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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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#112 ·
Its been a good day for the Cherokee even though it sits on jack stands with no wheels. I complained and was able to return my tires for a full refund. They were weak in the snow, clumped mud horrible, and were wearing fast. They had almost 2/32nds of tread loss in 1500 miles with a fresh alignment. I actually aligned the jeep a total of 5 times on the alignment rack at school (with my ase certified master tech instructor), and a 6th time in my garage with a tape measure just to check toe. At this rate the 50,000 mile tire would of been needed replacement around 20,000mi. I ordered a set of 31/10.5/15 Good Year Wrangler MT/R Kevlar tires that will be here Monday morning. Im installing a lift on an xj in the morning then Il have the tires put on my rims shortly after. Stay tuned for pictures and videos eventually.
 
#113 ·
My front differential has been droning a little bit so I went ahead and changed the fluid with 80-90 weight gear oil. With the cover off, I cleaned out the diff with brake parts cleaner and while that dried, I painted the cover with rust tough enamel. After resealing the diff cover with rtv ultra black and topping it off with fluid, the noise is a lot better and almost nonexistent. (There wasn't any metal shavings however the diff fluid was thick and nasty)


The new tires came in this morning, I had them mounted and balanced then I bolted them up to the Cherokee. 31x10.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler MT/R w/ Kevlar



Going back to tinker on the Jeep, thanks for tuning in.
 
#114 ·
straightsixjeep said:
My front differential has been droning a little bit so I went ahead and changed the fluid with 80-90 weight gear oil. With the cover off, I cleaned out the diff with brake parts cleaner and while that dried, I painted the cover with rust tough enamel. After resealing the diff cover with rtv ultra black and topping it off with fluid, the noise is a lot better and almost nonexistent. (There wasn't any metal shavings however the diff fluid was thick and nasty)

The new tires came in this morning, I had them mounted and balanced then I bolted them up to the Cherokee. 31x10.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler MT/R w/ Kevlar

Going back to tinker on the Jeep, thanks for tuning in.
Your Passenger side tire look to be on backwards.
 
#117 ·
straightsixjeep said:
They look funny at first but they are actually asymmetrical tires. The guy at the tire shop tried to put one on backwards before I stopped him.
Oh haha I didn't know that.
How much were they
 
#119 ·
straightsixjeep said:
Look it up. On the tire itself theres an inner and outer marking.

Enough. :thumbsup:
That's understandable. So yesterday I got approval to lift my Jk:thumbsup:
 
#131 ·
We can rebuild it, it will be stronger, faster, bigger, and have more posts and pictures! lol.

Working on lawn edging flares as we speak, I have the fronts cut out and Il start the rears tomorrow. My first attempt at the flares I cut off the outside tube and only let the flat flare section. It looked decent, but I knew I could do better. This time I left the outside tubing on the lawn edging and Im going to bolt them to the fenders with small strips of metal. Hope to have them done tomorrow so stay tuned for pics.
ps: Im going for the bushwacker flat flare look. They may not look as good or be as strong however I only have a total of $25 invested.
 
#134 ·
straightsixjeep said:
All 3 u-pull-its. Lots of explorers with 8.8s.
Awesome. I need to go soon.

Do you how much they run?

sent from the bottom of an empty money pit
 
#136 ·
straightsixjeep said:
According to the website between $120 and $200 + an apx. $25 core charge. There was an early wagoneer xj at the yard to, I cant believe I forgot to check if it had a factory D44.
Good to know thanks. I'll talk to my grandpa about It.

sent from the bottom of an empty money pit
 
#137 ·
Check craigslist daily like I do, save you the time crawling under a vehicle in the junkyard that isnt supported properly. If you cant find anything locally on craigslist, bring your own jack stands to the junkyard with you. When you leave just find some wheels/rims to set the vehicle back down onto. The reason I ordered a hitch offline is because all the cherokees at the junkyard have a rim under the hitch supporting the vehicle. I could of gone back with a jack and stands but it was easier to spend a few bucks more to get a new one that I didnt have to pull.

Thats another thing. I ordered a class 3 hitch off ebay along with a 2" d-ring receiver and jcr offroad nutstrips. Il have pictures of the parts when they arrive.

Lastly, picked up a 4 ton comealong to add to the recovery equipment collection.
 
#138 ·
straightsixjeep said:
Check craigslist daily like I do, save you the time crawling under a vehicle in the junkyard that isnt supported properly. If you cant find anything locally on craigslist, bring your own jack stands to the junkyard with you. When you leave just find some wheels/rims to set the vehicle back down onto. The reason I ordered a hitch offline is because all the cherokees at the junkyard have a rim under the hitch supporting the vehicle. I could of gone back with a jack and stands but it was easier to spend a few bucks more to get a new one that I didnt have to pull.

Thats another thing. I ordered a class 3 hitch off ebay along with a 2" d-ring receiver and jcr offroad nutstrips. Il have pictures of the parts when they arrive.
I do check CL. I dunno I'll figure out what to do later. Now is time for sleep.

sent from the bottom of an empty money pit
 
#140 ·
I had ordered a class 3 hitch off ebay a few days ago and they just wrote me to say that there was a manufacturing defect and they refunded me the $. They said if I waited a month for another hitch they would give me 10% off. I dont have the patience so I ordered a different one. I did just get a d-ring receiver off ebay and a pair of jcr nutstrips. Trying to heat up the garage so I can test fit my lawn edging flares, its hard to get any work done when its this cold. Should have wheelin pics/videos this weekend.
 
#141 ·
straightsixjeep said:
I had ordered a class 3 hitch off ebay a few days ago and they just wrote me to say that there was a manufacturing defect and they refunded me the $. They said if I waited a month for another hitch they would give me 10% off. I dont have the patience so I ordered a different one. I did just get a d-ring receiver off ebay and a pair of jcr nutstrips. Trying to heat up the garage so I can test fit my lawn edging flares, its hard to get any work done when its this cold. Should have wheelin pics/videos this weekend.
How much we're the nuts trips? I thought about getting them. I'm buying an AAL from a diode so I can trash my blocks lolll
 
#143 ·

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#144 ·


And the friction pads are the plastic pads that go in between your individual leafs. Without them or with worn down ones your leafs will squeak and can wear down the metal when the ends of the leafs rub on the other leafs. You can be cheap and cut up pieces of a plastic antifreeze container to use or have a leaf spring shop drill a hole in the ends of the leafs and pop in legit friction pads.
 
#145 ·
straightsixjeep said:
And the friction pads are the plastic pads that go in between your individual leafs. Without them or with worn down ones your leafs will squeak and can wear down the metal when the ends of the leafs rub on the other leafs. You can be cheap and cut up pieces of a plastic antifreeze container to use or have a leaf spring shop drill a hole in the ends of the leafs and pop in legit friction pads.
Where can I get them if mine are shot? I don't think we have a leaf shop around here lol,
 
#153 ·
No, that is part is the leaf spring clamp. Typically you have 2-3 clamps per leaf pack. Once you put all the leafs together and you have the plastic friction pads between the leafs, insert the centering pin and tighten in. Now clamp one end of the leaf pack and put the bottom part of the clamp into place.

Then slide the top piece over those two arms, then hammer the arms down.
Then release the clamp and your leafs will be secured.
 
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