My Green Machine build thread
 

So I decided to make a build thread, so I can keep track of my progress and what not

First off, I picked up my 1995 Cherokee from a friend locally for $1500.
It has been lifted about 2.5 or 3". using springs and spacers in the front with LCA's and a block and shackles in the rear. Cut fenders up front and no flares all around. Jeep is an auto as well, with a dana 35 in the rear. about 240k miles.

Not too bad for what I paid and it is daily driveable as well.

My plans are:
Adjustable upper and lower control arms
SYE w/ a front shaft
RE 3.5" rear leafs with shackles
front RE coil springs 4.5"
Longer brake lines as well
Came with an aussie locker for the front as well with the jeeo so I will be installing that soon too.
I will be running 32x11.5's after all is said and done.
and I imagine a lot of little stuff in between that I run into.

I started everything off by ordering the springs front and rear, as well as tires. I ordered some crown extended brake lines too. It already has some crager soft 8's on it so tires on these wheels will do just fine.

Once I get my tax return I will order up a SYE and head down to the pnp for a front shaft off an xj

How I got the jeep:
Attachment 350525

I will slowly update as this is a dd and my second project vehicle as well

Nice jeep man. Can't wait to see the progress of this build

Great start to begin with, should be a nice one!

Thanks guys.
I actually started about two weeks ago on the jeep. I started with the blower motor and resister, as it sounded like rocks bouncing in my dash and the heater would only work on high haha.

Also have trimmed the rear fenders to eliminate my rubbing problem.
Attachment 350383

Also go my longer shocks on, and front quick disconnects. Which both turned out to be a PITA with broken rear shock bolts, and the lower studs for the sway bar links being stuck. :brickwall:

And installed an aem intake, bored tb, new aux air valve and tps. :icon_cheesygrin:

As well as deleting my cruise control.

And the parts have started showing up as well :thumbup:

Some eye candy including my local pick in pull score and craigslist finds.

Attachment 350384
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Sorry for the crappy cell pics, all I have atm.

Shocks and quick disconnects in
http://i949.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps47f61a1c.jpg

Found a ford 8.8 limited slip on a half off weekend(I will be saving this for a later date when I get a bit more involved in the build), and a friend gave me an older narrower open 8.8 with drums too 4.10's if someone wants it they can have it as I am no longer gonna use it.

This weekend I will also be taking care of part of my oil leak as well hopefully with a new v/c gasket, and installing a B&M trans cooler bypassing the current radiator and fixing the leaking stock cooler hoses. I will also be installing my long brake lines.

As well as deleting the non working A/C with a new belt and bypass pulley.

I do have a busy weekend ahead of me now.

Also got my hands on some plastidip, and removed my trim off the lower panels and painted my fenders, lower rocker panes, and rear quarter panels with it too. Can hardly tell it is there, but I like the look and I can peel it off if needed.

I have so much going on I cannot remember to post it all in one post haha

Attachment 350382

A little bit of progress this weekend, got the longer stainless brake lines on and did a little bit of routine maintenance.

The lift is going on next weekend and I picked up a set of steel wheels with a lower offset with decent 33's for a hundred bucks, I couldn't pass on em silo i will be running those now.

My dana 35 also needs carrier bearings so that will be taken care of asap too.

Longer e-brake cables have been ordered, as well as an SYE I will be hitting the local junkyard for an auto xj front shaft to run in the rear.

Also picked up a full bearing/seal kit for the rear end with a blue torch diff cover.

Pics and more updates to come as I get some free time on the weekend:thumbup:

Got some more goodies this week, picked up a blue torch fab rear diff cover and my SYE came in too.

A friend is going to help me with the SYE install this weekend hopefully and the springs will be going on as well. Hopefully be making my first wheeling trip to hollister hills pretty quick.

Some eye candy
Attachment 349669

nice jeep!

Thanks!

Today i deleted the non working a/c and i am still fighting with getting the old belt off, can't get the p/s pump to release tension.

Also tore into my other dana 30 with 3.73s i got off picknpull to find out i got screwed and it is 3.08 gearing. So the 8.8 swap will be delayed longer now.

But on the bright side i will be going to a buddies house tomorrow to put all my lift springs in.

if you still are trying to get belt off, in case you didnt know this you have to loosen the center bolt on the idler wheel to get tension off.
Jeep is looking good

My power steering pump/bracket is different from the '96 models. I do not have an idler on my p/s pump. I am going to grab a haynes manual tomorrow and read up.

I also picked up my new tires from work as well.

Attachment 349483

My pro comp mud terrains 32x11.5 and I also have the 33" tires from my buddy too now. Also grabbed a M.O.R.E steering box brace and ordered up the IRO outer steering box brace, and found the C-ROK spacer replacement so I will put all that in soon as well.

My list of to-do just keeps growing... I need to pace myself here haha

I did not get around to the lift today, did replace the pos stock steering box spacer with the c-rok though and i also put on the m.o.r.e brace as well. Both are super beefy and will hopefully make steering tighter as well.

Also got a stereo wired into the jeep, a pioneer as well as replaced the speakers n the sound bar.
Attachment 349365

My c-rok spacer and m.o.r.e steering brace as well
Attachment 349366

Stock spacer compared to the c-rok one as well.
Attachment 349367
made a huge difference as to the steering as well, much tighter. i might add as well that the stock spacer is so flimsy that I broke it in my hand messing with it. The new one will be much stronger and hopefully save my subframe as well.

And what the MORE looks like installed
Attachment 349368
Attachment 349369

Will be hopefully taking the jeep out soon on her first wheeling adventure as well.

Finally got the lift on over the weekend, after a two day battle with the bolts that run through the leaf spring into the subframe. The bolts were rusted stuck into the bushing sleeves. After A LOT of penetrating oil, torching and eventually cutting they came out. New ones were bathed in anti-seize too.

But in the end It is sitting much taller than expected so I will need a longer track bar and bracket, drop pitman arm, and control arms asap.

As well as maybe a shackle relocation because the angle is terrible right now, I am hoping as the leafs settle it won't be as bad though.

SYE I will try to install tomorrow A.M and run to the local junk yard for a front shaft thursday in the morning. As well as the locker this weekend.

Now for a few pics

Attachment 348863
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Still a lot to do. Need to clean up the glue from the old moldings on the driver side as well as longer e-brake lines. I already bought a pair of yj passenger cables and those will be on hopefully this weekend too.

A few other things I am adding to the list of to-do's are
-Iron Rock Off roads from recovery point system
-Nate's 4x4 rear bumper with d ring attachments and hitch

A LOT as the list never seems to end and one thing leads to another haha

I have not updated in a bit.
I got the front locker in and my blue torch fab front diff cover on.

And I decided I am going to go long arms instead of short, as it will cost me almost the same to get adjustable control arms. The IRO long arm kit is what I am going to be picking up after I save up for a bit.

Other things I am ordering up are a new track bar, as the rough country one is too short and I would like to switch to a double sheer possibly if I can find a company that makes a bracket with no drop, as I want to avoid a drop pitman arm.

Also going to get on the wait list for lead foots low profile shackle relocation as my angle is terrible in the rear now.

Still need to get recovery points as well. I was going to find o.e tow hooks but my front frame rails are not too straight from the P.O rear ending someone. So that is not going to happen.

I have my eye on the rubicon express track bar, bracket and brace as well. I am going to do some measure to see if a drop is needed with their kit.

After doing my rear diff fluid I realized I have an 8.25 chrysler rear end.
Not a dana 35.

Still need to extrac broken bolts from the a/c removal and tomorrow after work I will get started on my sye and set my pinion angle. As well as figure out what I am going to do for a rear driveline.

RE track bar, bracket, and brace showed up as well. So this weekend will be doing that and also picked up some jks mini skids to weld on the lower control arm brackets.

Hopefully my IRO recovery point system for the front will arrive soon as well

Also ordered a rear hitch and putco headlight wiring system. Will be ordering a low profile shackle relocation too.

And all while moving soon, so progress will be even slower and little in between while I find a new place to live.

Some more progress finally today, I got my valve cover gasket swapped out. About 90% of the bolts I took off with my fingers, and the gasket I pulled out was a very very thin piece of rubber.
Attachment 347470

I replaced it with a nice thick rubber fel pro gasket.

Also relocated my vacuum canister from the bumper to under the hood and threw out my old broken windshield washer resevoir, I will make a new one sometime soon.

Attachment 347471

And with no more cruise, and a/c there is alot more room under the hood.

Attachment 347472

Also got my RE track bar in. And roughly adjusted. but no chance to drive it yet. I also need to figure out control arms as mine are WAY too short and bending the springs back as well.

Attachment 347473

So what lift heivht did you end up with?

It is currently about 5.5" or maybe closer to 6".

I put the 3.5" RE rear springs with 1.5" shackles and it was almost two inches higher than the front. So I but a 1.25" spacer and the 4.5" springs up front. (rear is still a bit taller.)

The RE stuff lifts a bit taller than they advertise, and since I have no armor or bumpers it doesn't sag.

Since the rear is still sitting a bit taller, so I am going to get low pro shackle relocation brackets to level it out and give me a nice ride again.

Finally got the SYE in yesterday. As well as found a leaking seal in the front axle and loosing gear oil out the end of the driver side axle tube.

Attachment 347233

Attachment 347234

I took my front shaft to run it in the rear, and I beliieve it is a bit too short. It is 31" shafy and u-joint to u-joint is about 33" on the jeep. I dont know how much further the splines can go before it pops out. So I will hit up the local junk yard for a Grand cherokee shaft.

Did some more adjusting on the track bar, and picked up the inner seal and tools to get it swapped out. I will hopefully be doing that this weekend.

As well as my IRO front recovery system should be delivered on monday.

Progress will be coming to a halt because I am going to be moving much sooner than I expected. After I move I will see how my funds look and hopefully order up the IRO long arm kit.

can you use the grand cherokee front shafts in the rear? are they longer? do you know what year grands to look for to get a front ds from?

The front grand cherokee shaft should work fine, I believe that the v8 4x4 has a shaft about an inch longer. There is a chart somewhere that will show you models to length of shaft if you search "front shaft lengths" or something similar.

The grand cherokee uses the same style shaft as well as same size u-joint as well.

I am going to do a little more research before I get another shaft and figure out exactly what lengths I need though.

I hit up the local pick and pull this week and scored, I ended up getting a front shaft to replace my missing one, now in the rear.

Also got a stock fuel tank skid, transfer case skid, and new battery tray as well. And spent less than a hundred bucks.

Also finished up my putco headlight wiring install as well as new battery terminals.

Got my new aux fan in too, and threw away my broken one.

Also started the front install of my IRO tow hooks. I ran into a problem though, I couldn't find a 2x4 to flatten the body seams
Attachment 346323
Attachment 346324

Just need to make that small lip flat and drill a 1/2" hole for the last mounting spot.

Also picked up a hitch for the rear and I will get that, my fuel skid and I am ordering shackle relocations and new nut strips too. So all of that is going in at once.

Trimmed up the front bumper a bit too
Attachment 346316

And some pics of the putco install, it was super easy.
Attachment 346317
Mounted relays next to the battery
Attachment 346318
Attachment 346319
Ran the wiring behind the grill all nice and tucked away.
Attachment 346320
All I had to do was plug in the connectors and clean a few spots up for solid grounds.

Nice build .

Sweet xj. You'd be surprised how a xj handles Hollister hills. My stock 89 did quite well with non functioning 4lo and I still drove her home.

Thanks guys, it has been a while since I have updated my build.

I moved and have not really had much time to do anything lately.

I did buy some 33x12.5 tires and sold the 32's . Also got the iron rock front recovery point system installed, as well as trimming up my front bumper. Rear end is properly shimmed up now too.

Jeep is in the shop having the all the bearings in the rear end replaced as well.

Ordering up long arms soon as well.

A few things I need to address still are:
Steering
The dirty stained carpet inside, might rip it out and rhino line the inside.
Shackle relocation install

Attachment 344579

Attachment 344580

These showed up in the mail too, so now I can get those installed as well as put on my hitch and skid plate on the fuel tank.

Will probably be a while before more works gets done as I am having my wisdom teeth removed on friday.

Got my wisdom teeth ripped out today, so I will be putting off work untill next weekend.

Got a blue torch diff cover to match the front for my rear 8.25, and the jeep should be out of the shop any day now with fresh carrier, pinion, and axle bearings and all the seals too.

Then to an alignment and I am going to order up IRO's otk steering with the long arms too, just need to wait until next payday because of the wisdon teeth surgery.

Next weekend will include:
Rear quarter panel cut and fold
Re-weld the rear quarter panels I cut
Cut out the old shackle boxes and put in the new shackle relocation brackets.
Also the new hitch and fuel tank skid will be mounted up at the same time.
As well as the new nut strips to go along with everything

Attachment 344078

I also need help on my angles, my steering and track bar are pretty far off.

When I do steering I will be using IRO's otk kit and that should help a bit with the angles too, with how the link from the pitman arm comes across to the knuckle.

Finally ponied up and ordered the long arms, gonna have to wait on steering for now too.

Also got the rear end back from the shop with all new bearings and seals. As well as a blue torch diff cover to match the front.

Only real big things she needs to be back on the road is the front axle seals and carrier/pinion bearings maybe, and long arms, because my axle is way off center and my caster is WAY off.

This weekend I will head over to my buddies house who just picked up a plasma and put in those shackle relocation boxes as well as the hitch and skid.

Been awhile since I updated, not much has changed.

I Got ahead of myself with the to-do list haha.

Moving and cleaning and working 6 days a week has been taking it's toll on me.

Fed ex showed up with my long arms though! And I got my relocation brackets painted up as well as my nut strips. And got a blue torch fab cover for the rear end on to match the front. Rear end now as ALL new Bearings and seals thanks to a very good mechanic friend of mine as well as new front seals too.

This weekend I will have two days off and got more cut off wheels from work, so I will be getting to it!

Some pics too. IRO set-up
Attachment 343134
Attachment 343135
Attachment 343136

Everything is super beefy, I will post up after next weekend on how it all goes.

Also ordered a fan shroud, because I am lacking one, I am going to use it for an electric fan conversion as well. Also got a b & m cooler to throw up front at the same time.

Looking into a radiator as well, thinking all aluminum 3 row? Maybe 2? Anyone have input on the radiators? Looking at ebay rad's or maybe champion all aluminum. Cfs also has a nice rad, but cannot seem to find the 3 row anymore.

I know this thread has been lacking progress, but I have gotten the HUGE trans cooler in and also removed the a/c condenser.

I put a b&m 70274 trans cooler, it is the largest they offer. Also put a new fan shroud in as it did not have one when I bought it, made a pretty big difference.

I also put the small electric fan on a switch.

Some buddies planned a trip to hollister hills so... I now have a fire under my arse to get things done. I recruited my brother to help me as I have to go to my parents house to do any major work done because I live in an apartment now... and have no tools or room for large stuff to get done.

More to come after the weekend.

Well got some work done today, as well as more set backs.

Front shocks are too long now. I forgot to take into fact that I am running bpe and stud conversions up front, so they are a bit long. I will only have a few inches of up travel. So back to the drawing board on those.

Started the long are install and the first crossmember bolt broke. So I will be drilling it out to run a larger bolt. Not sure how large to go though? Any suggestions?

It has been a long time since I have updated this thread.

I have the long arms on the jeep and love the ride, also got a new set of d window wheels and 33x12.5 duratracs that are going on in the near future. I have not been able to get out and wheel her yet as I have run into more problems.

I went to put the hitch on and my shackle relocation brackets and found that my rear frame rails are munched and cracked, it has obviously been rearended at some point and there fix was bolting a big piece of steel over it.

So I am going to save up for a welder as well as frame stiffeners now and brace the living crap out of the frame. It has been straightened but obviously not fixed correct.

Some pics...
Passenger side
Attachment 340487
Driver side
Attachment 340488
And these were bolted up on top to "brace" it? I am going to need to figure out how to straighten the metal to bolt up the skid plate and hitch. I have nut strips inside the rails but the portion is not flat, also some of the holes are a few mm off from lining up bolts.

I know I can never tow with it, and now I do not want to put the shackle relocaters there either. So I will but a style that does not utilize those mounting bolts.

I could use some pointers as to how to go about this if anyone is reading here haha.

Thanks, also hd offroad rear frame stiffeners and a small mig welder are coming once I get my next paycheck to fix her up.

Well, made a good chunk of change this weekend doing sidework. So I am going to order up a mig welder and hd rear frame stiffeners. As well as I will go pick up some 14 gauge and 3/16 to fix the rear frame rails.

More updates to come I guess.gonna pick up some different shackles and rough country relocation brackets also because I do not want to use the rear subframe for bracing other things.

Any input on repair would be helpful if anyone is reading this haha

And the build continues!

Went to the longevity dealer in the bay area and picked up an important tool finally!
Attachment 340147
Attachment 340148
Also got some weldable primer from work so I can weld on the h.d rear frame stiffeners that are on their way as well. And I will be picking up some 1/8" and 3/16" plate to reinforce the rear as well as repair it.

Got a pretty good deal on the welder which made it possible to buy.

Also got the new motor mounts in the mail, so I have a bit to keep me busy for the time being. I also need to order up a C02/Argon tank.

Attachment 340149

Also looking at a rear bumper since I will no longer be able to run the hitch, I will see how the repairs go and start there.