Kuro89

Kicking off my first build thread with a lot of updates, it all started back in September
I got a sweet deal on a '85 Toyota 4x4 with a solid front axle check it out

and two weeks later the motor went out and I turned it around and got this

My '89 XJ limited, I was glad to have the dead Toyota off my hands
The goal is 3.5" of lift on 31x10.5 or 30x9.5 not sure, I want something I can hit the trails in with confidence.
That is my first picture of my '89 you can see the sagging suspension it was practically a low rider when I got it and the hood is up because I am replacing the dead battery and messed up terminals. The PO left me one hell of a mess, two trash bags worth to be exact. The trans was slippin but it was just the po didn't know how to check the dipstick it really low, filled it and no leaks
My first score for this thing was a pair of used, but better, springs and four good shocks
Started with the rear leafs and it was a pain, the front bushing sleeves on both the old leafs were crushed around the bolt so I had to bust out the saws all but the results were great it was leaning forward like crazy


Then I did the front, new to me coils and added a pro-comp 1" puck and an extra isolator for +1.25"


For a while I was just doing odds and ends cleaning it up nothing major until I got my hands on a free cone filter and made myself an intake with it and bit of 3" exhaust tube, way more power and throttle response

only had to plug one vac line (stupid renix)

I left in the bottom half of the air box for some support for now

Kuro89

It wasn't too bad so the best thing to do was lift it, makes sense right, if your tire wear out lift it and get bigger ones, if the bushings are worn lift it, so that is what I did
first I had to help my friend install his 5.5" coils so I could get his 3.5"


I hate spring compressors they just seem too dangerous


His coils and some LCA's I found at the pick and pull and some Rancho rs5000s

I was getting angry and started slacking on the pics, too many rusty bolts



you can see this thing spent a lot of time on its bump stops
I never got and after pic since it was beginning raining and my buddies started getting on my nerves
Then I had to replace everything else, like this tre


steering stabilizer wouldn't come out of the old link but it was junk anyways, I grabbed one out of the giant box of parts my friends and I have

Everything is new! Gonna need to re-drill the track bar mount it, I want the new one to last


In the meantime my buddies and I went to Hollister Hills after the mad amount of rain we got at the time, it was AWESOME!

and back to work on the Jeep, scored some MJ shackles for under $10 at the pick and pull.

compare

Getting to it

who needs bumpstops?

IN!

Sitting at 3.5" front maybe somewhere around stock rear?

Kuro89

After I put on my MJ shackles my buddy was very jealous so he went and got these

a lot longer

They are for a chevy so they didn't fit perfect so we attacked them with a grinder

Safety First

He wants to throw these back on and be able to turn too those are 35x14.5




It took me forever but I was able to find a set of neon 703 injectors I did the swap in no time at all only got one pic, ah working hard, fit perfect btw

Kuro89

Almost every weekend my buddies and I head to both pick n pull's in San Jose or maybe even hit up the ones in Newark or Moss Landing, the Moss Landing one is 100mi round trip by the way which is were I found these

Rusty's 3.5" lift springs. the bushings were toast but I'm looking into replacements
Another thing I love about the picky is gems like these

a wood headliner, even funnier is my friend wants to do this to his XJ!
couldn't find the pic but I saw a pseudo tube bumper made of ABS pipe
Thought this was just cool though it wouldn't work on the trail


Been reading up on fender trimming and thought we should do it on a guinea pig. my friend needed to trim his fenders so he did it


not too bad for only ten minutes

Kuro89

Smog came up so its time to get cracking on the jeep, Idles was way too high, replaced a bunch of sensors, and they helped a bit but not enough. I did some poking around and found I had a leak in my intake/exhaust gasket around the no. 4 cylinder soooo
labeling and reference pictures




That lead to this


I would have taken more/better pictures but my hand were filthy and my friends useless (like always)
High Idle turned out to be cracked exhaust manifold around no. 5 and 6
my friend drove me to another friends work and he welded it up, I had everything apart just before dark so after it was welded up I had to wait until morning, got it together and it idles normal under 1k!
ignore motor mounts, ignore motor mounts, ignore motor mounts, ignore motor mounts

Kuro89

I am the magic man
now you see it

now you don't

The emissions harness was complete nonsense, just another source for potential vacuum leaks
The weapons

took 2 minutes, since I run a sort of CAI I had to cap the vac line for the warm air intake motor

Kuro89

a little Easter Sunday Wheeling?




trailer hitch in the ground? hey thats asphalt I can crawl that with my street meats!
Couldn't exactly get pics of myself wheeling
but we were jamming around
I'm getting ready to mount that same tire rack soon

Kuro89

I got sick of hearing my sway bar smash on my frame while wheeling, broke the bolt while trying to replace the bushings and

tried to drill it for an extractor

Had to bust this out, Lincoln 3200hd

end result, I can't weld... yet, but my friend can!

alsxj

Nice xj man! And awesome steal with finding those leafs at the junkyard

Kuro89

Thanks alsxj,
I know me and my friends went nuts on that Jeep, it had rusty's everything we came up that day. this is all months of stuff just now getting around to posting it all up

seanxj

Dang dude! Nice JY finds! I wish I had a pick N' pull out here, life would be so much easier.

Kuro89

I know it helps when you go almost twice a week lolz
could do without the insane prices, sometimes it is cheaper to go new and no bargaining

Kuro89

I am always buying and selling on CL so I am on the look out at all times and it paid off

an RE track bar that cost me $40, ignore the other bits on the seat that is for later, the guy thought the heim was bust, but only the track bar mount was wallowed out a little from not re-torquing it but that doesn't matter cuz I want to go double shear just got to get the welding thing down

Kuro89

went to the Junk yard and didn't find jack, but I did find another JY that isn't the pick and pull, and the guy was willing to bargain! its where I'll be going to pull a new axle... when I'm not broke
then the road ended


wish my jeep had tons of horse power and massive tires cuz that is mudd, tossed a rock in it and it just disappeared

Schatty

sweet build, and good deals i like it