JeremyXJ

My aunt bought this XJ new, back in 1996. In twelve years, she put over 155K on it and the AW4 decided to quit working. All of the places she took it to, told her it would cost more than the Jeep was worth to fix it, so she decided to trade it in on a newer Cherokee (she settled on a 2002 Grand Cherokee Overland). The dealership looked it over and said they didn't want the XJ for a trade, so it became a driveway ornament for a little while.

In early 2009, she asked me if I could fix it. I said I could and she gave it to me as a project. Can't beat free, right?

I found a 60,000 mile AW4 at a yard for pretty cheap and swapped it over with some friends. The carpet was completely trashed, so I pulled it out and put in some rubber floor liners. I also painted the worn out rims, removed all the badges, installed H4 conversions, and tinted a bunch of the lenses. Here are the only two pictures I can find of that stage:

JeremyXJ

I swapped the dummy light cluster for a tach cluster and added blue LED's to everything.



The gauges are a little dim because they aren't backlit like they are in later model XJ's and LED's are directional. I hope to replace the faces themselves to something brighter, so they're easier to read at night. The pictures look darker than they actually are, so it's really not that bad. The CD player I put in it glows blue, too.

JeremyXJ

At about 200K, I replaced every rubber hose under the hood, as well as 80% of the gaskets (including the oil pan and rear main). The fan motor and all the brakes were also replaced.

Fast forward to late 2013, the 200K+ stock water pump and alternator failed on me, so I replaced both of those with new parts. I also added some Taylor plug wires, new distributor cap, thermostat, and a few other minor maintenance items.

About this time, the tires were looking a little worn out. I knew I wanted to replace them with something bigger, and that was going to require a lift. Seeing as how this is my daily driver and I have no desire to do rock crawling or any sort of hardcore off-roading, I wanted to keep it pretty mild. I bought a two inch budget boost from Fat Bob's Garage and installed it in an afternoon. Here it sits, two inches higher:

JeremyXJ

I managed to score a set of stock FJ Cruiser tires for free. They only had about 300 miles on them, so they were practically new. They are 265/70/17's, so they're roughly 32" tall and 10.5" wide. I wanted to go to a 31x10.5, so these were a pretty good score. The only dilemma was the 17" rim size. After a bit of searching and weighing my options, I found a set of new, 17x8.5" aluminum rims for about $400. So I basically got a set of brand new tires and wheels for $400. Here's how it sits today:





A couple of years ago, I hacked up the grill in an attempt to make something "custom" and ended up with a pretty terrible looking mess. I'm going to replace all of the black plastic pieces across the front pretty soon, as well as the cracked and chipped up header panel. You can see I added clear turn signal lights instead of the dim, chipped up, tinted stockers I had on there.

JeremyXJ

The rear side of the front, inner fender flares are the only place I've had any rubbing issues with the taller tires. You can see here how it started to bend outward from rubbing on the tread in reverse:



After this picture was taken, I cut off that inner lip of the flare and pounded the exposed metal edge flat with a hammer. No more rubbing. I would love a set of Bushwacker flat style flares, but that's a lot of money for some plastic. It might be a while before I can convince the wife to let my buy those.

JeremyXJ

I replaced all of the plastic on the front of the Jeep with new pieces. Here is the before, with the cut up grill:



Here's the refreshed front with new pieces:



New bumpers are next.

SteveMongr

Nice ride. I also have a 96 XJ in metallic blue, from Washington state. It has zero rust, super clean and straight. But now it's starting to get banged up.
As for the jeep and cherokee labels? I don't see a shadow of where they were. Did you use 'goo-gone' to remove the adhesive or do they just come off clean?

Ride-On....

JeremyXJ

I used some 3M adhesive remover, buffing compound, and a bunch of elbow grease. There are some faint marks left in the paint that outline the shape of the badges, but it's not something you notice until you get up close. You can't see them in the pictures, because they're low resolution cell pics. They're only noticeable up close and in person.

JeepaholicNinja

Nice Jeep! Looks good mildly lifted...

zeecherokeeman

Looks good, i got a 96 with a 2inch lift too....

zeecherokeeman

all yeah its a daily too,and 31'' tires

JeremyXJ

So I finally put new, OEM style bumpers on it and repainted the end caps. The next project was to take care of the rust spots on the upper sides of the roof, just above the drip rails. There were about four small rust spots and two of them had gone through the steel. My process for fixing them was like this:

Sand with 180 grit
Cover everything with rust converter
Fill holes with JB Weld
Tape off
Sand with 180 grit
Rustoleum black primer
Rustoleum spray on bed liner

Here are the results:







In this picture, there is a small raised section that was one of my patch areas. You really wouldn't notice it unless I pointed it out. Overall, it turned out pretty nice.


I put a ton of the rust converter into the bottom of the drip rails, since there were traces of rust in them. Hopefully the mix of converter, sanding, primer, and liner will keep the top of this thing rust free for another twenty years.

I plan to put more of the spray on liner on the lower rocker panels sometime soon, but I'd like to take out some of the dings first.

JeremyXJ

So it's been a while since I updated this, but I just ordered a Rough Country 3" Series 2 lift. The budget boost wasn't cutting it; I can't carry more than two people in it without the rear tires rubbing on the inner fenders over bumps. The stock leafs aren't up to the task anymore. The sharp edge of the rear fender is completely exposed now, so I'm afraid of slicing my tires. The extra inch of clearance and new springs should take care of the problem. Plus, I can add my 2" BB components for some extra lift if I ever need it.

The RC kit comes with full leaf spring replacements, lower control arms, shocks, and I ordered a new steering stabilizer as well. It should feel like a new Jeep once I install it all. I also have a set of Hella 500 Black Magic lights that will be going on shortly. I'll be sure to add some new pictures after the installs.

JeremyXJ

I installed my Rough Country 3" series two lift and adjustable track bar over the weekend. What a pain in the ***. I had it aligned today and it drives nice and straight. I feel like it lifted a little closer to 4", but I could be wrong. The stock leafs were sagging pretty bad by the time I took them off.



Please excuse all the greasy handprints on the front bumper. Remnants of the lift install.


Here's a comparison with the 2" lift when I first installed it.


I also installed some Hella 500 Black Magics a few weeks ago. I like them so far, but I want some stone guards for them.

A few things about the lift:

It's a great kit for the money. Nice shocks, nice springs, super tough control arms, and everything fit perfectly. The ride is stiff, but not brutal, and I'm fine with it. The difference between a 2" budget boost and a full 3" kit is huge. Everything feels different with this kit. The track bar is also a great piece. The only issue I had installing it was that the stock bolt on the passenger side was destroyed by the time I pulled it out. The threads were shot. The captive nut on the other side was unusable as well. None of it was because of rust, either. The threads on both were just super chewed up and stripped. I replaced them with a spare ARP bolt and nut I had that was the same size. I hope it holds.

JeremyXJ

After the lift install, I do have some minor pinion related vibes at speeds below 25 mph and they don't bother me. What does bother me is the grinding noise at deceleration. It was more of a low-pitched howl with the two-inch lift, but with this 3+ lift, it's a lot louder. I think I might invest in a Rusy's cross member. They make one that lowers the transfer case an inch, but doesn't sacrifice any ground clearance like a traditional drop kit. I'm hoping it will quiet it down a bit.