I figure this is as good a time as any to start my build thread. I have been gathering some great info from this forum and have received a lot of knowledgeable answers from you great people.

This is El Chingon, 2000 manual 2 door. I picked it up a little over a month ago and have been doing some minor mechanical maintenance over the past several weeks.

I’ll add more to this list as I figure out what else I’d like to do

Maintenance/Fixes/Upgrades

Oil and filter change
Driver window motor
Brake drums, shoes and hardware
Rear brake hard line
Rear brake hose
Rear passenger brake line
Rear Differential Fluid
Transfer case fluid
Remove stupid, oversized, night blinding windshield tint
Transmission fluid
Replace alternator
Replace battery
Replace gas tank & straps
Replace driveshaft u-joints
Upgrade tie rod
Replace tie rod ends
Replace steering stabilizer
Front sway bar bushings
Steering box brace
Raptor line rockers and doors below the plastic trim
Rear off-road bumper
LED headlights
Wheels
31” tires
Cat back exhaust
Transmission mount
Motor mounts
Bootswerks transfer case linkage
Driveshaft centering yoke
Fuel Injectors
Replace axle u-joints
Replace ball joints
Replace wheel hubs
Repair frame rust
Frame stiffeners
Coolant flush
Front differential fluid

Lift:
Rubicon Express 3.5” Super Ride lift
Iron Rock Off-Road double sheer track bar
Leaf spring shackles
Transfer case drop




A before and after of the brakes, there was no rear hard line when I bought it. Not sure how long the PO was rolling around with no rear brakes, but he did let me know that they were not hooked up. The auto adjusters were corroded through and not attached anymore. (shoes were fine but I changed them anyway)



RE 3.5” Super Ride kit with monotube shocks and IRO adjustable double sheer track bar (with mounting bracket) came a couple weeks ago. I should be installing it in the next couple of weeks

 

Took the ol’ heat gun to the body trim and rear bumper, I’m very pleased with how it turned out


Before:


After:

 

It it only took me about 20 hours, but I got the rear suspension done on El Chingon this weekend. This included a few runs to the hardware store and a much needed visit to the bar about 5 hours in on Friday night.

I had had some seriously rusted bolts. When removing the drivers side frame end leaf spring bolt, I applied heat and quenched with Pb blaster several times (almost started a fire at one point). Then I attached the breaker bar and stood on it to get it to go “kink kink kink” then backed it up and repeated this about 200 times until the bolt finally released from the devils grasp.

Next was the drivers side shackle bolt. I got it to back all the way out of the welded nut and then realized that it was rust fused to the metal bushing sleeve. I got some metal sawsall blades but after a few minutes I saw that zero progress was being made. Then I grabbed my air chisel and pounded on the metal bushing sleeve, through the gap in the shackle mount, for about 5 minutes. After that I attached my vice grips to the metal bushing sleeve and the bolt backed out (thank god). Here is a picture of how I was able to back that bolt out, hopefully it will help someone that runs into the same issue.



It felt amazing to get this leaf spring out of there


New leaf spring installed after about a half hour of maneuvering the jack and jack stands.


The passenger side leaf spring came out so easily that I thought something was going wrong the entire time I was removing it.


All 4 of my upper shock bolts snapped. I used the method that many on this forum have suggested. Popped the weld nuts out with the air hammer and wire fed new grade 8 bolts through the access hole. This was not as easy as a lot of people make it out to be. Feeding the bolts through was definitely easy, but getting the shock in place and screwing the bolts down was definitely not.

Heres what I ended up doing:

-Slid a lock washer and then a flat washer onto all 4 grade 8 bolts (5/16-18, 1 1/4”) and pulled them through the shock mount holes using 20 gauge wire.
-Hand threaded flange nuts onto each bolt
-Installed bar pins into shock bushings
-Got shock with bar pin into place on upper mount
-Pushed up on the shock to compress it and mounted it to the lower shock mount and snugged it up with the washer and nut
-Reached the open end of a 1/2” wrench into the access hole to grab the bolts and used a long 1/2” socket with a long extension on a ratchet to tighten the nuts down. You need to use a longer socket to accommodate the length of the bolt that comes through. 1 bolt on each side was a royal PITA because the indent where the top of the shock goes gets in your way while you are trying to blindly grab it with the wrench. And on the passenger side, the shock itself and exhaust tail pipe leave you very little room to maneuver a wrench.


Many frustrating, but rewarding, hours later. The rear is done, and I have a mean drag racing lean

Thankfully I have another vehicle to get around in, I got it up to 40 mph and it had some pretty strong vibes without the tcase drop installed (and front end lift for that matter)



Im hoping to do the front either next weekend or the weekend after and will update y’all as I go!

 

Installed the front this weekend. I’m very happy with the results. I didn’t really run into any issues other than 1 stubborn control arm bolt. I totally spaced measuring my ride height before the install, but it sits waaaaay higher now.

 

Good job dude! Do you have your wheels and tires yet? Let us know how she rides

 

nice work! Excited to see what your 31' tires and wheels looks like!

 

Thanks guys! I had really bad vibes right after the lift, I hillbilly aligned it after work today. I was toed in about 1.25” and now I’m about 1/8” and the vibes have reduced by probably 75%. I’m planning to do the t-case drop tomorrow or Thursday to hold me over until I can get a SYE.

The only other issue I’m noticing is a very mild clunking if I accelerate fast in 1st gear. I have about 20 more miles before I re-torque everything. I’m guessing it’s either that, or u-joints which are next on my list to replace. Pretty sure I have original u-joints still.

As as far as 31’s, it’ll probably be a couple more months of my Jeep looking like an awkward teenager with skinny chicken legs. El Chingon is trying to take all my money . I’m considering 15” Crager soft 8’s with 4” backspacing and Pro Comp A/T sports. Any thoughts/suggestions on wheels and tires? I’m leaning towards all terrain over mud tires because I live in the Midwest and would like to use the Jeep for winter driving and light/medium trail riding.

 

Check the U-Joints, otherwise I would just get used to the clunks lol. You are now the proud owner of a clunk, pop, and creak factory. Vibes were expected but glad to hear they are more manageable with a somewhat alignment. Crager or procomps are a popular and budget friendly option. A/T is a great option for what you describe, I myself went with BFG. I was able to get 5 for like $700 via 4wheelparts.com they had a great deal maybe check there or wherever else they sell em, i remember walmart even was a contender. I think you want 3.75" backspacing. Double double check your numbers on the forum. I have 3.75 American Racing Wheels and they clear the control arms fine. Keep it up! Remember to re-torque your u-bolts and check all suspension bolts after a hundred miles.

 

Looks good and always feel great being able to say I did that!

 

I am installing the RE 3.5 Super Flex on my '92 XJ and have some real bad vibrations even at low speed. Did you need shims or anything to raise your rear pumpkin angle? I seem to have reached the limit for my rear drive shaft.. I'm also considering installing a T-Case drop until I can afford the SYE kit with a new drive shaft..

 

I was getting some rough vibes at 30-50 mph. I just did the tcase drop and now I’m getting light vibes at 45-55 mph. I did an alignment myself and I know I wasn’t super accurate, I’m planning to take it to an alignment shop to see if that smooths things out the rest of the way. I’m interested to see if my caster is out of whack. I’m guessing I’ll probably end up needing a Tom Woods SYE/driveshaft kit as I have the nv3550 tranny which apparently is shorter and needs a driveshaft that is longer than a front xj driveshaft. Did I say the word driveshaft enough times?

 

I love me some 2 door XJs. So badass.

 

Bigger tires have been put on the back burner for now. They’ll probably have to wait until spring. I have some frame and body rust that needs fixing so my funds have gone to this Hobart Handler 140. I’m pretty excited to learn how to weld. I still need to get a gas bottle and some other odds and ends to practice mig welding. For now I’m going to practice some beads using the flux wire. I’ll keep y’all posted!

 

Like the 2 door and the window tint. subscribed.

 

Changed the transmission fluid over the weekend with some Redline MTL, pretty noticeable difference in shifting in lower gears. I also got around to unboxing the Hobart Handler. After about an hour of practice I got some beads that I was ok with sharing on the internet. These are with flux core wire, today was my first time welding so I was pretty happy with the beads I got. I should be getting a gas bottle next month so I’ll be able to get cleaner welds