Changing this to Project "Wife", because it takes all my cash and never gives me any.... LOL.


So I posted earlier that I am new to the forums and love them so far. I traded for an 88, good body, needs work.

So far I have replaced the U-Joints as they were all shot.. general maintnance... Plugs wires fluids.. so on. Wheel bearings were shot.. couldnt afford the new assembly's they wanted me to purchase so we got some like new bearing assemblies off of a rolled newer model cherokee. Work like a charm.

Now were replacing the crappy closed cooling system with the 92 radiator swap. I will post pics as it goes. We are starting that next week.

Here are the bone stock images I have after getting it in my garage shortly after purchasing. I will obvioulsy keep them coming as I go.



My son trying to help me get the garage cleaned out.. Im sure he will be helping a lot!


The engine was a mess.. along with the gallons of oil all over the block and under carriage. It was BAD! BUT! were getting there.


Interior is in great shape for a vehicle this age as well. I dont dig the color but eh.. it will work

Starting the cooling system swap today, got all the parts I needed including the 92 radiator for 150 bucks. So that wasnt too bad. Hopefully its as easy as others made it sound LOL... Knowing my luck.. it wont be .

Any advice on sway bars and steering stablizers? Mine are shot and the.. front end ? is all screwey. They said I needed new control arm ends and bushings as well. Like I can push the front of her side to side and she sways pretty easily.. steering is LOOOOSE.. So i will take that to a shop to fix.. Steering scares me

Steelcityfan29. You have a Private Message.

Thanks Blue.. Tons of great info there.. appreicate it! helped a lot. Im still a rookie... <Computer guy who loves 4 wheelin> LOL. I will learn as I go. I have a few friends who I can con into helping me with enough beer or if their PCs dont work LOL.

is this going to be a trail xj or a daily driver if you are going mostly trails just pull the sway bars the back serves no purpose and you wont even notice removing the front much. as for the control arms unless you want to spend hours or days replacing bushings just get some new adjustable control arms

Well I plan on driving it in heav snow in the winter but mostly for four wheelin and camping and hunting.. Any recommendatin on control arms? Also..

What do you guys think of Tuff Country lift kits? They garbage? I can get one at Les Schwab here locally where I ave a credit line... however if they suck.. I wont get one. If theyre decent I would grab one. I plan on running 31 or 32s depending on the situation and the lift.. I just dont know the quality of the kits.. Ive only had a rancho kit? I beleive on my Toyota years ago..

Im not going to be a HUGE rock crawler but I do like Moab for fun and love muddin. Thanks guys!

I havnt dealt with the tuff country kits for a cherokee but on trucks they are the worst riding and stiff kits out there. I would pull your front sway bar but not the rear. My neighbor has 7+" of lift on his and had to hook his rear one back up because of the sway in cornering. Of course that's quite a bit of lift.

I have the same interior in my 87, yah not a fan either.

I thought I read an article on the sway bar being important and peole wrecking without them? Or was that a stableizer? Im totally new.. sorry I read a lot but really dont know the difference. Thanks for the help and suggestions!

Im looking for a dana44 out of a wrecked 87 to 90 cherokee .. hopefully I get lucky, I also want to get 4.10s in it I think. What do I have to do to the front driveline if I get daa 44s in the rear and if I go to 4.10 gears? Thanks!

So the Tuff Country is crappy then eh? Just my luck its all they carry LOL... Time to sell some guns to get some lift kit cash it seems What would you guys recommend? I read a lot about rustys? and Rubicon? I dont know.. I see like skyjacker and stuff .. black diamond on all the sites. So I just need to know where to look... for like 3.5 to 4.5 inches to run 31 or 32s.. depending on the lift. If I dont buy it from them I dont think they will install it either..

So is a lift install hard? or could a couple guys handy with tools do it and then go get an allignment at the local Les Schwab? Thanks!

Can't speek for everyone but lift kits are pretty easy to install.

Ok so.. still tearing out the water system and replacing with the 92 ish.. system.

I have a question I havent found good answers on yet...

Exhaust? High Flow cat? What one? and Muffler? using stock manifold.. I dont want headers... YET.. My cat is shot BTW... rattles like no tomorrow.. it currently.. does .. nothing at all but be noisy.

So no exhaust suggestions?

I have a guy who can weld and has the general "pipe. I just need a good muffler and a cat I think. Any suggestions and reasoning would be great thanks!

I got a jardine muff i would leave the cat on so it runs good still you need a center inlet muff and side exit unless you are doin a turn down after the muff i'll post a pic of mine and that shirt is funny

Cherrybombs are nice and cheap. You probably want a high flow cat if you still want some rumble. For the cooling system swap did you just get a newer radiator and that is it? Do you need to remove the overflow or anything?
I don't have a lift, but from what it sounds like, Rubicon is the best quality, but a lot of people go with rusty's because its a bit cheaper, but still pretty good quality. When you decide on your lift, get new leafs, not add a leafs.
Good luck!

Im still looking into lifts.. like i say Im a mudder more than a rock crawler.. so Im not as extreme on the lift. As far as cooling system we got all the parts for a full swap off of a 92 and a 93. Some housings.. other items..

Im not a good mechanic but my friend is LOL. So we found a step by step writeup somewhere and it actually had years and part numbers. So those are what we have. We are still installing it. Hes a full time mechanic and my jeep sits behind his shop until its empty then we get to work on it for now. So its going slowly.

As far as the Cat. Would any cheapo high flow work? Like the cheap *** ones off of ebay? Or is quality an issue on a cat? We have no emissions in my county here, but I need a cat to be street legal still. I just want it to run strong and sound like a beast really. I hear the flowmaster 40s are a good way to go.. but I dont know a THING... really I trust you guys here a lot!

Thanks for the compliment on my boys shirt.. I love it too LOL. Hes a little stud. He will be jeeepin shortly himself.. im sure :P At least if dad has anything to do about it!