FishinXJ

Hey guys,

I just bought a 1990 2 door XJ a few months back. Only had 85k miles, so it was a good base. I've always worked on cars and have had a few projects, but this will be my first Jeep. My dad lives about 10 minutes from the Rubicon trail, so i plan on running that this summer. Its already come a long way from stock in the last couple months, so I thought I'd start a build thread. Ive learned a ton on this forum. Thanks guys. Let me know what you think.

Here's what it looked like when I bought it:

Deathwagon

That's a super clean '90. Congrats!

FishinXJ

I found a dana 44 from an XJ on Craigslist. It was already regeared to 4.56 and had a Detroit locker and chromoly axle shafts. It only had a few thousand miles on it, so it was a steal. Also, it happened to be exactly what I wanted to do anyways. Here are a few pics of cleaning it up. I used caliper paint, which turned out really well. Just wanted to keep the rust away.

FishinXJ

Thanks Deathwagon. It looks a looot different now. Stay tuned

Deathwagon

Subscribed!

FishinXJ

After I installed the D44. I found a rack and some 33x12.5 BFG Mud Terrains on Craigslist also. I bought some new Crager Soft 8s to mount the tires on. They haven't been mounted yet in the pics. They looks a little funny next to the stock height XJ. Time for a lift!

FishinXJ

Next I bought a 4.5 inch long arm kit from Rough Country. It took awhile to get to me because they were on backorder, but it seems to be a really solid kit. We'll see how it holds up. My luck... I had to install the front in the snow. Now that determination! Notice I also removed the rear tire carrier.

FishinXJ

Found some zinc coated flat plates in the electrical section at Home Depot. Made some quick HiLift mounts. Turned out alright. I used some leftover Daystar swaybar endlink bushing to tighten the jack against. Eliminated vibrations. Used a long shank lock to secure it. Let me know if you have any questions about this setup. Not the best, but it only cost 10 bucks, takes 20-30 min and matches the HiLift color!

FishinXJ

I pulled the D30 during the lift install and had it regeared to 4.56 to match the rear. Cleaned it up while I had it out. No locker for now.

e30

your interior = soooooooo awesome!

FishinXJ

I found some JKS SuperNerfs on CL. They must be one of the first ones they started building because theyre a slightly different design. They should do the job. I also ripped my stock fender flares off.

INDIANA-XJ

You will be hard pressed to find one in better overall condition than this. Do the tire's come close to rubbing?

FishinXJ

E30 - Yeah its crazy how clean it is, right? I was really surprised. The guy obviously took really good care of it. Here's another pic of it.

FishinXJ

Indiana - Yeah they did rub a bit when flexing. I've trimmed the fenders and added flares since. Pics coming

INDIANA-XJ

Mine is 10 years newer and that one looks as good inside.....and out for that matter.