Sometime in 1999 or 2000 this XJ pulled off the assembly line, ran through a few owners, some in Wisconsin, others in the Nevada and eventually to my nephew with 180k+. It had ever the slightest knock, leaking water and all the lubricants. I told him to keep it topped off until the summer was fall and it wasn't 100+ outside... and as any good 19 year old kid with no mechanical knowledge, he didn't... through an entire Vegas summer of 110+. Long story short, he parked it after cylinder number 5 went ballistic, I paid $1000 for a $200 Jeep and eventually went to work. I've got probably close to 2,000 miles on the rebuilt motor, no issues to be reported. No check engine lights, just typical XJ stuff. I need to address an exhaust leak, replace the trans filter, gasket and fluid, put in the front aussie and a handful of other things.

My biggest concern for drivability at the moment, A/C only blows out of the defrost vents - I know it's a vacuum leak, but it's in the dash not on the outside.

The end goal? Be able to drive to and from the trail on the interstate, cross country if needed, while being just as capable if not more than any JLRU/JKRU for 1/4 of the cost whilst only on 33's. I can do just about anything except for gearing and I'm not paying the shop $8,000+ they wanted to regear my axles (the I don't want to do it price). So I'll hold off until I either go JL/JK 44 takeoffs or find already regeared off market place.

For those who enjoy short form videos, here is a playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF6BChikwSqMuwptfsDpCdPe52JDkuIGk&s i=0hov-eKVYJWMPpJm