Haha, same. Though with the WJ finally coming together I'm selling my XJ. The 4.0 has the usual 4.0 tick (despite a new-ish head etc.). So of course I've been looking at that nice Edelbrock head... and nice cam/lifter/rockers... and 4.6 strokers... and...
-TJ
LOL. It'll still knock though. It's a cam/lifter/oiling thing, or a piston slap issue. They ALLLLLL do it, even my buddy's 4.6 stroker with Edelbrock head. :biggrin:
In other news: I drove it down the street and back despite the below issue. Just couldn't wait, and free-wheel driving it made the transmission feel blown and it was killing me to find out.
Initial thoughts: it's quick, but not as quick as I thought it would be. Couple of factors at play here. Factor 1 is it's making V8 sounds, but it's not Coyote Mustang fast, so it messes with me. Factor 2 is I went super tight on the converter (1400 stall rating for a heavier Silverado) to help with rock-crawling. This is great for rocks/descents because you get engine braking. This is less great for just smashing the throttle because it means I'm effectively flooring it in first from about 1300 rpm, so you bog a little. In the end, I'm happy, and the Jeep is much happier: I have half the dash torn apart, random parts still in the trunk, and I didn't hear a single rattle. Not something I could've said for the I6 it replaced: the whole Jeep rattled with that motor. Smoooooooooth.
In other other news, spent the weekend re-building the front Dana Turdy. Turns out that the guy who re-geared my HP D30 thought I have the rare model that not only doesn't use a crush sleeve, but also doesn't need shims for pinion bearing preload. Appears they tightened the pinion nut until the correct drag was reached, then shipped it with prayers sent that the pinion bearings would never wear and loosen the nut. I discovered the issue when I saw the nut was loose when re-installing the driveshaft (probably should inspect that more) when cycling the suspension to build the exhaust. When I tightened the nut, the bearings locked up and felt super gritchy.
Pulling the diff cover revealed lots of man glitter... Great. Eventually tore it down to find both pinion bearings roached, with the tail bearing's race heavily eroded and blue. Good times.
Anyway, rebuilt that chit yesterday on jackstands in the driveway (I
desperately need a lift). Initial pattern was good, but backlash was tight (0.003"), so I moved some shims around to get it to 0.006" (min spec, but this is with new bearings, so should loosen up a little). Luckily, the pattern tightened up a little, so I was happy. Final preload on the pinion bearings came in at 25 in-lbs, which is on the upper end, but again: new bearings. Overall, it's tedious work, but with the right tools it isn't difficult. Luckily I bought bearing pullers, etc, for Wontons (probably gonna go D50/Sterling from an early Super Duty/Excursion) when I bought these tools, so future axle setup will be relatively easy.
I think it would look sweet.
