figured since i am starting to get more work done on my 1995 Sport 4-door, i might as well start my build-up thread here. so far what has been done is some of the basic things, like new plugs, wires, rotor and distributor cap, straight piped exhaust through a magneflow 2.5" muffler, a 160degree thermostat to take care of over heating issues, new valve cover gasket, and that's pretty much it to date. the current axle set up on it is the Dana30 front and Dana35 rear. today i took my XJ into the shop to have them put on a "new to me" 231 t-case, because something caused the chain in the old one to slip off and actually grind a big hole in the side of the outer casing. on saturday, my cold air intake came in the mail, but i'm waiting to get it back from the shop before i install it. the other things i want to do with it as i get the money and time is as follows: Iron Rock Off Road 5.5" lift 33" Mickey Thompson tires 62mm throttle body possibly a greater cam profile and intake modifications Lock Right for the front and rear i don't plan on anything to wild for now, since money is relatively tight (college ), but once things get more comfortable, things could change to make it a beefy rig. here is a pic of that hole in the t-case (i can literally fit my hand into the hole):

That sucks about your t-case.
Good luck on your build

it'll all be good to go tomorrow when i get the call that it is in

i just want it back really bad though, i'm sick of borrowing the evil mini van, lol.

the "new to me" transfer case is in! one of the guys at the garage was telling me about how everyone was looking at it asking "wtf happened?" long story though.

i'm probably going to part out the old case to see what is still salvageable from it and start a stock pile of parts. next i want to get the intake kit put in sometime this week. know it's not going to add much in ways of performance right now, but at least i can squeeze another mile or two per gallon.

well give us a short version lol , im interested how that actually happend

i let my sister borrow it last summer to go to her bf's house and it started raining out. she put it into 4Hi and drive straight for awhile like that and the rain had cleared up a few more miles down the road. she forgot she even had 4WD engaged and went to take a turn, and the driving chain just came out of place. she didn't say anything until we had our first snow here in the metro detroit area, and when i tried putting it into 4WD, this horrible grinding sound came from right under my seat. i get home and tell the family what the problem was, and she goes "oh is that from when i..." you get the idea. so i've been driving it like that since then, and it just eventually wore two big holes like the one in the picture above, and needed it replaced.

i told this to the guys at the shop i had put in the new 231 for me, and he just says "jeez, as if women were not bad enough, but then your little sisters have to break your **** as well, eh?"

have the new air intake installed! it's the aFe Stage II kit with the oil based filter element. super easy to install.

the only main issue i found during installation was that the 1/2" heater hose section that comes with the kit struggles to fit over the outlet of the intake tube to the PCV elbow on the valve cover. to make this fit i used a file and took a little off the lip of the outlet. slid on fine after that. everything else went together with ease.

here are some pics of the engine now to show the intake and other pieces i had put on in the past:


and of the air intake itself:


you'll probably notice that the second lenght of hose coming off the intake tube is not connected to the cold air intake for the A/C (hence the small bit of tubing next to the filter that doesn't look like it is hooked up to anything). i actually cracked the plastic elbow that was originally on that section of tubing, so i need to head to the parts store and find a hose connector or elbow that fits the 1/2" heater hose length. but for now, it doesn't hurt anything, because who seriously runs the A/C in the winter?

another picture i felt that is necessary to add is a picture of what my jeep looks like:



so far that's it for now until i get some bills payed off and find time to order and install more parts.

been putting together some stuff i want to do in the spring. basic maintenance for the most part. i ordered a LubeLocker gasket for the rear axle, because i need to change that diff fluid come spring. i installed one awhile ago on the front, and it makes installation that much easier, and not waiting around for sealant to set properly. also, picked up the gear oil for that, and two gallons of Mobil 1 and a larger filter for an oil change i will need to do in a few thousand miles. i rack up miles quick, being that it is a daily driver, and i can easily do 40 miles in a day between school and work.

also today, i ordered the BBK 62mm throttle body that i've been looking at for the longest time now. 4WD.com had them with a 10% off offer they were doing, so i got it instead of $229.99 like they had listed, i got it for $206.99. that was the price before shipping, and because i ordered the gasket at the same time, i ended up spending less money than if i went to another site, or didn't get the 10% offer. normally on other sites, the throttle body costs about $279.99, so i think i got a good deal on it.

other than that, nothing else new to report that has been done other than shenanigans in the snow. i'm going to try to gets pics of the install as i am doing it which i will post here.

word of advice if you go with the mickey thompson baja claws. they are not dd friendly. they wear down quick. just my .02

^yeah, the more i look into them, the more i don't want them. obviously i still want something that can go from the street to the rocks or mud and back again. i figured a set of BFG's, or even the General GrabberAT2. Yokohama Geolander M/T tires from what i hear are a good balance of a claw tire and still able to ride on the street with no problems and normal wear.

the goodyear mtr's are a pretty good tire and they de very well on and off road. BTW judging on the name of your build is it safe to ***ume that you are a fan of punk rock?

punk rock: you know it

Goodyear is always a good brand to go with; kind of a fail-safe standard. my only issue with them though is every tire store by me gouges prices hardcore, and the only place that sells them for a respectable price is at Sears. i tend to be wary of the local sears, because last time my brother took his Grand Cherokee in for service he went there, and they messed all kinda of stuff up.

Amazon, as usual, has some good deals on them, si i may just poke around on the site and see what else i can find.

ma every where you go the sell good year they gouge the price.....since that isnt an option I would go with the geolanders I have heard good things about those and from what I have seen of them the tread looks likes a good all around pattern

nice valve cover. i want to paint mine lime green. or yeller

^thanks. lime green? i didn't know they made that in an engine paint color. defiantly be unique under the hood.