Distraction #3 continued

Distraction #3 continues...95 YJ Renovations

Insulation

The insulation was completed above the cat converter

Cat Converter Heat Shield

Then I added the new cat converter heat shield.  

It's just a flat plate with some spacers and 2 very looooong hose clamps.  

I am not sure how effective that it will be.  But I am sure that it cannot hurt!  

I put a slight bend in it and shaped it around the converter.  You can also see the factory muffler shield in this picture.  

AX15 Prep

Several things were needed to get the AX15 ready to stab back into the Jeep.  I started with cleaning the AX15.

First the inspection cover.  Before:

After:

Then the bell housing.  Before:

After...but it honestly doesn't look alot different!

Finally, the AX15 was cleaned.  Before:

After...oops forgot to take a picture.  It wasn't sparkling - I just knocked off the big stuff.

The bell housing was installed along with the pivot arm and new Timken throw out bearing:

You can kind of see the clean AX15 housing in this picture...nothing special was done.  

Rust Reformer

No pictures, but I touched up several rusty spots on the frame with Rustoleum Rust Reformer at this point.  The frame only has some light surface rust in some areas.  Access was good without the transmission and transfer case removed.

Rear Main Seal

No pictures at all, but I also replaced the rear main seal.  Access is good while the transmission is removed.  I've got my fingers crossed, but I have a horrible track record with Jeep 4.0l rear main seals.  

Flywheel, Clutch, Pressure Plate

Flywheel, Clutch and Pressure Plate installed:

No pictures, but the parts were immediately removed because I forgot to install the inspection plate 😬 

That problem was solved, and then:

AX15 Reinstallation

I'm putting a used AX15 back into the YJ.  This particular AX15 isn't perfect, but I didn't want to spend the time and money to get it rebuilt or to purchase a new AX15.  

As always, my trusty sidekick was active and helpful:

After the power nap, we got the AX15 reinstalled pretty easily...practice makes perfect!

Transfer Case

The bottle jack was adjusted to free up the scissors jack, and then the transfer case was hoisted into place.  All the wiring, shifters, vent hose, exhaust, rear driveshaft, etc, were re-connected:

Next up:

Investigate and solve a VERY annoying squeaky clutch pedal

Install new clutch master/slave cylinder (it's 10 years old)

Install the front driveshaft - it's hanging off to the side, so I have better access to the clutch slave cylinder.

Install the shifter boot and both shifter arms inside the cabin