I've long wanted an XJ, and I finally got one. My wife and I moved to Alaska earlier this year, and we wanted a vehicle we can take out into the wilderness with the dog and not worry about it getting dirty. So when my coworker put his XJ up for sale, I bought it. I don't know a whole lot about cars, and nothing about Jeeps (this is my first one, besides my wife's 2016 Grand Cherokee, but I feel like that's a different kind of Jeep), but I am pretty handy and did install a 3/1 lift (new coilovers, leaf springs, TC drop, etc) on my Tundra by myself in my garage. So I'm not totally clueless, but pretty close

Here she is, 1999 XJ Sport with 100,5xx miles on her, 4x4, automatic, standard stuff.



It has a rebuilt title, I don't know for what, and the guy I bought it from rolled it last winter, but you could hardly tell. Just a small dent in the roof. He also told me the windshield leaks, possibly from the rollover. Anyway, everything important seemed to work just fine, so I paid him $2500 and took it home. First thing I did was rip the entire interior apart:




The carpet was nasty:



And the carpet was wet, probably from the leaking windshield, and caused this:



Other than that there isn't any rust besides the random rock chip. I took it to a mechanic to have it checked out, and no major issues besides normal things you'd expect on a car with 100,000+ miles and a passenger door lock actuator that was stuck on, causing the battery to drain. I had them replace the battery and fix the window, so now all the locks and windows work except for the rear passenger window. It will roll down, but not up. If I connect wires straight from the battery to the motor, it shoots up no problem. So I'm not sure what the problem is?

Oil was leaking from the engine, definitely from the valve cover, possibly other places too, so I decided to start with the valve cover. Watched a YouTube video and got to work. It was really straight forward. I cleaned the engine bay and they valve cover, and replaced the PCV/CCV valves while I was at it because oil was in the air box. I did this during a heatwave here in Anchorage, 92 degree temps, which was a record, and I was paranoid about my sweat dripping onto the rockers. I don't actually know if that would be a problem, but I was worried.





Went to check the mail the other day, but a pregnant moose made me realize the mail wasn't really that important, I could check it later.



Overall, this has been a really fun project. More to come...

 

I took the XJ to a local glass place, and they said they could patch the window. I should have know better, but it was only $20, so I said go ahead. Somehow it leaked worse than before. So I took it to a small shop downtown and the guy replaced the glass. He seemed real knowledgeable and gave me a great deal. That was just a couple days ago, so I haven't checked yet to make sure it's sealed to give it time to cure. Maybe I'll check that tomorrow.

Originally, this was just gonna be an Alaskan beater with a heater, but I've caught the bug and am attached to this Jeep. So now I think I'm gonna build a mild overland style rig. Nothing too crazy, but something capable and reliable, and maybe a little overkill for what I do. But, this is Alaska and I don't want to be stranded.

So first things first, I need to do some basic maintenance... Fluids changes and whatnot. Make sure the windshield leak is fixed, and repair the rust in the floor. I'm going to cut it out and have a buddy help me weld a new floor pan in. I got some WJ seats and put them in, but I'm not sure if I like them that much better than the XJ seats.

I also saw a Craigslist ad for a Ford 8.8 from a 2001 Explorer with under 80k miles. Thanks to this site, I knew that was a nice upgrade over the Dana 35, so $200 and 1 hour later, I have a new to me rear diff:



I have an angle grinder, but haven't really used it for much. So what the hell, might as well start using it on this axle. First shock perch cut off:



First leaf spring mount cut off, I'm starting to get the hang of this:



Even my wife, who has historically been afraid to use power tools got in on the action:



I quickly discovered that grinding sucks, so I went back and cut some of the excess weld off with the cutoff wheel.



I started cleaning the the axel tubes up, but need more flap wheels:



I'm concerned with cleaning up some of the rust pitting. I think I should continue with the flap wheel untill all the rust is gone and there's only bare metal (otherwise what's the point?), But I'm concerned I might be removing too much metal. Like I said, I've never done this before and am unsure. Any input is appreciated.



Also, here is the fill plug from the diff. The gears inside look like they are in good shape, but again I'm a newbie. Nothing obviously wrong though. Is this anything to be concerned about?



Another pic where I just kinda pushed the metal to one side to show the bottom of the plug:



Seems like this is probably normal considering the mileage, but again any input is appreciated.

 

My initial to do list:

Basic maintenance:

Oil change
OFA seal
Transmission fluid change
Diff fluid change


Interior:
Replace driver floor pan
Chassis saver or something similar on entire floor
Sound/heat lizardskin insulation
Clean and reinstall interior trim
Get seat covers and clean/install seats
Fix rear passenger power window

Exterior:
New window wipers
Clean trim residue
Metal front bumper
Rear tire carrier bumper
New wheels/tires
Some kind of fender trim

Drive train:
SYE
8.8 swap
Regear front to 4.10 4.56 to match rear

Suspension:
3"-4" lift kit

I'll be updating this list as I go.

 

Welp, turns out my XJ came with the C8.25. I coulda swore it had the D35 back there, but I looked up the build sheet today and then went and looked and sure enough, there it is.



I probably wouldn't have gone through the trouble of the 8.8 swap if I would have realized this earlier, but oh well. I'll still get the disk brakes and 4.10 gears. But I did double check everything else, just to be sure since I already overlooked something this big.

AW4 - check
NP231 - check
C8.25 - check
D30 - check
4.0 I6 - check

 

Good start going there.
Sweat wouldn't have hurt the rockers.
That accumulation on the drain bolt shouldn't be a problem. If there were chunks, that would be a problem.

The 4:10 and discs will be an upgrade over the drums. Did that 8.8 come with a locker?

 

Thanks for the input, much appreciated. Not a true locker, just LSD.

 

What tires are those? They look like they might be Continential TerrainContacts, but I can't tell for sure.

Welcome to the forum by the way - solid work so far!

 

Limited slip is better than nothing!

So swap the 8.8, sell the 8.25 to fund gears for the 30!

 

Thanks! They're Bridgestone Dueller A/Ts. When I move up to 33" or 35" I'm thinking about Cooper STT Pros. That's what I have on my truck and really like them.

 

That's the plan. The winter tires that came with the Jeep funded the 8.8, so if the 8.25 covers the regear that would be awesome.

 

$200 for the stock 8.25 in good condition, regear is at least around $400 in labor not counting parts. I'd say you'll save a nice dime but not a whole dollar.

 

Thanks for the info! I paid $200 for the 8.8 as well, but considering the relatively low miles and the current slim pickings here in AK I'm ok with it.

 

Not a bad way to spend my last day at work before the holiday weekend:



Did some little stuff today. Dropped the 8.8 off at Green Tree Fab in Anchorage. I talked to some guys there and they seemed like they knew what they were doing. They can also help me save on shipping costs up here to AK for parts and upgrades. It's not uncommon to pay more for shipping than whatever you're buying.

My windshield still leaks a little. It's better, but not perfectly sealed. I took it back to the guy that replaced it and he put some more.. tar? gunk? I don't know what you call it, in it. I'm really worried that the rollover may have tweaked the body just a little, and that's why it leaks. It was rolled over into a snow bank, so if wasn't super harsh, but still can't be good. I'll test it out tomorrow to see if it's fixed.

Also got rid of the residue from the plastic door protector things on the passenger side. I'll tackle the driver's side tomorrow.

And a little sneak peak of my current project. I ran out of paint before I finished, so I'll get more tomorrow.

 

Following.

 

Got a little work done today. I relocated my vacuum ball following this: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/wr...cation-252544/

The mounting holes didn't line up, so I just drilled new ones. Pretty straight forward, but getting those bolts back on was a pita.

Replaced all of my windshield wipers and picked up some stuff to do an oil change. I need to get the seal and o rings for the adapter because it looks like mine is leaking. I also got a new antenna since mine and is missing, but it looks like it was broken off and is missing the threaded piece that the antenna attaches to. So I ordered a new mount.




Ordered the stuff I need for the 8.8 swap. Still need a better diff cover and figure out the brake situation, mostly just running the lines. But that can wait until it's mocked up.

Also started taking some things apart, front bumper off, skid plate off, fender flares gone, rear quarter panel plastic trim gone. I trimmed the wheel well liners just a bit so the don't hang down in the front. My pile of stuff is growing.



And here's how she sits now.