project: Oola the angry 2wd
 

alrighty THis is a super beginner build thread. this is my first jeep and after much careful research i decided to go with a cherokee. so after many much searching i found this lifted 1995 2wd xj country who had had regular maintenance in who knows how long and a broken grille :brickwall:so i gladly said good bye to my 2000 jetta and said hello to the XJ at the end of july and finaley decided to start a build thread! (sorry for a lack of pics in the beginning:brickwall:)
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she's got a rough country 3 inch front coils and rear AAL:brickwall: with worn out 31x10.50 bfg all terrains and MB mags but other than that she was bone stock when i got her

my plans at the beginning were to focus mainly on maintenance before i did any mods but future plans include:
-K&N cold air intake (kinda cheating by calling it maintenance/ modding:whistling2:)-installed
-pioneer head unit-installed
-dodge neon "703" injectors-installed
-full exhaust-started
-steering overhaul(DW out the WAZZO!!)
-the controversial 4WD conversion
-4.5" lift (undecided)
-16" moabs


so..the very first thing i did go to napa and picked up a set of champion copper spark plugs gapped to .035 napa plug wires and a new cap and rotor an ignition coil a K&N oil filter some mobil1 10w30 synthetic oil and a couple cans of sea foam :icon_smile:

i got all that in stalled but some how managed to forget the #6 spark plug and the ignition coil:brickwall::brick wall:....rookie mistake...after a while i finally put the new plug in #6 and broke the heater valve and pulled the new plug wire apart:brickwall::brickwall::brick wall:luckily i kept a plug wire to check for spark later on so i installed that one...... ill upgrade that later..:whistling2:

i had a pioneer head unit for my s10 blazer project but sold that and kept the stereo so its new home became the xj

i open the dash to find this..
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this made me very sad:icon_sad: they spliced it right in to the harness and didn't use and adapter but they managed to crimp 3 speaker together some how so that seemed to be why only one speaker was working.. and the kicker is the factory plug was still attached in there by 2 wires so i rewired it all to the factory plug and got the adapter
HOORAY!!
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all my speakers work!! and my iPod plugs right in!!

cleaned my throttle body and installed new IAC and TPS and my k&n CAI
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then found a field...
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after thoughts: the K&N definitely gave me better acceleration and throttle response but i get a whistle when accelerating that bugs me but I've got some plans for a semi home brew cowel intake but i figure ill get some more use out of it until i start taking it off road (never wheeled before:whistling2: but plan on getting out there soon(pm me san antonio or austin xjs or any other surrounding areas I'm down to go if your down to pull me out when i get stuck..alot))

i finally managed to fix my weird bucking problem i was having..turned my o2 sensor was dead :sick: so i ordered a bosch replacement and she's been running happily ever since:icon_cheesygrin:

so on that note i decided it was time to begin my exhaust over haul:

decided to go with the APN header because of the $$ only 179.00 shipped..we'll see how she works

heres the link to the header
http://www.ineedparts.com/apn-jeep-e...-manifold.html

and here it is next to my stock cracked one
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the install was very straight forward this header is a direct bolt in replacement "no mods needed" unless your running a 99 and up intake manifold. it comes with the hardware and a new gasket. the real PITA was tightening all the bolts down cause the header in the way especially between cylinders 4 and 5 no ratchet fit in there unless you on the first or last bolt :brick wall:

and this didn't make me happy either
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motor mounts in pieces.. i assume its from the high heat of the exhaust manifold being so cloes to it..i had thought about doing the brown dog motor mounts while i was in there but i figured id do that some day when i finally build up a stroker but oh well..and i might as well replace it whilst I've got everything apart... luckily.. napa just so happened to have a stock replace meant so in she went

i also decided whilst i had the intake off id give it a good cleening and....do the 703 dodge neon injector install!!

dirty....
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HOORAY FOR CLEEN!!!!!!
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i took it to the car was up the road and presser washed it after many coats of degreaser and it still didn't all come off:censored: so i got the dremmel with a polishing tip and finished it off including cleaning out the injector holes in prepareation for my new(to me) 703's

Nice XJ! Welcome to the Mopar club. Are you planning on doing a 2wd to 4wd swap? I'm finishing up my 4x2 - 4x4 swap right now (Bolting in Transmission this weekend)

after a lot of research i decided that the dodge neon "703" injectors were the right upgrade choice so i sought out to find a set in the junk years and rebuild the m my self but then i saw programbo was selling a full set of rebuilt and tested injectors with new micro filters for 70 bucks..shipped i figured it was worth it to buy those since the pick n pull here wanted 9 bucks an injector and you have no clue if they work right or not so i pay paled him the money and here they are!:icon_cheesygrin:

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almost there.....
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the swap is fairly straight forward i feel like its been beaten to death on this forum so I'm not going to go in to huge detail about the swap...just be careful not to tear an o ring lube em up with some vasoline and they'll slide right in.. and label your injector wires you don't want to get those mixed up..

after thought: well shed seemed to start up pretty rough with the new injector at first but she's since adjusted to them i do have some increased throttle response and acceleration...not as much as i thought i would...and I'm getting more vibration from the engine...but i blame that more on the stiff brand new motor mount than any thing... i figure the computer still need a lil more time to adjust so i won't be to critical.. yet i am I'm fairly impressed by the header i get a throatier growl out of it under heavy acceleration..that i like.. and its not cracked so thats a plus.. over all I'm pleased with the header and injectors but only time will tell

HOORAY XJ TIME!!!!!
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and my head unit i mentioned earlier:whistling2: and thats Capitan Tater Tot on the dash. i found him at school when iwas 16 and he's been on ever dash board I've owned since. he's liking his new home in Oola!

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thats awesome!! and yes that what I'm planning on doing I'm aiming on doing mine in march cause its a little more whether permiting and its a slower at work so i can squeeze a little extra time off :thumbup:

any tips/ suggestions? places you gathered info? cause after i get the exuast fully redone this weekend(monday/tuesday for me) I'm gonna start gathering parts for the swap.

I'm thinking of doing a mild d30 open differential build.. nothing too fancy.. and then maybe an LSD in the rear and I'm still on the fence whiter i want the 231 0r 242 transfer case i really like the idea of having full time 4x4 but seeing as how i live in texas and it rains once every 100 years i feel like its probably not nessasary

so after about a month of driving at night i realized how pathetic my headlights were........so i went about trying to find a solution and the jeep world pointed me the the putco h4 heavy duty wiring harness and e code housings


http://www.quadratec.com/products/97009_02.htm

this combo with a set of sylvaynia silver stars is AMAZING!! i still have a hard time believing how bright head lights are as bright as they are!!

i recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade they're head lights!!!

Looks great man. Coming along nicely. I didn't have any problems with the new injectors... I got a little throttle response and it seems like I can cruise at the same speed at slightly lower RPMS. What are you doing next?

Nice! As for the x-case, I'd definately reccomend the 231. There is far more aftermarket support. I just went out and bought a '91 4x4 with a blown head gasket. I pulled the front axke (Non-disco), tranny, and NP242 t-case. Now I got very lucky: Transmission was rebuilt in the last 8k miles, and the axles were a replacement off an MJ. The only thing that wasn't in prime condition was the t-case, and it only needed new linkage.

Honestly, if you have the available space, I reccomend buying a complete Jeep and parting it out. You know everything works together, you know what condition it was pulled out of the car in, you know WHO pulled it out, and plus you can sell all the other parts you don't need and make some $$. I still have the rear end, tires, rims, doors, hatch, windshield, and all 3 seats... and I've already made 200% profit (bought for $600) and I still got a free axle, tranny, and t-case!

I dont have a lot of big plans for the immidiate future.. i bought some cheepie fog lights from harbor freight thatll go on soon ive got a tauruas e fan left over from my blazer project thats gonna go on soon and i want to get the exaust redone and start gathering parts for a 4x4 swap

As much as id like to get one.. i dont have any where to store a parts jeep :/ so ill probly look at buying an front axel and rebuilding it with 4.10s ball and u-joints and imma redo the lift to a 4.5 with 33s at the same time. I figure its a good time to do it with the front axel down but i dont plan on doing it for a while yet cause i still need to start gathering parts and have a period where im not working 70 hours a week at work :/

Yeahh that makes sense. try and go with a HP D30 if you can find one. Good luck!

I actually just finished my 2wd-4wd conversion this weekend. Just waiting on a Tcase linkage mount and a little wiring and i'll be done! thread to come sooon.

nice looking xj, mine is also 2wd and I already got the dana30 out of a 91 with the vacuum eliminated, and this weekend im gonna pick up a trans with a 231 tc and rear driveshaft for 450!!

nice! I'm not gonna have time probably until december to start gathering parts for the swap cause novembers a very busy time for me at work:brickwall: but that means it'll be easier to save some cash for the new lift:w00t:

That's awesome, it's good to see another 2wd getting some love

yea id been reading up on my xj stuff and was actively looking for one on CL and i looked at that for her and new from right then that was the one..jeeps are built not bought :brows: