1998 cherokee 1976 f250 d44hd 3 link, 14 bolt 10.5 rear (1965 ish?), 35 inch tires
This is basically how it started but with a garbage front grille header whatever you wanna call it


My wife wanted a cool daily, why tf did i agree? This is the beginning to my punishment

Had to rebuild both axles, completely trashed to the core



Spindles were shot, the needle bearings (roller bearings?) On the spindle completely gone cracked in half mostly

Hubs were uh disgusting and i basically looked at them then went nah not even gonna try

If the bearings dont tell you how much my wife hates me (she loves me very much but good lord this thing makes me doubt it) this was the story for every bearing as they were filled with rust/mud and who knows what else


It barely fit in the garahe well enough to really do everything but ive had worse.... coil overs in a parking lot in the rain under a tarp folded over the car so meh 🤷‍♂️

Uh yea brakes got redone too

More brakes ? Woohoo more money

Least its over the knuckle steering but hey surprise!!!! Still under axle track bar so the bump steer is hilarious 😂 makes you wonder if you are gonna yeet into a tree sometimes



Obviously trashed.... and replaced

Replaced many fun bits vacuum lines were i horrible shape.... what wasn't

 

Nice !
Following thread.

 

Redoing the brakes, hubs, spindle keep in mind ive never done basically any of this before so yea


Spindle was so cooked that it went in the bin

All new everything, its just paper right?

Fun little pic at work next to my buddies 4runner before the some more modifications but we will get to that soon just keep scrolling 📜

 

Woah thank you! Sitting on the couch relaxing playing catch up as I deleted all my social media to go back to just good old forums since social media was just so meh getting everything up to date so im posting more until I reach where I got tonight 😆 didnt expect anyone to say anything yet!

 

Got the steering brace done, wife had been helping more and more as she has warmed up to working on cars at this point

New rear driveshaft

Went with a thick wall in case it bonks a rock because eh why not!

Dual steering stabilizer from rough country that is so old the directions looked like they were from the 90s but it works

You can spy the new front driveshaft, they were both cooked!!!! Like holy hell how did it make it home? Both axles shot. Front driveshaft wiggled lol.... rear driveshaft was uhhhh dead also double cardan was just demolished so thats why both are new

Front bumper from fish bone which was the best and most cost efficient, the rules were welded everything i didnt want bolted D ring mounts or bolted on tubes without paying stupid amounts of money why the hell do so many companies bolt everything ? Wont they just sheer off when you use them on a hard tug or bonk a tree? Oh well enough of my complaints

 

[img alt="So had to go back and do the rear main seal for the 3rd time since i paid a shop that is supposedly a specialty off road shop BUT THEY COULDNT EVEN TELL ME WHAT AXLES WERE ON THE JEEP which i googled around and asked a guy that instantly told me. Shawn@lugnut4x4 you are the best person ever. The guy helped me beyond measure to figure out all the parts on this thing.

Ahem sorry i got angry last night because now we are getting caught up here and shops cant accomplish anything "]https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cherokeeforum.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/20250913_213721_0443c9d8d3e3a2800e25f8fefca49e2657 0481a7.jpg[/img]
So had to go back and do the rear main seal for the 3rd time since i paid a shop that is supposedly a specialty off road shop BUT THEY COULDNT EVEN TELL ME WHAT AXLES WERE ON THE JEEP which i googled around and asked a guy that instantly told me. Shawn@lugnut4x4 you are the best person ever. The guy helped me beyond measure to figure out all the parts on this thing. Ahem sorry i got angry last night because now we are getting caught up here and shops cant accomplish anything

This was the oil pan gasket, pretty sure you dont need to use the whole tube of rtv just 4 dabs if anything but i didnt use any rtv at all and so far no leaks so maybe lucky me? If i have to ill just drop the pan clean it then put a little dab in the spots that need it

Vacuum line was toasted so makes sense why no vent control, i got all the lines in the engine bay replaced with silicon but cant find a pic so youll just have to believe me

Got everything pulled apart, all on my own (go me?) It sucked, have friends

Put it back in with a buddy oof much easier now we have vents, wife said she couldve been fine in the winter with just defrost..... ive done it before and uh no it sucks 😐

I replaced the ac and heater while i was in there and yea kinda glad i did looks like the original was starting to have tiny leaks that were self sealing ha

 

Playing the rust hunter and finding any rust to destroy




Ope lets not look under there.....we will just put this back down for now.... good good nobody saw anything right?
[img alt="Hey look carpet, no rust.... remember yes no rust only good carpet

Oh hey LED courtesy lights!!! Yes focus on those that i just installed 😉😘"]https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cherokeeforum.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/567dbeee_8050_472e_adf9_1c8907adbea4_b9e62faa40021 71b52a31a5b41f24e544873570e.jpg[/img]
Hey look carpet, no rust.... remember yes no rust only good carpet Oh hey LED courtesy lights!!! Yes focus on those that i just installed 😉😘

Of course i did both sides 🙄 those oem bulbs got HOT like holy hell how do they not catch fire?????

Bazinga, they are bright


So windshield was removed and the guy found a hole....hell yea its only paper right???? More money 💰 im gonna do as much as i can myself sanding all the little rude red rust bunches so the guy will just have to weld in some new metal 😑 im getting poor at this point 😆 i have another car im building fyi this is her daily
[img alt="Hey look the dang hole! Say goodbye 👋 little hole you will not be missed!

Now we are up to date 📅
I bought this last year
Both axles fully rebuilt ear to ear
New driveshafts
Spark plugs
Plug wires
Intake
Vacuum lines
Ac condenser or whatever its called
Heater core
Windshield (ish? Not yet)
All fluids
Valve cover gasket
Rear main seal
Oil filter uh adapter? O ring
Oil pan gasket
Exhaust
Missing some but eh i dont want to think about it $$$"]https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cherokeeforum.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/d38bc65d_c087_414c_8d44_224495b58482_4b523f3f8b31b e2ec9ab5c2cafa1a75439e1cf85.jpg[/img]
Hey look the dang hole! Say goodbye 👋 little hole you will not be missed! Now we are up to date 📅 I bought this last year Both axles fully rebuilt ear to ear New driveshafts Spark plugs Plug wires Intake Vacuum lines Ac condenser or whatever its called Heater core Windshield (ish? Not yet) All fluids Valve cover gasket Rear main seal Oil filter uh adapter? O ring Oil pan gasket Exhaust Missing some but eh i dont want to think about it $$$

 

No, not if you use the correct grade hardware for the task at hand.

This looks to be shaping up to a nice revival though. Plans for changing up the track bar setup?

 

id still rather a welded deal, idk personal bias then i guess. Over the axle track bar is on order already definitely changing it out once it gets here as well as a track bar brace to go with it. I'm probably not doing everything perfectly so suggestions are welcome. Been following backcountry beagle and a few other youtube videos to grasp what the wife and I want to do.

 

Did the over the axle from cav fab last night, only drove it home but felt way less on the bump steer so will have to really drive it once the windshield goes in and come back

New metal welded in and seam sealer on top so i can finally stop driving the wife around once the windshield goes in asap! And when i get home ill get some pictures of my por15 adventure with black hands. Next is the floor pans and rebuild the doors so they work mint no more lazy windows or creaking doors

 

Not perfect but por15 works and its for function not form meh

New track bar gotta get the geometry better but its already a lot better as is

 

Try remaking your track bar mount off the frame with an offset mount. (Barnes4wd or Ruffstuffspecialties) this will get you a little more angle and also making it longer and Buddy - longer is better thats a shrimpy looking track bar length

 

Can't have anything in front of the spring as it will hit the tie rod in the future if I can get to the point of coilovers or shift the spring backwards then I might be able to move it up and in front of the spring instead so it will have to work for now 😞 I kinda figured it might need to be longer but tbh im fresh into this world and trying to get it daily drivable without being sketchy plus be able to off road without breaking. Haven't even gotten to go off road in this thing, most its done is hit curbs lol any other wisdom you got? Im all ears! Looking to try to figure out the 3 link so I can redo the bushings but not sure how to discern what I need

 

your thinking about your axle side mount, im saying your track bar mount on your unibody, buy an offset bracket and remake your mount entirely, this will help. I had to do the same thing with my setup.

Other wisdom?
while you have the track bar mout off the frame, weld all the seams of all the layers to your unibody in that area. From the front of the unibody where it incorporates your A-member, the layers around where the 2 vertical and 2 horizontal bolts through the track mounting mounting space and lastly the seam thats running along the bottom of the unibody in line with your coil spring mount down to where the former factory lower control arm mount used to be.

 

Instead of welding seams wont this do basically the same thing and then some? Was planning to do this after the floor pans maybe im not understanding what you mean. Maybe you have a picture of what you are referring to?

Thanks for sending me screenshots because i wasnt super sure obviously lol so basically i can weld the offset mount more forward in front of the spring? Right now the track bar is sitting almost next to the spring which then will give it more length which then in turn helps articulation and reduce bump steer. I was also thinking of move the tie rod on top of the knuckle bracket and the drag link underneath to match the angles or is that not necessary?