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biggn235's XJ Sport build

39K views 361 replies 31 participants last post by  biggn235 
#1 ·
I was going to wait till I was finished with my lift and tires before I started a build thread but I decided it was time to get it going.

My XJ is a 1999 Sport, Gun Metal Blue.
4.0
AW4
NP231
D30/8.25
Body has 176k miles, engine was replaced in 09 (have receipts) and has 95k.

She has been used and abused by her PO and needs a little love. Here it is the day I got it home. (April 29th)

























That last pic is kinda dark but you can see the broken leaf that is hanging down on the driver's side. Sooo much sag.
 
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#61 ·
I wouldn't put money in my LP D30 - it's not conducive to lifting and is weaker than the HP D30 you likely have. I will be swapping in a HP D30 soon, but will not do it til I'm ready to go a bit higher, and am ready to upsize tires and put in an aussie type locker up front.

Hey - I found one of the snaps of me stuck after a rookie night run down a 'big boy' trail.
I'm stock on crap AT 225's, blown up left front Ujoint firmly planted on my belly after slipping into the ruts.
A couple brothers with some planks and jacks eventually got me out.

I was dumb. I wheeled alone (had company to walk out at least) I didn't know the trail, just it's existence. I also smashed the front window closing the hatch and banging the planks into it.

I think I'll call a bud and slay that trail tomorrow.
 

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#62 ·
The Dana 30 is more than enough for me right now, and yeah mine is high pinion. At this point in time the XJ is my DD for the foreseeable future and I don't plan on going any bigger than 31-32 inch tires for a long time. I already have a Dana 70 that I got for free so I can build that up over time and eventually find a nice axle for the front as well if I ever want to go crazy and make this XJ a trail beast when it is no longer on daily duty. Lockers aren't absolutely necessary for the moment so I'll have plenty of time to decide exactly which direction I want to take with them as far as selectable or not.
 
#63 ·
I have good news :)

First- my JeepForum sticker and cards came in, pic kinda sucks but you know what it looks like.


But the real good news-


:2thumbsup:


Thanks to Stephen I now have a temporary set of wheels and tires. Stock Jeep wheels painted flat black with the silver center caps installed, with a set of 31" BFG AT's. The Jeep looks SO MUCH BETTER! The tires are not true 31s and they are a little worn down, but they look and feel way better than the crap tires I had before and they are only going to be on there for a month or two. Thanks Stephen!
 
#67 ·
Better pictures.

I parked next to a stock XJ this morning at work.


When I got off this evening I gave the Jeep a bath, inside and out.






Also drilled in some self tapping screws to hold the brake hardline in its new location.


I WILL get that new steering stabilizer on this week.
 
#72 ·
Your XJ looks ten times better then when you initially bought it. Good stuff! :thumbsup:
 
#75 ·
Yeah I agree, but these wheels are just temporary until I can get a set of DuraTracs mounted on my Cragars. It won't be too much longer. The tires will be slightly bigger and the Cragars have 4" backspacing.
 
#76 ·
nice jeep man keep up the good work.
 
#78 ·
Added some stick on horsepower this afternoon. There are a lot of lifted Jeeps in my area so I wanted to customize mine a little more

School sticker and JF sticker on the upper middle of the windshield




On the back window I added my Shaun White sticker and another ASU sticker to go along with the Volcom sticker that has been there.








Looking good!




Still ready to get these on... soon... soon...
 
#79 ·
If you go 31" and 4" BS you will need to bumpstop to keep the fronts out of the fender and ripping off the flares. There is also a pinch seam to flatten at the back of the wheel well to avoid cutting the tires.

Looks pretty good, don't mind the colour.

You will be very happy with the Duratracs
 
#81 ·
Finally got the big bore steering stabilizer on today.

When I opened my door this morning this is what I saw. I love it!


Got the old one off.


The tapered nut was seized in the drag link pretty good, but a few hits from Persuasion and it popped right out.


Old compared to new


New one in.


Haven't taken it for a drive yet but I'm very confident that the steering will be much stiffer based on how worn out the old stabilizer is.
 
#82 ·
While taking it for a test drive around town today to see if I could tell a difference with the new stabilizer on (not a huge difference but definitely a slightly firmer feel to it now) my transmission started acting weird. Everything was fine until I punched it to get around some idiot in a Tahoe that didn't know how to go above 20 in a 45mph zone. When I tried to start off from the next stoplight the Jeep revved up to about 2400rpm and barely started moving, the tranny was slipping really bad. I finally got it up to speed but it was still lacking in get-up-and-go so I pulled over in a Food Lion parking lot and turned it off. I got out and touched the tranny pan and it was very hot, but not any more than normal. Drove it back home with it still refusing to cooperate and discovered that if I changed the shifter from D to 1-2 it would accelerate normal, but it wouldn't downshift like it was supposed to while in D and was constantly trying to start off in 3 or 4. SO- I get it home and let it cool down and wait till the temps outside go down (it is currently 55 degrees) and go for another drive. Now everything is fine and the Jeep is shifting like it should. So I'm assuming I just overheated it slightly and pissed it off. All I know is that tomorrow I'm buying new DexIII/Merc and a new filter, and also adding a nice big tranny cooler to my future shopping list. The guy I bought it from used to tow a lot with it so I'm guessing he burnt out the transmission and put a lot of wear and tear on it. But for now as long as it stays cool it's fine. Grrr I hate mechanical problems :rantscream:

/rant
 
#83 ·
A few updates for those who care.

I found a broken vacuum line under the hood next to the battery. It must have gotten pinched at some point when I put the hood prop into its clip. I wrapped some electric tape around it and the weird transmission problem along with my evap major leak problem have been fixed. It still has that misfire occasionally though, so I'm still working on that.







There is a first time for everything.



Drove around to make sure everything was working ok again, and went by the stadium.

 
#84 ·
Went with Stephen last night for some night wheeling and took a few pictures until it got too dark for anything to show up. Had a blast. The XJ is consistently surprising me, I can officially say it is more capable than my YJ.

The start of the trail, lined up next to Stephen's TJ.





Decided to try a new line over some rocks that I've never done before, made it no problem.







Love this pic.













Back onto the main trail.





Flex! Sway bar still connected.





Stuffed 31





Rock on

 
#85 ·
More night wheeling pics.

Stephen trying some off-camber.







Hill climbs, very steep hill climbs in fact









After that it became too dark to see anything with the camera and Stephen gave up on it. But the XJ did so good! I'm so proud of my baby, she's come so far!
 
#86 ·
Today was cleanup and maintenance day. We cleaned up a little, I changed my oil, and Stephen rotated his tires.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maintenance




Here is a picture of the Dana 70 that I was referring to in earlier posts. It needs a lot of work but it is a beast of an axle.



And the 10 bolt next to it.



Both for free.

And Alexis decided to plop down and get her picture taken too.



So that's it for now. Still saving for those tires.
 
#88 ·
I can also say that the springs have softened up A LOT since putting them on, the XJ rides great and has good road manners. I ordered a rear receiver shackle and a pair of front tow hooks yesterday so I'll have those on sometime next week weather/work permitting. I'll feel a lot better with some good recovery points. Up next I want to finish up the front suspension with a pair of extended sway disconnects and new sway bar bushings. That will take care of a lot of knocking noises from up front, and eventually an adjustable track bar to get rid of the bracket that is on there now.
 
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