Well the time has finally come that i have another XJ!. i got a great deal in this one but it definitely needs some work in several different areas. Luckily for me the PO installed a 5.5 inch lift, to bad he had no clue what brand it was. (leads me to believe he didnt put it on, or even order it for that matter. Here she is!

This was the craigslist pic



this was what it looked like when i arrived.. yes those are explorer wheels..

whoops, the last 2 pics were ones that were sent to me. pic number 2 is what i saw when i stepped out of the truck and saw it for the first time..

anyways here are the issues im dealing with at the moment..

1 this thing is weak!!! it has no power what so ever! the previous jeep i owned had a rough country 4.5 inch lift and 31 10.50s and it didnt seem to slow it down much at all. This thing is pathetic though which makes me think it may have some hidden issue. it has a 5.5 inch lift and 33 inch tires on explorer wheels and itll barely pass someone going down hill. itll pull out just fine then falls on its face after shifting into second. its so bad its almost like it skips a gear or something like going from 1st to 3rd. (its auto btw) any thoughts or suggestions on why this is would be great. ive even been debating on removing the lift and putting a 4.5 back on with smaller tires.

2 this thing handles like its 10 feet in the air and also has nearly half a turn of play in the steering! i reduced this problem some by tightening the trackbar and adding some welds to the loose bracket that it mounts to. this is also why i thought id swap the lift out for a smaller one. the thing handles terrible again complete opposite of the previous cherokee id owned. even with the sway removed from my other 4.5 lift jeep it handled better. could this bee just a cheap or worn out lift kit? or are the larger tires and higher lift to blame? the bushings and joints dont appear to be worn out. there is one joint i need to replace and also my pitman arm looks a little odd like the bolt that holds it may be loose. the lock washer isnt even compressed all the way.


thanks in advance for any help. im sure you are wondering why i bought such a rough jeep and the answer is very simple lol. i got a killer deal and the guy needed money, thus a few bills and a little trip later and i had the thing in my driveway

welp i got the power issue figured out!! the last owner installed a cone air filter right on the elbow out of the throttle body and though it kinda dangled and looked bad i didnt think it was a major issue. i decided to extend it out away from the heat a little and when i did i found that the guy use a 1 inch thick threaded piece of pipe coupler to mate the filter to the elbow lol. literally like a restrictor plate!! so i pulled it out and added a piece of pipe about 15 inches down to the corner of the engine bay. then i fired it up and took it for a spin and it was like night and day! feels like it has a lot more power so problem partially solved!



as for the odd shifting.. the transmission is skipping second gear! i was thinking that i was gonna have to do a rebuild or maybe swap it at the local junkyard and hung up the gloves. so after this i decide to ride out to advanced auto and run a scannaer to find out why my engine light is on and to my sweet surprise the only code it threw was a

PO753 - Shift Solenoid A - Electrical problem

this could mean 2 things. A. that solenoid is bad causing the light, or B. the tranny control relay is dead or fouled and isnt making the shift solenoid do what it needs to causing the code. hopefully its B because thats the difference in a 20 dollar fix and a 250+ dollar fix.

I also got started on a bumper!!! not finished yet and ive already had a change of heart with the stinger cause in 2 days i was fed up of the odd looks and having to explain it to everyone.

started with dome 5x2x 3/16s box tubing for the center section





Then instead of using tapered ends i decided to try a 2x2x3/16s box tube with 3/16s gussets





then after that i added some lifting lugs and the stinger that ive later removed



here is the rear bumper my buddies toyota got fabbed up while i was working on mine



thats all for now. i removed the stinger and angle trimmed the ends of the 2' box tube. i still have to finish burning it all in and smooth it up then of course more pics!

Got a few more things done to the jeeper today, some stuff that im sure people will hate but i dont really mind so much be it as this is just a jeep lol. anyways made a fancy little cb antenna mount from a giant master link from a chain and a metal tank tag..

sorry about the bad pics my iphone is busted. next i made a battery hold down bracket out of some angle iron, 1/2" box tubing, and some tabs i cut off some scrap metal. turned out pretty good then i painted it CATERPILLAR yellow!!! you'll either love it or you will hate it. i happen to think it adds a nice contrast to all the damn black on this thing and no worries im not gonna go crazy with the stuff either and rice spray everything.. PICS..





Next thing on my to do list is rewire some of this half-*** ghetto rigged wiring job!! but as for the bracket im pleased with how it turned out. the welds arent beautiful but they will hold. we had all the 4ft tall fans running in the shop today so the gas wasnt getting to the weld that great.

Pimpin right along, we have the intake i redid after finding the 1 inch thick sidewall pipe used as a coupler for the filter to the elbow at the throttle body... stupid people.. to fix it i found a piece of old camaro exhaust pipe laying around. i cleaned it up with carb cleaner and a wire brush then made a bracket to mount it to the fender well. it also turned out pretty good if you ask me. i added some CAT yellow to it too, to keep the rust at bay. looks a little tacky but i didnt have many options at the moment. PICS!

Then the last little project of the day was getting the final burn on my front bumper then the part i hate.. GRINDING all the dang welds down, scuffing it up and adding some paint. I decided to let the paint dry over night so ill get pics of it mounted up tomorrow. here are some of it welded up followed by **** tons of smoothing up..



those d rings or (lifting lugs) are rated pretty high. ive seen some help hoist tanks weighing several thousand lbs and not even move or bend at all. i think they will be plenty for the front of the jeep. i also did another bumper similar to this in my first build thread that can be seen in my sig link.





now here she is all grinded smooth





this took about 2 hrs to finish





thats all for now. ill post up some more pics of it mounted after i get it back on tomorrow with fresh paint. and btw rustoleum semigloss black paint in a rattle can is what i used and it went on really well and smoothed out nice.

Man this comming along I like the cat yellow Should

looking nice man! I'm trying to unf*** everything the PO did on mine atm too lol.

Thanks guys! and i was a little on the fence about the CAT yellow cause i didnt wanna look ricey but its starting to grow on me lol. as for POs i have at least a page of notebook paper of stuff on my to fix list lol. its been fun though and lucky enough its been some what in expensive thus far. But thanks again for the words fellas!


Update time!!

Wheels will be here friday!! no more explorer rollers lol..

Bumper is finally finished! well for now anyway, i may add a few little odds and ends but anyway here is the finished product! Ps. dont mind the pine needles i had a killer storm the night before









Hope you guys like it! i was going for the slim but strong look. im not a big fan of these huge "busy bumpers" as i call them. i really like how much tire i can see from the front now though. Kinda makes it look even higher imo

I think everyone starts by undoing all the damage from the PO, I've been doing it to mine for over a year now. Really nice jeep man the cat yellow actually isn't bad as an accent color like that.

Thank you and i like how you called it "previous owner damage", cause thats exactly what it is. not mistakes or mishaps but straight up damage lol. the creature comforts are a big thing for me. like the broken ac and shifter trim and little things like that, that literally drive me crazy

I'm the same way about the little things like that, I don't really care about the body until the little pieces are all working, that's the harder stuff to find anyway