one thing you might want to look into is different backspacing on new tires if you get them, it will give you a slightly wider stance and there for more stability so if it gets windy while pullin that trailer i think youll be a bit safer like that. one thing you could also do is get some air shocks you can get some for a 95 f150 and those are good for about 4 inches of lift its a little redneck but it would be cheaper than an ome lift and you could adjust to the weight you are carrying as needed, just something to consider. keep us posted on the build this is gonna be a interesting one i think.

 

Thanks! - Sounds like tire rack would be worth the drive.

I saw some Pirelli Scorpion All season All Terrain tires. Not really as aggressive looking as I'd like, but they rate well by consumer reports. Want to make sure the family is safe, lugging a trailer and all.

 

That sounds great! I'm wondering: how does the back spacing work? Would I use a spacer for that? Would they have these at a tire store?

The air shocks sound interesting too - do you please know where would I get some, or what should I look for so that they would hold up well?

 

I know it sounds crazy but I've been thinking about getting a reflexion steel cowl induction hood, and thinking maybe about putting some vents in it. There's a place online that has standard Cherokee hoods and will send them painted to match. D+H autoparts, I guess.

One of the reasons I was considering this was I've got some deep dents in the first 2-3 inches form the windshield edge of the hood. Also the cowl vent plastic insert is broken, and the little panels on either side of this are dented. Don;t know if these can be removed and replaced, or have to be repainted.

D+H says in their add that they will color match to the year of your vehicle, taking into account fading. I sent them a message asking if I got a paint shop to do the color match analysis, would they use this info in their color match process?

Well, while I was thinking about having things painted, I thought about a snorkel, and whether these could be put in without showing. Not going to go in deep water intentionally, but a few years ago we drove through a flood in Port Arthur TX, and couldn't pull off the highway because the bottom of the ramps were flooded and there was less deep water on the highway, but I was sure if I changed my forward speed, water was going to soak my engine. I know water does more damage than just a snorkel will prevent.

 

Here is the hood:


These are the tires:




[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Mom/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]

 

Well,
I got some Hankook DynaPro LT tires. The local tire store is the closest one for 40 miles, and have a very good reputation for balancing, price, service. The guys there are knowledgeable and decent to work with. Ended up getting 235's, as I do not yet have a lift. They were #3 on consumer reports, behind the other two. They look really great.

The old tires were Firestone Destination LE's. They were once good looking. They were in bad shape when I got the xj. Pretty worn. A little loud, probably due to an uneven, almost wavy wear pattern. My mechanic says the front end seems tight for its age (190,000 miles). Looks like the joints have been greased recently, and also like some work has been done on the front end between now and when it was new. He thought maybe shocks might be an issue, though they weren't leaking, but said to closely watch the tread wear to make sure.

The Hankooks were what the shop had in stock; the Pirelli Scorpions and General Grabbers weren't. The other two tire brands were either out of stock or special order, so the warranties weren't backed by the garage's distributor, or something like that.

Some of the letters on one of the tires were missing a little paint at the top. Don't know how this happened, looked like the came from the factory that way. Took some really good white primer, brushed a thin coat on a roll of paper towels, and rolled it across the upper edges of the letters where the paint was missing. Made a mess at first, then got the hang of it, so eventually it went on pretty well, and got a sharp edge. Had a couple small spots where the paint went over, so I took some sand paper folded in 1/4's and lightly sanded to remove the excess. Actually looked great when I was done. Was going to buy a pen that had tire paint in it, but the fellow at the desk at the NAPA store said a local detailer uses solid paint sticks, that look like crayons, so I bought some of these. The letters are holding up pretty well with the primer, so I haven't tried this yet.

Bought some OK looking fitted mud splash guards from NAPA. Not trail flaps, but the ones that go inside the well well with a bit of overlap against the outside edge. The garage that installed them was really busy. I don't know for sure but a couple of the flaps looked like when they were installed they weren't fitted tightly against the outside of wheel well. This left a gap of about 3/4 of an inch.

I decided to redo this myself, and rather than have extra holes, to just replace the splash guards. I may go with the originals from Mopar. I Will have to line the new ones up with the holes already in the vehicle, maybe trace the holes in ones I take off, more or less like a template.

The best body shop in the area does PDR, paintless dent removal, so the shallow parking lot dent in the passenger's rear 1/4 panel will get fixed. But I have decided to get the Reflexxion steel cowl hood. This guy's got some good pics and how to: http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoBonnet.htm

http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/Bonnet%20022.jpg

He wrote he was going to use a magnetic strip to cover the grille at the end of the bonnet during river crossings in Australia. Don't know if it will work. Wondering if the magnet is strong enough to keep a seal, whether it might affect anything electronic, but probably not.

Hope the magnetic strip idea might work to keep it from getting too cool under the hood during the winter.

Decided to get some frame stiffening rails.

 

just a thought if your going too tow with your xj make sure your cooling system is up too snuff for hauling loads

 

Oh. Thanks! I hadn't given that much thought...

Don't know where to start in terms of a cooling system.

Have to replace a cracked driver's side fan.

Guessing some kind of transmission or oil cooler would be in order?

 

00xj ,yes a good tranny cooler would be good, i put a 3 core rad in my 2000 sport from radiator express.com cost was 199.99. of course if yours came with the tow pakage you should already be pretty well covered. also keep an eye on your head if it has casting #0331. good luck

 

00xj a good tranny cooler always good idea, i also put a 3 row rad from radiator express .com in my 2000 xj, cost was 199.99. of course if your xj came with the tow package your in pretty good shape already. also keep an eye on your head if the casting # is 0331. good luck

 

sorry for the double post

 

Thanks, Rich,

A tranny cooler is definitely in the plans before I tow with it. Glad you thought of it.

The previous owner joined the 0331 club just before I got 'er. The head was replaced with a 0630, seems like most of the 0331 set-up was kept. I don't know enough to tell exactly how this was done in terms of what parts were used, what mods were done. I have a tech thread going “Best cylinder head for a ‘00XJ?” to try to figure out what I should do with it.

Ideally whatever head I run on this engine, I'd like a stout good performing one, don't want to have to explain too much to a mechanic who might have to work on it. Not to say there's anything wrong with what's on it now - I don't know.

Because there's less than 2000 on the rebuild, I was thinking of getting the head question squared away first before the head/block wears in too much - if I replace the head. I'm in that mode of just wanting it right, I suppose, but still learning.

Al.