!UPDATE! - Couldn't complete the 4x4 conversion/parts swap/save a clean chassis/bit off more than I could chew...with the time I have available after take a new job opportunity, replaced both of them with a better more complete solution.

1999 XJ
212k miles (not even 30k on a remanufactured 4.0)
Aw4 with shift kit and manual shift mod
Approximately 7.5 inches of lift made from Rubicon express parts and a CavFab three link long arm kit
35x12.50 MTs
HP30 and Chrysler 8.25 combo with upgraded axle shafts, 4.56 gears, and Detroit trutracks f/r
231 transfer case with sye
Ruff stuff frame stiffeners
JCR OTK 1ton steering and other JCR accessories




(OG Post) - Welcome to the log for my umpteenth Jeep XJ "build", feel free to follow along for more frequent updates on Instagram - 99+98 = XJ - https://www.instagram.com/resoluteadventure/

I say "build" because I usually get started, make some good progress, then sell the thing off before I can ever really be "done" due to poor planning and life events or my limited attention span, maybe it's both!
What I hope to be different this time around is that I've come BACK to the XJ life after leaving it for what I thought was the dream ride (a 2012 Jeep JK Unlimited Rubicon 6sp manual). After working on the JK, daily driving the JK and wheeling the JK for almost two years I just wasn't happy with the platform. I also wasn't happy with my daily driver being my trial rig, or my toy I tinkered with, lots of pressure to always be done with the changes and upgrades come Monday morning, I'm sure many of you know the situation. So the wife and I hatched a plan to sell the JKUR off allowing me to go back to the life of paying cash for my cars giving me the freedom to move things around as needed. I promptly went out and purchased a new daily driver, a 2005 Volvo XC70 with 183K miles on it.


After getting some initial work out of the way on the car I went searching for my next Jeep. I was only considering a 97+, preferably a one with the HP30 and Chrysler 8.25, and no cancer in the unirails. The only wrench in this plan is that it needed to be done on the cheap so...I knew I was searching for something that needed work because as we all know the prices of decent XJ examples have gone up, and in some areas those prices are worse than others.

That search lead me to this 1998 Jeep XJ (after countless other people didn’t reply, flat out lied about the condition of a Jeep 4+ hours away, or ghosted me all together after a week or so of back and forth)


This thing didn't run, hell it wouldn't even crank when I got there...but hey it had a new cap, rotor, and plugs! (supposedly)

After going to look at it I was assured the "motor ran great" with "good compression" after looking at it these were the issues I knew of:

• Engine harness needed attention, truck didn’t run due to this issue
• No way of testing any drivetrain at the time of sale other than pushing it
• Rusted out passenger floor
• Junk front bumper that sticks waaaay out there
• Bald tires or very worn depending on which one you look at...lol
• Rear driver side shock "popped off"
• This was gonna be a pain in the ***
• Rear passenger window wouldn't roll down
• Rust hole in the rear drive side roof
• Screws in the roof and pillars from a light bar “install”
• Rear hatch not opening
• Rear bumper pulled out
• Rear hatch dented and the lip was bent
• Pops and bangs from suspension/steering
• Leaking power steering pump
• Mud/silt in every orifice
• Replacement front end after the first one “blew up”
• A no name lift with pucks in the front and some shackle in the rear
• I’m sure I’m forgetting things...

Even with knowing all that it was the later model 4x4 XJ I could afford and I had a trailer to fill that day, so we brought it home for $1400 (spoiler...I overpaid...lol)

I got the Jeep running the next day, basically it needed the harness patched and blown fuses replaced, after that it started right up...but it ran like garbage, missing at idle and spitting/sputtering on any amount of throttle input. First thing I did was pull codes with my BT adapter, I had one...TCM missing/no power. I look under the dash and what do you know, the TCM is unplugged. Then I started checking other sensors, both o2 sensors were unplugged, the speedo sensor had all three wires just twisted together. After I plugged everything in and reset the ECU I started it again...same condition, no better. When I was digging around I couldn’t help but notice the amount of mud/silt in this Jeep. I mean it looks like it was almost flood damaged, and not just a thin layer of dirt from trail riding like this thing was dunked in a mud whole, left for days, then pulled out after all the electronics were unplugged.

After attempting to clean the thing up and checking codes once again with no luck, I dove in and started checking over the wires/cap/rotor/plugs 1-5 were acceptable but #6 had a wet dark plug




So...I pulled injector plugs next, 1-5 had changes to the idle but #6 didn’t make a difference. That lead me to assume I had an internal issue...so I did a compression test.

1-5 were good, high end of stock spec. #6 was high, way over spec




Decision time…

It was at this point I started stacking up all the issues…
1 - Harness issues throughout the entire Jeep
2 - Rust repair
3 - Water damage inside (example - seat brackets rusted so badly they can’t move, mud/silt build up everywhere)
4 - Broken bolts all over the chassis/motor (steering box, valve cover, crossmember...)
5 - Most likely some kind of tear down of the motor (at least the top end and at that point might as well freshen up the bottom end)
6 - Suspected control arm mount issues (popping and such when turning the wheel from the front floorboard)

So I decided to go hunt for a solution…and I brought this home for $400

It’s a 1999 2wd with a “good motor” and a blown trans. It has zero rust holes with just the passenger side floor starting to get soft, but the rest of the XJ is in MUCH better shape than my current 4x4. I say “good motor” because I couldn’t verify this one either...lol BUT...hear me out. This XJ had all it’s vacuum lines intact, it had good colored coolant, it had NEW motor mounts, it’s wires/cap/rotor/plugs were NEW with hardly any wear on the plugs. Basically the motor LOOKED to be in better shape and my thought is at this point I could combine enough parts to get one good late model 4x4 XJ for under $2K which is impossible any other way.

With that backstory in place, onto the pics of what I’m working with

The 98 4x4 just after I brought it home









The 99 2wd just after bringing it home








My driveway is a little cramped...not shown is the Wife's ride/tow pig, our 2019 Armada


After a quick wash to knock off the grime




So far that's it, I plan to start tearing into the swap this weekend. My first goal is to get a trans bolted up to the 2wd XJ so I can at least start this motor and see how it sounds.

 

Got some stock wheels to use as rollers, and I honestly like them better anyhow!

 

I look forward to your build, especially since I am considering doing something similar (buying a 4wd XJ to convert my 2wd XJ or another 2wd xj).

 

It's a solid amount of work, but it's all doable. I'll be sure to document here and there along the way, be sure to follow #ResoluteAdventure on Instagram for more frequent updates.

 

Color matching build. Love it

 

I was really hoping so but not quite, the lifted parts XJ is a nice unique flaky forest green where the 2wd is that standard jade/blueish green that many XJs are.

Either way both paint jobs are pretty badly beaten by the FL sun with no clearcoat left on the top surfaces and enough pollen/grime on the roofs that it'll require some kind of respray. So...we've got a plan for that as well as we go along :-)

 

Started work on the swap today



Got the trans out of the donor XJ!



Glad I drained the fluid, it needs a change anyhow



Gave it a quick blast with the pressure washer to knock off the mud, it was literally covered top to bottom in a layer of silt/mud, goes right along with my "submerged in a mud hole and left for dead" theory.



Sitting in the bin ready for a scrub down before getting tossed into it's "new" home



This is all I could get accomplished with a late start on a Saturday morning, hope to get the trans installed this next week and then keep chugging along with the 4wd conversion.

 

Got the transmission cleaned up and put into the little green Jeep! Got everything bolted up, sensors spliced in, was ready to start it up and realized that the when the PO took the blown 2wd trans out they completely removed the trans coolant lines and destroyed some fittings along the way so...no start for the little green Jeep.

I also had to get some new bolts for the bell-housing as the redneck who owned the donor Jeep didn't use all of, let alone the PROPER bolts to hold the trans in (only the two lower bolts and they were mismatched). Then the little green Jeep didn't have any bolts with it's transmission anyhow so new shiny ones went in...lol

So it's ready for me to rip the trans cooler lines out of the donor Jeep and put them into the little green Jeep when I get some time hopefully this weekend.

Be sure to go check out @ResoluteAdventure and the #ResoluteXJ on Instagram for more details and photos

 

Got the coolant lines out of the big green XJ, things have been crazy busy around here with very little time for anything hobby related. Picked up an oring kit so I could replace those before bolting in the coolant lines. Hope to have those in this week and at least hear this thing run for the first time since I bought it!

 

Aaaaand fast forward three months, the project is dead and I've already scrapped the little green Jeep!

lol

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I'm getting the lifted Jeep back together so I can sell it and I've got a line on a much nicer example that needs MUCH less work. I'm working two jobs these days so time is at a premium, but we'll get the #ResoluteXJ figured out one way or another!

 

This specific Jeep project might be dead but the #resoluteXJ isn't dead :-)

After I got my second job I just ran out of time to take on such a major project, so instead of letting two Jeeps sit while I might get a few hours every couple of weeks to work on them I scrapped the stock one, got the other one running and listed for sale then brought home the replacement!

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Moved to new thread - https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/le...lutexj-263521/

 

Moved to new thread - https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/le...lutexj-263521/

 

Moved to new thread - https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/le...lutexj-263521/