Overland Build: Yellow Jeep XJ
 

Warning: This is not an in-depth tutorial. I am not a mechanic. This is my first build, with no prior experience. Any upgrades or modifications are researched online, and then completed in my driveway through trial and error. Google, Youtube and Forums are my friends. I often forget to take pictures while working on my Jeep. This is my daily driver, so it has to be put back together at the end of each day.
Knowing that, if you are still interested...

Backstory:

This is my first real Jeep Project.
When I got the jeep the previous owner had installed a 3inch Suspension lift with 2inch spacers on the front and 2 inch Lift Shackles on the rear, sitting on 31inch tires.
He provided me with a picture of the vehicle stock, before the lift.
Everything else was stock, including the broken Sway Bar links.
It had a death wobble from hell, which I found out the hard way on the highway coming home after buying it.
Once we hit 40 mph and a bump, it shook extremely violently until it came to a complete stop.
The experience was like an 8.7 on the Richter Scale, inside a giant paint shaker, while trying to steer.
Any of you that have experienced an actual legit full fledged Death Wobble in all it's glory know what I'm talking about.
And I still had a 2 hour drive home from the sellers house...
So it was at this point that I decided to strip it down and start from scratch in regards to the steering and suspension components.



Phase: 1

We worked on it slowly, a little bit each day.
I don't have a shop, so we worked in my driveway, weather permitting.
We diagnosed many of the causes to the "Death Wobble" symptoms through trial and error.
One of the by-products of lifting a Jeep Cherokee 5 inch with no modifications or upgrades to the stock steering or suspension.
We would be removing the present lift in favor of a long arm lift kit.
I also started prepping for some of the exterior mods we would be putting on as well.





Parts List

I started ordering parts, and one by one they began collecting on my front porch.
Once my porch was full, parts began collecting inside.
We were living in a Jeep Parts Shop, and kind of interesting.
Here is my part's list bellow


Suspension:

• RC 4.5 inch Long Arm Lift Kit:
• Lifted high flex coil springs
• Long arm Crossmember
• Adjustable upper control arms
• Adjustable lower control arms
• Transfer case skid plate
• Sway-bar quick disconnects
• Adjustable track bar
• Pitman arm
• Stainless steel braided brake lines
• Full Leaf Spring Packs
• Performance 2.2 Series Shocks)
• Rear Leaf Spring Shackles

Steering:

• New bearings,
• Moog upper and lower ball joints.
• Currie Currectlync Heavy Duty Tie Rod and Drag Link.
• Steering Box Brace.
• Upgraded Heavy Duty 2.2 Steering Stabilizer.

Brakes:

• New Rotors, Calipers and pads in front.
• Drums and shoes in rear

Tune Up:

• Air Filter
• Champion Copper Plugs, and wires.
• Oil change Mobile 1
• Change transmission fluid
• Coolant flush and fill
• New Thermostat

Drive Train:

• Slip Yolk Eliminator
• Custom Tom Woods Rear Driveshaft

Exterior:

• ARB Deluxe Bull Bar Front Bumper
• Warn 8000 Winch
• 2 IPF Spot Lights
• JCR HD Rear Bumper/Tire Carrier
• AJ's Super Rails Rock Slider
• Roof Slider
• JCR Gas Tank Skid Plate
• Bushwacker Flat Fender Flares
• Lower Rear Quarter plated on both sides
• Underneath re-coated

Wheels:

• 5 Cragar Soft 8 rims
• 5 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac 33x12.5 inch tires
• Gorilla Chrome Lug and Lock set

Exhaust:

• Custom exhaust from the headers back
• Flowmaster Super 44 Muffler.

Miscellaneous:

• Fixed wiring on driver side door, passengers can now control power windows again.
• Fixed Rear Wiper.
• New Windshield Wipers

Phase: 1 Complete

Everything installed and tested.
After a little tinkering it road great.
Great articulation, good clearance, and no vibration at all.
The only thing steering/Suspension related that is still OEM in the vehicle is the actual sway bar itself, everything else was removed and upgraded.
The roof sliders had a bend to it, so we flipped them in the meantime until we straighten them out.
They are actually supposed to come down just above the door to protect the sides.
We had help from a shop installing the Lift and some of the equipment because we simply ran out of time.
The weather was upon us and we were working out of my driveway. So we put the project on hold and finished it in the spring.









More to come...

Looks great

Bumper Integrated LED Reverse Lights

Installed LED spot lights in the JCR Rear Bumper, wired to my reverse lights.
Stock reverse lights were too obstructed by the JCR Rear Bumper to be of much use.
Decent lighting upgrade with major improvement for night visibility while backing up.

Look awesome! Always liked yellow XJs

:thumbup::thumbsup: Wow!

Nice looking Expedition XJ build!!

sub'd

Thanks guys, glad you like it so far.
More to come...

Looking great!

Interior Upgrades

Smittybilt G.E.A.R. MOLLE Seat Covers, Quadratic Heavy Duty all weather floor and cargo mats, and started outfitting the interior of the rig.
MOLLE gear (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) was the best way for me to maximize space, organize equipment, and customize on the fly.
Went with the heavy duty floor mats because they can handle all elements in all seasons. Easy to clean, regardless of terrain. Very low maintenance.






MOLLE Gear Outfitted with:

Ka-bar and assorted knives, Axe, Hatchet, Kukuri, Spetsnaz Trench Shovel, Maglites and various flash lights (battery operated and manual wind up), canteens, maps, compass, ponchos, Fire Starters (Flint and steel, wind proof matches, lights, etc) Med Kit, Multiple Tool sets, Jumper cables, Survival gear, bungees, ratchet straps, recovery equipment (Tree saver, snatch strap, tow straps, snatch block, d-rings) and a lot more. Just to give you a general idea of the setup.
Customized seats, and made some alterations.

In back a Mechanic's Tote that includes: (Coolant, oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, PB Blaster, Spark Plugs, oil filter, Duct Tape, Electrical tape, fuses, assorted wrenches and screwdrivers, electrical/crimp tool, Quick Steel, Super Glue, zip ties, tape measure, scissors, bottle opener, etc etc)

This thing is awesome. Kinda the approach I want to take mine. Very cool.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...11532ecc57.jpg

I may have to borrow some ideas of yours...

Ya, thanks for reminding me that I need to find a home for my AK & plate carrier in my Jeep.

Concealed:
Hollow out the foam in the rear bench seat and mount it inside underneath. To access rifle simply flip the rear seat forward. Concealed and secure.

Overhead Cab:
Install an overhead bun mount to the ceiling of the cab, over across the two front seats.

Plate Carrier:
Hang the vest on the back of the drivers seat. Easy access and adds rear protect.

Both can be accessed from a sitting position in drivers side and at the ready in under ten seconds combined.

If you see an idea you like, feel free to incorporate it into your build.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Partial Exhaust and Coolant System Replacement

Replacing the Radiator, water pump, thermostat and thermostat housing, thermostat inlet tube.
Decided on doing an A.C. delete; removing the compressor, condenser and canisters.
Replacing with an A.C. bypass pulley temporarily until I relocate the alternator to the former A.C.'s location.

Also replacing the pre-cats, the 4 O2 sensors and the front pipe.
This is the second step of the exhaust replacement.
In our first step we previously replaced the exhaust from the front pipe back with some custom work and a Flow Master Super 44.
All that will be left to replace is a new header, that will be step 3.