lordbyron

BACKGROUND

I posted some of this info in my intro post, but I'll reiterate it here for convenience. I bought my 2001 XJ Sport in 2010 with 80k miles (currently at 121k), and it's been my DD ever since (in addition to my Triumph Bonneville). The PO had passed away and her daughter was selling it at a good price. The XJ was purchased brand new and remained stock since the PO only commuted to work in it.

After about 4.5 years of owning my XJ, I got inspired to start modding it into a much better looking and performing DD/adventure vehicle. I've always enjoyed the outdoors, thanks to my father, and I plan to start spending more of my free time getting outdoors in the near future. I've never done any serious off-roading, and I'll admit that I never really cared to in the past, but my interests recently changed. As silly as it sounds, I think buying a motorcycle was the catalyst.

I got into motorcycling about a year ago and purchased a '79 Honda CB750K. I eventually sold that and bought a '14 Triumph Bonneville in January of this year. Initially becoming fascinated with classic bikes opened up the whole can of worms of appreciating and admiring all bike styles and disciplines. I then became interested in dirt bikes and off-road vehicles in general. Already owning my XJ, I figured I had a pretty good platform to start from, and I decided it was time to make it happen. Tinkering and doing mods on my Bonnie also helped me become more comfortable and familiar with DIY projects.

To summarize my goal for this build, I want to use high quality parts/kits to create a practical DD as well as a highly capable off-road rig. Eventually, I plan to buy a second vehicle and have that as my DD while keeping the XJ as my outdoors toy, but that won't be for a while. I don't have a set budget for this build and I very much share the "buy once, cry once" mentality. I usually do things 100% or not at all, which can be both a benefit and a hindrance.

Now a picture! It's bad and poorly lit, but I didn't want to make a pictureless post. I'll do my best to post good quality photos in the future.



The first two things I did right after I purchased my XJ way back were a tint and sound system. The sound system is nothing special with just a JVC deck and Pioneer speakers.

As I said above, I don't want to skimp on this build. I was extremely close to buying the 4.5" Rough Country X-series lift because of the price (and some good reviews), but after sifting through lots of seemingly 50/50 opinions on RC's quality and durability, I decided to fork out the extra money for a kit that appears to be high-performance and longer-lasting.

The research is never-ending and my build list continues to grow. *I will update the list below as the build progresses and/or changes.*

BUILD LIST

-Truck-Lite LED Headlamps (DONE 3/11/15)
-Smoked turn signals and new bulbs all around (DONE 4/24/15)
-LED interior light set from One Way Light (Snajo on this forum) (DONE 5/01/15)
-4.5" RE Super-Flex with full leafs and no shocks (DONE 5/8/15)
-15"x8" Black Rock 997 Type 8s with 4" BS (DONE 5/8/15)
-33"x12.5"x15" Goodyear Duratracs (DONE 5/8/15)
-New powder coated valve cover with new hardware and Fel-Pro gasket; new CCV/PCV grommets, elbows, and hoses/pipes (DONE 5/10/15)
-Fel-Pro rear main seal, Melling oil pump and pickup tube, and Fel-Pro oil pan gasket (DONE 6/5/15)
-Bilstein 5100s (DONE 6/14/15)
-Napier fender flares (DONE 8/9/15)
DRIVEABLE 8/12/15
-ScanGauge II (DONE 8/21/15)
-TeraFlex SYE and 1310 CV Driveshaft package from Adam's Driveshaft and Off Road (DONE 9/8/15)
-Transmission mount and pan filter/gasket (DONE 9/15/15)
-Gentex 50-GENK20A rear-view mirror (DONE 11/16/15)
-Brown Dog Super Kit motor mounts (rubber) (DONE 3/22/16)
-Yukon 4.56s, new D30 case, and Solid diff covers installed by Adam's Driveshaft (DONE 5/13/16)
-Rubicon Express 2.5 Degree Steel Shims (DONE 6/26/16)
-Smittybilt front and rear bumpers
-Roof rack
-Exterior lights/lightbars
-Rear disc brake conversion
-Upgrade the sound system

I'm no mechanic, but I plan to take on most of these mods myself, although I most definitely plan to leave the regearing to Adam's. Also, I'm always open to suggestions, and nothing in my list is necessarily set in stone.

So thanks for reading, and I hope this build thread becomes as entertaining as the threads I've read and been inspired by!

Scott'sXJ

Nice lookin Heep you got there. and your parts list looks fairly complete.
As for gearing, you can refer to the chart above, but if you're looking at 33's then 4.11's will probably be your best bet.

unidentifiedbomb

Nice jeep and I like the mentality you have. What kind of wheeling/offroading do you plan on doing? If it is mostly low level sand trips then 4.10 would be good for the road and offroad. But if you plan on doing more hillclimbs/rock crawling where low end torque is a must then 4.56 would be your best bet. Also, you must think about if there is any chance you will be going up to 35s, you don't want to pay for a gear job twice. I'd say go 4.56 if money is not an issue and you might go 35s eventually since they will fit with 4.5 RE lift and Cut out flares.

lordbyron

Thanks for the info! That chart makes it a lot easier.

Thanks! I'm not sure what kind of off-roading is available in my area (Las Vegas, NV), but I would guess it's a lot more hillclimbs/rock crawling than sand. 35s sound huge. haha I originally started out with the idea of a 3.5" lift on 31s with eventually bumping up to 33s further down the road. Then I basically decided to just go big right from the beginning when factoring in any potential sag from heavy bumpers and a roof rack. I can't imagine putting 35s on it, but I'm sure a lot of people here said similar things when they first started out too!

I'm definitely only regearing once. 4.56 sounds like a wise choice. We'll see when I get there.

lordbyron

My first and pretty minor mod was installing LED headlights last week. I came across the Truck-Lite headlamps and read nothing but good things about them across multiple forums and sites. The stock headlights suck IMO, so upgrading them was a no-brainer. That being said, $500 is pretty steep for new headlights, but I ended up getting them for a lot cheaper on eBay. First thing I noticed was how sturdy and durable the whole assembly was. The lights seem pretty tough. Installation was easy and straightforward. Unscrewed and removed the bezels and retaining rings. Then unplugged the old and plugged in the new.

A much more aggressive look.


And definitely a lot brighter. Cameras capture light in interesting ways sometimes, so these pictures may not be super accurate representations. But still. LED, dude. I can't remember if this photo was of the high or low beams. Probably high?


Low beam comparison


Truck-Lite LED's on low beam


Truck-Lite LED's on high beam


I didn't take any pictures of the actual light projection (probably should have), but I can definitely say without a doubt that these LED headlights are a vast improvement over the stock lights. The light not only punches out further, but it also covers a much wider area. One thing I did notice was that the shape of the reflectors and middle divider piece project out somewhat of a semi-circle hot spot when directed at nearby surfaces (like walls), but I don't notice them when actually driving.

Overall, pretty awesome headlights for the money (so far). We'll see how they hold up with time.

unidentifiedbomb

Trust me when I say the 33s will look small with 4.5" and flat flares, it'll be like 31s and 4.5"s of lift, not awful but defiantly skipping leg day. I would say go 35s from the start rather than trade your 33s to 35s since it's most likely where it will go honestly. 4.56 is a great choice for a DD/weekend warrior on either 33/35s. You'll have more low end power with 33s but highway will be nicer with 35s.

lordbyron

Well you have my attention. Will 15x8 wheels still work well with say a 35x12.5x15? Or is there a better combo?

unidentifiedbomb

I think 15x8 would be perfect with a 12.50" wide tire. 15x7 is best for 10.50. Just understand that even with 33s you will have to bumpstop accordingly, it does not limit your flex as many believe. For the shocks and bumpstops it's best to do without the shocks in place and some way to measure where you would need to bumpstop and from there how long shocks you will need. Here is a picture of 4.5" on 35s without flares and another xj with 4.5 flat flares and 33s. Give-er take about a quarter inch or so depending on weight of bumpers and different spring rates, RE is great with typically over lifting than advertised which is good if you plan on replacing the bumpers and adding armor.

lordbyron

Man, those 35s seriously look huge. haha But a cool build. The 33s look great. I don't know much about bumpstops, so I'll have to look into that.

unidentifiedbomb

They are rubber stoppers that stop the wheel from going into your wheel well and ripping the fender or flares. There is one inside each coil up front and two above the leaf springs in the wheel well in the rear. Daystar makes good extended bumpstops. When the wheel is forced to stop going up, it acts as a pivot for the dropped tire, that is how many people can run 33s on 3"s of lift or 35s on 4.5 with no issues and no less flex. I agree the 35s do look huge but the 33s you must admit do look a little small. I'm just helping you with options, either way will look awesome. The more wheel well opening the less you have to bumpstop by the way.

Ghostwhite

I have 35" MT/Rs on a 15x8 with somewhere around 3-3.5" of lift if you want to see them in person, I also have some almost worn 33s on a 16x8 on the side of the house for comparison. I'm near Serene and Bermuda down south of the airport.

There is plenty of people around with various lifts locally to be able to check things out before you commit.

lordbyron

No physical progress on the build yet as I'm waiting for parts to come in. The RE 4.5" lift should come in tomorrow or Wednesday, but I'm planning on doing the SYE + DS and the new tires/wheels in one big phase. I'm doing my best to be patient and disciplined with my spending, and to not blow all my money at once. The temptation is strong.

I've decided to update the build list in my first post as it progresses and changes. Due to the suggestion from Photojared, I've decided to go with Napier fender flares instead of the Bushwhackers. Not only do they cost less, but they seem a lot more durable and apparently they open the wheel well up more than other fender flares. I also decided on 4.56s after I get the 33s on. Seems to be the way that most people on this forum go with 33s/35s.

A little progress in the planning, I suppose.

lordbyron

So I've had 3 oil leaks (valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, and rear main seal) and one transmission fluid leak (transmission pan gasket) for a while now. They've been fairly minor and the shop that had run the diagnostics told me that these leaks weren't a big deal, but something I should take care of eventually. Well with all the planning for installing the lift, I decided to take on this maintenance work as well. I attempted the valve cover gasket tonight and got stuck. All of the bolts are removed but I'm finding that I can't remove the cover without undoing/unbolting other hoses/pieces to get them out of the way. I'm calling it a night. Any tips? I also dropped one of the bolts somewhere in the engine bay compartment, which I've yet to find. Good times.

Well I guess my XJ will be out of commission for a bit now. A good time to start installing everything. I'm hoping to make a lot of progress between this weekend and next week.

Looks like I'll be solely on two wheels for a few weeks.

Also, I've updated my build list:
-Black Rock 997 15x8s instead of Cragars due to satin black and the included center cap.
-Brown Dog motor mounts. The diagnostic done by the shop as previously mentioned also found that I needed to replace my transmission mount. I ordered one and decided to beef up the motor mounts as well.

Photojared

Sounds awesome. Like I said if you want a hand any of the locals will stop by if available. Especially with your lift.

For the motor mounts, get the rubber inserts rather then poly. Trust me. Lol

lordbyron

I might have to take some of you guys up on that. We'll see how everything goes. Oh and I bought the rubber bushing version. Seemed like the better route. Thanks!