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Kevin108's 2000 XJ Build

249K views 648 replies 93 participants last post by  soapy 
#1 · (Edited)
Kevin108's 2000 XJ Build, "Outsider"



I have really enjoyed reading others' build threads here. I didn't think I'd ever write one since I planned to leave my XJ more or less stock, but I keep doing things to it and my original plans are continually altered. With that in mind and a cold Yuengling at hand, I guess I'll start telling my story.

I started thinking about a new daily driver in May of 2009. I'd sold my 05 Corolla in December the previous year and after almost 6 months back in my 87 Silverado, I was realizing that I needed something more practical as a daily driver though I wanted a something somewhat capable as well.

I really didn't have any clue what I might wind up with, so I started a post at GlockTalk. Those guys know everything!

I have an 87 Silverado on 35s that started life as an offroad rig and wound up as a work truck for side jobs and a tow rig for hauling the ATVs. It's also been a daily driver for the last 6 months. As gas continues to creep back towards $3 a gallon, it's around-town 8 mpg has me eyeing something smaller for regular driving duties. I had an 05 Corolla that was a great car, just not at all what I needed for the places I go and the things I like to do.

My shopping specs:

$10,000 or less
Must be 4x4
At least 15 mpg
Auto tranny preferred substantially but a manual is acceptable on a sweet deal

My current train of thought is a small 4-door SUV like a Liberty, RAV4 or CRV. I don't know anything about them though, if some years were better than others, etc. Any suggestions?
The 8th reply suggested an XJ. I eyed some TJs as well but I quickly realized that they were priced about 2½ times more than an XJ of the same year even though they had essentially the same drive train and other components!

The XJ was it. Good engine, solid front axle, able to tow the ATVs, available with 4 doors, and a fantastic platform should I ever decide to build another offroad rig. Then I couldn't find one to save my life! There was nothing out there! Dealers had everything and wanted $2,000 more than their junk was worth.

Finally, after giving up and 2 months, I happened to find a CraigsList add for my XJ. After a couple of test drives, inspecting every square inch of it and a weekend of waiting on the bank to do their thing, I got to bring home my new XJ.



After a couple of days, the AC started acting up and after a couple of weeks or so, the blower quit completely. I was really aggravated that these problems hadn't surfaced during the test drives but such is life with a 10-year-old rig. I rode around for days with a multimeter in the passenger seat and after pulling the blower out all together, I found the problem to be the plug going into the blower motor resistor.

At some point the blower had gone bad overheating the resistor. Both of those had been replaced. When the resistor overheated, it ruined the plug as well but that didn't stop a previous owner, which was not the guy I bought it from, from faking a fix.



I'm yet to find the proper plug but the insulated spade connectors I added that fit tightly on the resistor contacts are working great.

Around the same time, I installed a Curt Class III receiver on the rear along with a wiring harness for the trailer. The hitch installation was easy save for one bolt on the heat shield between the muffler and the gas tank. I managed to strip the guts of a cheap ratchet and even with Snap-On stuff, a 2' breaker bar and an impact wrench, it was still hard to get that bolt out. The wiring made up for the hitch's difficulty by being plug and play.



After I got the hitch installed, I made a test run towing my ATVs at highway speeds on the interstate on a 105° day. I got my transmission temps up to 191° so I started shopping transmission coolers. I bought a 25,000 lb-rated unit and set it up in front of the mechanical fan so that it always had some amount of air moving over it.


Mounting location


I sleeved the upper hose. I felt that wind could make it make contact with the condenser. I also split a section of hose and wrapped around the opening of the hole to protect the active hoses.


The view from underneath


Where the hoses meet the hard lines

Around the same time, I mounted a 3-D-cell Mag-Lite to the passenger side A-pillar.



A week or so after that I painted the trim.





I gave it a good wash last week and painted the wiper arms.

 
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#6 ·
Thanks! Reading your thread was the final push towards writing my own. Your project is coming along nicely as well!

I thought about removing the molding and from what I saw, the condition of the double-sided tape that holds them on would certainly facilitate that option. I felt like the molding offers some protection in parking lots with careless people opening their doors against your rig and all the paint on this rig is still about 95% perfect so I'm going to leave it for the time being.

After the locker and front receiver, I'd like to get some skid plates. They would be useful with a lift and even more so now at stock height. Rock sliders seem like a good piece of insurance as well. One day down the road, custom bumpers aren't out of the question either.

I do things in fits and spells though. I've got some body work and other prep to do to my Silverado. Dad and I took our 50 Chevy Styleline and 72 Chevy Cheyenne to a car show this past weekend and I won a $500 gift certificate for a local body shop so I'll finally be able to get the rusty, stretched door skin on my driver's side door replaced.

I have way more projects than I do time or money.

i like your transmission cooler setup... pretty sweet:2thumbsup:
It's working great so far though if I ever get serious about trail riding I may route some things differently. It was somewhat difficult to get the little plastic mounting wires through all 3 sets of fins between the trans cooler, AC condenser and radiator. I actually used an ice pick, a lot of twisting and very light forward pressure to get the holes to line up.
 
#8 ·
I like your transmission cooler set up. I am planning on doing something with my OE unit. I plan on towing another XJ in the near future, and I may replace my small one with a larger unit for better cooling.
 
#11 ·
Wow. Hope your brakes feel better than mine! :eek:

Thanks! Not much "building" going on with mine cuz i'm poor after buying it, but I like to track my progress. And mine is a base model SE....so it didn't come with side molding. Sounds like your jeep will be pretty awesome! :thumbsup:
Well, Christmas is coming up. Maybe you can get some goodies then. (I know because I saw the damn trees all lit up at Lowes tonight. Already!)

There's not even anywhere local to wheel. I've got sand about 2 hours a way, rocks about 3 hours away and trails about 4 hours away. I don't have anybody to wheel with either. With that in mind, I'm really trying to keep myself on track and keep my build within reason.

And I just hooked up with a local Jeep Meetup group! :2thumbsup:
 
#14 · (Edited)
Mine went pretty quick but since we're down to one painter at work now, I do prep work all the time to help him out. It was a nice day and I was just chilling on an upside-down milk crate seat and listening to my iPod playing through the stereo. I didn't mind it one bit. On the other side though I didn't use all the crazy newspaper, just two runs of tape.

Then again, I really have no idea how long it took because I stopped after doing the left side to help Dad install a roll pan on our 72 Chevy pick up.
 
#16 · (Edited)
No new additions, but I did get a chance to really test the transmission cooler and rear hitch last weekend. Saturday I did my first towing since I added the 25,000 lb-rated transmission cooler. I hauled a 4x8 enclosed trailer full of furniture. Maybe 800-1000 lbs. Emboldened, Sunday I towed 3 ATVs on an 8x10 trailer, somewhere around 2000 lbs. No problems other than some trailer sway at 55 because of the 3rd ATV reducing tongue weight too much. Brought just 2 home on the same trailer without issue.

The best part was getting a chance to put it in 4WD!





 
#19 ·
I finally gave my transfer case a legitimate amount of usage! After 10 years of wheeling, I've never taken my parents anywhere. Today was my birthday so I took the day off work and Dad and I went to Carova Beach, NC to test out the Jeep in the sand. No complaints at all and it was an awesome day.





 
#21 ·
#23 ·
nice looking rig 108!

very clean, almost to clean!

hit up novajeepers.com if you ever wanna trail ride with us.

cornova beach rocks! best surfing(in the winter months) and some of the best surf fishing too. been going to duck, nc for 25 years and head down to cornova each time.
 
#24 ·
Installed my decal today. I wasn't sure where I was going to put it and the hitch isn't ideal but my truck is covered in decals and I'm going for a more subdued and anonymous look on the XJ.

 
#26 ·
The rear wiper would hit it and srmitchel or kettles or milhousinator...one of those guys I've read a million pages of build from...messed theirs up with an ice scraper.
 
#29 · (Edited)
In the garage today.

Draining for a new transmission fluid filter


Trying to fix a short in the right speaker


We also took a shim out of the AC compressor. It only had one left in it but that's my latest attempt at troubleshooting a temperamental AC. It was pretty straightforward. I took 2 bolts out to get the fan shroud loose, took a nut out of the center of the clutch then wiggled it off with a couple screwdrivers. The splines in the armature are keyed so you have to line that up for it to go back on right. We hit the splines with anti-seize before reassembly.
 
#198 ·
In the garage today.

Draining for a new transmission fluid filter


Trying to fix a short in the right speaker


We also took a shim out of the AC compressor. It only had one left in it but that's my latest attempt at troubleshooting a temperamental AC. It was pretty straightforward. I took 2 bolts out to get the fan shroud loose, took a nut out of the center of the clutch then wiggled it off with a couple screwdrivers. The splines in the armature are keyed so you have to line that up for it to go back on right. We hit the splines with anti-seize before reassembly.
kevin, your post caught my attention, My 2000 xj cherokee also has a short on the right front door speaker, I cant figure it out, aswell my AC doesnt work, im thinking mine has the same problems as your's? pm me if you can please!
 
#30 ·
The first thing we found this morning was that one of the dogs helped me open my new oil filter. The box was obliterated but the filter was fine and was later installed. Why did the engineers find it necessary to make the oil filter drain onto the starter when removed?


My girlfriend helped me pick and scrape the factory RTV off the transmission pan this morning. After that I hit it with Simple Green and a scrub brush and hung it in the sun to dry while I was scraping the bottom of the transmission.


I'm going to have to hit the junkyard for probably an entire lock assembly. The tab Dad broke off doesn't look to be easy to replace. The locking tab that flips on and off of the rod is available in the Help products but the tab it goes into is only part of the $107 (dream on, stealership) assembly. I'm thinking about running out to the local pick and pull tomorrow during lunch. Wish me luck.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Here's my post-install pics of my C4x4 hooks. They were supposed to be black but I'll just address that when I sandblast my other rims.

I did have to trim my air dam. Others have just trimmed the opening a little lower but I went ahead and cleared it out all together. I used a speed square to draw a straight line on the back of the parts and cut them out with a small pneumatic saw. I used a Dremel with a grinding wheel to dress the cuts as the saw I used melts through plastic more than it does actually cut it.



The keepers have some type of sub par black oxide coating and they rusted immediately. If you're going to use them, you should paint them before you install the kit.



One thing I did differently than most people is that in my hooks, there are only the bolt heads. The threads are up in the "frame". I had to slightly notch the factory bumper mounts to clear the front bolt in this fashion but I think the clear, smooth hook space is worth the additional effort. I also had to slightly square off the washers on the front bolts to fit inside the brackets.



All in all it's a nice kit but it's really taking me some getting used to on how to work on these things. These hooks will be trail tested this weekend.

 
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