jkw

so after the 4th time dropping the tranny in my 2000 ranger 4x4 i decided i had to quit wheeling it and get another truck. i wanted something with a solid front axle but couldnt afford a wrangler, and quite frankly i dont care for them much. so i wind up with this puppy. a 95 xj 4x4 for $500. the asking price started at 2k lol

jkw

with 188000 on the clock, i was expecting some trouble. a new head gasket was long overdue but unlike my old mustang, it was a breeze on this thing. next in line was cut fenders. soon after i scored a brand new 3" rough country lift for $125

jkw

a lot of grinding, beating,, blasting of musis and several boxes of mt dew later this is what i was left with. but i couldnt stay with the stock tires so i found a set 0f 16" soft 8's with some 33's to put under her. i still need spacers because they rub on the radius arm, and rub the fenders at full bump

jkw

i work 12 hour night shifts n if i only have 1 night off im usually out working on something so i dont wake up early and be dragging ***** at work the following night.

jkw

the jeep already had something making noise in the front end, and the 33's and lift just made it twice as bad. not to mention im getting the infamous death wobble between 45 and 50 mph. now add on the fact that i sold the ranger that was my dd so i gotta straighten this out quick. on top of that the front axle isnt engaging when i put it in 4x4, so i gotta check out that vacuum thing. the good news tho is i removed the winch and optima yellow top from my ranger before selling it. more bored nights and i swapped a full gauge cluster from a 93 xj, and made a grenade shifter, added a $40 walmart stereo and radioshack compact cb, made some homemade discos and swaybar link extesions, and added 4 6" offroad lights to the roofrack. hopefully soon i should have an adjustable track bar, spacers, a cowl snorkel, and possibly a sye.

jkw

figured out my front end noise was from the passenger caliper freefloating on the rotor, no bolts holding it in, and beating on the rim. caliper is prety much toast and threads on the steering knuckle are gone. good excuse to run to st pete to the you pull it then go fishing by the gandy

LeRoy90laredo

how did you manage to talk the po down $1500?
its coming along nice too.

Atmos

seriously. great find for $500. plenty of money leftover for modding
I got a thing for the white pre 97's. subscribe

jkw

i guess ive got mad craigslist skills? lol. i went and looked at it and told him exactly what all id have to get for it in the first day and offered 500. he walked away then turned around and said i just want it gone. its startin to grow on me. i took it to a bonfire in a sand dune type area and walked it through places in 2wd that the full size guys were spinning in

jkw

got the new steering knuckle from the junkyard, hopefully have it done in time to take the jeep out tommorrow night. still gotta wire up my cb n lights too. i got a full size chevy diamond plate truck box for $20, which im now hacking up to make diamond plate rocker and quarter panel gaurds. i know its not gonna offer much protection, but will look better than bedliner imo. oh yeah i picked up these while at the yard. thinking about making the 4 offroad lights into projectors...

jkw

rocky road track bar came yesterday, along with 4 1" coil spring spacers. i finished cutting all the doors hinges so they're lift off now. cant wait to get this thing aligned and get rid of the death wobble

jkw

used the coils to space another 1". hopefully that will take care of the rub and be enough for the rocky road track bar to fit. i miss the lcog/stuffed look it had with the 33's on 3" of lift though lol. now i really need longer brake lines and a bastard pack for the rear. got a tj rubi dana 44 with 4.10s and a locker, but im thinkin about just trying to resell it and fix the d30 up.

jkw

i had sunday and monday off work, so when i woke up sunday afternoon i decided it was too beautiful of a day to stay inside, so i loaded up tools and fishin gear and headed for clearwater/ st pete. picked up a tow hitch reciever for the jeep and an airbox since my jeep only had a cone filter clamped to the tb. the downside of the day? $40 in gas. so today i have something a little more efficient to pick up small parts in...

jkw

losing some ground clearance, but i can start looking for another boat to get now. i sold my last two after selling the ranger because the jeep didnt have a hitch and i didnt know if id be keeping it streetable. also gives me a rear tow point till i drop the cash for bumpers

Domaas

Looks like a good start...and moving along pretty quikly..nice work.