Hi guys

Well, now that I (kind of) have my cash together, I figured it's time to start my Jeep project!

My vehicle: 2001 XJ Sport 4x4 4.0, 150k miles and a good bit of rust

EVERYTHING was stock when I bought it. This was the first time I purchased a car almost 100% off my own information (basically, my first time buying a car). So, I definitely bought a vehicle with problems... it runs very strong and the transmission is great, but it has lots of little issues and rust. But hey, it's a learning experience!!

The day I bought her:


She had lots of problems. Here are some of them:

Catalytic converter gone bad
Rear main seal leak (not bad, I'm going to ignore it for now)
Leaky oil filter adapter (fixing soon, already have the parts)
Transfer case front output seal leak (hardly noticeable, I'm gonna wait on it)
Front pinion seal leak (fixing soon)
Front and rear differentials leaking (fixed!)
Worn shocks, leafs, trac bar, coils (fixing soon, already have the parts)
Worn swaybar bushings and end links (fixed!)
Leaking water pump (fixed!)
VERY leaky valve cover gasket (fixed!)
Rear breaks missing the spreader bars... (lol, fixing VERY soon)
Oh, and did I mention RUST?!

Some of you might think I was stupid for buying this car. I was. But now I can say I will never make that mistake again! And sadly, I've come to love this damn thing! I'm learning a ton; I am happy I made this purchase. I am becoming so much more educated about automobiles!!

Over the course of time, I am going to be working in my future plans for the Jeep as well as the numerous fixes listed above. Here are some pics to start off with (in random order):

WTF happened to my PS pump pulley?


All of this just to get to the broken bolt holding in the water pump...


Yeah, the front diff was leaking pretty badly


Definitely suffers from rust


Breather tube for the front axle was THRASHED


Leaky front pinion seal


The one spot where the rust was actually starting to take its toll... this is the only spot where it's actually rotting. Good thing it's just the floorpans


Engine was in pretty good shape; decently clean



Replacing the valve cover gasket:


My new bumpers painted and installed (the first positive thing I got to do to my Jeep)!


So, my future plans are:

3.5" RE SuperFlex kit with new leafs
SYE conversion
Iron Rock Offroad double-shear adjustable trac bar
New rims, 15x8 3.75
New tires, 31"
Address the urgent issues (rust, undercoat, pinion seal, etc)

What I have already done:
Replace water pump
Service both diffs (and paint the front diff cover red)
New head unit, sub in the back, new speakers all around
New bumpers
KC Hilites 100 watt long range off road lights mounted on bumper


WHEW! I will be impressed if someone actually reads all that!

Stay tuned for updates, the lift and SYE should be going on in a few weeks.

 

Haha I read it all!! I'll be keepin a eye in it. Good luck!!

 

Well, she made it up and over Loveland Pass with minimal whining!

 

Alright, the process begins!

I just ordered all my lift components:

3.5" RE Super-Flex Kit w/ full rear leafs
RE Adjustable Track Bar
RE 1.75" Front Coil Spacers

I will also be ordering (when I get it all together to get measurements):

Either: Teraflex Short-Shaft SYE or Advance Adapters SYE
Tom Woods Custom CV Rear Driveshaft


I'm stoked!! I have completely topped out my Jeep budget for this year... should be looking pretty spiffy with this lift


Oh yeah... Also going with 32" tires and 15" rims w/ 3.75" BS in the near future!

 

Looks like a good start!!

 

Well, a little bump in the road:

I have been feeling very ill lately. Could be: diabetes, hypo/hyperglycemia, hypo/hyperthyroid, general anxiety disorder, or Hashimoto's disease. Some days I feel okay others I feel like crap. Makes it hard to get going on the Jeep. Going in for blood tests tomorrow to find out what the hell is wrong with my body :/

On a much, much happier note-- I came home tonight to parts sitting in the garage! Whoo!!!!

 

Nice. Parts are always good

 

Welp, I was feeling well enough to start working today... got a few hours in!

Figured I'd start on the "harder" side (front). Got the old leaky shocks out, old coils (I just cut them with an angle grinder -- forget the compressor for now...), PB blasted EVERYTHING I could think of, decided not to disconnect the track bar for the install (was going to install my new one after everything).

Getting those few simple things done was actually a challenge... The bolts holding the upper mounts for the front shocks were so frozen that I couldn't turn them without turning the shock piston (even if I gripped them with vice grips)! So I said enough's enough and attacked the old shocks with an angle grinder and made a surface that could easily be gripped by channel pliers (is that the right name for them?!). Came out easy after that



Planning on finishing the front end tomorrow

 

Still working on the front ...

Wanted to remove the track bar bracket because it's pretty rusty. Wanted to clean it and have my buddy reinforce it. So, got the fender-side mounting bolts out no problem, but when I got to the bottom bolts it was so stuck! I broke my breaker bar! So 100 bucks later I bought a 1/2" breaker bar and new deep sockets to match. Busted the first one out like it was no big deal, but got to the second one and ended up breaking the spot-welds that held the nut in place! So now it just spins around freely. ARGH!!!!

Who the hell spot welds a ROUND nut to hold a bolt in?! Especially in a place you can't get to?!?!? There's no way to grip the nut! It's round! Unbelievable. Going to see if my buddy can weld it back into place and break it free... otherwise I'm gonna risk getting my angle grinder up in that tight space, grinding the bolt head off, and punching it out.

Damn this has been one pain in the ***!

 

Love the color of ur Jeep. I see ur in Laguna.... all that rust must be from driving on the beach.

 

That happened when I tried to take the mount of a friend's jeep. I covered it with weld and then it was fine lol. But we weren't re using the bracket.

 

What a pain! Every nut and bolt has fought me on this vehicle. I understand how to lift it etc, but these stuck bolts are seriously setting me back!

 

Welcome to the jeep world! Heat helps a lot.

 

Hey man I'm in the same boat as you! Broke college kid with an XJ! Looking forward to seeing how your lift install goes, I'm doing a similar set up this winter break. Good luck!

 

I see you got a few hiccups with the bolts most likely the rust on the inside of them. The best thing to do would be go to you autoparts store and pick up a few cans of PB Blaster that stuff works wonders. I just finished my lift today and sprayed her down with it to ease the bolts. It does help though, If you aren't in a hurry try and spray all the bolts you want to take off a few times a day. If you are just soak them down. Another thing that has helped me on all of my projects is an impact wrench. I don't know if you have a harbor freight out there or not but that is where I picked mine up and it was like 40 bucks and the sockets are relatively cheap. If you have one let me know I can PM you a coupon that would help with the price some. Good luck on the Jeep man they can be frustrating but still a lot of fun.