When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Figured I'd give my build thread a weak update...since I can't seem to stay home for more than 2 months at a time to get all my stuff installed.
The only good that comes from being gone for so long is that I am able to wait for deals or sales before purchasing the items that I want...so i guess that's a silver lining.
1st thing I'm doing when i get back home is installing the Ruff Stuff frame stiffeners, 2nd will be the long arm install, those are my priorities.
Purchased:
C-rock steering box plate - Purchased
Ruff Stuff frame stiffeners - purchased
Tom woods driveshaft - Purchased
****tybilt tire carrier bumper - Purchased deal too good to pass up
Roof rack - Purchased
CavFab long arms - Purchased
HD offroad Shackle relocation - Purchased
Front and rear bump stops - Purchased
Brown Dog rubber motor mounts - purchased
OEM tranny mount - purchased
Chevy 1500 front and Dakota rear extended brake lines - purchased
Need to purchase:
Rear disc brake conversion -
1 Ton steering upgrade Unknown brand yet -
ORF Front bumper -
leaf spring shims -
water pump -
Vehicle immobilizer or alarm -
4.88 gears and lockers -
diff covers and fluid change -
Rock Sliders -
next update should be in about a month and half......here's hoping.
Well I'm finally home......at least for a week. I figured I'd start installing the parts which have been sitting in the spare bedroom.
1. First thing I have to do is remove the rusted hitch I have on my vehicle. This job took about an hour thanks to my new angle grinder, but it still sucked. Leave it to me to live in the South and find the one vehicle which came from up north.
sigh well I've installed the HD offroad engineering shackles, the regular ones not the no lifts as I needed the rear of the XJ to come up 1/2-1" since the rear was a little lower than I wanted it to be.
I still have to trim the shackle relocater since the shackle will hit it when the leaf is flexed and the exhaust is hitting the leaf but I ran out of time so I will tackle that job when I get home.
Since I had to I would have to remove the shackles to install the rear bumper I decided to just go ahead and install the bumper since I already had everything taken apart. I had issues when I tried to align the the relocator mounting holes with the bumper attachment which mounts to the frame....I could only line up one of the holes on the locator so I will have to redrill the hole on relocator about a 1/4". You can see the misalignment in the previous picture, I'm not happy but problems are to be expected when using products from 2 different companies, so that is another issue I will have to deal with when I get home. I though I had taken pics but apparently I didn't.
Next up will be my CAVFAB 3 link install followed by my Bigdave rear disc brake install, Brown Dog motor mounts, CR-Snow fuse panel, and Tom Woods Driveshaft. The Ruff stuff frame stiffeners will have to wait until I buy a better welder. I currently have the harbor freight 90 amp welder but I will be buying the ESAB Rebel welder in the spring at which time I will take care of the rust and install the stiffeners.
I'm looking to get the XJ in a driveable condition so that I can at least use it for a week before heading back out the door.
The bad news so far was that I have found a little more rust than I thought the XJ had but overall nothing too bad.
Last edited by peligro113; 09-15-2016 at 01:21 PM.
I was able to get a little more done. I installed the Cavfab 3 link but I was not able to install the unibody tie ins that come as part of the kit because my stupid drill bit keeps going dull after one hole. Those are going to have to wait until I get back from my deployment.
This pics makes it look like the XJ's *** is sagging, but it is actually even
I also installed some the instrument cluster leds I bought from someone on this site....can't remember who, but these things are awesome!
I also took the front plate bracket and installed it on the tire carrier so that I don't get stopped by the popo's. The led light for the plate I picked up on Amazon and I wired it to the tow wiring so it comes on with the taillights.
When I get back I'm going to be installing a OR Fab front bumper, M8000 winch, the rear disc brakes I bought from BigDave, new front and rear driveshafts, and I'll be replacing the 2 front floor pans since they've started to rust...stay tuned.
Well I guess it's time to update this thread, it has only been three years since I posted an update.
I installed a cowl intake that I pieced together from parts I bought from Spectre. I am still not 100% happy with the black hose that I had to use to connect the intake to the cowl, but it was the easiest way to to it. I still need to fab a bracket or mount to keep the intake level, it works fine the way it is now but my OCD is kicking up.
I adjusted the air intake to get it to set closer to the valve cover, plus the air filter prevented the hood from closing. I swapped out the rubber fitting that connected the air intake to the throttle body and added another 90 degree elbow to get the air intake to sit closer to the fire wall. I need to buy a mount to hold the air filter housing up so that it doesn't rub on the valve cover. I plan to move my coolant overflow jug over to the driver's side. I am also going to make a bracket to hold the vacuum reservoir a little better.
In case anyone wants to duplicate the air intake I used two 90 degree elbows #8698, , one air intake mount #8148, one vacuum /sensor tube #87071, two rubber couplers #8771, one flexible air duct #8741, and the air filter #9833. All of the parts with the exception of the air filter housing are made of co-polymer ABS resin. I reused the front hose to connect the valve cover to the vacuum sensor tube. Total cost as of 4/27/2020 is $156 on Amazon, can it be done cheaper yes, but this is the way I chose to do mine.
Yes it the intake sounds louder than stock, not annoyingly loud, but loud enough to be noticeable.
I am probably going to remove the air intake and paint it black, the chrome is too bling for my tastes.
Last edited by peligro113; 04-27-2020 at 09:31 PM.
I also had time to add a few components to my Xj during this quarantine. Sorry I didn't take pictures during the install.
I added a switch panel with a transmission temperature gauge. I put the temp sensor in the sensor port on the AW4, because of this I see some really high temps, usually 220 on the highway and about 160-180 around town. When I saw the temps I freaked out but after using a thermometer to monitor the transmission temps on the pan and seeing temps of 180 or less I calmed down a bit. I changed the fluid and it wasn't burnt so all is well. I will be adding a second sensor on the transmission pan so that I can monitor the temp differences between the output and input of the ATF. I will then install a switch to select the sensor I want to see.
I also added USB ports where the old cigar light was installed.
The three switches in the panel are wired but not connected to anything yet.
I added cruise control
I finally installed my ORFAB bumper. While I had everything apart I installed DB metalworx steering spacer. The factory one wasn't broken but it was crappy...lol. I inspected the area around the steering box for cracks since I knew that it is common on XJ's but I didn't see any. I had serious bump steer, but interesting enough after installing the bumper and steering spacer the bump steer has disappeared. I don't know if the combination of the bumper and the spacer stiffened the area but I am happy. Oh yeah I also installed a 10K pound Superwinch that I bought a few years ago, it wasn't my first choice but it was waaay cheap, even cheaper than a harbor freight winch. I still need to make a mount for the winch controller port, but for now it is installed wit zipties.
I installed a Ruffstuff one ton steering kit. While working on the steering I also installed new front bearings, ball joints, axle joints, brakes, calipers, rotors, and I flushed the brake fluid. I will be changing the diff fluid tomorrow. I have some longer brake hoses to install but the I could not get the old hose loose, it felt like the hard line was going to break and I didn't feel like replacing the hard lines. Someday but not today. I installed the stabilizer on the tie rod instead of the the drag link. I will fix it tomorrow. .
I finally installed the rear disc brake kit I bought from Big Dave 4 years ago. While everything was apart I replaced the axle bearings, rotors, added new parking brake cables, and installed Adam's Driveshafts in the front and rear.
more to follow.........
Last edited by peligro113; 04-27-2020 at 10:46 PM.
I had time to install the other transmission temp sensor in the transmission pan today. I ran the wires up through the shifter then I connected the two sensors to one of the switches in the clock panel so that i can see the temp in the transmission pan and the temp as the fluid exits the transmission via the sensor port.
The fluid temp in the pan was anywhere from 34-80 degrees cooler than the fluid leaving the transmission, depending on whether I was driving at highway speeds or stopped. I was surprised to see that but i am happy that my cooling system is functioning correctly.
ATF leaving the transmission after coming off the highway and sitting for a couple of minutes in park.
ATF in the pan. I took this pic about 10 seconds after the 1st pic.
Well...I reinstalled the stock airbox, the cowl intake was too loud for daily driving, to the point I didn't even want to use me XJ anymore. I'll keep it and reinstall it as needed.
05-20-2016, 03:06 PM
