01 overland build
 

I like long walks on the beach, playing twister nak.....oops wrong forum. So I got this 01 XJ ?trim pckg? (more on that later) with a 8.25 rear axle for $600. Drives decnt and 4x4 works. 210k miles on it. Had NO dash, just a steering wheel, gauge cluster, A/C control panel, and fog lights/rear wiper cluster, no center console and driver door interior beat to u know. Other then that stock. By day 3 had the interior up to par for nowhttps://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...41ec7a121d.jpg

No dash
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...0d2592f323.jpg

Dash
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...8900c96529.jpg

After bath. (PO homemade front bumper, well built imo)
This was done within 3 days of purchasing

Fast forward a bit, been, and still am using as a daily driver. About 20k miles fast forward to be exact. I've done routine tune up, new belt, coil pack, plugs, brakes front and rear, oil pan gasket, rear main seal, (had a bit of an oil leak) and a few others replacements along the way. Got the death wobble (i believe anyways) replaced the track bar and good to go). Tires were shot but not rdy for lift so got some 15x8 black D ring pro comps with Goodyear wrangler radial 235/75R15s


Since day 1 it's had a hard start, always starts, but long crank time. Starter finally took a dump, feel the hard starts had overburdened it for who knows how long, or maybe it was just old. Replaced. Alternator quit, replaced, read up on hard start, pages, and pages, and pages, 210k miles, no paper trail, fuel regulator on top of pump known problem, prob could use a new pump, replaced. Still hard starts. A/C compressor goes out, middle of ga summer, replaced. While I was in there swapped out purge control valve/solenoid. Shes running great at this point, except for the still hard start. Any suggestions there would be great as I've searched to no avail. Only things left to really check are under the carpet for rust and I'm unsure about the transmission. Fluid levels ok, but fluid looks brown, I've read and been told conflicting info on that. Any help there appreciated as well. After that it's on to getting that lift. Which brings me to last weekends project of trimming the fenders. The leaf springs sag and the new tires were rubbing .https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...25d8936292.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...7821e2c97f.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...9e0b64737d.jpg

Used leak stopper rubber flexx from roofing dept to refinish cut fenders, hopefully i wont regret this later
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...9f248bb585.jpg

This is where shes at to date

Been chasing the hard start. Also got a P0455 code large evap leak. Picked up some 5/8,heater hose and replaced 2 LDP hoses, cleaned electrical connectors with contact cleaner on LDP and the accumulator, removed and thoroughly cleaned all the grounding locations in the engine bay, replaced battery cable terminals. Going to test the CPS, and MAP sensor, do compression check, and possibly service differentials when I wake up, I'll let ya know how it goes

All over it !!!
 

Sounds like you're takin' care of business! Welcome to our world !!! As for the vac leak, check the evap lines going to the carbon canister in the rear. They are usually rotten. While back there check the gas cap ! You are definitely doing what needs to be done !!!

So I tested the CPS, might have read wrong, but I was getting infinite resistance on connectors B, and C, with varying voltages on other connectors. Going to go back and read thru, and write down results and go from there. Also checked the TPS. Had a hard time getting the paper clip to get a solid connection pushing into the back of the connector, but on 1 test I got it to read .2 volt and while moving the throttle it didnt have any drastic jumps and capped at 3.8 with throttle all the way. Cant remember if it was supposed to reach 5 volts, stay BELOW 5 volts or be within a certain range of 5 volts. I'll have to do some more reading. Didnt manage to change diff fluid yet. But I did find 2 more grounding locations in the engine bay. 1 was absolutely coated in oil build up so I thouroughly cleaned and reinstalled.

So I've done some more forum surfing and found cargo mods! Got my hamster running and I believe I'm going to pull the rear seats and do something similar to thishttps://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...dde24821d3.jpg

Thanks to stumpXJ, i hijacked his pic from another forum.

with a few different modifications. I think this is a super clean look and it gives a solid platform for whatever else I might wanna add or permanent mount.

Seeing the finish on his cargo mod also got me thinking about bedlining paint job. After a little research I think I've landed on the raptor tintable DIY kits that come with the spray gun. But that'll be down the road.

At a crossroad of which direction to head next. I checked and it appears I have the factory 0331 head, Its not cracked at least I dont think it is. Not %100 on the symptoms yet and need to research it a lil more. Question is if it's not cracked is it imperative to replace before it does crack, as in next thing I need to take care of on the jeep, or can I focus on saving/accumulating parts for lift? This will not be a quick process since I have bills due and such, as I'm sure most of you do.

As for the lift I want a 4.5" lift with 33s. Here's my parts list so far. Prices are rounded up for taxes/shipoing
Zone 4.5 inch lift w leaf springs and sway bar discos -$900
IRO Hack n tap SYE w/ couple extra goodies - $300
IRO double shear adj track bar $225
IRO upper control arms - $150
New front driveshaft to replace rear is $150 @ carparts.com
or a junkyard one for I'm guessing <$50

From my research that's pretty much the absolute necessities for starting out. Down the road will be regearing t 4.56, and I'm sure some other stuff.

as for the tires idk yet, already have 15x8 steel procomps with 3.75 (I think) BS. I DO have 2 used 33" spares on ??rims that i snagged for $100 so that's taken care of alrdy

thanks ahead of time for any input or suggestions

Twister !
 

I did the twister thing once, with twin sisters !!! 😁 As for the head, not talkin' bout the twins,,, I'd just drive it till it cracks !!!

So I realized the large leak came after the fuel pump swap.......oh and I came out of work 2 or 3 weeks ago to head home and low and behold all the antifreeze that's supposed to be in my Jeep is now in a pool beside it.....so I limped it home and got parts ordered. With the known overheat issues I went ahead and did a flow cooler water pump, new tstat, housing, hoses, and of course flush and fill. Then past week while filling tank, I heard a dripping noise after top off. Looked down and fuel is coming from top of tank. Burned that full tank and dropped the tank to find the pump seal must've slipped off while tightenting the lock ring. Thinking that was where the evap gross leak was prob coming from as well....So to buy another xj with lift height I desire or just buy all new lift....haven't decided yet

Update
 

Been slow goin on the XJ. Nothing new really since fixing fuel pump seal and replacing water pump. Tstat, and housing. Get an occasional misfire on #4 cylinder, clear code and get a few thousand miles it seems before I get code again. Still has hard start issue but I think I've narrowed that down to ignition lock cylinder, wore out enough I can remove key and keep driving...will be replacing that along with blinker switch soon.

I've decided on a R.E. 4.5" superflex short arm lift kit
With intentions to do SYE and rear driveshaft down the road a bit. Toyo open country M/T 33x12.5x15s for wheels. Priced lift and wheels at $2488 Inc tax and shipping to the house. Plan on getting all that in feb. After that I'm thinking Smittybuilt XRC front and rear bumpers with tire carrier and winch. Then roof rack but still trying to find the one. At 240k miles I'm thinking a engine rebuild might be a grand idea, any suggestions on which to go with are appreciated.

Oh and I did add a CB, old uniden pc68xl but new 4ft fiberglass ant/cables. Gotta get tuned after holidays

Nice, this is my first time seeing your build. I have an '01 as well. I went with the RE 3.5 super ride short arm for mine. All I'll say is that mine was theoretically made more for the DD and it's 1" less advertised than yours and mine rides rough with the short arms. It's not awful but I just think for the $$ you might as well just buy into the long arms OR just go ahead and get the control arm drop brackets with your lift (RC has a relatively inexpensive set. My RE gave me 4" in the front and 4.5" in the rear. Add the .5" added from the leaf shims I needed after the SYE and that's 5" in the rear. Now we're looking at shackle relocation brackets too. Just some food for thought. Also don't forget to keep reading about the things you'll likely need at 4.5" (with RE could be 5.5") of lift. Drop pitman arm, extended front brake lines, babe repellent... you know how it goes. Interested to hear where the hard start troubleshooting takes you. What kind of coil did you replace with?

Thanks for the info. I know for any serious off roading the SYE is necessary, planning on that in the future for sure, also I imagine I will be upgrading to long arm down the road. Does the long arm kit daily driveability? I want to keep this vehicle as my daily driver. Thebkit with front and rear brake lines. What you said about possibly being 5 to 5.5 inch lift has me concerned about needing the SYE immediatly. Also plan to regear to 4.56. As I've read and understood, 4.10 is ideal for 33s, but with weight of aftermarket bumpers then 4.56 is better. Am I being too ambitious with that much lift and wheels for a DD? My drive to work is 50 miles 1 way. I want the best of both worlds I guess lol. Good DD and moderate offroad capability, not planning on rock crawling

Yeah the SYE is just as much if not more about daily driving as it is about offroading. I think the concern while offroading is that your stock rear driveshaft with fall out after extending past the slip yoke on the tcase. Without the SYE you're going to be vibing down the road so thinking that you don't need it for your daily drive is backwards. It's good to know that '00/'01 are more susceptible to vibrations - so usually with less lift the more likely you are to get vibes faster. As I said I went with the 3.5" put in a 1" tcase drop and I still had vibes. As for the long arms - again this helps equally with road driving as it does with off-roading. As I mentioned before a quick and cheaper method to improve your ride quality would be to look into control arm drop brackets to install when you lift it. Better to do it at the time of lift so you don't have to get another alignment.

I just rechecked quadratec and on the 3.5" lift they say the lift range is 3"-4.5" and for the 4.5" lift it is the same 3"-4.5" which sounds odd. I did some assuming so perhaps YMMV.