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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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#489 ·
I was having some engine starting issues where it was turning over with great effort and very slowly. I started with what was definitely an issue: the corroded positive cable. Multiple strands were split away and you can see the corrosion going inside the lug as well.



I bought a new 38" cable for the starter. I added a longer 5/16" bolt for the terminal. I cut off the 18" wire for the PDC and added a lug so I could tie it back in with a second nut on the longer bolt.



I then had the battery load tested and it was determined to be bad. It's only 2 years old so I'll go tomorrow and see what level of replacement it qualifies for. I also aimed my headlights again for the new header panel. Once this nonsense is out of the way, maybe I'll be able to get into fixing the blend door. Maybe some day I'll get to the bottom of my no_bus issue as well. I'm going to keep my eye out for another computer just to try. The one I have now is making the ScanGauge do strange things.
 
#490 ·
My slow start issue I've been fighting is from a bad cell in a Duralast battery. It's only putting out a little less than half of the cold cranking amps. It had a 2 year warranty and it's not even two months past that. A direct replacement is now $100. This was a $60 battery just two years ago! The 5-year replacement is $120.

As I was looking at prices, it then occurred to me that it's foolish to buy the same crappy battery again. Interstate batteries came to mind as something I've heard recommended so I looked up prices on those. $120 on the low end, up to $280.

Then I looked up Optima prices on Amazon. They used to be expensive, remember? $144 for a red top with free shipping. Done!

 
#495 ·
Then I looked up Optima prices on Amazon. They used to be expensive, remember? $144 for a red top with free shipping. Done!
Amazon is the shiznit! Seriously, you can find nearly anything and everything you need - cross reference part #'s, Prime gets you free 2 day shipping - bam, at your door fast and cheaper than anywhere else.

Sometimes I am so over this Jeep. Yesterday I was forced to do a search for "2000 Cherokee 4.0 won't rev past 3,000 rpm" I found a solution, but how the other guy found a solution baffles me and the fact that it means electrical gremlins are now entering in the equation has me ready to write a rough draft for a Craigslist ad.
Electrical gremlins, :brickwall , it took me a solid week to track down and fix a short I was having with my rear passenger lights. Finally found the problem was in the bundle inside the rubber boot at the top of the liftgate.

Luckily I wasn't having "driveability" electrical issues.
 
#492 ·
Thats a good buy on the Optima! Had a red top in my 02 Z71, never failed me. My battery failed recently and I almost pulled out the wallet until I realized it was under warranty. The PO equipped it with a 800cca Everstart Max, had been a great battery until it randomly failed one day. Wally World replaced it under warranty, but I woulda been out just over 100 bucks otherwise. Got lucky.

Anyhoo, glad to see the Jeep back together. I feel your build is truly unique here, not often does JeepForum get an XJ owner so concerned with overall fit/finish and attention to detail, that still leaves the pavement and uses their Jeep as a way to just get out there.
 
#493 ·
Ahhh, that's better!



Anyhoo, glad to see the Jeep back together. I feel your build is truly unique here, not often does JeepForum get an XJ owner so concerned with overall fit/finish and attention to detail, that still leaves the pavement and uses their Jeep as a way to just get out there.
Thanks for the kind words! Most of my career is trim/finish work and I guess I naturally extend that to my vehicles. I want to just develop the "**** it" attitude a lot of other XJ owners have, especially since my wreck, but even now I'm just going to wind up getting a new hood when I find one cheap then I'll go back to trying to pretty everything back up. The end caps need fresh paint. The header panel and front bumper are black. The straight rear bumper I want to swap in is black. It's just going to take time to get to it all.

I don't have a huge build/wheeling budget so I try to keep it simple and keep it cheap. I'd love to be able to go ridiculous with my build but then it would be pointless as it's supposed to be a fuel-efficient DD. The fuel efficiency's been fine. Now if only I could keep it parts-efficient... :laugh:
 
#494 ·
Sometimes I am so over this Jeep. Yesterday I was forced to do a search for "2000 Cherokee 4.0 won't rev past 3,000 rpm" I found a solution, but how the other guy found a solution baffles me and the fact that it means electrical gremlins are now entering in the equation has me ready to write a rough draft for a Craigslist ad.

http://www.xjsocal.com/showthread.p...res-Hesitation-Stumbling-Loss-of-power....etc if anyone is interested.
 
#496 ·
I did some thinking last night and I've drawn a line with how much more I'm willing to do with this. Parts replacement and mods are fine but tracking down electrical gremlins on an aging wiring harness that was sub-par even when new is a fool's errand.

If this next fix doesn't turn out simple, I'm going to start looking for a cheap 98-99 to start moving parts to. Failing that, I'm going to start parting it out.

This thing has been more work than fun the entire time I've owned it. I'm just done trying to fix the impossible and for the pittance it's worth, it's certainly not worth paying a pro to fix it for me.
 
#499 ·
I bought some crappy saddle splices today and pulled the wire to temporarily reground the sensors. I located and spliced the pin 4 wire from the computer but then my wife had dinner ready and it got dark while we ate so I gave up for the night.
 
#502 ·
Tonight I installed the temporary jumpers mentioned in http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f177/kevin108s-2000-xj-build-867428/index33.html#post16604449 I can now rev past 3,000 rpm but my idle is still **** and it sounds like it's missing. I'm going to look around and see if I have a spare camshaft position sensor. I'm going to go for a lengthy test drive tomorrow and see how it behaves as my current testing has been limited to a short stretch of yard in front of my garage. This is because the number of beers it took me to get motivated to work on this thing left me in no condition to operate it on public roads.
 
#503 ·
This is because the number of beers it took me to get motivated to work on this thing left me in no condition to operate it on public roads.
Totally sig-worthy material there. :laugh:

Ive had times like that as well, electrical woes are the worst. Cant resolve them with a hammer like most other Jeep issues.
 
#505 ·
Finally did my test drive. No change. Still need to swap the camshaft position sensor. Or just put it on Craigslist.

Jordan, no weird tick. Just the computer kept putting the engine in limp mode as it was shutting down misfiring cylinders.
 
#506 ·
Jordan, no weird tick. Just the computer kept putting the engine in limp mode as it was shutting down misfiring cylinders.
Gotcha. That makes me feel a bit better about my tick. Thanks!!
 
#507 ·
What's blue and stupid and still has issues but is running right again?

I can't explain why what was wrong with it occurred. The gap on the #2 spark plug had completely closed causing a constant misfire and requisite rough idle. The computer then went into limp mode, causing my rev issue.
 
#514 ·
I terminated the contract for Kevin108.com where I had all my pictures hosted so at some point, they'll all quit working. I'm not going to fix them but if you need the pics for something specific, PM me and I'll get them back up through another channel. :thumbsup:

*Update*

As of 4-29-14, the links for all the pics have been updated.
 
#516 ·
Harbor Freight ran a sale this weekend. $40 for a receiver-mounted cargo rack. No good for wheeling as it affects either your approach or departure angle severely but for road travel or beach runs, it's probably a great piece and the price is right. We used it to haul firewood this weekend. Went camping at Merchant's Millpond in NC. No wheeling or anything interesting but I snagged an up-to-date pic.

 
#518 ·
The ScanGauge still won't stay on and reading. I did some digging under the dash. There's another connector related to the bus there. It's affixed to a C-shaped mount that secures with two screws to the dash structure. I pulled the screws, brushed them up on a wire wheel, and reinstalled them. So far, zero no bus issues.

I still need to fix the blend door. Just waiting on warm, dry weather
 
#519 ·
Yesterday I wheeled for the first time since last summer! Went to the VA 4WD Association meeting in Suffolk, VA. Wheeled about 4 hours on a small but well-thought-out offroad playground. More than anything, I like to watch the stock rigs get out there and make it through the same places all the overbuilt rigs can.

The most common thing I heard was, "Your locker isn't engaged." I'm not sure if everybody has problems with selectable lockers or if there's just a lot of people who think every Jeep has factory lockers. My Aussie was flawless, as was my XJ. I took it through some far deeper mud and bigger rocks than I usually dare tackle. Nothing but good news there.

Muddy from a trail for the first time since this time last year!
 
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