My 98 build thread......... come on in!

CHAMPTEK · 09-13-2009, 10:35 PM

Hey everybody, this thread will follow along as i build up my 1998 cherokee as many others have before me but ill do my best to post photos and some helpful tips i hope. So this is my first jeep and basicly my first 4x4, my plan is to have a capable offroad/camping vehicle,it will not be my dd,i also plan on sleeping in it aswell when camping.Ok so here are the story on the 1998 cherokee i bought, i purchased it from craigslist for 1500$ (1390usd) it has 217,000km (134800mi) which is a decent price but it does require some work! here are the stock photos.

The main reason i got it cheap is because it was keyed and has a few minor body damage spots,but thats perfect cause its going in the bushes, now i dont have to be scared of scratching it.

The interior and engine were a bit dirty but a shampooing of both clean them up well

in my next post ill run through the maintaince ive done so far and the rough run problem i had and how i solved it.

CHAMPTEK · 09-13-2009, 10:51 PM

Ok so when i bought the jeep the check engine light was on and it ran like crap for about 1-2 minutes after warm up, first thing i did was scan for codes i believe i had p0138 (rear o2 sensor) since i wanted to start fresh i went ahead with a tune up consisting of plugs,cap & rotor,throttle body and induction service, cleaned k&n filter,fuel cleaner and of course the o2 sensor, now after all this it did run much better but i still had a problem. My jeep when cold ran well and after a few minutes it would start to run rough,backfire and loose power then the engine light came back on, now i had a front o2 sensor code.What i found was it would run fine in open loop but the front o2 was slow ( lazyo2) and when the jeep went into closed loop it was still reading 2.8-3.8V and would take about 1-2 minutes to get into its operating zone 0.0-1.3v approx, so i quickly replaced with a new one and its running great now.

CHAMPTEK · 09-13-2009, 11:20 PM

Next thing on the list was the exhaust the catback was rotted and it rattled so i cut it all off and had a 2 1/2" flowmaster super 40 and tailpipe put in.Then i change the trans and transfer case fluid at the same time,I figrued id open the rear diff up and clean it out and have a look, once apart everything was intact so i cleaned it out and resealed the cover and filled it snythetic fluid.

USMC_XJ · 09-13-2009, 11:53 PM

Looks like your off to a great start. What are your plans?
Make sure you keep us updated.

With pics, of course.

Oh, and BTW, you do have the 8.25 29 spline.

And a 95% chance the 3:55's.

CHAMPTEK · 09-13-2009, 11:58 PM

well this week i plan on ordering a 4.5" lift and 31x10.5 or 32x11.5 this week and front aussie locker i think, as soon as thats done im gonna put in a trans cooler and fan override switch, ive got to many plans AAHHHHH!

USMC_XJ · 09-14-2009, 12:04 AM

While you're wiring some switches, you should wire up an extended idle switch.

CHAMPTEK · 09-17-2009, 07:39 PM

Well i got my lift and put it in. I got a rough country 4.5" lift with full spring pack. I got a good deal on it, so i pre lubed and wire brushed all the bolts and threads i could find before hand, unfortunetly it did not help any. All the rear leaf springs bolts were very hard to get out,but they came out and cleaned up nicely, of course all 4 of the upper shock bolts were seized, the only thing that surprized me was how weak they were, they snapped so easily even after i heated the crap out of them.

Here they are after i center punched and drilled them through.

And again after i drilled them through and tapped them,sprayed a little fresh paint on the area.

Here is the rear all done.

and the front all done(funny how ugly is looks in the photo,doesnt look that bad in person)

And a pic of it sitting on its own feet.

I took it for a test drive and it seem to handle well on the street and bumps were nice and smooth still, i wont be taking it offroad for a while though as im not happy with a few things about the kit, 1st, redrilled location of the tracbar seems hokey, so i ordered a IRO double shear w/relocated bracket,
2nd, i cannot see going very far with stock upper control arms i cant believe how flimsy they look and are, i ordered some of those aswell 3rd, im not really happy with the angles of the front control arms, i know they say you dont need drop brackets but i can sure see why you would want they,when you lift the truck the wheels move backwards quite a bit and the angle on the lca's is quite a bit, id feel better with the brackets (any comments on this) but all in all im pleased with the lift kit but they should specify more heavily on how the so called "jeep add ons" are more like necessary. Ill post up more pics after the next installs and when my 32x11.5's show up.

Luke94XJ · 09-17-2009, 10:50 PM

you shouldn't need the Control arm drop brackets till over 6" that is if you want to keep Short arms

USMC_XJ · 09-18-2009, 02:23 AM

Actually, you only need 4.5" to use the drop brackets. I have the Rocky Road drop brackets and love them. I went with Rocky Road simply because they use a one piece design and liked it better than the 3 piece of RE and RC. Plus, it comes with the support braces that go behind the DB's. I hope you kept your stock lowers though, because the arms that you have now will be too long, unless you have the adjustable ones.

CHAMPTEK · 10-05-2009, 07:57 PM

Well my tires showed up today, i wanted to be orginal and unique so i bought some soft 8's lol,well actually there procomp brand but they probably all come from the same place so w/e. After putting them on i quickly realized when backing out the driveway for a test drive that they rub quite badly but ill take care of that soon. pro comp m/t's 33x12.5x15 15x8 3.75" b/s

bikedude189 · 10-05-2009, 09:25 PM

very nice. you'll love the aussie if you like the rocks. i had one in the front and never found a place i couldn't go, liked it so much i put one in the rear. not as bad street manners as you might think. will chirp tires and 'buck' at low speeds/tight turns, but other than that its practically invisible. except for the insane traction.

now do gears!

BayouBengal85 · 10-05-2009, 11:09 PM

very nice, clean build. is that a shop you work in where you did all the work? the shop i work in (work for pep boys) won't let employees work on their own vehicles and if we have them in the shop we actually have to be having a paid service performed by another mechanic which blows donkey ballz! keep the pics coming

CHAMPTEK · 10-05-2009, 11:23 PM

I live in surrey B.C canada 30 minutes outside vancouver(2010 olympics), im a tech at nissan,we are allowed to work on are vehicles after hours until closing,we can even work on them during the day if work is slow and there is extra hoists open.

Ninety5poloz · 10-06-2009, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHAMPTEK

I live in surrey B.C canada 30 minutes outside vancouver(2010 olympics), im a tech at nissan,we are allowed to work on are vehicles after hours until closing,we can even work on them during the day if work is slow and there is extra hoists open.

HAHA nice

Build looks good man, I'm looking foward to seeing more and more mods

bensxj · 10-06-2009, 10:50 AM

looks nice how bad did the tires rub and where im getting a 4.5in lift and cant decide between 33s or 32s