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Back in 2004, I bought my first car. It was a TJ. I put in a new radio, a few subwoofers, and a few amps. I never did anything else to it. I was happy.
In 2014, my wife had a baby. The TJ had to go. When I sold it, it looked exactly the same as when I bought it. I did a little research online regarding durability, got sticker shock at a Jeep dealership, and ended up buying a used XJ. It fit the baby’s car seat and had plenty of room for groceries. I was happy.
Then one day back in November, I was waiting at a stop light when an idiot pulled up on my right in a Honda Accord. He was going to wait for the light to turn green and then floor it to go around me. I was ok with that. I wasn’t in a rush. I was happy.
But then when I looked over at him and he looked back at me, I realized that he was sitting at the same height as me. My XJ had saggy factory springs and stock tires. And this jackass in his Honda Accord was at the same height as me.
I was not happy.
The next day I typed “Lift Jeep Cherokee” into google. I didn’t think I would find anything since the truck was 14 years old and I didn’t think I would be able to find lift parts or any kind of knowledge base or instructions about such an old truck.
But I found you, Cherokee Forum. All of you wonderful, crazy geniuses. I spent days reading all of your instructions and ideas.
Prior to buying an XJ, I have never worked on a car before. Once I swapped out the battery on my TJ, but that was it. I even had to go out and buy a ratchet extension just to do that job. But with Cherokee Forum and some insanity, I decided to buy some wrenches, buy a jack and jack stands, and install a lift kit on my XJ.
It took lots of PB Blaster, some cursing, and a few trips to Sears (I didn’t even know what a breaker bar was this time last year) but I got it installed. And I’ve never been happier. Now I could actually drive over that Honda Accord if I wanted to.
Since then, with your help, I’ve flushed my heater core, installed front tow hooks, dropped my transfer case, replaced all interior lights with LEDs, replaced the sagging headliner fabric, and installed a new radio and speakers. Last weekend, for the first time in my life, I changed my own oil.
I write this to thank you, the fine people of Cherokee Forum. You have helped me immensely. I hope you appreciate your own talents and abilities as much as I appreciate your sharing them with anyone, anywhere, for free.
Last edited by Silverback; 01-09-2015 at 02:58 PM.
There are lots of good writeups about replacing the headliner fabric , so I'll just add a few quick tips:
1. A grill brush works great to get that pesky foam off the fiberglass
2. Pick a forgiving fabric pattern - wrinkles are more visible on solid colors
(but of course, you won't HAVE any wrinkles, will you?)
3. Do this project in the SUMMER. That adhesive stinks up the Jeep for a while.
There are lots of good writeups about replacing the headliner fabric , so I'll just add a few quick tips:
1. A grill brush works great to get that pesky foam off the fiberglass
2. Pick a forgiving fabric pattern - wrinkles are more visible on solid colors
(but of course, you won't HAVE any wrinkles, will you?)
3. Do this project in the SUMMER. That adhesive stinks up the Jeep for a while.
I used a horse brush to get the old foam off of mine haha.
Cherokee forum is also where I learned most everything I know about our jeeps and how to work on them.
I don't think he was asking for help, just listing stuff he already did. Nice looking jeep op and congrats on the expanding mechanical abilities and tool collection. Haha
I don't think he was asking for help, just listing stuff he already did. Nice looking jeep op and congrats on the expanding mechanical abilities and tool collection. Haha
01-09-2015, 02:55 PM
Thank you CF Build
