Jeep Cherokee Forum

Jeep Cherokee Forum (https://www.cherokeeforum.com/)
-   Jeep Builds (https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/)
-   -   The 98 (https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/98-233561/)

onew1ckedxj 02-22-2017 11:20 PM

The 98
 
11 Attachment(s)
Well i guess its time for me to make a build thread once again! My last build on here documented the building of my $200 ZJ, but sadly about a month ago the jeep was totaled and needless to say i was devastated :icon_cry: :icon_cry: for being such a cheap jeep and having just shy of 300k miles it had been one of the most reliable vehicles ive ever owned and i had become attached to it . . So over the past month i spent a little time everyday searching through craigslist and facebook sale pages trying to find a cheap replacement ZJ, I had gone to check a few out that i had found only to be disapointed :mad: :mad:

Well last weekend i stumbled across an ad for a 1998 Cherokee for $800 with just over 200k miles, it was located about 2 hours away and from the pictures it seemed to be in decent shape. The ad stated that it was in need of some repairs and hadnt moved in over a year and that they needed to sell it ASAP. Well i decided to jump on it and called the guy up, told him i could be there next day with cash and a trailer to take it away. . . . . So i did just that and by monday afternoon i had acquired a 98 xj for $600 :icon_cheesygrin: :icon_cheesygrin:

Its going to need a decent amount of work to get it road worthy/reliable and it also has some areas of rust that id like to repair ASAP!!

The Specs
-----------

- 4.0
- Auto
- 203k Miles
- Np231
- Dana 30/ 8.25

The Repairs Needed
-------------------

- [x] Exhaust needs replacing (completely rotten)
- [x] In need of front and rear brakes
- [x] Front bumper and header panel need replacing
- [x] Cooling system needs a flush badly, will probably replace radiator/ water pump/ thermostat and heater core
- [x] Battery cables need replacing
- [x] Some areas of rust on rocker and rear quarters (will probably cut and fold rear) as well as rust eating away at lift gate
- [x] Passenger window off track
- [x] Replace ghetto rigged radio
- [x] Neutral Safety Switch (no reverse lights, no overdrive, pending code P0705)
- [x] Rough Idle
- [x] CEL on for O2 Sensor and EVAP leak
- [x] Driver door panel

The list will most likely continue to grow because well its a jeep lol


The build plans for now
----------------------

- [x] 2" BB consisting of coil spacer, AALs and shocks
- [x] 31" Cooper AT3s off of my wrecked ZJ
- [x] IRO Adjustable lowers also off my wrecked ZJ
- [x] Trimmed fenders and cut and fold quarters
- [ ] Homemade front and rear bumpers
- [ ] Hitch and recovery accessories
- [x] 8.8 Swap


Some Pics!!

Attachment 304495

Attachment 304496

Attachment 304497

Attachment 304498

Attachment 304499

Attachment 304500

Attachment 304501

Attachment 304502

And my previous Zj in all her glory :icon_cry: :icon_cry:

Attachment 304503

Attachment 304504

And her demise :icon_cry: :icon_cry:

Attachment 304505

onew1ckedxj 02-22-2017 11:33 PM

5 Attachment(s)
Started on making repairs today and also got it registered and insured . . it had a rough idle and would die if you didnt feather the gas pedal while in park, took out the throttle body with sensors and replaced it with the one from my zj and while i was at it replaced the spark plugs, Runs smooth and idles smooth now :thumbsup:

This is the throttle body i took off it, i can only imagine how gunked up it is inside
Attachment 304490

Attachment 304491

The spark plugs i took out
Attachment 304492

The nastyness in the cooling system :thumbdown:
Attachment 304493

And the front bumper removed, its also missing the vacuum ball so for now i capped the vacuum line with a screw lol
Attachment 304494

onew1ckedxj 02-22-2017 11:42 PM

Tomorrow i plan to pull out the NSS and clean it up as well as change all the fluids and attempt to flush out the cooling system

StuckBuck 02-23-2017 12:30 AM

Good luck! you got a lot a work ahead of ya:cheers:

onew1ckedxj 02-23-2017 12:35 AM


Originally Posted by StuckBuck (Post 3362320)
Good luck! you got a lot a work ahead of ya:cheers:

Haha thanks! so far everything is going smoothly!

StuckBuck 02-23-2017 12:41 AM

Seems like it! Just know no matter what happens, I'll be along for the ride. Right here in the comfort of my office chair lol!

5-Speed 02-23-2017 12:57 AM

Sorry to see the loss of the zj. It was nice. But glad to see you in a xj now! If you want a front bumper, i have an older model stock one you can have. It would get you by for the time being.

onew1ckedxj 02-23-2017 08:41 PM

4 Attachment(s)
Well i didn't get as much done today as i had hoped, chopped off my rotten exhaust, changed the oil and then spent a good amount of time getting the NSS off the vehicle. Finally got it off in once piece and cleaned it up nice inside, reinstalled it and i now have reverse lights, overdrive and i can start the jeep in park and neutral! :)

Didnt take many pics as my hands were covered in pb blaster, degreaser, dielectric grease and brake cleaner lol

A word of caution i should add here, ive seen some write ups about loosening the nut holding the NSS to the shaft and prying off it with a screwdriver . . i tried that technique at first and ended up popping the nut over the threads which in returned damaged all but 3 threads, i found it easier to take 2 screwdriver and work them behind the NSS and slowly tapped them in from behind . . it worked perfectly and popped the NSS off the shaft!

Attachment 304483

Attachment 304484

Attachment 304485

Attachment 304486

Tomorrow ill try to tackle the cooling system and fix a few things in the interior

StuckBuck 02-23-2017 08:45 PM

Progress! I hate cooling systems, we've never got along well.

onew1ckedxj 02-23-2017 08:46 PM


Originally Posted by 5-Speed (Post 3362324)
Sorry to see the loss of the zj. It was nice. But glad to see you in a xj now! If you want a front bumper, i have an older model stock one you can have. It would get you by for the time being.

Yea it sucks! but im definitely loving the xj even with the amount of work it needs! And i plan to run to the junkyard this weekend for a bumper and header panel but thanks for the offer anyway!

onew1ckedxj 02-23-2017 08:48 PM


Originally Posted by StuckBuck (Post 3362736)
Progress! I hate cooling systems, we've never got along well.

Yea any progress is good progress! and im not looking forward to it lol

chipmaker 02-23-2017 10:08 PM

Subbed

onew1ckedxj 02-24-2017 11:02 PM

21 Attachment(s)
Got some things done on the jeep today and as of right now shes running and driving like a champ! Did a quick flush of the cooling system for now, once funds allow ill replace everything. Right now though shes running at 192 according to my torque pro app. Also took some time today pulling parts off the ZJ as itll be headed to the scrap yard soon :cry: . . Was hoping to get some 2" AALs in the mail today to start lifting her up a bit but it looks like they will be here tomorrow or monday

Some pics from today . . I took a bunch of the rusty areas on the jeep, not sure how i want to handle it all yet so any input is greatly appreciated! would really like to take care of it ASAP before it eats away the whole jeep :rofl:

- Parts scavenging the ZJ -

Attachment 304451

- Collection of lift pieces -

Attachment 304452

- Collection of junk -

Attachment 304453

- A little crusty - :rofl:

Attachment 304454

- Was going to swap this out for my v8 tie rod on the zj but the zj didnt want to give it up easily so back on to the xj it went lol -


Attachment 304455

- Ended up taping over all the rust here to keep it from raining on my head for now, hopefully going to grab one of the same color from the junkyard -

Attachment 304456

- Gorilla tape FTW! -

Attachment 304457

- And THE RUST!! -

Attachment 304458

Attachment 304459

Attachment 304460

Attachment 304461

Attachment 304462

Attachment 304463

Attachment 304464

Attachment 304465

- And since i havent posted any pics of the interior yet i figured id grab some today, still needs a good deep cleaning so i bought some Tuff Stuff to spray all over tomorrow -

Attachment 304466

Attachment 304467

Attachment 304468

Attachment 304469

Attachment 304470

- And for fun i mounted up my maglite -

Attachment 304471

onew1ckedxj 02-24-2017 11:09 PM

2 Attachment(s)
So heres how the dash looks after driving her around for about an hour . . according to my torque pro app the jeep is running at about 192 degrees

Attachment 304449

I also started replacing the burned out interior lights with LEDs :)

Attachment 304450

StuckBuck 02-24-2017 11:13 PM

Lookin good! Ya that's some decent rust. I think you should go for the rat rod look lol :grin:


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:48 AM.


© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands