Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Cactus Jack's NEW build thread!

18K views 129 replies 31 participants last post by  cactus_jack 
#1 ·
Woo hoo! I'm back in the driver's seat of an XJ! I had an old build thread for my old 00 xj but sadly the day came that I had to give it up. Ever since I got rid of it, I regretted every single day of it and vowed to get another XJ someday.


Just picked up a 98 DD from Craigslist. I have some cosmetic and mechanical issues to take care of before the mods start. This will be my work rig so I'll be keeping everything practical.
(In no specific order)
-Remove ugly chrome tint
-Passenger front window regulator
-Replace tie rod ends
-Fix "hard to start" issue (fuel pressure drops to 0 immediately after shutting off)
-Find replacement wheels ASAP! I absolutely HATE the gold wheels.
-Flip tires so white lettering isn't visible
-Get new passenger fender and front clip

Plans are to BB it about 3" like my last XJ. Who knows what else I'll get into with it.

Looking forward to being back on the forums :cheers2:
 
See less See more
1
#33 ·
Didn't do a lot today other than change my oil and trans fluid. Attempted to fix my oil adapter o-ring today but couldn't get enough leverage to break the torx bolt loose. Got a bigger breaker bar today and am going to attempt it again tomorrow. Took it wheeling today on some pipelines, nothing too special since I was by myself, just some ruts and a couple of climbs.

Was planning on going to big rock in Maysville tomorrow but it's supposed to storm here all night and all day tomorrow so I doubt i'll go. Probably finish undercoating my pass. side and fix that bent fender.
 
#35 ·
cactus_jack said:
there's an older XJ just down the street from me in front of an old weld shop that has a pretty nice aftermarket bumper that has been sitting for years. Every time I stop to ask someone about it, there's nobody there. :thumbdown: I bet I could get it for cheap if I could only get a hold of him, lol
Keep trying buddy. And take a pic of it.
 
#40 ·
Well, had an interesting day yesterday. Took it out to the trails for the first time and wouldn't ya know, something happened...



I was NOT happy at this point. Engine hydrolocked, interior full of water, and jeep stuck in mucky, sandy crap. We eventually get it to this point:



At this point, there was no pulling left. It doesn't look like it but the front right tire is buried in the sand. All we had were fourwheelers and side-by-sides to pull and weren't getting anywhere fast.

While I was gone getting oil, my buddy pulled plugs and shot the water out of the pistons and got it started long enough to drive it onto dry land and shut it off. Changed the oil and drove it 30 miles home. What a beast of an engine these jeeps have, I was so impressed.

Sorry I don't have anymore pictures, I was going to take some but then this issue occurred, lol. All in all it was a blast and I had a good time. Going to change all my fluids today and do a tune up. Looks like I'll be ripping out my carpet soon, lol.
 
#41 ·
Glad it turned out ok. But were you trying to play down periscope? Lol I nearly had mine this bad once. The only thing that saved me was rock, paper, scissors to see who got to go first. I lost. My buddy won but wound up like you. So I guess I actually won in the end. How bad is the inside?
 
#43 ·
cactus_jack said:
its pretty rough. Going to tear the carpet out tomorrow so it doesn't start to stink. It's airing out right now, lol
That's a bad deal buddy. I had to tear mine out after driving doorless in rain. It took a day or two for it to air out so your in for a wait. Then It started to stink and that was just rain. So i hope it all works out for you.
 
#44 ·
one of the first things i did with my jeep was pulled the carpet and ripped out all that padding. that is what holds the water. did the same thing with last jeep. i soaked the drivers floor a couple times and just shop vac-ed as much as i could and cracked the windows and the next day it was good at new. i like the idea of no carpet, but i also like the factory look and feel of carpet lol jeep looks good!!! what did u use to cut fenders?
 
#46 ·
lol yea, just my luck. I was pissed.

Tore the entire interior out today, scrubbed down all the plastics, pulled the carpet and put it all back together again. Didn't have much rust, just a little in the passenger's floor board. Going to give it a few weeks to dry completely and then I'll bedline it.

Oh, and did I mention I hate mud? Well....I HATE MUD! lol. It's in every little spot possible.
 
#50 ·


OK guys, gonna need your help on this one. I was diagnosing my rough idle (changed plugs, cap, rotor) and found the vacuum ball with no lines whatsoever.....could this be the source of my rough idle? It runs fine but idles like a cammed out camaro. It always idled fine until I sunk it and I know that there were no lines to this vacuum ball the day I bought it. Any ideas?
 
#52 ·
If the vacuum line running to the ball has not been properly capped off, it's a pretty big vacuum leak and could easily be the cause of your idle problem.
 
#55 ·
that vacuum ball controls part of your heater control switches/knobs and your cruise control. my guess would be that you got water up into your cat and the cat is garbage, my brother turned his zj into a submarine and had the same symptoms, his jeep would idle like his ws6, except it wasnt supposed to haha
 
#57 ·
Finally setting aside some time for the jeep tomorrow. Changing trans fluid (again) and changing fluid in both diffs. If I have time for fun stuff I'll take my front bumper off and trim it down a bit. Might take a drive to the JY to see if there are any new XJs with a good front right fender...
 
#58 ·
Nothing fun today :( just did some obligatory fixes.

Changed trans fluid again today (6th time). I seem to have finally gotten rid of pretty much all the water I took in a few weeks ago.
Also changed t-case fluid today....we'll I guess you could say I ADDED t-case fluid. Took the lower drain plug off and only about a half cup of black goop came out and that was it.
Changed front diff fluid today as well. Didn't have time to do the rear.

The ol' girl is finally starting to seal up. Im going to miss having a puddle to clean up every morning, :rolleyes: lol.

Now maybe I can start doing stuff I've been WANTING to do, lol
 
#60 ·
Figured I'd come back and wipe the cobwebs from this build thread.

About to start my budget boost. Almost got everything together. I'm going to do a separate thread with full step-by-step on how to do a budget boost with part numbers and costs, etc. It'll be pretty detailed and hopefully will help save some people some cash.

Also about to do some fab for front and rear bumpers as well as sliders. Not going to rush it but thats my plans. I'll post pictures when I get into it.
 
#61 ·
Yeeeaaa buddy




Picked up some 33 12.5 super swampers from craigslist. $550 for all five with wheels. Too bad those wheels wont work but I can surely sell them or trade them for something else so I'm not worried. Dude I bought them from cut the side lugs off of one of them to make it fit :rolleyes: but I figured that one could be my spare. The rest are all intact. Also snagged an adjustable track bar for $40 from craigslist.

Bought a RC kit with 3" coils, u-bolts and add-a-leafs. I won't be using the add-a-leafs. Got the kit on the cheap, $70 for the whole thing so I figured it was a good price just for coils and u-bolts alone. Got a set of 1" coil spring spacers to give me that extra inch and put me at right about 4" front and back.

I've also got some 4 degree steel leaf spring shims on the way to help with my driveline angle on the bastard pack. Still looking for a donor s-10 or dakota to get my bastard pack from. That's about the last thing I need to get started. (other than some randoms like brake lines, etc.)

So who needs some 6 lug 5.5 bolt pattern wheels??? lol
 
#62 ·
So here's a question. Spacers or new wheels? I know the obvious best choice would be new wheels but for the sake of saving $150, I could just buy some spacers and that'll give me 4 inchs of backspace to fit my tires onto my stock wheels. New wheels are tempting but man I like to keep my money in my pocket! Thoughts??
 
#65 ·
I'm probably going to break down and get wheels. It may be a little more expensive but I think it'll make me more satisfied with the whole build. I wouldn't have a problem with running spacers but new wheels for just a bit more money will be better in the long run.
So now the question is; with my 33 12.5 tires should I go with 3.75" BS just to be safe or would 4" BS be enough? I'm thinking the 3.75" would be the best choice but having no experience in this I just want to get some input.

Sent from my MB865 using JeepForum
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top