My XJ from Hacked to Jacked....

So I have been lurking for quite some time and got an XJ a few months ago. I'm a long time Toyota man. I had enough of the IFS bull **** and am on to bigger and better things.

So this is my XJ when I bought it... :nono:

2001 XJ Sport

AW4

LP D30, 8.25

Hacked together Rough Country 4.5-6.5 kit/Short Arm Drop (Not sure what it was to begin with)

17 in. Soft 8's and BFG Mud's... Not sure why the previous owner went to 17's...???

Tons of crap bushings and hacked together **** on this thing.

Rear shackles had hardly any bushing left in them.

Surprised is survived my 3-1/2 hour ride home from where I bought it.

Good things were it had a Advanced Adapters SYE (Along with a DIY Washer Transfer Case drop???) and XJ front drive shaft in the rear.





So now it's new and improved, I've done all of these mods in the last month or so, a bit at a time. :clap:

-15 in. Black Rock D Windows
-33x12.5-15 Goodyear MTR's Kevlar
-Iron Rock 3-Link Long arm Upgrade
-Iron Rock Premium Sliders
-Iron Rock OTK Steering
-Iron Rock Double Shear Track Bar
-Iron Rock 5.5 Leafs
-Iron Rock 6.5 Front Springs
-Tera Flex (HD greaseable) 1.5 Shackles
-Bilstein's Front and Rear
-New Calipers (Stock)
-Steel Braided Brake Lines Front and Rear
-Aussie Locker (Rear)
-Used Tomken Rear Bumper w/Tire Carrier
-Used Tomken Engine/Trans Skid, Gas Tank Skid
-Skid Row Transfer Case Skid
-Riddler Front and Rear Diff Covers
-4.56 Gears
-Sway Bar Drop Brackets
-Rusty's Front Fender Flares













So after all this I still have a few small things to do...
Alignment
Buy and swap the LP D30 for a HP D30
Get the gears installed
Rear Fender Trim and Flares

It's come a long way and I'm sure will get a lot more done...

Also I'll have a **** load of used parts to sell so keep an eye out in the for sale section!

Good looking rig!

welcome! i like them driveway pics, is that GIANT barn your's?
seems like youve got a nice build going!

you dont need a sye, AND a transfercase drop, sinse youve got the sye, you can most likely ditch the spacers. allthough your pinion might be pointed wrong, and thats why the P.O. did it that way?

Very Nice! Clean and well done.

damn nice jeep, Why buy one pre lifted if you were just going to totally re-due it? just run a higher risk of abuse, SUPER clean looking though! how many miles...any problems with the head?

oh and I think I just made a decision on what tires im getting for my sisters grand when I lift it this summer. and good call on getting the 15's, cheaper tires with more sidewall! I only have 17's so I can fit my F-350 brakes...but im dowsizing to 16.5 inch H1 double beadlocks soon

Lookin great! let's see some pics in the dirt!

xcm said:

welcome! i like them driveway pics, is that GIANT barn your's?
seems like youve got a nice build going!

you dont need a sye, AND a transfercase drop, sinse youve got the sye, you can most likely ditch the spacers. allthough your pinion might be pointed wrong, and thats why the P.O. did it that way?

Click to expand...

Been ditched already. No Vibe's either.

Looks like one of the crossmember bolts broke when the P.O. was doing the lift, they took an angle grinder to the side of the frame so they could fit a nut on the bolt...:fuse:uke:

I will get some wheelin' pics soon, just got her all built up so haven't had a chance to wheel it yet.

austinaubinoe said:

damn nice jeep, Why buy one pre lifted if you were just going to totally re-due it? just run a higher risk of abuse, SUPER clean looking though! how many miles...any problems with the head?

oh and I think I just made a decision on what tires im getting for my sisters grand when I lift it this summer. and good call on getting the 15's, cheaper tires with more sidewall! I only have 17's so I can fit my F-350 brakes...but im dowsizing to 16.5 inch H1 double beadlocks soon

Click to expand...

I bought it thinking it was done right (or at least half done right), hard to tell when it's late and dark out. Kid seemed to know what he was talking about...from first glance it looked fine. Oh well it's done right now!

No problems with the head as of yet (knock on wood)... but I do have the heat soak issue. Gonna be wrapping all the injectors and fuel rail in hi-temp heat shielding. Should take care of my problem.

Oh and 120k miles.. just a baby yet!

this is an internet forum, and we do have a fascination with the macabre, got any pics of the hokey shit?

also, why ditch the 17's? i hope you at least got a lot of money for the old kicks... i know i'd buy em if i was closer!

good jeep recovery! thanks for saving it

Looks good. Hows the Iron rock long arm upgrade drive?

bcmaxx said:

Lookin great! let's see some pics in the dirt!

Click to expand...

You got to be kidding............ DIRT?? Some hills with rocks atleast........ better yet, some mountains with big rocks!! :greensmok

Asher.mich said:

Looks good. Hows the Iron rock long arm upgrade drive?

Click to expand...

X2

He probably went to 17s for the look or because he got a screamin' deal on tires for the 17s. That's how I ended up on 16s, which was probably a mistake in the long run.

xcm said:

this is an internet forum, and we do have a fascination with the macabre, got any pics of the hokey shit?

also, why ditch the 17's? i hope you at least got a lot of money for the old kicks... i know i'd buy em if i was closer!

Click to expand...

I'll get some pics of the half assed shit that was done... Including the fishing leaders used to keep the brake lines from stretching too far! :dunno::looser:

As far as the 17's go I just didn't like them. Too much wheel, not enough tire.

For the rocks we wheel here in MN, you want as much tire as you can get. It's sharp and jagged stuff. No slick rock here.

I did sell them for $650 (17 in. Wheels and Tires) to get my 15 inch setup.

Asher.mich said:

Looks good. Hows the Iron rock long arm upgrade drive?

Click to expand...

To be honest the Jeep has sat for the last few weeks during all the work and I have only driven it a few miles since. The little amount I have driven it, it's been great. I'm sure the Bilstein's help too!

Iron Rock is a big deal here in MN, not known all that much like RE and RC is around the US. They are growing and all I can say is I have been more than impressed with everything I have got from them.

And no I'm not employed by them or do I care whether they do good or bad as a company, I'll let their products speak for themselves.

ColoradoRaptor said:

You got to be kidding............ DIRT?? Some hills with rocks atleast........ better yet, some mountains with big rocks!! :greensmok

Click to expand...

I agree, I will have some good wheelin' pics soon. Going to the great Iron Range in Northern MN soon! Gilbert Recreational Area, nothing but hard jagged Granite!

kastein said:

He probably went to 17s for the look or because he got a screamin' deal on tires for the 17s. That's how I ended up on 16s, which was probably a mistake in the long run.

Click to expand...

Well the P.O. told me he got them because they were the only wheels and tires the fit the XJ's correctly... Don't think he knew XJ's too well.

For an off-road Jeep I prefer 15's, 16's if I were to run the Rubicon Wheels. Softer Ride and more sidewall to bite. But that's just me... to each their own.

Also this is my DD/Weekend Warrior, some may say it's a bit much for DD but I love it.

Previous DD was a 92 4Runner on 35's. IFS though, which broke into pieces the minute I took it off road. So I'm done with the IFS/Jap crap.

Any idea who made those 17's? I actually like the way they look. sorta balances out the huge sidewall on larger tires. better proportions. Especially if you put big brakes behind them. Im assuming they are steel?

Nice buildup and a great lookin XJ. Keep it up. :thumbup:

Lightfoot said:

Any idea who made those 17's? I actually like the way they look. sorta balances out the huge sidewall on larger tires. better proportions. Especially if you put big brakes behind them. Im assuming they are steel?

Click to expand...

No idea, pretty sure they were Cragar soft 8's, or some off brand of them.

I'm a fan of more sidewall, smother ride and better traction off road.

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slF-38txONA&feature=channel]YouTube - Mikes xj 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIif-WxK-ss&feature=channel

YouTube - Mikes xj
[/URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_9R6aGFQvo&feature=channel