I am new to off roading and new to working on vehicles, so this build willbe a learning experience.

First thing was deciding on the stock jeep. After many months of looking anddriving jeeps I decided on a 1999 Jeep XJ 4 Door with 118,000 miles. I got itfor a really good price since it had a salvage title on it. The vehicle wasdeemed a total loss in late 2002 after a left side accident. The left side wasreplaced with a red 1999 Jeep and the remainder of the unibody straightened andthen painted. I inspected the jeep to see if the repair was done correctly andI took the jeep to 3 mechanics/body shops to look over the XJ beforepurchasing. Per them everything looked good both mechanically and they found noissues with the unibody, except the back hatch was out of alignment by about1/2 inch.

Here is a detail of the XJ as of today. I am having someone who has donemultiple builds help/teach me with this one:

Year - 1999 (January 1999)
Engine - 4.0L I6 HO
Color - Green
Transmission - Automatic
Front Axle - Dana 30
Rear Axle - Chrysler 8.25
Transfer Case - NP242
Gearing - 3.55

Ordered as of Today:

Rough Country 4.5" X-SeriesSuspension Lift Kit
Rough Country Performance SteeringStabilizer
Rubicon Express Hack-n-Tap SYE/CVDriveshaft Combo
C4x4 Dana 30 Diff Guard
C4x4 Chrysler 8.25 Diff Guard
Iron Rock Leaf Springs Degree Shims

Planning to Order soon:

U.S. Steel 15x8 Satin BlackMountain Crawler Rims
BFGs 33x10.5R15 Mud Terrain KM2

Still Researching:

Additional Body Armour
Front Bumper
Rear Bumper
Winch
Fender Flares
Roll Cage

If anyone has any comments or suggestions I would appreciate it. I will be updating as the build progresses.

 

Rough Country 4.5" lift kit came in today. I also ordered LII Uni-Body Plates and Shackle Relocation Kit. Also ordered T&T Uni-Body Stiffeners.

I am trying to decide if i need a control arm lowering kit. I did get the adjustable control arms.

How much will the control arm lower kit benefit me?

 

Starting front suspension on 2/25/13.

 

Going all out right off the bat! Good idea! Do it right the first time!

 

Oh and pics! Worthless without pics!

 

defently go with the drop brackets if you are not going with the long arms.

 

Thanks, i will get the control arm drop kit.

 

Lift is 75% complete. Had a time last night installing the control arms, because the fit was really tight, but finally got them in.

Has anyone else had an issue with installing there control arms?

Also I just ordered my front and rear bumber from Dirtbound Off Road. I like the fact that these are US made and not from China like some big companies.

I have to say Rough Country customer service is great. As i was working on my lift Tuesday we did a quick part inventory and noticed that the joint assemblies for the upper control arms were missing. I call RC and Josh did everything he could to fix the problem.

I am looking forward to getting my jeep on the road and trail. I plan on taking some pictures tonight to post.

 

Rough Country does have pretty good customer service. I've called in a few times and they put you right through to an actual person who knows what they are talking about.

Did you buy your wheels and tires yet? Going to look pretty funny raised up on stockers.

Sounds like a nice setup you are putting together.

 

My tires will be here Wednesday. I got 33" BFG KM2s on rock crawler rims.

Got jeep off the lift late last night and here it is (still in progress), but I love the look of my Rough Country 4.5" X-Flex lift.

 

Bumper will be here in two weeks.

 

 

Nice. Glad to see an NP242 build. I'm curious about the SYE options. If you could take pics of the install and what not that would be great! Also, whats the scoop on those headlights? They look aftermarket like the Rampage or Autopals.

Nice build so far! Run into any problems with the lift so far, like disassembly of the old crap?

 

I did the hack n tap on mine and I've gone through a whole tcase now on my 2nd tcase and have had no issues with the hackntap :-)

 

Did you remove the T-case to do the install / have any trouble getting the center hole straight? I was looking at the Iron Rock Offroad kit and they offer a tool that aligns the drill bit. That stuff makes me nervous. Another question, what drive shaft you running? Did you have to measure for a custom one?