socket set, my hand tools, a gas chainsaw, a hand chain saw, a hatchet, fire starting supplies, a blanket, spare clothes, about 50’ of tow ropes (one kinetic rope and one normal tow rope), my land anchor, hydraulic jack, my booster pack, spare fluids, spare tire, fire extinguisher, 12v air compressor, tire repair kit, tape, hay wire, tywraps, etc. plus Jeep has a winch, snatch block, extra clevises.
One time I got my tacoma stuck and was spooling out the winch line, slipped on ice and hit skewered by a beaver cut stump and after then I’ve really packed and taken emergency preparations a lot more seriously. Very close to dying on that one with a stuck truck, first aid kit but no form of communication. I just got lucky it just bruised me but went through 3 pairs of pants and broke the skin a bit, got the truck unstuck then went straight home. Eye opener.
Got it home, boosted it, charging again.
Jk, quit again after 3 minutes. At this point confirmed the field wire had battery voltage so something else wasn’t preventing it from charging and alternator was likely culprit… which I already ordered from the bush hoping to get it next day or that they would have one in stock.
Fixed. Idled for an hour and a half and it never quit charging so better go try and test my luck again.
also, scope creep on the Evo 7. I had some stock valve train cams and bigger turbo for the car.. then just trying to find spare blocks and blah blah I decided I'm just going to build that engine. Rotating assembly I have should be 900 hp capable, but everything else won't be. At this point I'm got some bigger cams, new valve train, bigger turbo to bolt on and I expect that set up should make 450-480whp on pump gas, and that will be wild for me personally. If it gets boring later the engine will be ready for bigger turbo, e85, built trans and transfer case above my goals etc etc.
Dang almost a full year since my last update.
yano, people just don't seem to love the Jeep? Anywho. Here's more Jeep. Just what you asked for.
quick easy high clearance rear quarter replacement... that took forever, just so I could use that old Facebook marketplace bumper
Install bumper, then CAD work
used an angle grinder to cut it from some 3/16" steel
Finish welded, "prepped" for paint
painted
Installed. Also wired the reverse lights to illuminate those little LEDs in the bumper.
Car update.
Honestly didn't do much to the cars this summer, just drove them around.
canadian things but engine just got finished at the machine shop two weeks ago (has been there since spring).
Now that it's retired and I have two other winter back ups, evo 7 got lowered a scootch.
Evo meet
Mostly just drove these two to the golf course and back 
Updates are updates. Even if you aren't seeing a bunch of love on the Jeep, not much is better than having a relatively inexpensive beater rig. The evo updates are awesome. One of these days I will have room in the fleet for something 90's and fun.
Loving all the updates on the jeep and the evos. Glad your enjoying jeep life.
Thanks! Sorry I was just making jokes not actually complaining lol.
jeep is rad. Fun to just do whatever and not worry about cutting up the body or whatever.
I guess I did have some updates. Mostly parts pictures.
Head is done. Pretty basic, standard sized valves. GSC S2's, GSC valves, guides, springs, retainers. Top line lifters.
new bits 
Rods I got are incorrect, so that's nice. All the specs are right, they say they're for 4g63. Howard's rods made by Carrillo.. allegedly 1000 hp capable, got them on clearance for cheaper than eagle H beams.. turns out they're for 7 bolt 1G DSM 4G63, not evo. The difference being that they are 2mm wider on both ends, so now those are at the machine shop.
One of these engines is mine. Standard bore / stroke.
Also refreshed one of my spare transmissions.
You'll need to log in to post.
