Battle

This is going to be a bit of a photo-bomb update. Jeep has 143k miles now and is running (knock on wood) surprisingly well. I went to Vermont again, but this time to Burlington. Drove through the Adirondacks to get there and took a ferry to cross the lake from NY. No wheeling, but I did treat the Jeep like the sports car it definitely isn't and got a little spirited on the mountain roads. The GF only grabbed the "oh-****" handles twice. It handles, um, relatively okay (relative being the key word here) but is a blast to drive. What surprised me most was it got 25 mpg the entire trip!

Anyways, here are some previously undocumented upgrades:

Side trim removal and heat-gunned fenders.


You can sort of see it in this picture, but added the TuffNet from my last XJ in:


Because swaybars:


Changed the power steering fluid and pump

Old fluid:

Old pump:

I did this because I'm an idiot. The steering was "sticking" as in there was a temporary "dead spot" of steering feel followed immediately by a faint jerk back in the other direction. It felt like there was air in the power steering system. My Subaru did something similar and it was the pump's fault. Well, after blindly replacing the pump and v-belt and bleeding the system properly, the problem was still there. I THEN did a search for other Jeep owners with similar problems and the same thing came up in almost every thread - axle u-joints.

This is a 141k mile (at the time) New Englandish truck mind you.


I gotta say, despite the apparent crustiness, disassembly wasn't bad at all even with zero power tools (other than a drill and wire brush to clean some flaky rust). I used a rubber mallet and a small breaker bar to initially loosen the hub bolts. Worked well. Ended up deadlifting a make-shift breaker bar (read jack handle over a breaker bar) to get the axle nuts off.


Successfully out. Also - check out that OSHA violation!



The passenger side u-joint was trashed. It could not move universally, which makes sense as to why my steering was feeling that way. The u-joint was freezing up.



Look, I'm not a mechanic but I would say I'm mechanically experienced relative to the average dude. I've replaced driveshaft u-joints plenty of times, but trying to replace this frozen one was over my head. I tried to get it out and ended up just wasting time. Managed to get one of the c-clips out, but couldn't get the other. So, I hit up my friendly neighborhood Ultra 4 racer who's latest hobby is crafting late 40s heavy duty truck bodies on late-model frames. He replaced the u-joints with the Spicer 760s I bought in no time flat and showed me his methods, which was super helpful. He also recommended chisels (I was using a whimpy flat head).

New:

Ready for fresh unit bearing:
Oh, hi there.




Flexed the suspension out to see how bad the rear springs are. Woof.




Replaced the tie-rod with a V8 ZJ Moog replacement and swapped in an Old Man Emu stabilizer. Need to get it properly aligned, but my eye-ball/tape measure job is doing just fine for now.


62mm throttle body. Perked the engine up a bit and seems to help with efficiency.


That's it for now, other than the GF wants to inherit it as her main car and I'm completely okay with that. Her e90 got totaled a couple of months ago and she's been driving my Subaru ever since. I barely got it back from her driving it in the winter and was excited to start modifying it and driving it hard as a second car. But, it's an automatic and she feels more comfortable driving it, so I conceded. However, the Jeep is actually in better mechanical shape than the Subaru which needs some work. So, we've been taking the Jeep out a lot and I guess she's falling for it. She wants to keep learning to drive a stick and use it as her car, which is great because I want my Subaru back - a car which I just shelled out a lot of money for to get it ready for winter and an inspection.

Don't worry though, I still have plans for this Jeep as well as plans to have another Jeep just as my own. For this one, it too will get a winter-ready package before the end of the year. I have an excel grid with a parts list which I'm hoping to stick too. Since this is for the GF, it's not going to be hardcore at all - just some OME coils and Rancho springs to "fix" the suspension and raise it up to about upcountry height. I'll throw in an adjustable Rusty's track bar and some yellow-body Bilsteins for good measure. Then, put some 30s on it with OEM wheels (Grizzlys or 90s silver wheels that have "Jeep" written on one of the spokes). Hopefully, the 3.07s won't suck too much. Thinking of finding a set of rust-free HP30/8.25 axles from an auto to swap in. A TrueTrack or TrackLok limited slip would be nice for the rear. Who knows.

Battle

I'll hopefully have some pictures to share today, but ol' RJ is about ready for winter. She's rocking a fresh set of Firestone Winterforce 2s, which are solid snow tires.

I had to have the clutch replaced. It sat for week back in October and on the first drive afterward, the clutch pedal just stopped working from a 1-2 shift. Weird. I replaced the master and slave cylinders myself, but that didn't do the job. So, I threw in the towel and had a shop look it over and the clutch was simply replaced with a LUK replacement. Good to go now.

The GF has also been driving it. I'm so impressed by how good she is doing for her first time. We still need 4wd lessons but so far, she can get back and forth to work with minimal stalling haha.

Battle

New clutch, new Winterforce tires, fresh oil, steering skid (let's face it, these factory skids on lifted Jeeps are ornamental) and the Rugged Ridge floor liners from my trail rig = happy winter "beater!"



.

Whaanga

Love Seeing another two-door!

Battle

I know it's nothing major, but I got a Thule roof rack. I've wanted one of these with extended crossbars for a long time, and finally, it happened! I really got it for the 99, but that's not leaving the garage anytime soon, so this one gets to rock it.




They're 65" cross bars with 300r gutter mounts. I bought them not only because I love the way they look, but I wanted something sturdier and wider for the ARB Awning and "room" I recently bought. That was a big splurge for me, but I can easily transfer it from XJ to XJ and it will make camping/overlanding much easier. Plus, the girl said she'd camp in it too!

Battle

Haven't had an opportunity to use the awning and room the way I want to, but I did mock mount it with some ubolts. Ugly set up, but a solid mounting solution honestly.


I think I might switch to 55" or 58" crossbars too. Just to get the awning closer to the rig.

Also, this really is no longer my Jeep. The GF has essentially adopted it and fallen in love. We're moving to North Carolina in June, so I'll probably sign the title over to her when it's time to register it in NC. She's at least helping me pay for my auto insurance on all three cars until then haha.

​​​​​​

Battle

This thing is about to get spoiled!



Going for about a 2" lift with 29s. I'm probably going to just rob the icons and put them on this one instead of my 99. A 225/75/16 sounds like a nice size for a commuter and shouldn't upset the 3.07s that much. The non LT version of the Hankook ATMs are appealing. This is the GF's car after all...

Also need to figure out the end links - I want to keep a front sway bar (going to ditch the rear) but don't necessarily need disconnects. Not sure if the stock end links will hold up...

I'm just going to assume the rear shock bolts will break off. I'm pretty sure the shocks on here are not originals (they're red bodies) which gives me some hope, but this is New York, so... Thinking about buying some Rough Country bar pin flag nuts just in case.

Battle

Well, ole' RJ is in the garage for the time being. Took some time off to replace the rotted exhaust, the rotted suspension, and throw some new summer shoes on - basically get it ready so the GF can drive it safely for the rest of the year. Started on Tuesday and between running other errands and getting my butt kicked with stubborn bolts, this job is beating me to pieces. My new goal is just to finish the rear on my own/with a buddy and have a professional do the front and get it aligned with new wheels and tires.

Speaking of which - I finally decided on a setup! 235/75R15 Geolandar A/T G015s on 15x7 black steel Pro Comp "d windows". I ditched the 16" Icon idea after the GF said she really liked the black steel wheel look... go figure!

Anyway, back to wrenching. First up, the exhaust. The cat-back and muffler rusted out so bad that there were multiple exhaust leaks and it sounded absolutely terrible.







I don't think this is a factory cat. There was no bolt-in coupler. The muffler just slid over the cat and was clamped down. The muffler did look factory though. A high-flow cat would make sense as to why the truck has always sounded louder and deeper than stock.

I replaced the cat-back with a Dynomax kit off Quadratec. Installed like butter and it sounds soooooo much better now. Nice and subtle.





With that out of the way, I went at the leaf springs. Oddly enough, the sway bar, u-bolts, shock (lower AND upper bolts), and rear shackle-to-frame bolts came out with relative ease.



Now, the front-most leaf spring bolt...



This killed me. The weld nut broke, so I cut the bolt with an angle grinder and a sawzall (had to shop around to find the right blade) just to get the leaf spring out. I cut my little window in the frame thinking the weld nut would just drop right out (I made the window larger than what is pictured) only to find out I didn't back the bolt out far enough and nut and bolt are too wide to drop out.

This meant I spent hours grinding, drilling and gutting at that nut and bolt all while trying to keep it from bouncing around (it's entirely loose in there mind you) just enough to get it out.

When I did get it out, the UPS guy dropped off my tires. It was a pleasant mid-day pick-me-up, that's for sure!

In the past two days, I've been to two different Jeep dealers in town to amass 4 OEM leaf spring and shackle nuts and bolts (those weirdly specific m14 ones), so I'm good to cut the remainder if I need to.

My problem now is lining up the Rancho springs... and not having instructions (definitely put the wrong sized bushings in and need to switch those up after finally finding Rancho-specific instructions last night). I currently can't get the centering pin on the leafs to line up with the axle. I still have the drive shaft and passenger side connected. My thought is to disconnect the drive shaft and unbolt the passenger side (u-bolts and shock) so I can move the axle with the floor jack. This should allow me to get both leafs in, bolted to the frame and the shackle, and then line the axle up with the center pin.

Anyone see any issues here? I guess it might have the potential of pushing the axle forward, but my hope is the springs just need weight on them and once everything is back on the ground, the alignment will all work.

Oh, and another issue - I can't seem to get the factory-replacement shackles to fit over the Rancho spring eye and bushings. I'll take a picture, but it's like the shackle is bowed out on one side, not allowing the bolt to slide right through.

Man, I need a new hobby...

Battle

So. Close.




Got the passenger side leaf out WITHOUT breaking any bolts. One of the shock bolts did break though. Booo. Got those taken care of. I used a big punch (5/16) and a sledge to knock the weld nuts out and Rough Country's bar pin flag nuts. The shocks are just loose for now. The leafs are in the frame (just loose again), and connected to the axle. I ended up disconnecting the drive shaft and the passenger side to get the axle to line up with the center pin easier. Had a buddy help me with that too.

My roadblock now are the shackles. The factory replacement ones will not fit over the Rancho spring eyes and bushings.



Sorry for the crap photos - hopefully you can tell what the problem is. I ordered some IRO 0-.75" shackles to hopefully fix this. They should get here on Wednesday. Then, I can hopefully get the shackles in, lift this all up, bolt it down, get it somewhat tight, drop it on its own weight, torque it all down and give it to someone else to finish the front and get it aligned.

I've been working a desk job too long. This job has killed me... BUT, progress is being made!

Battle

Progress is being made! RJ left the garage last night and drove around the neighborhood like a champ - even with the stock front suspension. The rear is just what I wanted! Went with IRO shackles on the 0" setting. Fit like a glove and really well built. The ride quality is massively improved.

Rancho 1.5" leaf springs, IRO 0" shackles, Old Man Emu sport shocks - stock front suspension for now.










Got the tires mounted and balanced on the Pro Comp wheels. The tire shop put the white letters on the outside - kinda meh on that, but we'll see.

235/75R15 Geolander A/Ts

Battle

The Upcountry 2.0 is "complete"

Battle

Just got back from RJ's biggest road trip yet - at least with me that is. About 1,500 miles were driven in three days going from Rochester to Chapel Hill, North Carolina (where I will be moving to soon) and back. The GF and I also made detours to stop at Gettysburg, PA and Bull Run, VA for some Civil War nerding-out.

We normally take my Subaru on road trips. It's an 05, so it's newer, has dual-zone climate control (my GF likes it freezing, I do not), a killer stereo system, and a flat six and highway gears so it DESTROYs long distances - hence why it has the most miles out of all my cars but is considerably younger. However, RJ just received a serious suspension overhaul and since the GF still wants to drive it, it was time for a proper pressure test.

The truck ran fantastic! It really soaks up highway speeds with ease now. The suspension is rock solid and no longer skips around from the worn out leaf springs. The tires are smooth and quiet - the perfect combo for what this truck will do most of the time. I had an A/C shop inspect the air - I could never get it to blow cold but I guess I wasn't using enough freon. They got it charged, ran some dye through the system, gave it back to me and said, "drive it, come back later and we'll double check it."

With the exception of the first few hundred, open-window miles, the A/C stayed on THE ENTIRE TIME! Pretty stoked about that. The e-fan was also working as it should.

Given it's Memorial Day weekend, and we were driving through Virginia, I stayed to the speed limit as often as possible. The number of troopers we passed was a bit unnecessary. Anyway, at one point last night though, I was scrambling to cover some miles to get out of no-mans-land PA around Tioga. The GF was also hangry...not good. For about 20ish miles, I was averaging 80 - hit 90 once. This section of hwy 15 isn't straight either and is riddled with New York license plates in much new machines than RJ passing me like I'm not moving. It was also raining with heavy fog. I was very impressed. The truck is much more confidence inspiring now.

While impressive for a 22-year-old Jeep, I have criticisms, such as:

• There is a vibration/grind right around 60 mph, regardless of what gear I'm in (3rd, 4th or 5th) but only if I apply more than a 1/4 throttle. It's pretty pronounced - so much so that I really thought a driveshaft u-joint had failed when I first heard it. The truck has driveline vibes at most speeds due to the taller springs, but none have been as bad as when my 4" lifted 99 didn't have an SYE kit. This though is rather concerning. I can't really tell if it's more of the interior reverberating the noise, or if it really is that bad of a mechanical vibration but whatever it is, it cannot pass. I guess an SYE and driveshaft is my future (no, I'm not doing shims or a transfer case drop).
• The right-hand side of the gauge cluster is not to my liking. Oil pressure is around 5-10 psi at hot idle, 35 psi at cruising speeds, and spikes around 40-45 psi under load. This is even after I replaced the oil pressure sending unit. Coolant temperatures are running between 210 and 215 regardless of the A/C running or not. Mind you, we were driving south and with the 3.07s (an upcoming bullet point), I was rowing through the gears quite a bit. The coolant is topped off and green. The water pump and thermostat housing look like they have been replaced and removed, respectively, making me assume these systems are fine. The engine runs HARD and does not knock, ping or shack. I'm really struggling to believe these gauges, especially given how often the "check gauge" light will stay on at start-up. I'll probably just keep a close eye on this and send it.
• 3.07s suck. If I had a big-block land yacht with a three-speed automatic, sure - but a compact, moderately powered six-cylinder, manual transmission 4x4 SUV!? To maintain the speeds and momentum I wanted with the added weight of road-trip gear, I had to downshift to 4th and 3rd more often than I would have liked. I also averaged 18 mpg the entire trip - lame. The engine seems to like rpm though, so no complaints there - it also sounds nice. 3.55s at least with a rear LSD would be nice.
• The stock headlights are dangerous. I personally think LED headlights - with the exception of Truck LItes I reckon - ruin XJs. They're so stupid looking on these things and really make me cringe. A set of H4s with a plug-in harness will be in my future.

That's about it for now.

Battle

Well, ole' RJ is one step closer to not being mine - it's currently about 800 miles away from me in North Carolina and functioning as my GF's only car. She's a doc too, so I can't lie and say I'm not worried. Knock on wood, the truck has been running very nicely though. It even hit 150k miles on the odo!

While I was in NC (back in NY to sell the house, finish moving and get my 99 down there), I did hit up Uwharrie for a shake-down run. All I wanted to do was run one trail and sit in a camp chair and listen to the forest - turns out there is only one "easy" trail at the park, so that's what I did.

Aired down to 15 psi and removed the Timken sway bar end links just to have some advantage. I gotta say - these Old Man Emu shocks finally make sense. With the lower air pressure and no sway bar, the truck glided over the rough national forest roads. It felt very controlled and stable and handled exceptionally well. I was very impressed.

On the trail, RJ did pretty well! The Geolandars are grippy for an all terrain and only slipped once when climbing a small rock step. The suspension is fantastic! The front is flexy yet controlled and the rear is stable. For a baby Jeep, this is a really nice setup for mild off-roading. I'd like to get some rock sliders so I can go a bit deeper and try some moderate trails, but I wouldn't want to go too far solo and without a winch anyways.

Deployed the awning and room finally - this thing is SWEET! I think I'll switch to 58" crossbars though to keep it closer to the body of the truck.

I'm still wanting an SYE/driveshaft(s), better cooling and better lighting though. I'm also thinking of rebuilding the 4.11 geared axles currently in my 99 and putting them underneath this one to get rid of the 3.07s. I want 4.56s in that truck anyways. One day...

thetastelingers

That awning looks great. All I can think of is watching the bugs try to get in and laughing at them.

Glad it is performing well.

Battle

RJ's been getting kind of crap mileage lately - like averaging 14 mpg mixed highway and city kind of crap. It's currently our only, fully-operational car too and the GF has a 50-mile commute twice a week. So, I figured it would be a good time to swap in the 703 injectors I bought a while back to hopefully get this back up to where it should be which is around 18-20 mpg mixed.

I took it up to my storage unit where I'm keeping my 99 because that's where most of my tools are and the people let me work on my cars there - I basically treat it like a shop.




I swapped in 784s into my 99 a few years back so I knew what I was getting myself into. Being a 97, the swap seemed easier on RJ - the electrical connectors for the injectors clip in a lot easier/simpler than the 99 and there's only one fuel line - best of both worlds I reckon.





I got the old rail out fairly quickly and let me tell you - things were not pretty.



The injector ports were so corroded in carbon build-up I'm surprised RJ wasn't getting even worse mileage. I spent about 30 mins cleaning out the ports so I could at least see the metal and not just blackness.



I got the new injectors swapped onto the rail - used some vaseline to grease them up - plopped them back into the manifold, buttoned everything down and reset the ECU the way people say you should (discharge the computer by grounding the positive battery lead, turn the ignition on, turn the headlights on and off).


Yeah, I know they're backwards. I rotated them!

It started right up and felt smoother... until I revved it to 3,200 rpm. Then it just misfired and misfired and misfired. I reset the ECU twice and it still was misfiring. Unfortunately, I didn't have code reader or a functioning multi-meter so my only troubleshooting option was to unplug the injectors while it was running. Sure enough, unplugging cylinder six did nothing - still ran like crap. So, I took a chance and swapped in one of the original injectors for cylinder six and after a few moments of roughness, it all started to smooth out and run great! I put some fresh gas in and some injector cleaner (probs snake oil) and it drove the 35 miles back to the house without issue. If anything, it felt more responsive.

I'm only slightly worried the miss-matched injectors will do any harm so I'd ideally buy another 703 in the future but for now, I'm happy with the results despite the setback.