housew

So i've had a few xj's, and i've had this one for a while so i figgured I would start a build thread. I'll skip how i got here and just post up where its at and go from there.

99 xj 197,000 miles. d30, 1/2 an 8.8, aussie locker, OBA, xrc8, rock sliders, tc + gas tank skids, custon bumpers, spider tracs spacers and GRAND CARAVAN ALLOYS, 265/75r16s, rustys flexy flairs, 3" bds full leaf lift, surco roof rack, cb, highlift.... I'll think of more.

attached poser shot with old tires (7.5r16s) (actually up there so i could check something underneith

housew

those tires were awesome off-road, sucked on-road, and apparently they thought they were awesome off-rim cause I was always loosing beads. So i changed them.

pic from last outing with them, This was my 4th flat of the day, luckily Rick Pewe stepped in and fixed her up for me

housew

currently ~7/8 through an 8.8 swap / sye install, All finish welded and painted, just need to reinstall.

I made my shock mounts, but I'm not welding them on untill the axle is in the jeep and i can make sure my proposed placement is going to work. They are in an easy place to lay bead so i won't have to take it out again.

housew

updates.

8.8 install finished, blew up, then I re-bearinged it and set it up. aussie added.

8.8 gained me ~1.5" in the rear, so I got some 1-3/4" spacers, new LCAs, and a track bar to level it out. After leveling it the front was 1" high due to my awesome tape measure skills. So 1" lift shackles were added. It only took a couple steps back to realized 32"s were too small, so i got some 34x9.5 tsl's and slapped em on my offset 15"s I had kicking around.

much better. Tires balanced with bb's ride great.

housew

i forgot i had a build thread on this site, I'll try to update it more than twice a year <- what is that? a ninja?

housew

also got sick of ripping of my stock tail lights (see bungie cord in first pic) so i fabed up some boxes for leds and painted them body color. Resistors were added to cure fast blink and the tails light up red and run off the trailer harness in regular SST mode. Back up lights are 1.5" LED backup lights from warrior products. They work money. I made them recessed so I don't hit them on anything even though they are grommet mount and probably wouldn't get hurt.

jt07

I like those recessed lights, looks different in a good way.

housew

thanks


this weekend i dove head first into an electric fan conversion.

my clutch fan was toast, barley wafting air, my radiator was probably plugged with mud, and my idiot light for temp would come on if i wheeled for a while or too hard.

i found a XJ being parted out on CL and scored the stock e-fan and a full gauge cluster for $50.

Full gauges were plug and play, if i knew it was that cheap and easy i woulld have done the swap years ago.

for cooling i started by taking off the grill and removing the radiator. Ditched the AC condenser to allow more flow, make it easier to clean, and gain space. I had converted the pump to OBA a while ago so it wasn't needed. I then cleaned the radiator with water, then high pressure water, then compressed air, There was a LOT of stuff in there.

I removed the clutch fan and replaced the studs with some 5/16-24 x 1/2 bolts to gain space for the new fan.

With my new cluster I found that my e-fan comes on at 210 degrees. The FSM says 217 but maybe 210 is because i have the "heavy duty" cooling that comes on the fleet / police / service xjs, or maybe the 7 degrees is the difference between the coolant temp in the thermostat housing where the fan reads and the back of the head where the gauge reads, either way i figure that's a pretty good time to kick on.

wired my new fan up on a relay, using the original fan as the signal so they should both come on at 210, then shut off at 200. If this ends up making my jeep run hot I will install an adjustable thermostat for the second fan and run it at a lower temp and or add an override "always on" switch.

fan fits but hasn't been mounted. fan has been tested, relay has been tested, stock e-fan functions to spec so all should work. Hopefully finishing up soon and testing. Just need to mount the fan and put on the serp belt (removed to do something to OBA pumo) then test it.

1ABrian

Nice work on the TL set-up. Looks good and functional!

housew

thanks, if you need info or anything on them let me know.

All i did was cut up cardboard untill It matched the outer contour of the xj, make a plate, make a template for the gusset mounts, cut them out, Weld a strip to the side, bend tabs to hit the stock mounting locations and paint them body color.

Electrically I just removed the interior driver rear quarter panel, plugged in a trailer harness, unplugged the tail light harness, and wired a big resistor in where the turn signal went so i wouldn't have fast blinker syndrome. I got the resistors from some on-line ricer shop.

lights are just regular "oval" trucker lights, and they are some bright. they don't really light up smooth like the pic, you can see each LED, I think there are 47 per, the photo is just blury from my old crappy phone

housew

fans are in, serp belt is on. All thats left is refilling with fluid and testing. Oh goody. Might even have time for that today after work

housew

everything works as it should, keeps it nice and cool and i don't think I will ever have a problem on the street. Need to give it a serious beating off road and see if I can get it to get hot or not

1ABrian

Nice work. Lets see come pics of the conversion

housew

so i used the dual e-fan setup for the second half of the summer and all winter and never once overheated. Really dig it. Much quieter as well.

I scored a second PDC from a parted out xj and installed it side by side with the existing one. I used the power leg to the existing e-fan to signal my solenoid for the second fan. They both come one when the coolant hits 210, shuts off when it gets em down to 205.

If i idle in the driveway for 7+ mins the fans will cycle to keep it cool, using it offroad they are on more often, they never come on at all driving down the road. A pretty good mod I would say.



Also over the winter i scored a olympia top-hat roof rack, grooved my TSL's to get some more grip, and installed a leather seat from a zj just cause i drove by it on my way home and couldn't not buy it for $20.

scored an additional hood, and some z34 lumina vents, installed them, and am in the process of painting it to match the rest of my jeep.

1ABrian

Love the hood. How does the grooving work on your tires? Is it noticeable?