Alaska Daily Drivers: Hydro Blue 80A and Bright White JTR

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[Turnswrench]

For those interested in an auxiliary fuel tank, like Long Range America, be sure to inspect every piece. Unfortunately there's debris and trash in almost everything. Their standards are well below mine.

It's not the end of world, just be ready to shell out for the kit only to have stuff you need to fix. At least they are on sale for November.

Here's a before and after reference.

More on the complete install coming soon.

 

[chorky]

Man that is super disappointing... I would have expected better but poor quality like that is everywhere. I was almost considering having Dark Horse or Selkirk do the install for me but with potential quality issues like what you're showing, I would want to be able to put my own eyes on everything. Have you been able to get it fully installed yet?

 

[Turnswrench]

Man that is super disappointing... I would have expected better but poor quality like that is everywhere. I was almost considering having Dark Horse or Selkirk do the install for me but with potential quality issues like what you're showing, I would want to be able to put my own eyes on everything. Have you been able to get it fully installed yet?

That was my exact thought. If I didn't do this, I would never know until something went wrong if they didn't slow down to catch it. The install is complete. I'll put together a picture journey.

 

[Turnswrench]

The Flex Era 4s are all set on the pillars, and with some creative solutioning, the Flex Era 1s are done as well. It's a great time of year in Alaska to have ample light and chase lights.

I included what it looks like in the rear view and if you turn to look out back with the chase lights on high. Not too bad on the glare off the glass. They'll work!

We still have the fogs and bed lighting to do. Those were put on hold for the aux tank install. ?

 

[Turnswrench]

Aux Tank install time.

Why install an aux tank? Why did we add this tank to our daily driver and not the overlanding rig?

The F-150 that we sold to get the White JTR had a 35 gallon tank. We could always depend on it having fuel in it to get some place. The gas station is about 20 mins in the wrong direction from our house for most of the traveling we do. It's also nice to be able to skip the pumps in small towns and villages. The fuel prices are hefty! Using only one fill up to get a lot of miles under you is solid. It'll be nice to catch the fuel when it's cheaper and fill both tanks. In short, it's some added peace of mind to have more fuel and very convenient for us. We're used to having it.

We chose to put the tank on the daily driver because it's our daily driver. More often it'll be just jump in and go without worrying about fuel. The weight will be low on the Jeep which is nice. We don't want to add fuel cans to the RSI Smartcap. We like the space in the bed as we've learned with the overlanding rig. Also the overlander is already setup with rotopax so we didn't feel the need to put an aux tank on it.

Happy to answer any questions!

The install started with getting the fuel tank switch installed, previously posted. Scroll back if you missed it. Once all the pieces arrived, it was about preparation. Know what you have, know where it's at, and get familiar with vague directions ?

This may be a mess to you, but it helped me know exactly what I had. We have two Jeeps, a sxs, and a mower in the garage. It's tight during the winter. ?️

 

[Turnswrench]

Step one for me was getting the magnet installed in the tank near the pickup tube. The tank and the pickup tube both had metal shavings in them from being made. Take your time and clean it up the best you can. The magnet will be critical! As I mentioned in a previous post, there were burs and debris all through the pipes. You don't want to run into issues later.

Remove the FLVV in order to get the magnet in the tank.

The magnet

Reach in as far as you can, and place the magnet.

It was pretty far from the pickup. With a wiped down pry bar, I got the magnet pushed over where I wanted it.

Reinstall the FLVV, this time with the proper seal.

Button it up and add the 19.7" breather hose and clamp that fits the barbed fitting.

 

[Turnswrench]

The barbed fitting for the fuel pickup tube was next. Point it to the back of the tank, where the large filler tube is.

While looking at the transfer pump parts, it was clear some drilling was needed. The were no mounting holes in the supplied bracket. Once drilled, repaint the bracket.

While the paint was drying, the skid plate that bolts to the tank was put on and the fittings for the transfer pump were added. The silver piece is a filter that goes on the inlet side. A 90* barb goes on the outlet. Point the barbed fitting right back at you. I had to adjust to later since I didn't do that to start.

 

[Turnswrench]

Seeing the metal in the tank didn't set me off too much. I get it. When I picked up the fuel filler piece that connects both tanks to the filler neck and looked inside, I got pretty hot ?

I cleaned it up and got it prepped for install. The ICV just slides in on the side that goes to the aux tank. It's cheap feeling plastic. It does fit snug, but if you overfill the fuel, you may break it. I didn't like that nothing secured it in place better.

 

[Turnswrench]

The fuel filler hose was added, so was the 19.7" long hose that goes on the barbed fitting on the pickup tube. I tightened every clamp as I went even if I knew I'd have to loosen it later. Better to have it tight than to forget later.

The paint dried, and the transfer pump was mounted to the bracket.

Everything so far has been prep work. It was time to prep the wiring. With the switch already mounted, the big focus was getting the switch wiring routed to the fuse box and to the transfer pump and float valve on the tank.

I pulled wiring on the passenger side through the firewall and up to the fuse box. I grabbed 12v using an add-a-circuit on f52, cig. lighter. Not everyone likes these, but I preferred it to splicing at the footwell. I'm also already using the 12v socket adapter to power the Lasfit aux switches since this Jeep didn't have aux switches installed from factory.

I grabbed Romex and cut out the ground wire and used that to pierce and pull the wiring through the firewall.

With the wiring all in one place, it was time to match it all up following the diagram.

The next step was deciding how I wanted to pass the wiring from the cab to the tank. Here's what we did. The wiring was ran through the protective casing under the door sill panels from the front footwell to back near the rear seat. At that spot, there's a plastic grommet in the floor that is covered with tar rubber to seal it in. I drilled a 5/16 hole in the plastic. I didn't want to drill through the body. I put an 8mm rubber grommet in the hole and pulled the wires out. I then used the tar rubber to seal up around the grommet.

This is in the Jeep, under the carpet.

This is below looking up.

 

[Turnswrench]

Now that I was under the Jeep with the wiring, the work in the cab was done. From here on out, it was cold concrete floors ? it was -7 outside but 60 degrees in the garage. The concrete was somewhere between the two.

Remove the transfer case skid. If you have an oil pan skid, loosen that first.

I dropped the factory exhaust system by unbolting the ball mount up front and then unbolting the three exhaust hangers that run the exhaust out the back.

Since the factory exhaust is all one piece, I could not shimmy it out. The Jeep is stock ride height, and I didn't put it on jack stands. I had to cut the exhaust while it was under the Jeep.

Cut 2" back from the rear of the front resonator.

Cut 2.3” behind the muffler that runs over the rear axle.

I was now able to remove the tailpipe from the Jeep. I set it aside and mounted the new front exhaust hanger. This one goes just before the rear lower control arm mount on the frame. Use the factory bolts to mount it. This exhaust mount does not come with the kit UNLESS you buy the additional exhaust modification kit.

 

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Before continuing with the exhaust, mount the bracket that holds the front of the aux tank. This bracket is two pieces and it sandwiches the frame. To get the alignment proper, the brackets go over the hole on the driver side frame rail where the transfer case skid mounts. More on this later ?

The nuts at the top get close to the body, but do not touch.

Finished bracket ready to hang the tank on.

With that done, I proceeded to rip my beard hair out by stepping on it with my knee climbing out from under the Jeep. ? Long beard and working on the floor is stupid.

With the front resonator and the tailpipe aside, and the muffler that mounts between the two discarded, what happened next would top the most horrific, scary movie you've ever seen.

The exhaust piece does not fit well. This is the extra piece you need to pay for. Hours went by. Shaping, trimming, filing, heating, rubber malleting, aaaargh.

I made it work. I don't like the u-bolt exhaust clamps. Those will need to be changed.

The trouble, I believe, is the jig being used to make the exhaust piece is just enough out of whack to drive the exhaust into the frame rail OR if you solve that, it puts the tailpipe into the bedside rock slider just ahead of the rear bumper.

Nevertheless, here's how I got it in there.

The big compromise to make it work is shown here, but hard to see. The exhaust hanger has two bolts and bolts pointing roughly straight down. I couldn't do that. It's mounted with one bolt, the lower one only. That pointed the hanger toward driver side. This, along with trimming, cutting, filing, pounding, heat, etc, got the exhaust to fit snug without any chance of clanking into something else. It's firm and has no leaks. Does it have drone? Dunno yet. Stand by. Mostly factory sound at idle, low rumble.

 

[Turnswrench]

Before you start removing factory fuel lines, do some drilling that's needed. A hole needs to be drilled in the center cross member near the rear driveshaft carrier bearing and another in the rear crossmember where the e-brake cables are mounted to. This allows the tank to be mounted with a through bolt. 27/64 drill bit.

With the sparky jobs done, it's time to disconnect fuel hoses.

I started with disconnecting the hose that connects the factory tank to the fuel filler neck. I only undid the filler neck side. I left the hose connected to the tank. I crammed a plastic cap and clamped it to help reduce fumes and risk of getting dirt into tank.

Now things get interesting. You need to cut the fuel filler neck. It's metal. I measured 2" from the left side of the bracket and cut. I used a hand saw the wife bought to make a pinewood derby car paired with a sawzall blade. ? Don't use a sparking cutter.

File your cut and clean up the pipe. Remove the left portion. Unbolt it and keep the nut.

Removing the gas tank vent hose was next. Disconnect from the charcoal canister, there are two locks on this side. To remove the side above the tank, just cut the hose. You can then rotate the fitting, pinch, and remove. Pull the hose out toward the back of the Jeep.

With the hose and fittings out, cut the plastic form fitted hoses off the fittings with a razer blade. These fittings go into a new setup to be reconnected.

New setup. It has a barbed Tee to hook up both tanks to the charcoal canister. A little petroleum jelly will help slide the hoses on the barbs.

Note the protective sleeve on the long hose. This is used to protect this as it will no longer be routed inside of the factory fuel tank skid to protect it.

 

[Turnswrench]

It was the new filler neck adapter piece thing's turn to go in. Mount it using the factory nut. Clip the hoses into the designated spots.

Finish removing the hose that was left on the factory tank that had the red cap crammed in it. When you remove this, vapors are in the work area. Also dirt can fall right into the tank. Be aware. That hose you removed, cut it a few inches long to connect the new filler adapter to the factory filler neck you cut earlier. Shown here:

Be sure you have the ICV still installed and on the side that goes to the aux tank.

Mount the transfer pump on the passenger side e-brake cable bracket stud using the factory hardware. Only this one connection holds the pump in place. Make sure it's level.

The yellow wire from the switch powers the pump. I grounded both the transfer pump and the float valve to the stud that's under the spare tire. Lower the spare tire, the stud is visible. I used quick disconnect fittings so that the pump could be easily removed.

There are a few things going on in this pic. Starting right to left. The fuel hose coming out the filler neck through the 90* barb runs to the output side of the transfer pump. In the lower center of the pic, you can see the Tee that connects both tanks to the charcoal canister. Notice the long hose with the protective cover runs on the outside of the factory tank skid. What you aren't able to see is the fuel hose from the pickup tube on the aux tank is now connected to the inlet side of the transfer pump. It's hidden behind the FLVV hose that you see connecting to the Tee.

Use blocks, a jack, or person power to lift the aux tank up. Start the two bolts up front, the bolt near the rear driveshaft carrier bearing, and the two on the back. This will allow you to connect the fuel filler adapter to the tank, shown here.

Not pictured. Be sure to connect the white wire from the switch to the voltage side of the float and the ground side to ground before lifting the tank all the way up.

 

[Turnswrench]

It's at this time that you will realize the bracket that you installed earlier to hold the front of the tank will need removed, drilled, painted, and reinstalled. ? As I mentioned in a previous post, the front aux tank bracket sandwiches the frame and aligns over the hole on the driver side frame rail where the transfer case skid bolts to. Yeah, that didn't work out. The oval hole in the bracket wasn't a perfect oval and jutted out in the middle which got in the way of the transfer case skid bolt. So out it came. I drilled it and painted it before putting it back in. Support the front of the aux tank while you remove the bracket.

File your cut before paint.

With this bracket reinstalled, I got the transfer case skid back in, snugged up the oil pan skid, and finished tightening all aux tank bolts to secure it in place.

Stop to verify the tank is not hitting the skids or the exhaust. Double check hoses and wires are out of harms way of moving parts and the exhaust. No job is complete without 5lbs of zip ties.

Grab your keys and turn the power on without starting. Check that you have power at the switch. If so, press button and listen for transfer pump. Immediately turn off if you hear it. It's time to test for leaks with fuel.

Finished pics.

If I missed a step or a picture, I apologize. I tried to keep my phone close as I went. I'll say it gets old climbing under, out, under, out, under, out. ?

Thanks for following along.

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