[Timo_90xj]

..or I should propably say tear down.

Hmmh.. just can't say anything else than that every time you start working on a car, no matter what brand or model, it always ends up to be something completely different than what you originally thought it'd be.

I bought my XJ about two months ago, drove it for a while as stock, and decided I'll need a lift and some other upgrades. No worries - order the lift and the other parts, bolt 'em in and drive. Started to do some minor work already during wintertime (outside on the frontyard, it wasn't nice). I did know there were a couple rust patches here and there in the car, but didn't see anything very bad - although I wasn't too interested in that anyways 'cause I knew I was propably gonna do some bodywork on the car anyways.

Well, eventually, what happens.. I guess the pics tell more than words, so just have a look.

It started from this:



Well, after looking at my tierod, etc. etc., I figured I'll need some parts for the steering. So let's unbolt all that cr*p away (no pics from that, sorry). ORO U-turn kit is on its way, hope I'll have it in a week or two. I still even have my axles attached, although I should remove 'em off since I need R&P kit, lockers etc., and I'm not gonna do that work myself.

Anyways, started to examine the rusty parts of the car, and thought of some minor welding might be necessary. Well, after a while I managed to do this with my bare hands:


That's not minor bodywork anymore, so had to order new ones for both sides (~80$ delivered here to Finland. Not too bad really). Gotta take my car to a welder some day..

After seeing that, I thought I'd better do some close-up scrutiny on my car, and found a few other nasty- looking places, altough there were no holes. But I did wonder why my car was really humid on the inside all the time (it's been standing on the jacks for well over a month now). Found out my floormats were rather wet -> time to remove the seats, mats, center console, etc etc.:








Good thing is, there's only one hole on the floor, all the other rusty parts are not that bad and I can fix them myself. Floormats from both the passenger compartment and the rear were really wet when I took'em off, there was literally a small pond on my floor after removing them.

There was even some fungi under my rear seat (actually, my ABS- box was cover by it). No wonder my anti-lock brakes weren't working.

I suppose while I'm at it, I'll paint the whole thing with bedliner, put something on top of it to reduce noise and make new floormats so that I can remove them easily for washing.

.. and after all this, the garage looks like this:


I suppose I'm not gonna get my Jeep up and running as soon as I hoped..

[Twsty]

mine looks like that, but worse. im selling it becuase i dont have time to fix it, and i dont have the money.

i sure hope you can get yours going, im sure its a great feeling fixing somthing like that and then turning it into somthing that you truly love.

[Timo_90xj]

Aah.. this is a piece of paper that I love (thanks Jason ) and been waiting for.

USPS dispatch/ receive note ... for my ORO U-Turn kit Gotta go and pick it up tomorrow.



Yesterday I ordered some goodies from Germany:

Products
------------------------------------------------------
2 x 3,5" Leaf spring XJ (RE1463) = 474,00 EUR
1 x 4,11:1 D30 & D35 R&P Kit with 30-spline Detroit Locker and HD rear axles (4130 chromo) = 1.650,00 EUR Vehicle YJ, XJ, MJ c-clip
1 x Cupholder Jeep XJ (CH-1) = 14,99 EUR
1 x Transmission Oil Filter AW-4 (FT1102) = 29,00 EUR
1 x Rear Wheel Cylinder left (WC17507) = 19,95 EUR
1 x Rear Wheel Cylinder right (WC17508) = 19,95 EUR
1 x Drum Brake Shoes Dana 35 90- (538PG) = 39,00 EUR
1 x Trackbar, adjustable (RE1600) = 151,00 EUR
1 x LCAs, adjustable (RE3780) = 222,00 EUR
20 x Lug Nut Jeep (C1704) = 30,00 EUR
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: 2.649,89 EUR
UPS (Delivery to FI : 176.55 kg): 301,40 EUR
enthaltene MWSt. 16%: 407,07 EUR
Total: 2.951,29 EUR


Front and rear axles went for some sanding.. need to get the rust away and add some primer. I'll paint them flat black when get'em back on Mon.

I just love angle grinders, it's gotta be one of the best power tools available. Did some minor trimming at rear and front fenders for better approach and departure angles (for tires only, don't have any belly skids so no need to trim more than that).

Rear:



Front:


For the front, I think I'll move the horns and vacuum canister to a different place and trim the front from eright below the headlights. Much better that way. Now I've basically just trimmed the airdam and lowermost part of the fender.


Removed the crappy and non working Bendix ABS- thingy and its wiring harness:


Now I "only" need to renew my brakelines, buy a master cylinder and brake booster, and I'm all set to start building up my ride again. So it's actually pretty much work ahead, but I'm sure it'll be up running by late July latest


edit: Oh yeah.. going to paint the lower parts of the doors/ fenders with similar stuff than Bedliner. Also, I've got to re- mount the OEM fender flares since it's not allowed to drive without them here. Otherwise I would've trimmed the fenders to make room for bigger tires. Well, I figure 31x10.50x15" is large enough for now

[JayIV]

Woah..... And I thought I was doing good for a college student with minor mods here and there. You just made me feel inadequate hahah.

I geuss all the experience I've gained from the XJ is well worth it though. I know more about my vehicle now than most shops. And thats how I like it!

[Timo_90xj]

I first thought just the put on a lift, lockers and bigger tires, but ended up doing a lot more. But like you said, after a project like this you know exactly what's inside your Jeep.

There were a few things I didn't expect to find, even though I did inspect it pretty well before buying. Doesn't matter anyway, I guess after this it's gonna be in better condition than it was coming out of factory produiction line

[Jason, aka: Jeepin.com]

Originally Posted by Timo_90xj

Aah.. this is a piece of paper that I love (thanks Jason ) and been waiting for.

USPS dispatch/ receive note ... for my ORO U-Turn kit Gotta go and pick it up tomorrow.

that handwriting looks famliar! I can't wait to see the final product Timo, your rig's going to be one nice ride when you're done!

[Timo_90xj]

It's going to take a while, but for sure I'll post pics here.. and of course for the build process as well. I've got some ideas that I hope will work.. dunno yet though.

I should be able to really start progressing on building my XJ soon, the parts from Germany will arrive in a week or so.. they would've already been at my doorstep, but there were a few parts not in stock, so back- order was the way to go

Btw. Jason, what's the deal with the refund? PM me or something.. Thanks!

[Jason, aka: Jeepin.com]

should have everything squared away this week.

[Timo_90xj]

Sounds good, thanks yet once again

[Timo_90xj]

..and things go on.

Picked up the ORO U-turn kit yesterday, looks fantastic (no pics yet). Damn that tierod is huge - diamater is something like twice to the original, and wall thickeness is.. ...well... thick! Can't install it yet though, need to get few more parts so that I can install the axles back on the car.

Got my axles back from grinding and priming:



I was thinking to paint them flat black, but didn't have time and energy to find a suitable good flat black paint, so they ended up being gloss black (not bad either, but woudl've prefferd flat black or dark grey):



More to come soon, once I get my UCAs and rear leaf packs as well. Then some installing and I can tow my car to a shop which is gonna install 4.11 gearing and lockers. Detroit locker, hopefully I'll get enough money on next payday so I can buy an ARB for the front to get it installed also.

[Jason, aka: Jeepin.com]

whew! for a minute there I thought you were going to have bright RED axles!

Looks good though. The glossy paint may actually help keep your axle housings cleaner in the long run. I painted my diff cover with some gloss black engine enamel spray paint, and dirt doesn't hardly stick to it. My whole axle can be dirty, but that cover will still look clean. Once I get around to redoing my axle brackets on the rear, I'm going to paint the whole housing with that gloss back engine enamel.

[Timo_90xj]

Originally Posted by Jason, aka: Jeepin.com

whew! for a minute there I thought you were going to have bright RED axles!

That would've been an interesting look for the Jeep I guess


If someone is wondering why I'm doing such a job to a D35, the explanition is that xj's weren't imported here before 1989 (though some were imported in 85 and 86), so there's not a single xj in this country with a D44 I could use a D44 from Grand Cherokee, but don't want to. Ford 8.8 would be an option, but I guess that as long as I'm using anything smaller than 33" tires I'll be fine with D35, especially 'cause I'm getting 30- spline HD driveshafts for the rear.

[Red Raider]

are you sure that's not a chrys 8.25? looks like it

maybe not, nevermind

[Timo_90xj]

Nope, it's a D35 out of a 1990 xj. Also has D35C stamped on the side of the pumpkin.

[Jeepernick]

The reason you are keeping the D35???? Finland dont have any other axles laying around, Normally the case... just wondering

personally wont not ever take the time to paint a D35 that nice

but it is your rig


Good looking project keep it up