Slower-poke Build. 98 ZJ 5.9 Limited

Ya, I'm gonna build it.
(Updated 2/18/13)

For those who don't know, the 5.9 Limited was a 1 year only deal. Only 15,000 were made. It included the high output 5.9l v8 (premium gas only), 46RE (i think) trans, D30 Front and D44a Rear with LSD, NP249 Tcase, Full set of skid plates underneath, recovery hooks, functional louvers on the hood to vent heat, electric only fan (a first for GC's), a redesigned roof rack, and a super cherry interior including real calf skin leather on the seats, leather trim on door panels, extra wood grain trim around the shifter, and 10 speakers for the tunes (the extra speakers mounted on a soundbar on the roof of the cargo area).

Right now its stock with a 2" BB lift. Sitting on 225/70/16 road tires. 225/75/16 Goodyear Wranger MT/R's.

This will probably be more of a question and answer thread for a while until I can build up some funds to buy needed parts.

My current plans are:

2" Spacer lift DONE 2/18/13, larger tires, hopefully 265/75/16 will fit with that lift
NP242 swap. The 249 VC is shot and has to go! (Or maybe, fix the 249, its really not a bad tcase)
Keeping the 249, has proved itself offroad. Will have to put a new VC in it soon though.

Replace the speakers (most are blown) Need my tunes.


Far far future plans may include a larger lift, custom roof carrier w/ light bar, steel bumpers w/ winch (more lights), steel rocker rails, and who knows...


Day 1 (sitting next to my old ZJ - 98 4.0 Limited)


2/18/13

looks good cant wait to see stuff getting added

Ok, i'll try to keep this from being a super long post, but here's an update of what I've done to my 5.9 so far...

Installed thick rubber floormats (saved from the slate 4.0)
Installed DTOR sticker on rear glass (also saved from the slate 4.0)

Phew! That was a lot of work. Glad I made it through it, gonna need a few weeks to recover before I tackle my next project.

Immediate plans involve replacing plenum pan gasket to stop the pinging and oil consumption, should run like a proper 5.9 after that.

big update there. didn't know if i could make it threw reading all of that

Proof of mod...

Just ordered the following from ebay, had some $ left over on a gift card.
Hopefully my LJOC decals will be here tomorrow





And just for fun:

hey i'm contemplating selling this 242 t-case from the xj. how much would u offer me for it?

Got one of my new stickers in... Hoping the rest come in by Saturday, especially LJOC stickers.

Will probably be pulling the intake manifold off Saturday to fix the plenum plate gasket issue that the 5.2 and 5.9's have. It causes a big air leak when accelerating which makes the engine run very lean and ping. Once I'm done with this, I should be able to floor this beast and feel the real power of the 5.9!!!

All the stickers are finally on I'm sure I'll get a pic at interlake tomorrow...

My plenum gasket plans got foiled today, found a more pressing problem... Flexxxer, I might need your expertise on this one, as I'm not familiar with working on solid front axles...



CV boot is torn on driver's side. Gonna have to put in a new axle, at least they are cheap.
Also, checked the fluid level, it was good, but there were some big chunks on the magnet, something is fragging inside and I'm afraid to pop the cover... Then there's the rear diff (d44a) that was 3/4 qt low with no obvious leaks...

Post Interlake... No pic, but the seal blew out behind that CV joint. Leaked boiling gear oil all over. Hopefully I'll be able to swap the axle and put in a new seal and get back on the road for a few thousand more miles before having to overhaul the diff. The diff was so hot it was burning all the gunk off of it. Had a blow out and a LJOC member let me use his spare, a 31" tire... had a 225/70/16 on the other side, guess the diff didn't like it... combined with all the crap that was stuck to the plug when i checked the oil on saturday, the diff is done :p

yep sounds like it's time for new cv's, seals, etc. i got two lifetime warranty cv's for my zj from o'reilly's for around $180. they honor the lifetime warranty too, i broke the driver side on the zj and exchanged it and i also took in the bad cv's from the axle i installed in the comanche and they exchanged them with no questions lol.

Reman CV's are $45.99 + core at AZ... I can get a discount on top of that through my old boss. Will check OReilly and Advanced also, see if I can get a better warranty. I know the guys at advance would hook me up if I had one break though.

I think the oil seal blew out. Not sure if it went bad first or was blown out from overheated gear oil in the diff.

Here's what happened to my Jeep at Interlake... I've been thinking long and hard about what caused my front axle to freak out after interlake. I know enough about automotive to be quite dangerous and this puzzle was killing me... Here is my theory. My front diff had a slight leak from the pinion as evidenced by oil trails on the bottom of the diff, however the fluid was at a good level about 1/8" below plug hole. While going through the trails at interlake, water got inside the differential, either through the pinion seal or somewhere else (probably not vent tube, i'll explain shortly). As I drove away from Interlake with an odd size tire the diff got really hot, which started boiling the water that made it inside the diff. This boiling water, #1 aerated the oil, leaving no protection or cooling for bearings and moving parts, #2 created pressure inside the diff which in turn forced oil/water out of the vent tube and ultimatley the driver's side axle seal, forcing the fluid out all over the tube/axle/everything. Had I kept driving, the front diff surely would have siezed, making the vehicle undriveable and possibly causing an accident (depending on how fast I would have been going). SO, in reality, my front diff is toast and needs to be rebuilt, without a doubt, all the bearings are trashed and the excessive heat has probably destroyed what was left of the pinion seal. in MY reality, I'm going to pull the cover, clean out whats inside, replace driver's side axle (from torn boot) and seal, refill the diff with nice new fluid, and hope it lasts long enough for me to save up for a rebuild kit or replacement axle. Its gonna be a noisy ride for a while.

I'm depressed... Here's some beauty shots...

The rest of the stickers...

Donor Axle is here!!!! Thanks to Randy w/ LJOC!
Its an early axle, will require some work before I can use it, but the carrier and diff aren't toast. I won't be able to run 4WD with it until at least a gear swap.

*edited for better pic*

what gear ratio do you have? it would probably be a lot cheaper to just pull an axle from pull a part or isa with the correct gear ratio rather than try to buy ring and pinion and set it up.

axle's are only about $100 from the jy's. it's gonna cost you a few hundred to set up the carrier unless you buy used gears from the jy. IMO it's just way easier/cost effective to buy an axle for $100 with the gear ratio you already need.

if you change your mind i can bring my generator to PAP one day and help you cut it out, only takes about 30 mins lol.

3.73 gears. Not the easiest to find.
I'm not afraid to setup a carrier, just don't wanna do it without someone who has looking over my shoulder.
I'm beginning to think I should just rebuild the front diff while the axle is still in the vehicle.
Although, the axle in the pic is high pinion and considered an upgrade, I suppose at minimum I'll save it and build it up, unless someone else can use it in the mean time.

you'll definitely have to buy 3.73's for a hp30. won't find any of those in a jy because the gears are reverse cut

Got to work on my Jeep yesterday. Was able to get back on the road, thanks to some help from LJOC members. Although I was given an HP30, set of CV axle shafts (in good shape), 1 2" spring spacer, and 2 31x10.5x15 tires, I only used the tires.

I took the front driveshaft out, took the cover off and drained the front diff. The oil was very dark, no sign of water at all. It was kinda dark and I really couldn't tell what was bad in the diff. If I had more time I would have investigated further. Then I proceded to pull apart the pass side of the axle so I could remove the shaft. It came apart fairly well, getting the hub off the knuckle was a pain until I figured out a good system. Then I spent 45 mins trying to separate the axle stub from the rest of the axle. I then decided it was time to check Google for some cheat codes. Turns out, all you have to do is hit the stub with a BFH and it comes right off :p....

I stuffed a rag in the tube and put that side back together, fairly routine.

On to the drivers side... Well, the lugs gave me probs but i got 'em off, broke a 1/2" to 3/8" adapter in the process (brand new impact style from HF)... Took the brake off, then started trying to get the unit bearing off. No go. Had a 12pt wrench on the bolts, only able to get one out, that was using a BFH to hit the wrench to turn the bolt. One bolt would not move at all. I finally gave up and just put that side back together and left the axle in. Hopefully whatever bearing is turning in the diff isn't the bad one (not to mention there is no oil in there!)

Went on a long test drive and no odd noises from the front, and with the front axle disconnected, no more binding in tight turns (curse you np249!)

I put the 2 31's I got on the rear and am running my original 225/70/16's on the front. Looks funny but works, and suprisingly my ABS doesn't seem to mind.

No wheeling for a while, but at least I can drive my Jeep again!

those damn 12 point bolts on the bearings are a pain in the ass. i broke a craftsman 12 point wrench hitting it with a hammer trying to free a set of those up. wound up going to sears and getting a new wrench, can of PB blaster, and a 12 pt 13mm 1/2" drive socket. i soaked the bolts down when i got home and waited 10 mins or so then soaked them again real good and used the new socket and a cheater bar on the ratchet and they kinda popped at first but then came right out.

Air tools, man.

No access for air tools on at least one of those bolts. Not to mention I have no access to air tools I'd be wary of air tools seeing as how one of the bolts did not move at all with the BFH. Thats a recipe for a broken bolt you can't buy at the parts store...

Shoot, go wheeling enough and you'll come back asking for a few more sets of axles!

Glad to hear you got it back on the road, you seemed down about it before it lives...

Well, just scored another D30. This one came out of a ZJ and is a clone of the one in my ZJ. Already has the 3.73's, CV axles, CV yoke. Also has most of the control arms. Pretty much a straight swap bolt in. I'm going to replace the CA bushings before I put it in though, also the axle shafts as the boots are torn (I have a replacement set sitting in the garage). Hopefully within next 3 weeks I'll have it under my Jeep. Might have to look really hard for some 2" spacers too....

Now, to figure out how to get this outta the Jeep without help...