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Half and Half - My Build Thread

AZjeepin1

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Glendale, AZ
So after having my XJ for two years already, I figured I'm WAYYYYY overdue for a build thread. Before I get into the Jeep let me show you my vehicle history so you can get a feel for why I'm building my XJ the way I am.

350Z with built motor and direct port nitrous-
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Tow Rig, F350 turbodiesel with intake, straight pipe, exhaust, tuner-
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CBR100R with more mods than I care to list-
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And my current car, Mercedes C300-
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However, my first car in high school was an '87 XJ with a 4 banger (however, I don't have any digital pics of it. That's the reason I love XJs so much and why I decided to pick one up and build it.

I got this XJ for $1k and it was rust free and ran great. I had only the intention of a very mild lift and a tune-up to make it reliable yet able to go out and about here in AZ.

'88 XJ Pioneer (Renix 4.0, D30/D35, Power locks and doors, and gay pinstriping)
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Initial issues when I got her home-

Gauges didn't work
Rear right window wouldn't roll up
Hatch struts blown
Hatch strut studs bent
Door seals rotted bad
P/S pump bad
Fuel pressure reg. bad
Horrendous death wobble
Headliner and sunvisors falling apart
Radio blown
Locks punched out
Tint rotting, looked like ass
Cracked header panel
Hood light didnt work
Heater blew cold
A/C didn't work
Leaf springs sagging (almost curved the other way
Ignition cylinder locked up
Driver side door hinge weld broken
Rough idle, stalling issues

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Obviously, to make her streetable I had a few issues to work out. When I bought the Jeep, it was tax time so I had money to spend to get her right. I got everything at once-

-New cheapy radio from WalMart with some cheap Kenwood 6x9s in the front
-Heater control valve
-New door locks, hatch lock, ignition cylinder from Team Cherokee
-All new hatch and door seals
-New header panel from fleaBay
-New headliner
-New hatch struts (and fixed the bent studs)
-P/S pump
-Window motors from the JY
-Welded the door hinge
-OE ball joints
-New fuel pressure regulator
-Cleaned IAC motor
-Cut and painted the stock front bumper
-New sunvisors

I also purchased some aftermarket stuff, but kept it in check as I didn't want to build the Jeep too much:

-Bar pin eliminators
-MSD ignition coil
-Stroked Jeep bored TB
-Precision Auto injectors
-Kevin's Offroad steering stabilizer
-Ruff Stuff D30 diff cover (only did the front cover since I had no plans on keeping the D35, so why bother?)

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Then came some 15x8's wrapped in some cheap 31'' mudders and a Rough Country series II 3'' lift (came with adjustable shackles, shocks and LCA's too)

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Then got bored one day and tore the flares off and cut 'em a bit so I had room if I need it (mind you the rear shackles aren't on in this pic).

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When I was replacing my headliner and window motors, I decided to put sound deadening throughout the cabin (for the whole "streetable" idea)

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Got tired of my boat steering wheel and threw on a Grant wheel-

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After driving it around like this for around 2k miles, I started having some BAD overheating issues and it turned out to be the head gasket. I decided that now was the time to give Golen a call.

This is what I ended up with-

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I went ahead and did the HO manifold conversion while I was at it to get the most out of the stroker. Here's the parts list (I wish I had more pics of the stuff altogether, as I did it all at once!)-

Renix block
7120 head
Elgin roller rockers
Melling oil pump
99-01 intake manifold
'96 throttle cable
'96 PS pump
'92 fuel rail
Ford Racing 24lb injectors
FlowKooler water pump
Edelbrock TiTech coated header
GenRight P/S pump pulley
FF Dynamics fan kit with manual shutoff switch
CSF 3 row radiator
StrokedJeep adjustable FPR
MSD plug wires
Rusty's Offroad intake and K&N filter
Custom A/N fuel lines
JeepersAndCreepers HD battery cables
Optima yellow top battery
Upgraded grounding wires
Brown Dog motor mounts (rubber inserts)
Daystar poly trans mount
Rusty's trans. crossmember with 1'' t-case drop
 
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Up to a few weeks ago I still only had around 800 miles on the stroker (time was extremely limited). However, I've got the time now and have undertaken the XJ again and am knee deep in it.

A few weeks ago I added a coolant filter-
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Then added some Spicer ball joints and Ruff Stuff stiffeners, but cut the front portion off to work with my short-arm mounts-
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Andddd subsequently spring a radiator leak in my CSF (with only 950miles on it!) In addition to my PS gearbox pissing everywhere and a timing cover leak, I'm pissed off at this point and decide to tear the whole front end down and clean/repaint everything and fix some stuff. I'm getting anal with it right about now...

As she sits now-
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Oh and my steering box knocked my oil bucket over today. FML...
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Got some parts waiting while I prep and paint-

Rusty's 4.5'' coils
JKS quick discos
Rusty's SS brake lines (front and rear)
WJ brake booster
ZJ tie rod
ZJ pitman arm
Iron Rock Offroad HD coil spring retainers

Pics to follow
 
After the steering box fell and knocked over the bucket creating that mess it looks like you freaked out and threw your drop light down into the oil...hahaha...I can relate
 
More prep work done on the front end last week. Paint removal on the inner fenders and engine bay got completed-

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Trimmed the firewall a bit to accomodate an upcoming WJ booster-

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And, ground the welds down on the frame stiffeners so they look somewhat factory-

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I was just going to prime and paint the unibody and fender wells, but am now considering some Lizard Skin noise insulation to make the Jeep super quiet for long trips to the trail. We'll see though!
 
Also picked up my rear axle project from my buddy John. Got the IRO truss welded on and the TnT u-bolt eliminators on as well. Interesting note, the truss had to be trimmed a bit on the sides to accommodate the ubolt elims. Next up for this are shock mounts, disc brakes, then the guts.

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A look at my old UCA bushings...pretty sorry looking-

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The front end refreshing continued today...

Got the front axle out and pressure washed-

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Then got it painted with some Rustoleum Hammered Black (love this stuff)

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And, the parts have been coming in-

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-IRO adj UCA
-Clevite UCA bushings
-IRO coil spring pads
-IRO coil spring retainers
-New steering shaft (old one was busted as f...)
-JCR steering gearbox spacer and grade 8s
-Spicer ujoint
-SS brake lines (front and rear)
-New lugs


Not pictured:
-Rusty's 4.5'' coils
-JKS discos
-WJ booster


Still waiting on-

-IRO tracbar
-IRO adj LCAs
-V8 ZJ swaybar
 
shame you painted that front axle already.... i would have suggested making LCA mini skids and boxing in the UCA mount for piece of mind. $20 worth of plate got me much more metal than i needed (1'x1' square). its 1/4", and i know, i know... over kill and booger welded (we used flux core). but itll out last the 30 its on, and the jeep its bolted to.

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looks great though, you have good attention to detail.
 
Those look solid! Yeah, I gave it some thought, but don't have the welding material/tools to do it myself while the axle is out. May do it in the future, if I decide to truss and and do some other stuff. Thanks for the kind words!
 
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