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Ok, finally getting back to my build ! I've been buying parts for sometime. Recently has been hard to get everything ! I had a build posted here already, but can't find it ?
Got a lot of work to do on this one. I've been I'll all spring. Now the heat is here. COPD and Asthma really throw a wrench in the deal !
I've already made a ton of upgrades and replacements on this dude. This is the second phase. I do all of my work myself. I go slow and methodical. I clean everything and look for problem areas. This is basically my DD for now. I kept the build mild, but tried to choose quality parts. Old Man Emu, springs and shocks. JKS bar pin eliminators front and rear.
JKS J-Flex upper and lower adjustable control arms with JKS Adjustable Track Bar and new Track Bar Mount Bracket. JKS Quicker Disconnects. At this stage the entire front end components have been replaced. Tie rods, ball joints, tube seals, etc.
New poly heavy duty motor and transmission mounts.
Swapping out the cross member from a standard transmission model XJ and lower my transfer case 1". Will clock transfer case later !
Got a lot to do ! ACOS adjustable spring mounts OME springs and shocks.
Smittybilt XRC Swing Away Tire Carrier and rear bumper. Custom bumper brackets that combine the nut strap in one piece. Strong for towing !
Tomkins Machine Fuel Tank Skid Plate. I'll take pics and update my progress. I don't get in a hurry !
Great, Ialso have a 99 XJ and OME - now at 3" (full leaf pack in the rear and a 1-1/2" spacer to replace the stock 1/2" on the front = 3-1/4" actual on my jeep). 245/75/r16 BFG HO2's. You might get some ideas from what I've done:
Love red Jeeps ! My first was a 79 CJ5 my second was a 96 GC. My XJ is a dark hunter green, wish it were Chili Pepper ! Your rig sits about how I want mine ! Looks great ! I was on the fence for a long time before deciding to get heavy bumpers, rear tire carrier etc. The stuff I bought weighs a ton ! Already worrying about gas mileage suffering ! Last road trip, I got around 18mpg ! Now I'm wondering if I'll still DD this build ? I'd love to have one of each ! I'd still like to have one bone stock, in great shape, a restoration ! Just up the street, at a church, sits a gorgeous RED one ! By the time I add Smittybilt XRC Swing Away Tire Carrier and both numbers, spare, hi-lift jack, winch, bull bar etc, I'll be adding close to 500lbs of weight, not counting tools etc ! Love your Jeep !
Thank You - one of the reasons I bought the Tomken Bumper was weight - If you can swap out the Smitty I would. With just 31" tires I get away with a bottle jack and carry extra fuel on the roof rack. - better distrabution of the weight, Good luck
I cancelled the order for the Tomkin gas tank skid plate, it was backordered. I want the 32 gal GenX and skid plate. I am still on the fence about 33's vs 31" if I have to regear, going to at least 4:10 but would like to not worry about breaking parts with bigger tires. The rear well looks tight on yours, or is that just the way it looks ?
33's require a 4" lift which means long arm suspension and triming the finders, a new drive shaft as well as regearing - while 31's come with a 3" lift and Rubicon Express short lower control arms. Tire weight makes a HOUGE difference in gas mileage and a 33's will weigh about 10lbs more per tire. That's about 40lbs of rotational monentum that you'll have to over come every time you accelerate or brake = a lot of gas and the need to up-grade to Grand Cherokee brakes. What are you going to do with your jeep? I did the entire 118mile Mojive Road and most of the trails in Death Valley with a 2" lift and 30" tires (I only recently up-graded to 3"and 31's) Today we just got back from a road trip climbing/desending about 6,000' (US50) and got about 16mpg
Last edited by Very Red XJ; 07-17-2021 at 07:10 PM.
I got a nice comment from a guy with a 4-1/2" lift: Only if I were to start all over! You are build your rig how I would like mine to be. Exact color. Lift and tires. I wouldn't do more than 3 inch lift and 31"s with 4.10 gears open diffs. Only mod other then these would be a SYE just because of the convenience of driving home in front wheel drive if there was a mishap with the rear drive shaft. I like your bumper too! Nice! Very nice!
Spent today cleaning around the work area. Looking for tools and gathering them together, organizing. Tomorrow I will start on the lift kit and mods ! I already have disc brakes in the rear from a 98 GC. I replaced all brake lines with SSTL, braided SSTL extensions and swapped out the valve body from the V-8. I've already gone through the rear end, new bearings, seals, lubelocker, synthetic grease and an Aussie Locker for the rear ! No locker up front with select on the fly ! I still have some parts and tools that I can't find. But believe I can get the lift done for now. Looking for manifold gaskets and a set of nut strips for the rear bumper.
Honestly, the Jeeps pretty clean. It was a one owner and never off-road. Been soakin her down over a week. I'm still on the fence about cutting out, perfectly good shackle pockets. If the angle looks good, I may forego the Shackle relocation brackets for now, ( for the sake of wanting them powder coated ) ? The brackets I bought are nolift, so it will be the same either way.
Wish me luck, going to go slow and steady. Enjoy the work, not rush everything. I want to clean up and paint everything. Right now I have 235/75 15r on it. I want at least a 31×10.50×15. I'm wondering how much lift I will have after all bumpers and winch are installed. Dual battery set-up coming !
All new exhaust, header, oversized throttle body, fuel injector upgrade, new fuel pump, hi flow Cat and muffler exhaust pipes and O2 sensors. New poly motor and transmission mounts. I would also like to replace the water pump and tube up front.
The distributor gaskets leaking... Got a lot of work ahead ! Can't wait to start on the interior ! And all the details !!!
Last edited by Curtis Lambert Jr; 07-19-2021 at 10:32 PM.
Reason: Added too
Good Luck - Glad to hear that your starting off with a clean jeep! The '99's have two cats - Walker has a small one that's shielded if you need one for the front. Typically, an additional 3/4" of lift is added for a wench - if that helps. With my rear bumper and OME's full leaf pack, I get 3.25" actual lift
Right now, it's going to be mall crawler. My daily driver. I don't drive much lately. I was shooting for at least 3" nothing too crazy. I'll be hunting and fishing in it. No rock crawling. I didn't want it loud or try to sound like a V8. Got a Dynamax Hi-Flow Cat with a Walker SSTL Quiet Muffler. Definitely no droning sound when cruisin. I bought my recovery gear. Here's a picture. I'll take more pictures today. I also have a YT channel. I've been doing videos. I'll try to link some of the video. Recovery gear and various parts/toys !
Last edited by Curtis Lambert Jr; 07-20-2021 at 06:24 AM.
Always fun to get new gear!! - just don't dispose those spider gears - tire scrub when you accelerate out of a corner or an expressway ramp might get a little old quickly - Aussy lockers will do that. - I'll look forward to the videos
I like my Aussie Locker, love the ratcheting sound in turns ! Plus I low balled someone on eBay and got a great deal ! Well, work began today. Broke the lug nuts, lifted up the rear and used my biggest set of jack stands placed just before the front spring eyes. Placed a bottle jack and another set of jack stands under axle.
The upper shock mount horror story has already been dealt with. Came out quickly. I left the bolts hanging as I'm not sure what hardware came with the JKS bar pin eliminators ?
Next, removed the Ubolts on the passenger side. Came off easily ! This is going too smooth ?
Next, I broke the rear spring bolt fairly easy and worked it out 1/3 of the way. So then I got the front bolt loose and turning. Ooooh !
This one is a bear ! Using breaker bar and pipe, it's going slow ! I worked on it till around lunchtime.
Then I stopped for a Blue Moon run ! After lunch, a big ol nap was needed ! I may go back out for a lil bit when it cools down ! I took some pics showing how I repurposed the rear sway bar bracket for a brake line holder ! I've even heard some use these to make rear upper shock mounts ,,, but here's where I am now ,,,, Rear sway bar mounts turned into brake line holders ! Rear view, shocks removed. Rear disc brake swap, done already. 98 Grand donor. Akebono pads ! This is what the upper shock mounts looked like. I used grade 8 hardware. This was all done during my first phase of work. JKS bar pin eliminators will be going here. I also bought a set of flag nuts for this. I used the wire fishing trick to install these bolts back then.
Last edited by Curtis Lambert Jr; 07-20-2021 at 05:44 PM.
Repurposing the bracket is a good idea! Love the Jks pin bar eliminators! I spent too much time in sports cars to be a fan of something that locks the diff when accelerating out of a corner. Have you had one of these lunch box lockers before? A guy that had one of these on his jeep remarked that the ratcheting sound led people in gas stations to ask what's wrong with his jeep - but lunch box lockers are economical. Looks like a typical east coast '99. Perhaps, you should consider removing parts, wire brushing the surfaces and painting them to give your jeep that restored appearance - and fight the cancer. Your right about replacing all the rusted nuts and bolts with higher quality. I spend a lot of time at my hardware store buying stainless steel fasteners. That electric impact wrench is a great addition to your tool box ( I have a DeWalt compact) to supplement the penetrating oil. This is an image of my up-graded OME front springs to make it a 3" lift: Note the 1-1/2 " seat/spacer to replace the stock 1/2 seat " & the double nutting on the sway-bar link.
The rust isn't that bad. In fact, the prolonged RMS leak protected the underside. What rust is there is minimal and only surface rust. My worst spots are the two rear qtrs.
I like the lunchbox. Not driving a Porsche, I cruise through turns, accelerate when out of the turn. I have no problems at all.
I have the ACOS adjustable units for up front. I'd like to clean it up, but not worried about show quality. I use mine, not a trailer queen. Someday when I have another vehicle to drive, I may revisit all of that. Never got back out there today ! Kicked my butt this morning ! I'll start fresh again in the morning ! Crawling around under there sucks with a hip replacement ! Can no longer use my right leg to push breaker bars with ! Have to reposition, get creative ! But I believe it will be fine in a day or so.
The rust isn't that bad. In fact, the prolonged RMS leak protected the underside. What rust is there is minimal and only surface rust. My worst spots are the two rear qtrs.
I like the lunchbox. Not driving a Porsche, I cruise through turns, accelerate when out of the turn. I have no problems at all.
I have the ACOS adjustable units for up front. I'd like to clean it up, but not worried about show quality. I use mine, not a trailer queen. Someday when I have another vehicle to drive, I may revisit all of that. Never got back out there today ! Kicked my butt this morning ! I'll start fresh again in the morning ! Crawling around under there sucks with a hip replacement ! Can no longer use my right leg to push breaker bars with ! Have to reposition, get creative ! But I believe it will be fine in a day or so.
06-18-2021, 02:27 PM
My Jeep Cherokee XJ 99 Dream Build !
