It's always something - we're halfway into process and u-bolt nuts welded to the body are starting to crumble from the rust. Thanks New York and all your god damn salt for the last 10 years.

Looks like this is going to be quite a bit more involved. I'm also sort of cursing Rusty's for giving me so little heads-up on adjustments I might have to make like bump-stops, angling the sway-bar, etc...feeling like if they'd encouraged me to spend more on the lift up front to alleviate some of this I would have.

Getting there though!

 

I see.

You have the year model 2000? If so, yours is equipped with the 0331 head. This engine head is more prone to cracks than other. Usually it cracks because of the lack of maintenance that either the previous owner or current owner has neglected to do. I would just keep constantly checking your coolant levels and replace some of the cooling system parts if they have not been in quite sometime. If you happened to see this or something similar on your oil cap, well, you have be bitten by the snake.

 

Ahh, good to know - well, I left it in my friend's (much more) capable hands and he's going to give it a full look over while I return to work.

Needless to say, the rust is making this take quite a bit a longer than I ever thought possible. Anyone have suggestions for dealing with under body rust and at least stopping its advance?

 

If you haven't got wider u bolts yet, they will probably have some at your local auto parts store. You need three inch wide ones.

 

Well, while I wait to hear from my friend's garage as to when I can come look at the car and make some judgements on sway bars and control arms and all that fun ****, I'm trying to decide what type of tires I want.

I want something in the looks department that gives a wider stance, utilizes the lift I'm putting on this but not in such a way that I have to trim fenders and something that performs well on offroad use if not like rock climbing or underwater driving.

I'm thinking a 31x10.5x17 (I've got 17 inch rims already) partially because it will also fit inside of the Jeep's trunk from everything I can tell. It's also less of a strain on the axle's it would seem, but any input?

I've discovered they don't have Pepboys down here so I'm searching for the next base tire place in the south, any suggestions?

 

Im not sure they make that size? But if you want a wide stance, you'll have to get new wheels with less back spacing, or buy spacers. The cheaper route would probably be new wheels because you can get 15 inch steel wheels for like 200 dollars a set, and 31x10.50r15 is an extremely common tire size. I think spacers run like 150 a set but 17 inch tires cost more money, and you won't have as many options.

 

Good feedback on the wheels, I'd been entertaining switching to the 15" wheels for a while...I figure you get a softer ride on-road with more rubber between you and the road.

As for the Jeep itself, got the skinny from the garage this afternoon: everything seems to finally be coming together and castor is back where it should be at about 6.5 degrees they're telling me. At their recommendation I purchased an adjustable trac bar from Rusty's that should be here tomorrow or Weds for install. I skipped on the Drop Pitman arm, just seems like overkill at this pint considering I've only got 3" of lift on their so far.

Can't wait to get the jeep back on Thursday!

 

Looking good so far. I'll be doing some similar mods pretty soon (small lift, etc). Also love hiking in the ADKs - how do the Smokies compare?

 

Ah man, I love the Adirondacks, too - but there's so much variety here. Big difference is the elevation (quite a bit higher here, like 2000 feet or more on most summits) and all of the water features. There's 200+ waterfalls in the area surrounding Asheville for about 50 miles or so.

 

It's been almost a week without the Jeep and starting to feel a little car sick...got searching around on YouTube and ended up watching this old "Top Gear" episode from the BBC. It's as hilarious as it is true:

 

Based on the fact that this clip ends with the opening of "Jessica" by the Allman Bros. and the one above starts with the outro of the same song, you'd think they're related...but they were filmed 6 years apart. Weird.

Either way, watching more Jeep Cherokee videos to keep myself satisfied. Can anyone else pick up on the other shared music theme between the two? Hint: It has something to do with New Jersey...

 

Finally got the rig back home after a week and half in the shop, rust is an amazing thing and probably added 3x the amount of work to getting the lift on this baby but 3" Rusty's lift install, including new sway bar drops and an adjustable trac bar. Couldn't quite wait to get it home before a picture so this one's in the parking lot:



So, a couple shots of the Jeep as it sits now in the driveway on 30 inch BFGs that I got last year before moving down South. It rides a little stiff, but I'm guessing everything will settle and I also bought the HD coils from Rusty's in anticipation of a bumper and winch soon.

 

So, now the big questions are do I want to continue riding it on the 30s for a while or, if not, what size tire am I going to sling on this baby? Here's an up the skirt of the front wheel well...those Rusty's shock ride fine but they aren't much to look at:

 

Nice build so far! I say keep those beautiful rim and go 265/65/17's. Pretty close to a 31x10.5

 

Thanks man, like the black matte look on yours, too.

So, you like those rims huh? I'm always so torn because I'm now missing two Of the front "Jeep" center caps and I have no idea what rims these are. They came with the XJ when I bought it and I've never seen a 17" Mopar rim for Cherokees anywhere. If I can find those damn caps (already tried one for a Wrangler from Quadratec) I'll definitely keep 'em.