Rob's 1988 Baltic Blue & Tan Grand Wagoneer Restoration

[MysticRob]

Been too cold for me to want to get in the garage lately, but it hit 51 today so I stopped hibernating and went out to work.
Received the hold-down bracket from TGW, nicely rubberized coating, and fits over the battery perfectly:
https://teamgrandwagoneer.com/batter...-gw-1986-1991/

Also received the J-Bolt kit I ordered from Remy.com:
https://remybattery.com/battery-hold...lt-6-inch.html

Pay no attention to the junk yard J-bolts, they were too long and didn't work -- the 6" Remy.com j-bolt kit was perfect:
PXL_20220210_184934664 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

Got everything put on, excellent fit:
PXL_20220304_011836116 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

[MysticRob]

Back to work on the beast. Since I'll be moving to AZ in a couple weeks I thought I should inspect the taillight assemblies and fix any problems.

I discovered the taillight lens gaskets were missing in a couple places so had to clean some crud out, and surface-rusted bulb sockets that needed addressed. This is prior to cleaning the sockets:
PXL_20220501_210417650 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

Got it all cleaned up, used some bulb grease, and put everything back together after using some gasket maker to rebuild the missing gasket sections:
PXL_20220423_204403180 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

Right side lens is the one I used polishing compound on here, and it does look better than the left one, but I'll hit both with the orbital buffer once I remount them:
PXL_20220423_201810367 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

Also addressed the rear differential today. Owner's manual said 80W-140 gear oil is best for the factory tow package so drained the old fluid, which didn't look bad at all, cleaned the crud out, rotated the wheels to ensure the gears look good, regooped the cover, put everything back together, and refilled. Front diff will be done tomorrow:
PXL_20220501_192234810 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

[MysticRob]

Tackled the front differential yesterday. Cover is date coded to 1977, thought that was a bit odd. Otherwise, nothing exciting:
PXL_20220502_173830750 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

PXL_20220502_181106167 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

PXL_20220502_173809670 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

PXL_20220502_173737165 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

[MysticRob]

Doing some detail work on the beast to get her ready for the long haul to AZ.
Lug wrench sanded, primered, and painted:
PXL_20220504_152504520 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

Also installed the new TBI injection warning light in the spare housing slot area to the left of the steering column. It's a bright yellow LED I can see from miles away. Wiring is apparently directional, good thing I checked before I wired it up.
PXL_20220504_152311358 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

Also screwed the OBD1 diagnostic port up under the AC ventwork, took the access cover off, measured, and drilled holes to put it above the tranny turnnel:
PXL_20220503_224553549 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

Also got the factory towing package wiring repaired. The original Jeep bracket that held the 7-wire connector under the rear bumper had been damaged, which likely also damaged the connector, so someone had badly wired in a 4-pin connector instead. I got all the wiring traced out, reconnected, reorganized, and retested under the spare tire area for the trip. Also swapped out the 224 relay under the dash for a 552 so the system blinks faster:
PXL_20220502_164838724 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

2nd shot:
PXL_20220502_164815303 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

3rd shot also showing the factory module that still works great:
PXL_20220502_164822337 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

[MysticRob]

Still getting a few things ready for the AZ move. Took the beast for a 40-mile roundtrip shakedown and discovered the old tires I put on the beast just to move it around were so bad on the highway that I decided on new tires immediately.
Behold the greatness of the 30x9.5R15 BF Goodrich T/A KO2. These are tried and true on zillions of rigs and I got a great deal, so had them mounted and balanced yesterday. Stock ride height for the foreseeable future, and didn't want anything potentially rubbing, so stayed with the narrower 9.5" width.
PXL_20220507_161230402 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

PXL_20220507_011738737 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

Also painted the wiper arms and installed new DL16 wiper blades, then filled the fluid bottle and tested everything out. Wish someone had done that prior to scraping up the driver's side of the windshield...:
PXL_20220507_161222386 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

[rang-a-stang]

Those tires look amazing in on there! When is the actual move date?

[MysticRob]

Originally Posted by rang-a-stang

Those tires look amazing in on there! When is the actual move date?

Picking up the Uhaul trailer on the 10th, loading it, then heading to AZ on the 11th, with an overnight stop in Lost Wages, NV for arrival in Sierra Vista on the 12th.

[cu4whln]

Nice!

You will love those tires....

[rang-a-stang]

Originally Posted by MysticRob

Picking up the Uhaul trailer on the 10th, loading it, then heading to AZ on the 11th, with an overnight stop in Lost Wages, NV for arrival in Sierra Vista on the 12th.

Oh my! That's tomorrow!

[devildog80]

Wow Sierra Vista.......almost Mexico!

Welcome to AZ

[MysticRob]

Originally Posted by devildog80

Wow Sierra Vista.......almost Mexico!

Welcome to AZ

Looking forward to the new job and new surroundings!

Originally Posted by rang-a-stang

Oh my! That's tomorrow!

Yeah, Marc, it sucks but the opportunity down there is just too good to pass up.
My wife is staying in Boise a couple months so I'll be back up here to move or sell some other stuff later, so maybe by then you'll be up here and we can meet up.

[MysticRob]

Figured I'd update this thread now that I have some time. All went according to plan and I averaged about 8.5mpg on multiple fill-ups, which isn't bad for an old '88 hauling a 12ft dual-axle trailer full of tool-box, tools, parts, work bench, and many boxes of household goods.
Not sure on weight, but the beast really struggled in a snow storm at ~7,000 feet elevation (no timing adjustments on my Howell TBI install), and on some of the steeper grades past the Hoover Dam headed into AZ.
I had it floored on many sections where it kicked down to 2nd gear and stayed at 45-50mph. She's due for a coolant and oil/filter change for sure.
Been setting up everything in the house so won't be updating the thread for a while, but will update on what I find when I get that maintenance done.

[devildog80]

Glad you made the first trip, without incident other than barely passing the next gas station

[SOLSAKS]

I know the BFGs were a nice upgrade.

[MysticRob]

Originally Posted by devildog80

Glad you made the first trip, without incident other than barely passing the next gas station

I know I'm going to enjoy hauling the rest of our stuff from Boise to Sierra Vista a LOT more behind our Escape Hybrid!

Originally Posted by SOLSAKS

I know the BFGs were a nice upgrade.

Oh man, yes. Those old mudders would've driven me nuts with their howling and uneven tread blocks shaking everything. I was amazed how smooth the KO2s drove, waggy felt great, save for the loose steering from slightly clunking ball joints and VERY worn steering box.