ericfx1984

I bought my XJ in the winter, just before our first REAL snow fell...

I got it for 4 reasons, it looked awesome, had 4x4, had solid axles all the way around and it sat me in a upright position, which was important since I have 3 flattened and slipped disc, one of which is rubbing on my L5 nerve root

My XJ is a 1996, blue(with a hint of purple) 4.0HO Sport, with d30/c8.25 and a 231 transfer case, automatic... power Nothing (all mechanical windows/locks), had 10 hole wheels and 235/75/15 when I got it...

A few days after I bought her



when I got it home I started making a list of things to fix...

this thing leaked oil, coolant, and power steering fluid...

the power steering was worst as it was getting on the header... got a hose for $3 at the junk yard, the hose was so bad that when you would turn the wheel to lock, it would shoot fluid clear across the engine bay!!!

then I decided to change the valve cover gasket, this helped and I found a few disconnected vacuum hoses... but it still leaked oil.... 2 gallons per month!!! at this point I never bothered to change the oil... just kept adding oil... lol




I made a trip to the junk yard, when I got there the snow was just starting to come down, by the time I left, a few hours later... there was close to 6 inches of snow on the ground, and I looked like a freaking snow man!

I was planning on getting some v8 Grand cherokee coils, some spacers and s10 springs... but I got REALLY lucky and just happened to find a Rough Country 3" lifted 97 cherokee... in the glove box I found a receipt book, turned out the Rough country kit was only a year and a half old

walked out with leaf springs, coil springs, axle shims and Rancho steering stabilizer for only $70






then I picked up a set of nearly new JK rubicon shocks for $30


got the lift on, then redrilled the track bar mount also welded the old hole shut, for added strength

also removed the rear sway bar

then did a drive way alignment

drove around on 235/75/16 tires for a month or 2


got tired of that... ended up purchasing a set of five 16x8 Soft 8s wrapped in worn out 285/75/16, with a A/T spare that was also worn out... they vibed pretty badly due to uneven sloped wear that 2 of them had (the other 2 were fine and had about 35% tread they are now used as spares)



they rubbed SO bad I could not turn the wheel at all, so I parked the Jeep and cut the front fenders that same day (the rears where not a problem as I was only driving it on the road at that time)


shortly after this I had to replace the heater core... it was leaking pretty good, damp passenger side floor boards are NOT FUN


then I did the oil pan gasket and the rear main seal... still had a small big leak but not as bad as before...

then I replaced the oil filter housing gaskets... finally NO OIL LEAKS

later I installed a Flowmaster 40, put it right behind the cat converter and just welded on a turn down and connected it to a hanger, nearly new, found at the junk yard for $9


soon after (ago a month or so ago) I wanted new tires... so I ordered a set of Treadwright Gaurd Dog 285/75/16 (they measured 33.25" x 11.25" on the wheel) they came on BFG All Terrain KO sidewalls... not bad for an entire set for only $530 to my door step!






I did not want to risk hurting these tires so it was tire to cut...









cutting the front bumper made me have to relocate the football





then I wanted sway bar disconnects so I made them using the following parts

the front swaybar link, the rear sway bar link

the rear sway bar link mount

a clevis pin (forget the size)

a cotter pin

some washers

some rubber pads

the front and rear links were cut and welded to the proper length



if I did it again I would have used a little thicker clevis pin

ericfx1984

then I got bored and cut some more on the fenders














then started making a high clearance rear recovery point





then I decided I needed some fender flares to hide all that cutting and keep the mud out of my eyes... so I made them

















and a few days ago I got tired of my bent up rear bumper and made this...

ericfx1984

and finally I added a Ford Taurus Electric fan, controlled by a Bosch 92c thermo switch(housed in a Volvo 900 coolant switch housing)


Plans for the future include:

180F thermo stat?

fan override switch

JK front upper and lower control arms with home made frame mounts...

fixed/shortened Yoke style SYE, I have the SYE, just need a front auto D shaft then I can install it

bed linering the lower potion of the Jeep and it's fenders

maybe swap in a set of 4 banger 4.10 axles? or 4.56 gears

a locker... or maybe 2?

CB

Lights! Lights!! More LIGHT!!!

Bigger Alternator?

tube rocker panels

4.5"-5" might be a spacer in the front, or new coil springs... just planning a longer shackle in the rear


MY GOD WHEN DOES IT STOP !?!?!?!

xj wheeler

Looking good, i like your ingenuity.

ericfx1984

built and installed the front coil spacers... 1.75"

BEFORE:




AFTER





still more to do though... a lot more

adamk

Rear WK sway bar links work for extended front sway bar links. I grabbed some from the jy this past weekend and made discos using those

j-rod

any issues with cutting into this?



i heard it was bad to cut into this part. I tried beating the crap out of it with a hammer to bend it over but didnt get it too well.

ericfx1984

I just extended my stock ones

ericfx1984

so far no... it's been a few months and nothing has happened

ericfx1984

I liked Backwoods Rambler's design so much I decided to tackle it myself... however I made it BETTER...

this I liked about BR's swap
-better control arm angles
-stronger arms
-better tire clearance
-better flex

things I was not impressed with
-upper control arm placement
-lack of adjustability
-upper control arm angle
-anti dive numbers are around 250%-325% (due to control arm placement)
-welding directly to the frame...

things I changed
-added shims shack adjustability to uppers and lowers
-bent the UCAs to clear the frame, this allowed higher mounting and therefor MUCH better anti-dive numbers
-welded a plate to the frame, then welded the lower bracket to that


things I wish I had done...
-custom upper(s)... less work and I could have ran heims
-next time I will stitch weld the frame plates... I will just keep and eye on it I guess...


plans for the future
-truss the axle
-convert to a 3 link with heims on both ends (and a proper axle mount to run them)
-when I go three link I might cut out the current upper mounts and run a smaller, higher mounted, UCA mount to further improve frame side separation

THANK YOU AGAIN to Backwoods Rambler


lowers and uppers now have a shim box










uppers ow have a 15° bend in them to clear the frame and mount at a higher point inside the frame




here is a shot of the installed upper




just playing around in the garage




more info on where I first got the idea to run JK control arms...

http://www.rockfrogs.org/phpBB3/view...p=39739#p39739

ericfx1984

also i had to upgrade from the JK rubicon shocks to something else... I now have a shock that is 17 compressed, 29 extended... I can max those out now

ericfx1984

the last few days have been hard and fast...

modded the OEM frame side track bar mount to be double shear

built a double shear track bar (bushings on both sides)

upgraded from an old 3" Rough Country coil spring to a new 4.5" Rough Country coil... it settled at around 5.5" to 5.75"... now I will need to level out the rear as it is only 4.75"

upgraded the shocks all the way around...

the old ones really limited my droop

now I can max out a 28" shock in the rear and max out a 29" shock in the front while also unseating the coil by about 3-4" i the front

Skunkape

I did the same thing to mine.I dont see how its any different than cutting between the pinch welds when you trim the rear fenders for cut and folding,I have seen your rig over on CT right?

farmerjohnson

your inbox is full. i cant pm you anymore.