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I found the excuse to acquire another jeep for my herd. I've typically just drove my 2010 silverado during the winter but its catching some of the brown spots and with plans to DOD delete and rebuild the motor on top of fixing the rust and bed lining the body frame and bed - i cant bring myself to plunging it right into another MI winter. I'm also needing the freedom of time to have work done on the block and actually rebuild the motor itself. Winter ends up being a good chunk of time to get that work done. Now while my 98 XJ is my current weekend family rig and 3rd string DD - its also got some rust that i haven't addressed yet so winter DD duties would only make it worse.
So things started out with this 96 2-door XJ. Good running jeep but it needed PLENTY of work. Brakes were barely working up front and non-functioning rear. Floors were swiss cheese, the tires were dry rotted and the hatch was very much Broken!
I was somewhat OK with this rig but it was definitely a bit more work than what i wanted to take on especially to make dependable in the next couple months before winter. I made a stop by one of our local you-wrench yards to get some parts for this 2-door and to what am i surprised to see? This beautiful rust free RHD XJ :O
I quickly scanned over the entire jeep, cycling doors, tire swing out, hatch, Crawled underneath and checked all the floors and typical spots of the unibody - Everything checked out soild! Everything was very clean and pretty much original. I had pressed on though knowing i still had the 2-door at home But while looking through the other parts jeeps in the yard it had dawned on me the amount of work i had ahead of me... I wasn't looking forward to rust repairs or the complete brake overhaul at all! It was clearly time to cut bait and go haggle a deal! I got up front and got a key in hand - jeep fired right up and all the vital signs were looking good! Time to make a deal make this one MINE!
For $2506 out the door it was loaded and strapped down ready for some not soo original attention. I also squirreled a matching rear hatch into the deal incase i have issues with this one.
Later that night i pulled the front bumper off the 2-door, cleaned the jeep up a bit and re-listed it for sale. It sold later that night and while i'm not a big fan of quick flipping a problematic/poor condition XJ onto someone else. This buyer got far more information than i surely did and i could tell they appreciated the honesty.
Onto this XJ and the build - the great plan!
it only took a couple days for me to come to terms that nothing is sacred and while i 2nd guessed modifying or customizing this one instead of leaving it stock - HA the modifying and customizing is my nature and its pretty much inevitable.
Immediate plans are to address the suspension - new coils and shocks from a buddy and prolly an add-a-lead bastard pack for now to get through winter. A full lift kit ~ 3.5" lift range.
Some bed lining/undercoating will be a must for this winter.
Mud flaps, i have some factory jeep ones i pulled off some pick-n-pull jeep years ago and if those wont work then i'll run some aftermarket.
Maybe a custom roof rack - i tend to mount extra lights on my vehicles and this one is no exception.
Things that weren't immediately in the plans but because of opportunity -
Factory Lund windshield visor
Rubicon D44 front axle
Factory D44 rear axle
They sure are pretty! The front D44 was a $300 marketplace find - just an empty housing. The D44 rear is from an MJ and was a trade deal for some turbine wheels and JCR rocksliders.
We will see where this goes in the next couple months. We have a trip up to drummond in a few weeks so i'll be focusing on getting things better prepared for that.
WOW really nice looking Cherokee.
The Fender markers are interesting............................... Kinda looks like an "Export" Jeep?
Or it came into the American market, making it a "grey market" Cherokee???
So i quickly set my sights on this ARB bull bar from a buddy of mine. Funny story actually - i had picked this bumper up for another project - that project dried up and i ultimately sold it to a friend for his beater jeep. That beater jeep didn't make it through the next trip and the bumper wound up on another friend of mines MJ. Some negotiating and a straight across trade for that JCR winch bumper from the 2-door pictured at the beginning of this build thread and my bumper searching was over!
New factory coils compared to the original factory coils
new coils are a little bit taller than expected. After removing sway bar links, shocks and track bar - it was still a little bound up for fitting the new coils in. My ingenuity found me a wood block, factory jack, pointed chisel/punch and a milwaukee drill. I could now force the axle down until i had the clearance needed to slip the new coil spring in. Sketchy at some degree but also effective to say the least.
White boards are a beautiful thing, making a list to prioritize things to get done.
Axle still hanging doing a quick brake job while im in there, also removing the old disintegrated wheel well liner. Fun fact - ive never bothered to keep them installed, also removed them immediately. This one will be different as im going to try and keep the new ones in place to help with keeping the MI winter road salt off the metal.
For now im going to focus on the suspension and brakes. Im going to price out some factory leaf springs and weigh the options vs cutting some leaf packs out of a junkyard vehicle and continuing with the bastard pack plan. After the F/R suspension is done then i'll move onto some of aesthetics of the jeep like the visor, lights and mud flaps.
The new springs sit nicely even with the weight of the ARB bull bar on the front end. Pulled the fender flares off as well to get the rest of the old fender liners removed. They were pretty well obliterated and cracked to bits. This also gives me some options for setting up mounts for the mud flaps I intend to run.
I don't know how long ive been sitting on these flares but i do remember pulling them off some wrangler at a you wrench yard. Glad i finally have an excuse to put these on one of the jeeps.
So i stripped the D35 out and broke up the factory leaf pack to get going on this bastard pack setup.
I got these leaf packs from an early/mid 90s dodge dakota for less than $50. Below is the xj leaf pack minus the main leaf
So this is the XJ main leaf then the next 2 dakota leafs and then the factory xj bottom leaf
Im pretty set on this configuration Id guess it to be about a 2" lift. From the side view its a little taller in the rear vs front But i figure an extra pair of factory coil spring isolators up front should help out.
Time to clean up this crusty turd - It sure aint gonna install itself!
I've been favoring these u-bolt straps a bit lately and i've actually converted both my other Jeeps to using these. Autozone typically has them in stock.
Leaf spring perch's from barnes4wd, re-used the factory shock mounts off the old D35, all new brake components besides the drums. Just gotta swap out the pinion seal, install rear shocks and run the brake lines and this should be good to go.
Also found that autozone has u-bolts on the shelf as well - not painting that place out to be the best thing ever here but it sure was convenient! The drawback is that the nuts and lock washers are basically garbage. The lock washers opened right up when i was impacting them down. Some crimplock nuts and thick washers and it'll be good to go.
Brake lines run, new shocks from quadratec and even replaced the bushing for the rear sway bar.
Had a couple little snafu's but finally buttoned everything up. re-fitted the front bumper properly with 10 bolts holding to the front end - SOLID! bled the brakes and snugged the lug nuts and cleaned up a few things and its made a few passes down the street with only a couple things i need to re-address. Rear brake shoes need adjusted, still need to mount up the mud flaps and replace the inner fender liners (with old body style liners and not new body style liners i learned!).Got a pair of Hella 6" lights in the center and i have to order lights for the bumper face and also wire them all in.
I still intend on mounting the windshield visor, it got a scuff and light rattle can bedline job last night but i think the finish is too Matte so i'll likely be re-spraying that again. I picked up a nice set of 31's to throw under this and while i'm big on black d-window wheels I must say i am definitely considering keeping these old aluminum ?snowflake? wheels.
Gotta get moving on this thing before the snow flies which here in Michigan you just never know!
So at the end of its first week on DD duties I've learned a couple things and also started making a list for future creature comforts. Not surprisingly a RHD takes a little getting used to! Keeping in the lane and getting used to the blind spots is one thing. I will say it outright that once there's enough snow to cover the roads there will surely be some sliding around going on. The strange part is feeling justified in doing so just to get used to how it handles and reacts because it feels completely new being on the "passenger side" traditionally but also being in control.
The new-to-me 31" tires mounted up fine on the factory aluminum wheels and only have a little bit of road noise. The driver rear tire has a slow leak that i need to look into but with it being a fairly slow leak it shouldn't be much - i suspect either bead leak and perhaps i picked up a nail.
Cant say this enough but why chrysler never put a cup holder in these until 97+ kills me. I DD a few of these 87-96 XJ's years ago but i don't remember being this irritated about no cup holders. Simple solution was to just buy the "factory" black plastic add on that sits over top the e-brake handle and screws into the center console ($13 shipped btw). Depending on how my coffee mug rides I may either modify this one to fit bigger cups or maybe consult my 3D printing buddy for a bigger version.
The headlights are lacking a bit! Im starting out with the PUTCO harness upgrade to get the power right at the lights. Later i plan to run some Hella housings and brighter bulbs. Im not huge on the LED headlights - at least not for this one.
Speakers will definitely be getting some attention as well! Even with modified settings the speakers still come off like the treble is turned all the way up. Makes even the best of songs hard to enjoy! I may also slide a set of subs in the back for old times sake while im at it.
Other little things like wiring in the Bumpers 6" hella lights - potentially to the factory fog light switch if i can find the lead wires to tap into. The original fog light harness is not up front stuck to the inside of the bumper like ive found in some of my previous jeeps so some wiring diagrams may get me my answers. The overhead console lights work but the display does not - i haven't trouble shooted this one much yet either but it would be nice to have outside temp and fuel economy right in front of me.
I ordered a $35 set of inner fender liners off the fleebay which are showing up soon - knowing these are cheaper material than the factory ones im really just hoping they will get me through this winter at the very least. Then i can finally re install the front fender flares.
Those jeep mud flaps - still aint on yet but Im hoping to start setting up mounts soon!
This all going down during deer season has definitely put a damper in the free time i already dont have so like usual the progress and updates will be slow
The passenger front fender liner showed up and while it definitely feels like cheaper material it actually fit very well. Its also a little soft/more flexible than factory but didn't effect how it lined up. It could use a couple more holes to fit all the factory retainers as well.
So with the replacement liner came the factory flare thank goodness!
I do also have to relocate that vacuum balast - that will be a simple fix though
Just wanted to point out this solution to blown out license plate mounts in these fiberglass hatch's. This is a piece of cutting board that i cut out to shape of the license plate and then screwed into the hatch in 4 spots. Then the license plate is screwed into the cutting board.
Currently patiently waiting for the other fender liner to show up so i can get the other fender flare mounted up. With thanksgiving coming this week i may sneak out to the garage and get some of these other things knocked out!
Took care of a couple little issues in the last couple weeks. Had a check engine light for o2 sensor fault and also for map sensor reading was off. Stuck with the o2 sensor and all is well. Then came a slight headache of long late shifts and also no torque converter lockup. . First thing was first - might as well do a trans filter and fresh fluid. I've searched for troubleshooting and the brake light switch and TPS were common places to look first. Having no issues with the brake lights working in coordination with the pedal and went right to the TPS.The jeep was also high idling for about 4 mins immediately after startup. It would sit about 1300rpms then settle down to around 700rpm so this TPS seemed like a good direction to go. Quick replacement there and no adjustments needed just bolt and go. To my surprise especially for how simple the replacement was its back to normal rpms and torque converter lockup!
With some extra time leftover tonight i quick installed the Putco harness. Ive stumbled across many positive reviews and how it takes the load off the headlight switch and puts more direct power to the lights themselves.
At some point i'm going to replace the factory wagner headlights for some aftermarket housings and brighter replacement bulbs.
Shenanigans anyone!? After an evening of test driving a new set of wheels for the wife i figured i would give this a shot. Mostly positive reactions thank goodness. One of the workers simply was not impressed despite my apologies.
So we pulled the D44 out of the rear and put a C8.25 in its place and also put that shiny factory front bumper back on... This may be the end of this project for me. Listing it for sale to cover some debt and also regain some funds for the other projects. If it sells - it sells and if it doesn't well i guess i'll just keep enjoying it. I will say the whole rubicon 44 axles F/R is no longer in the plans for this one. Those axles and also the ARB bull bar are going to be retained for a future XJ/MJ because lets be honest here - this surely aint the last new-to-me XJ im going to own
08-16-2021, 08:07 PM
94 Jeep Cherokee RHD A Basic Capable Winter DD
lets haggle