mvillamil

Hey I know theres a lot of information about the convention to 4wd for the XJ but i have yet to find a good set of instructions of what i have to do and exactly what i will be dealing with. I have a 99 XJ and want to make it 4x4, i plan to get all parts from various JYs in the area. what do i exactly need, other than Front Axle Assembly, Transfer Case /w Shifter, Cross Member, Front and Rear Driveshafts,4x4 Transmission. BTW, im kinda new to heavy car mechanics im better with motorcycles (HD) and electrical, so what is the cross member. I will have help at the time of the conversion though. Thanks in advance for the help!!!!

solderjunkie

That is the complete parts-list... good job.

Make sure the new front axle has the same gear-ratio as your rear. Scrape the gunk off of the little tag on the diff cover and it will have the ratio (mine are 3.55).

The crossmember is the steel crossbar where the transmission mount bolts. I did the 4x4 conversion, but I never saw any difference in the crossmember... I threw the extra one in the scrap pile at work, so save some money and don't buy a crossmember.

I did my conversion in our shop on a Friday... expect to take much longer without a lift, tools, and experience.

Have fun

jd4x426

you might also want to look into getting 4 wheel drive parts truck that way you will have all small crap that you need usually if you search around you can find one pretty cheap good luck either way

Tankerblade

that 4x4 parts rig would help alot if you can find one for cheap.

Soldier do you have any pictures of your swap?

solderjunkie

no pics... I suck at remembering to stop and take pics.

Tankerblade

you have failed me grasshopper... haha its cool. where there any kind of things that were or you think would be a challenge to the everyday joe blow that rarely works on their jeeps?

a1racer

individual parts will run up a huge bill just get a parts 4x4 and sell off what ever you don't need it will be cheaper

mvillamil

well with the parts list i went to a local jy and asked them how much they would charge me for each and the total was $366 which i guess is not too bad, but i cant get another parts jeep cuz i currently live in an UPTIGHT apartment complex and plan to do the conversion at a buddy's house. Thank you guys for your help!

a1racer

366 aint to bad most places by me would be 500 up but good luck enjoy the build

solderjunkie

I have $500 in my conversion right now... but that includes new axle seals, torque converter seal, output shaft seals, trans cooler, and a 2" lift.

mvillamil

Is it really worth it to do the conversion because I was looking in the paper and online and some 4x4 jeeps are going pretty cheap, I think I'm a little nervous to do it because i don't want to mess up the transmission, mine works fine now but if I switch it out the "new" one might not work as well or not at all. If i do the conversion will it feel and look just like the stock 4x4? Maybe I'm just being "too cautious?"

a1racer

if you are unsure and not 100 percent on this i would just buy the new rig and sell yours just keep what you want from yours if you have any thing worth keeping and then sell it to off set the cost of the new rig.