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98' XJ - Gettin her trail ready

66K views 487 replies 20 participants last post by  JeepN4KC 
#1 ·
Whats up JF, This is going to be a somewhat slow "build," however Im always working on her trying to get as much preventative maintenance done as I can. This is my second jeep, my first was a 87' YJ that I fixed up and sold for this 98' Cherokee Sport. Spent some time looking before I found this one. 4.0, ax15, np231, chrysler 8.25, 4dr, and Im the 2nd owner! Getting her reliable before I start adding trail goodies. Things Iv done since purchasing the XJ around a month ago.
-New Dist Cap
-New Dist Rotor
-New Spark Plugs (Champions)
-New Spark Plug Wires
-Flushed Radiator
-New Water Pump
-New t-stat w/ gasket
-New Intake/Exhaust Manifold Gasket
-New Throttle Body Gasket (Cut one out of a sheet of gasket material)
-New Air Filter (K/N drop in)
-New Oil Pressure Sending Unit
-New Coolant Temp Sensor
-Changed Oil and Filter (Rotella T 10w30, PureOne Purolator Filter)
-Changed Trans Fluid (Pennzoil Synchromesh)
-Changed t-case fluid (Dex 3)
-Changed Rear Diff Fluid (80-90 weight gear oil)
-Replaced Both U-joints on rear driveshaft
-Replaced Leafs with Crown Heavy Duty Leaf Springs W/ Poly Bushings.
-Rugged Ridge Leaf Shackles
-Fat Bobs Garage U-bolts
-Replaced Trans Mount
-Replaced Rear Shocks (Monroe Sensa Trac)
-Replaced Tires (Bridgestone AT Dueler Revo 2 tires, 235/75/15)
-Replaced OEM rims with 98' Limited Tear Drop Rims
-Wired in a new usb/cd/aux JVC radio
-Rugged Ridge floor mats
-And last but not least, my first mod. Aussie Locker for chrysler 8.25 29 Spline
When I first bought it -

Doing Work -

Aussie -

XJ with friend XJ -

Current -

Mod #2 is in the mail, the d-ring bumper should be here in a few days. Thanks for reading all of this, once I get a paying job and wear these tires down a bit, Il be looking to get a lift and some 32s. Its a DD with the intention to occasionally wheel. We all know that its easy to go extreme with Jeeps. Stay Tuned :wave:
 
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#273 ·
im not sure about kansas but in Memphis where I used to live the local u-pull-it's had a million xj's and almost every 4wd one was sporting 3.55's...usually if you tell the local junkyard cashier you dont want a "warrantee" they will knock off bucks...however I was installing most of the used xj stuff on an offroad only rig, and I was going to modify it so that's whey I never asked for warrantee...anywho just thought id swing by and say hi...lol...how much were the tires btw? I really want something decent for my lil dj I can get a set of goodyear wranglers for 328$ but that's only a 235/75/r15...I really want some 31's tho
 
#275 ·
Freak, I have a couple junkyards near me that typically have a handful of xj's. When I first bought my Cherokee I saw a waggy xj in the yard, with the d44, but didn't need it at the time... :brickwall In the next week or two Il check the yards again, as long as the gears are clean a $100 master rebuild kit isn't a problem. This would be the cheaper route rather than buying r/p gears front and back, a new front carrier (if I went over 373's), and master rebuild kits (bearings and seals). This is my daily driver however if it has to sit for a few days to get some work done it doesn't matter. I'l see if I can get them cheaper without a warranty, if I could get a complete d30 and c8.25 in good shape for $200 it would be worth it.
 
#274 ·
freaknajeep said:
im not sure about kansas but in Memphis where I used to live the local u-pull-it's had a million xj's and almost every 4wd one was sporting 3.55's...usually if you tell the local junkyard cashier you dont want a "warrantee" they will knock off bucks...however I was installing most of the used xj stuff on an offroad only rig, and I was going to modify it so that's whey I never asked for warrantee...anywho just thought id swing by and say hi...lol...how much were the tires btw? I really want something decent for my lil dj I can get a set of goodyear wranglers for 328$ but that's only a 235/75/r15...I really want some 31's tho
Look at te treadwrights you'll save a **** ton of money

And griffin what you up to today? You should come out.
 
#277 ·
straightsixjeep said:
Just woke up Trent, what did you have in mind? Find any mud holes or creeks? :D
No puttin on the suspension thinkin you could help figure it out.
 
#279 ·
straightsixjeep said:
For the yj? Text your addy one more time, once I get some food I could head out there.
Yeah for the yj. You don't have to if you don't wanna
 
#282 ·
JeepN4KC said:
If you can, get a high pinion D30 and 29 spline 8.25..........

Honestly, if you're looking to swap axles with new gears - go all out with the new axles. Gear them 4.56 or 4.88. You'll only do it once. 3.55s are okay but the deeper the better and IMO the aggressiveness of your build lends itself to at least 4.56 gearing. :thumbsup:
This. Go with jk drive train axles
 
#285 ·

Took over a pound of weight to balance 3 of the 4 tires. I ran the rims on the balancer without the tires and the rims are only an ounce off if that. I tried airing the tires down and rotating them 1/4 turn at a time then rebalancing them which didn't help. I even tried removing one tire and flipping it over. Despite the large amount of weight, which should be expected for 70lb retread tires, I balanced them all to 0 and they ride beautiful. I don't care for all the wheel weights, I think I may try airsoft bb balancing.
 
#286 ·
straightsixjeep said:
Took over a pound of weight to balance 3 of the 4 tires. I ran the rims on the balancer without the tires and the rims are only an ounce off if that. I tried airing the tires down and rotating them 1/4 turn at a time then rebalancing them which didn't help. I even tried removing one tire and flipping it over. Despite the large amount of weight, which should be expected for 70lb retread tires, I balanced them all to 0 and they ride beautiful. I don't care for all the wheel weights, I think I may try airsoft bb balancing.
Rotate the tires a full turn it took me at most 8oz
 
#288 ·
straightsixjeep said:
Except for one that only took 3oz, no matter what I did the other three required over a pound. Either way, I'm removing all the metal weights and throwing 8oz of airsoft bb's in this weekend.
Only 1 of 5 took 8 the rest took close to 3
 
#290 ·
straightsixjeep said:
What type of balancer, which balancing method did you use, and what are your rims made of?
Aluminum wheels. Auto balancer at the local tire shop and the stick on weights so static? Or is that dynamic?
 
#292 ·
straightsixjeep said:
I believe that is indeed static, perhaps the greater imbalance in my rims than yours also plays an effect on the total balance. Either way I'm itching to hit a trail.
Oh yeah I know me too. I'm saving my money for the crawler though so it will be a little while.
 
#294 ·
straightsixjeep said:
Not wheelin the jk on 35s with no flares?
I am and I do just saving money on gas and that is going toward the crawler. I'm goin to go wheelin if my dad goes then he can buy gas;)
 
#297 ·
straightsixjeep said:
I'll try to forget the wink smiley there but you should list them on craigslist and kcjeepclub.
Haha didn't even notice I did that I blame S8NNG8

I've posted in some Facebook groups. I need to post on CL. For an insane amount because people are dumb
 
#299 ·
straightsixjeep said:
Or for a reasonable amount and someone will buy it soon.

Don't you have a cj eager to wheel?
I need to do the brake lines but rotors and buy rear brake stuff since all the rear brake **** I have kinda disappeared.
 
#300 ·
hey some of yall need to move down here to Mississippi so I can have buds to jeep with...lol...we could have crazy jeep adventures...I do have one question tho what kind of trails are there in corn/wheat country? I mean I guess everywhere has it spots...ive been thru Kansas a few times and don't really seemto recall any heavily wooded areas...however not living there I could be very mistaken
 
#301 ·
freaknajeep said:
hey some of yall need to move down here to Mississippi so I can have buds to jeep with...lol...we could have crazy jeep adventures...I do have one question tho what kind of trails are there in corn/wheat country? I mean I guess everywhere has it spots...ive been thru Kansas a few times and don't really seemto recall any heavily wooded areas...however not living there I could be very mistaken
We have the flint hill which is rocky
 
#302 ·
yea yea...you guys and yer rocks....never seen so many people afraid of a little mud...lmfao....granted the cleanup sucks but boy if sure is fun during the ride...and im not talking bout the wet spot in farmer browns field...never quite understood that or the fact that groups of 4wheelers like to ply in the same hole for 30 minutes digging it out for the next guy...my idea of and ideal "orv park" would be muddy hilly rocky nasty and super sloppy...you know hit a few holes, make a hill climb navigate down the other side hit another hole come out of that with wet tires have to make it up a rock ledge then a muddy hill back into some more twisty yucky sloppy holes with rocks repeat all day..one where the trail changes from day to day...what you made yesterday you might not make today...I started out riding a set of trails known as "The Covington Pike Bottoms"...about 20 miles of trails along the wolf river in Memphis TN....sandy muddy hilly river bottoms with a few nice manmade ditches and washouts...the trails literally changed day to day in a big way...but in the late winter it floods fill in all the holes and come spring you start all over....I remember we went one year after the flood went down(waited about a month)...we hit the trails at about 10:30...we had 16 trucks in all, 5 had winches....the downhill trek entering was no biggie hill was pretty dry, and heres where it gets well ii would say interesting...but basicly the first section of trail you went around a couple of thickets down a 4ft drop travers about 200yrds then back up the same little 4ft drop...well see what had happened was...the trails had been under water for so so long that once all 16 of us had made into the depression were literally all stuck where we sat in a line...being as I was running tractor tire I was still able to at least move but unable to navigate up either one of the very small 4ft slants to get out...bad thing was as they sat all the truck were slowly sinking further into the muck...ok just realized how long this story could be so ill get on to the punch line...all in all it took 6 and a half hours to ride approx. 300ft turn around and extract 16 trucks...wives were pissed, kids were crying, everybody was cussing and laughing ...was a great day...
 
#303 ·
I dream of having local areas to go wheel with other Jeepers. There is one local spot that has a few mud holes and some hills, nothing even moderately difficult though. There are 2 different orv parks about 1.5-2 hours away that have some good trails. I want to put my Jeep through nasty stuff but there isn't a whole lot around this area. One day I will have to wheel with you!
 
#304 ·
straightsixjeep said:
I dream of having local areas to go wheel with other Jeepers. There is one local spot that has a few mud holes and some hills, nothing even moderately difficult though. There are 2 different orv parks about 1.5-2 hours away that have some good trails. I want to put my Jeep through nasty stuff but there isn't a whole lot around this area. One day I will have to wheel with you!
Lets go To Tuttle it's a lake bed and rocky and wooded
 
#308 ·
as far as the "government goes"...I would love to rant on this subject but all I will say is, that "its an Obamanation" what has happened to our great country
 
#311 ·
Ha your previous auto must have been a vw...lol all I see is cresent wrenches and vice grips..yo where the sockets at...Lmfao...ok that was my rant for the day...lol..

I'm still undecided as to what tires I'm gonna go with...I kinda like the Hercules "trail digger mt" in a 32x11.5...decisions decisions....
 
#312 ·
For the engine mount through bolt I use 1/2" drive ratchet and 18mm socket on the bolt head then an adjustable wrench on the nut. The vice grips are for a small scissor jack I have which I used to move the engine up a hair to get the through bolt in. That would be funny if I changed my engine mounts with nothing but an adjustable wrench and a pair of vice grips.
 
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