1994 Hunter Green SE “Back to Stock” Thread

There is not much else to talk about besides the engine work, because that is really all I’ve done this summer Jeep-wise. I did, however, do some more decision making on the 4WD system. As I’ve detailed out earlier, I went back to the CAD system. I didn’t really want to, but figured it was best for reliability. This was mainly because I didn’t like the TJ one piece shaft and the weird universal seal you have to use for it.

However, I had problems with the CAD already. I had no front driveshaft installed and so I had it in 4wd for my testing. The CAD didn’t engage. I took it apart and it seemed like there was some resistance on the splines that made the collar and fork not want to move over into the locked position.

Other problems with the CAD are that over time, the connection between the intermediate and outer axle shafts wears out and allows the shafts to wobble, killing CAD seals and causing leaks. This is because the left axle turns the diff spider gears at vehicle speed, which turns the intermediate backwards at vehicle speed. Then you have the right axle turning at vehicle speed. This means at 70 mph, you’ve got 140mph worth of speed difference at that bushing where the axles ride. That is a lot.

I decided to ditch the CAD again, but going a different route this time. I decided to use a 4x4posilok.com perma-lock kit. I know they say for off-road only, but this is just because it spins the front driveshaft all the time. This is not a problem if your angles are good and/or you use a better than stock driveshaft to handle the rotations. This will solve the problem of parts wearing too, because the shafts now rotate together and can’t wear at their connection point.

The main reason for going this route was to keep the axle mostly stock (besides being locked together). This maintains the stock design, only coupling them together permanently. It lets me use factory Dana seals, bushings, shafts, etc, but with no real flaws in the design. The latest axle shafts from Spicer use 5-760x joints too, so no strength concerns.

I used an HD cast iron fork, which is super solid. Other people said their fork moved too much and it would let their axle disengage. That’s no bueno. That is because the stock aluminum fork wallows out and allows play. With the cast iron fork, that simply is not going to happen. Thing is 100% rock solid with no way to let that collar move other than rotation.

Here is the installed perma-lock.

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To go with this, I finally bit the bullet and tested out a TJ front driveshaft to see how angles look. I bought a Mopar transfer case yoke, which has the nice factory dust shield on it.

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I had a free TJ front driveshaft from someone I got some parts from last year, so I decided to try it out. It was in poor shape, so I’m not actually going to use it, but it gave me an idea of fitment and angles. I think things look pretty good.

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I think I’m going to get a driveshaft made at Denny’s Driveshafts that is high speed balanced and equipped for my low gears. As long as there are no vibes, then I will be 100% happy and glad to finally be done with driveshaft/front axle plans. I’ve gone back and forth over this for years and never could decide what I really wanted. Perma lock seems to be the best option to keep things like stock with the least amount of compromise and potential to go back to stock CAD easily also.

Now I just need to finish up and drive and see if I have vibes.
 
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Ugh, I know that feeling on purchasing an engine that is out of the vehicle and being told up and down it's a solid runner. We've talked so you know my story is similar. I go out of my way to be honest with people and it's, frustrating as hell.

I hope the Jasper is in better running shape now, it definitely needed a good flush out. The engine in my Sahara was a real mess but after all the work I did cleaning it out, she runs like a champ.

Good luck!
 
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Ugh, I know that feeling on purchasing an engine that is out of the vehicle and being told up and down it's a solid runner. We've talked so you know my story is similar. I go out of my way to be honest with people and it's, frustrating as hell.

I hope the Jasper is in better running shape now, it definitely needed a good flush out. The engine in my Sahara was a real mess but after all the work I did cleaning it out, she runs like a champ.

Good luck!

Definitely needed a solid cooling system cleaning, no doubt there. I’m hopeful that was the problem, because between the last time the engine ran, to now, nothing really should have changed. The last time it was ran before 2024 was for about 30 minutes in the driveway in 2021. It didn’t make all the same louder tapping noise. So we’ll see. Still plan to build the other motor, but it would be nice if the Jasper can continue to drive at least.
 
I didn't realize it has been sitting for that long since you ran it last. Hopefully that is your issue and with it now being properly cleaned out and new coolant, it will run well so you can use the Jeep and build the other engine in your spare time.
 
I didn't realize it has been sitting for that long since you ran it last. Hopefully that is your issue and with it now being properly cleaned out and new coolant, it will run well so you can use the Jeep and build the other engine in your spare time.

Yeah, it’s been under the knife since the end of 2020. I got bored during Covid and started ordering up a bunch of stuff I always wanted. Then eventually I decided I didn’t want any of it anymore and worked to undo everything I did lol.

I’ll share photos soon but with the new stock looking bumper, it looks sharp. I’ll be cleaning up the garage and getting back to work on it tomorrow. Also have some truck stuff to do so we’ll see what all I’ll get to, but there is no reason to not make jeep progress this time.
 
4-5 years ago I installed a Warn front bumper. I really liked this bumper…it looked sharp without being over the top.

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However, it was intended in my use case to go with 33’s, lift, etc. It looked off-road oriented. With the closer to stock size tires I have now, it doesn’t really fit, in my opinion. Certainly didn’t look bad though, but to me stock would be a better fit.

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I picked up an Omix-Ada bumper which is close enough to stock in appearance that I’m happy with it. Same for the bumper end caps. Now that I have stock wheels and an overall stock track width, I think the full stock bumper setup looks great. It always looked weird when I had aftermarket steelies because the stance was further out than where the bumper end caps ended.

I also installed a Warn winch mount back when I installed the Warn bumper, because I did intend on installing a winch, and the factory Jeep plastic cover doesn’t really work with the Warn bumper. I still want the ability to run a winch with the stock bumper, so I grabbed some washers so that the winch mount would install flat. Since it sits on the bumper and the frame, it straddles a step. A thick flat washer (1/2”) at the rear winch mount holes fixes this.

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The last thing having to do with this project is tow hooks. My YJ didn’t ever have tow hooks. I wanted tow hooks. I picked up a clean repainted set of stock hooks, which looked good enough.

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Since I never had stock tow hooks, I didn’t have the longer bolts needed to mount the hooks. I found a nice set of OEM quality (new) bolts sold in a kit on eBay for a fair price. I picked up a set:


The problem is, the stock tow hooks have a step built in, because of that step from the bumper down to the frame that I mentioned earlier. This is no problem if I wasn’t going to run a winch mount, however, I will be running one. So the stock hooks don’t work….

Example of the step:

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When I bought the hooks, I wasn’t really thinking about the winch mount. Since they won’t work for my uses now, I ordered up a set of Rugged Ridge hooks that are 10K lb rated, and have the right hole spacing for CJ/YJ/TJ. They are supposedly very good quality, with the only downside being the hardware supplied. I won’t be using that hardware, I’ll be using the OEM style torx bolts I bought for both appearance and good corrosion resistance.

Overall, this is how it looks now, with no hooks. The RR hooks are backordered, so once I get them I’ll install and upload a photo.

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I’ll be selling the Warn bumper and I’ll probably stash the tow hooks away somewhere just to say I have some stock hooks in the pile.

For fog lamps, I am going to buy some stock imitation brackets that will mount my KC fog lamps in the OEM location. I would like to install a stock set of lamps, but they are an insane price and I think the Amber KCs are neat anyways. So I’m not itching to get rid of those. The brackets are way overpriced, but oh well.


Overall I’m happy with how it turned out. I think the stock bumper with a winch on it will be a clean but utilitarian look, and of course functional with the tow hooks and winch mounted. The Warn bumper was cool for sure, but ultimately just didn’t match the theme of the rest of the Jeep anymore. Now I need a winch…
 
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I was about to ask if you could just grind or machine the step off the back of the hook but buying some aftermarket hooks and saving those for someone's rebuild might be better.

I went with a 2-inch receiver on the front that has built in tow loops rated for a 9k pull. Thought I've been thinking recently of a winch plate and taking my winch off the cradle and putting it on the YJ. I just hate the thought of hauling around 75-100 lbs of winch, that will rarely get used.
 
I was about to ask if you could just grind or machine the step off the back of the hook but buying some aftermarket hooks and saving those for someone's rebuild might be better.

I went with a 2-inch receiver on the front that has built in tow loops rated for a 9k pull. Thought I've been thinking recently of a winch plate and taking my winch off the cradle and putting it on the YJ. I just hate the thought of hauling around 75-100 lbs of winch, that will rarely get used.

I probably could grind the step down, but I’m doubtful I’d do a good job keeping it flat so that it sits properly flat and stable when bolted down. So I figure I may as well get some hooks that will work better and keep the originals original.

As for the winch, I considered the weight also, but it’s kinda whatever to me. The M8000s I plan to use is 55 lbs and the winch mount was maybe 10-15. It’s a decent amount of weight, but I doubt I’ll even know it’s there. Might be more reason for me to switch to the Bilsteins though.