To get the passenger main eye bolt out, I remember seeing a write up/build on how he used a jackstand to support the breaker bar and extension. I decided to use the same technique to avoid what happened on the driver side.



After a lot of creaking and cracking, I noticed the bolt backing out. I kept spraying PB blaster and kept cranking the 36" breaker bar ratchet. After several minutes the bolt came out!



I didn't take any pics for the rest of the removal and install. We wanted to get the leafs in and grab lunch.

The rear shackles had to be cut off. Replaced with new hardware. Reamed the spring perch to accommodate the larger RE leaf pack center pin. Slapped anti-seize on everything that I could get to and installed the leaf springs.

 

How she sits now on 235/75s. Still need to do some minor work prior to being road ready. Hopefully I can get the drive line angles set by Friday since my wheels and tires should be here by then.




Poor lighting, I know. But all the pictures were taken with my camera phone

 

Haven't updated this in a while. Been busy with work and being lazy.

Picked up the wheels and tires at Discount. Mounted and balanced for all 5 was a deal I could not pass up.

Cragar soft 8s 15x8 4" backspacing


Before the new shoes go on, I had to paint the rusted brake drum. I did all the brakes in January and the drums are rusted.


I used high temp flat black engine paint on them. And high temp gloss black on the axle hub.

Rear tires mounted and checking offset.


Front before.


Front after.


All set.


Big difference from before!

 

LOOKing Good!!!

 

Decided to get the Energy Suspension sway bar bushings. I really just wanted to replace them with OEM parts, but the dealer was a rip off and these were free from AutoZone since I had their $20 credit rewards.







Install is straight forward and really easy. And since my sway bar was removed for the lift, it was just a matter of mounting them and greasing the bushing. Make sure to grease the bushing!

The sway bar bushing set cost $19.99. Energy Suspenion 9.5161R.

 

I attempted to mount the fender flares. Mainly to cover up the empty holes. When I mounted them and looked to see if I should cut the fender, it was apparent without a doubt that the fronts needed to be cut. So I went at it and cut them.

Before.


Dremel with cut off wheel. I chose this method over a grinder due to the thin metal and confined front area behind the bumper.


Taped off. It looks crooked but it isn't. Might be the angle.


Make the cut. Took a few minutes each side once I started the cut.


Mount the flare to see where to make a cut. Then cut away.


To hide the fender cut, I used door trim edging that I picked up at AutoZone for $11 for a 25' roll.

 

Also mounted the RC sway bar disconnects.


And did the ZJ steering upgrade along with new drag link and TRE at pitman arm. Basically a complete new steering.


Only thing I don't recommend is the O'Reilly TRE and adjusting sleeve. Maybe it was the Master Pro Chassis part that I got, but the threads on the TRE were flat in some spots and the sleeve has nylon lock nuts. This made it a pain to assemble on the bench due to the flat spots. I managed to fix and clean the threads with a file and I might replace the nylon lock nuts with actual nut and bolt for future ease.

With the help of my dad, and his old age and expertise, we got the alignment done in the garage using string, a level (or flat board), and a tape measure. Front toe was set to 1/16" toe in for now. Alignment will be done later in the week.

 

I installed the IRO brake lines that I picked up from another member. The fronts were a pain due to the rusted parts. Rear went on really easy. Only thing that held me back was the horseshoe spring clip on the rear brake line at the chassis mount. I didn't know the proper term for this part, but when I did the lift I had to remove this piece to lower the axle and give me slack in the brake line.

This piece was bent during removal so I tossed it, figuring I would be able to find another one later. Well, I went to a few different auto stores with no luck. I know they sold this in the "HELP!" aisle before as a pair. Nobody knew what the hell I was talking about. So I went to Napa and looked through their brake catalog page by page until I found it.





This is referred to as a "hose lock". And Napa has them in bulk, but you can buy individually as needed. Cost was $1.06 after tax for 2 of them.
I spent 3 hours yesterday looking for this damn piece! I didn't want to drive the Jeep anywhere until I had the rear brake line secured.

Once I installed that piece, I took it for the very first road test of 5 miles. And driveline vibrations are quite apparent. I don't have a TC drop or axle shims yet. New crossmember is arriving tomorrow (mine is rusting through), and I will determine the correct axle shim once I get my angle finder back this afternoon.

Can't wait to get this thing on the road! Hopefully next week it will be driven daily once again.

 

Been over a month since I updated this. Accomplished quite a bit since the last post though.

Aligned twice due to a faulty TRE at pitman arm. Sourced from O'Reilly and the boot tore instantly and it also had excessive play after a week of driving it.



Also, the passenger side LCA caster adjusting bolts snapped off during alignment. The shop never told me anything about this incident until I went under to check the torque on everything.



The shop and technician fixed everything after I called to complain to the manager and the corporate office. I wasn't mad that the bolts broke, I was mad that nobody told me they broke. Majority of the bolts and nuts were rusted so I knew something was going to break if they touched it.

Alignment is complete, steering wheel somewhat centered. I can never get the damn thing level but it drives straight with no DW or bump steer.

 

I replaced the fuel filter again after several thousand miles. The previous owner neglected the maintenance. Original filter had 136k and this filter had 9k miles.
I blew into the filter opposite fuel flow. The result is below. I believe my pump is on brink of failure due to the loud whine (most common on GM trucks). And because of what came out of the filter.


That is rusty fuel. I blew again through the filter in the direction of fuel flow and it came out clean. So the filter is doing its job, but the tank will need to be cleaned and pump replaced.

 

I decided to remove the rear carpet and pressure wash it. Main reason for removal, when I was replacing the fuel filter I noticed the passenger side had a few rust spots underneath. I poked it with a screwdriver and I could see the carpet! Great.

Carpet is not hard to remove at all. Remove the rear seats completely. Remove the rear cargo trim and hatch assembly (on vehicle). Remove spare tire carrier (if equipped). Remove carpet. I left the seat belts in so I didn't have to deal with the stupid Torx bolts.

Entire cargo area.


Top passenger side cargo area. Not to bad, but its there.


I hit it with a wire brush to see what the damage was.



Getting worse! What I found under the rear seat. Broken glass, from somewhere. All the windows are OEM so I don't know where this from. And I also found some .22 LR rounds.


I patched the area with sheetmetal. Sealed with weather resistant silicone and riveted into place. Make sure you clean under the vehicle before repair. Rust hides everywhere, so clean the underside as well.



Also found another hole above the muffler. I will fix that when I remove the front carpet to clean it.

 

I get to work and reverse into my parking stall as always. I look to my passenger side mirror... and it's missing! My coworker found it at the entrance later that day.



Luckily this happened on a Friday. I mounted it temporarily with wire, just so I could drive home. As I pulled in the driveway it fell off again. Oh well. Off to the junkyard to find a spare.



97+ Cherokee Limited heated mirror. Though I will never use the heated part or the electric portion, I like the 97+ mirrors. Too bad they only had the passenger side, which is the only one I needed. Still need to find a driver side on my next trip.

Also found these tail lights at the yard too! European tail lights. Rare in the US. I noticed on this particular XJ, it had a locking compartment under the hood near the air box. I tried to remove it but it was welded to the fender so I left it. Not sure if it was factory or aftermarket.





I didn't need new tails, but I figured what the hell. Nobody else has them in town. And my stockers are spares now.

 

Went on a small night run with my coworker. Neither of us have rock lights. He was the only one with driving lights and long range lights so he was in lead. Needless to say, I miss my rock lights from my last XJ and Xterra. So I head to Wal-Mart and check out their misc lights. I stumbled upon their clearance section (didn't even know they had this area) and found some small "fog lights", as the box says. $5 for the pair! So I bought two sets, a pair of 35W round "trapezoid beam" lights (used on tractors and stuff) for the sides of the rack, and a pair of yellow rectangular fog lights for the bumper. Later those will be mounted underneath or somewhere else.



They are not the brightest, even though they are 55W bulbs. And they do get pretty hot. I mounted them near the horn, angled to the outside so the beam is centered in front of the tire.

Since this install, I have yet to do another night run lol. But now I am somewhat prepared for it!


Did a switch panel as well. The red rockers are rated at 30A each. The LED rocker is rated at 30A and the toggle is rated at 40A. I got the red rockers at Radio Shack. The ones included with the lights didn't have a rating on them, and I wasn't sure of how much load they could handle each. I never use the ones in the kit anyways so I opted for ones I know could handle the lights.


The top rockers are flush mounted. The LED rocker and toggle are the standard "drill a 1/2" hole and mount" type. These panels are in every XJ at the junk yard, so screwing one up is no big deal. I picked up a few last year and decided to make a panel and see how it functions for me.

Next trip to the junk yard, I will be looking for a Cherokee relay/fuse box. Instead of running wires for relays and fuses, I will use the factory box modified to fit the driver fender next to the air box. My rock lights are wired with relays, and I have OCD so I like to keep things hidden and clean. Hard to hide a relay in this engine compartment that is still accessible and not exposed to the elements.

 

Took the wife up to Mt Charleston over the weekend, just to get away from the city life.




Scared my wife when I decided to attack this hill. This pic was taken half way up. My 97 XJ and 06 Xterra had no problems climbing this hill. The ruts from others attempts and erosion from weather made it a bit more challenging this time. Disconnected front sway bars made the front end flex through the ruts. But the rear springs are still stiff so there was very little flex back there.

 

Building my relay box using FitchVA and others ideas from JF and CF.

Got the project box, fuse block, wires, connectors and 40A relays all set. Along with all the other crap.

Box will hold 5 relays and fuse block. Pictures to follow later once I decide how to lay everything out.