Sandwich Oil Adapter and Cooler- Install

The final install for the oil cooler has begun. I recently purchased a 6"x11" deck mount cooler. I had to adapt the female #8an fittings on the SS hoses to the pipe thread on the cooler. No problem. In addition, I had to fab up some mounts for the cooler which will sit in front of the radiator. So off to the ORC for a couple hours to make something custom.

I started with 1" stock cut down to the length I needed and drilled some holes for mounting.


Rounded off the corners and milled out the middle with an 11/16" bit. Slapped a coat of semi-flat black and there you have it.


It will allow for that much more air to pass through the cooler.


It looks good mounted and it's strong, it's not going anywhere.


The sandwich adapter is installed where your filter used to be. The one side of the adapter that has an O ring will face inward, to meet up with the factory filter mount. The entire sandwich piece is held down by a threaded bung. It holds the new adapter down snugly and provides the same 3/4" x 16 thread pitch that the factory did.


I sill have plenty of room to run the Wix 1515 filter. Originally the factory called for 6 quarts of oil, but considering the lines to and from the cooler I think it's going to add another 2 quarts.

-Pro's
-Cooler oil
-More oil
-Looks Good

-Con's
-Slightly pricey at approx. $300 for these fittings and setup. It could be done for less with rubber hoses and pipe fittings, but you would run the risk of looking like a plumber did the install.

Grant Gt Steering Wheel- Installation

It was time to put this on. I got tired of looking at it on my bookshelf and even though I have no cage and no dash, I decided it was time. I borrowed the puller from Keith at ORC, brought it back to my garage and began to disassemble my steering column. I have no airbag, that was removed quite a while ago, so it really didn't involve much.

You'll need a puller, unless you just press against the back of the wheel with both knees and the wheel flies off and breaks your nose. So yeah...you'll need a puller.


Where I began. No horn, no airbag.


Remove the horn cover and you'll see where your airbag should be. We already set this off (on purpose) so you only see the frame. You also see the steering shaft nut, which needs to be removed.


Remove the steering shaft nut.


The airbag frame needs to be removed also. 2 nuts.


This is when you use the puller. Pretty easy, especially when you watch someone else do it. Thanks Josh.


After removing the wheel, you're left with the end of the steering shaft. The threads and the splines need to be cut off as to leave the larger diameter shaft so the quick disconnect collar will slide over and be welded on.


Thanks David for bringing your welder over and taking care of this for me.


He slid the collar out off the shaft a bit to create a hole he could fill with weld.


I removed the windshield wiper control arm (I no longer have wipers) and trimmed down the turn signal/high beam control arm quite a bit because it was getting in the way of the wheel, which sits a lot closer to the column housing. So close I have to move my seat forward now. I still have to put the plastic trim back on.

Front End Alignment

It's time for another front end alignment after replacing tie rod heim joints and especially after I noticed my spindle nuts were only hand tight when I did my last alignment. So I was sure the toe was off. Since my tie rod was built with left and right threaded heims it allows me to adjust it on my own. Here's the technique..

Put the front end on jack stands so the front tires spin freely.


I built some kind of contraption that held a scraper tightly in place. A screwdriver would work just as well. A vice would be even better. But the point is to scribe a line around the circumference of the tire. You must hold the scraper/screwdriver tightly in place so the line remains straight.


Marry the scraper to the tire so that's it's close enough to make contact with the tire and scribe a line in the rubber.


I stood on the wood blocks that held the scraper down so it wouldn't move and spun the tire 360 degrees. Do both tires the same way.


Measure the distance between the lines in the front of tires.


Measure the distance between the line in the back of the tires.


If the front measurement is less than the rear, you're toe'd in. If the rear measurement is less than the front you're toe'd out. Essentially you want your tires to toe in 3/8"-1/2". I was at toe'd in at 5/8" and as a result I need to turn the tie rod heim joints inward a turn or two and re-measure to bring that down to 1/2".

Trimming lug nuts

The first time I saw this I was at a pre-race inspection for the XRRA. They insisted that all lug nuts be "uncapped" so that a visual inspection could be performed at any time. It also prevents any build up of dirt from staying inside the lug. So I grinded off the cap and cleaned up the threads and re-installed.





Now when my OCD kicks in I just have to glance at the stud to see if anything has loosened up.

Drag link updated parts

I installed new hardware on the drag link. New grade 8 bolts, chromoly heims joints, and alignment spacers. There was some slack in the heims (after 3 years without changing them), it was kind of expected. Now I can move on to the front end alignment knowing that all heims have been replaced and there will be no slack in the steering.

8.25 Chunk Cover Threaded Bung

After taking the rear chunk cover off to do a fluid change, I realized the rubber plug was beginning to deteriorate and needed replaced. So I opted to have the unthreaded bung cut out and replaced with the threaded bung from a D60. Originally we thought it needed to be cut out with a plasma, but then realized a hole saw would work just fine.

Untouched original cover


Rubber plug on left. Plasma cut threaded bung on right.


Interior view untouched cover.


Interior view threaded bung welded to outside of cover.


Finished product. I'm not grinding anymore. I don't want to compromise the integrity of the welds.


3/4" tapered pipe thread plug with a 9/16" sunken hex head.

Soft Door Stops

In an effort to stop bashing my door skins while [over-opening] my doors I have decided to install some CJ stops.


Tap out the holes to 1/4"

Radiator catch can

It was time to re-install this. When I moved the fuse box inside (from under the hood) the bracket the catch can was mounted on was removed. I routed to overflow hose to the ground in front of the driver's tire. Eventually I got tired of filling the radiator up with water every ride, so I decided to re-install this. I still need all the room I can get under the hood for future shock placement, so this is where it ended up.

Maintenance Time

Well the Jeep is in the garage for a couple weeks. I'm waiting on the next Grayrock ride to bring it out. It needs a bunch of maintenance done to keep it reliable.

-New heims on the drag link
-Regap the spark plugs (since I pulled the MSD and have forgot since then)
-Change chunk fluid front and rear
-Change Transfer case fluid
-Install door stops on front skins
-Front end alignment
-New front end bearings/races/seals
-Install Alloy USA axle tube seals
-Clean dust out of intake tube, air filter, throttle body
-Fix rock lights
-Install oil cooler and lines
-Install rear chunk catch can
-Install radiator catch can
-Install steering wheel
-Check every bolt, grease everything

Compression fitting install (SS Braided line)

I put the compression fittings on my braided stainless steel oil lines tonight. I was pretty happy with the ease of installation in comparison to the ones I used on the fuel lines. These have an additional collar that provides an extra layer of confidence, and you don't have to muscle them on. You simply tighten the threads. Allow me to show you..

Unthread the female end and remove the inner collar. Leave the male end to the side for now.


Push the braided line through in the inside of the female end, threads facing out.Push the plastic tubing (inside the braided line) into the inside of the collar until it is almost flush.




Slide the female end over the collar. Thread male end and you're complete.


Clean fit.


Ready for the cooler. Which by the way I'm still looking for.

Alloy USA axle tube seals

Picked these up a while back. I'm going to wait to install them when I pull the front axle out from under the Jeep and truss it. But for now, they're just eye candy. Anyway, Alloy USA offers these in multiple sizes. These are the D30/44. As you all know I have a D34, a combination of both axles, so these will slide right in. As for the color, you're stuck with red because that's all they offer. After last year's front end debacle, where water ruined every race, bearing, and seal, I won't more protection. We'll see how it works. I'll post up after I install them.



Rebuildable inner seals

Fuel Line/ Filter install

Well I should have posted this before. I have installed the braided fuel line, EFI fitting, and fuel filter going back to the fuel tank. I originally mounted the line on the inside of the frame rail on the driver's side. This posed a problem with interference from the traction bar. So I had to move it to the transmission hump and paired it up with the brake line. When I install the electric pump I will touch base on this subject again.