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My Build...started as 2wd

H

hpaull

NAXJA Forum User
Location
co
Hi all,

I thought I would document my build on here. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from when I bought the jeep, but it was embarrassing to say the least. It was/ a 1995 2 door 2 wheel drive Cherokee. The best thing i like about it though is that it is as basic as they come the only luxury item is the AC which still works great.

Since buying it The first thing i did was convert to 4wd, which surprisingly was not as bad as i thought it would be. Also while the whole drivetrain was out decided to put in a Novak t case shifter (def worth the money). Also while the drive train was out put in a 2.5 in ome lift with heavy load springs in the front and medium load in the rear with JKS shackles. Then after all this was done about 3 weeks later the NSS craped out so that had to be replaced. Below are the pics after the initial lift and conversion.
IMG_0584.jpg


IMG_0585.jpg

IMG_0590.jpg


Then today, I decided to put some more stuff on the Jeep. I thought I could get a lot more done, but that was not the case. I put on a set of glassworks fenders and JCR bumper. along with some hella 500's. I am really happy with the fenders, and Tim at glassworks is a great guy to deal with. Also with the fenders I don't get anymore rubbing which i am pretty happy about because with the 2.5 lift and 33's with stock fenders was a joke. Now i just need to trim the rear. will probably put some rusty's flares back there. Here are the pics of how she sits now.
IMG_0592.jpg

IMG_0593.jpg

IMG_0591.jpg




I still have a double sheer track bar and LCA's from IRO to put on. Will probably get to that in the next few weeks.
 
Nothing that I like more than a 2dr white Cherokee with black wheels. Nice work...that's real good looking!
 
those fenders look awesome where would you find them at? great looking rig tho. will admit i never thought a 2 door would look that good
 
Those fit the 97+ Xj's too? I really like those fenders... nice and tight and clean. I like my DD to look kinda like a DD still. I don't really want to drive a desert racer to the office everyday... don't wanna make it too crazy with the wide Hannemanns or anything.

Are those 33x10.5's?
 
ert01 said:
Those fit the 97+ Xj's too? I really like those fenders... nice and tight and clean. I like my DD to look kinda like a DD still. I don't really want to drive a desert racer to the office everyday... don't wanna make it too crazy with the wide Hannemanns or anything.

Are those 33x10.5's?
Click to expand...


Ya they should fit not problem, just take your time in mounting and alignment.I had to trim quite a bit to get the fit right. I looked at the Hannemanns too and they are pretty serious looking compared to the glassworks ones. The glassworks ones carry all the bodylines over and everything so it keeps a pretty clean look IMO and quality is top notch.
 
Bit of an update, with some before and after of the interior. The PO had these two gauges installed that were terrible to say the least. The temp gauge didn't even work and the oil pressure one sounded obnoxious. A little further down are some pics of a bit of the suspension work and some closer shots of the flares.... I'm running a 33 on 2.5 in of lift and have yet to have any rubbing issues with the fenders.

Before
photo.jpg

photo2.jpg

photo3.jpg


After...having a tach is so nice
IMG_0606.jpg

IMG_0605.jpg

IMG_0607.jpg


Love the novak t-case shifter
IMG_0613.jpg


Just some more shots...
IMG_0614.jpg

IMG_0616.jpg

IMG_0615.jpg

IMG_0617.jpg
 
can you get a couple pics similar to the first two you posed? ide like to see a before and after.
 
DesertRunner said:
can you get a couple pics similar to the first two you posed? ide like to see a before and after.
Click to expand...

no problem, ill post some up tomorrow morning when there is better light

My only complaint about the fiberglass fenders is that there is no guard for dirt hitting the door hinges and and shooting into the engine bay. I think I am going to find some abs plastic or something and use a heat gun to make sort of an inner fender well.
 
Last edited:
kmrneck07 said:
how difficult was the tach dash swap?
Click to expand...
As far as I know, It is fairly straight forward and everything is there to make it work. You may need to get a couple things from the donor vehicle to make it work. All My XJ's have had full clusters from the factory! :D
 
FlexdXJ said:
As far as I know, It is fairly straight forward and everything is there to make it work. You may need to get a couple things from the donor vehicle to make it work. All My XJ's have had full clusters from the factory! :D
Click to expand...

You will also need the coolant temp and oil pressure sending units.
 
Thanks for posting... Very inspiring!!!

I have a '95 2 Door as well, my 4WD Conversion begins later in the spring. Yet to find a decent Donor Rig though. I've done ALOT of research for this project, but I am only assuming that any '91-'96 4WD AW4 will work with my existing Tranny Sensor... correct?

I will also be installing an RE 3.5" Super Flex Kit, JKS Adjustable T-Bar and possibly Cross-Over Steering during the conversion. Thinking of the Norvak T-case Shifter also.

Thankfully, I have pic's of my XJ before my build!!!

cherokee3.jpg

cherokee.jpg

cherokee2.jpg

cherokee4.jpg

cherokee6.jpg


To Be Continued...

(on my Build Sheet though!) :D
 
Last edited:
To answer a few questions. The dash swap was really easy, took a total of 20 minutes. However, the sensors were not so simple, that took about another hour. The temp sensor is in a really tight spot and is what took the longest to do. The oil pressure sensor on the other hand took no time in comparison.

For the 4wd swap 91-96 should work no problem, mine is a 96 and have no issues. I will say this though. When you do the swap take that time to replace any seals or gaskets. I have 220000 miles on my engine now, and about 2000 miles after the swap my rear main seal went out...would have been a lot easier to replace with no transmission in the way. Also with the T-case out I would go ahead and do a sye at the same time...I would have but funds were basically gone at that point since i had no intentions, at the time, of doing the 4wd swap (it all happened thanks to a bent axle).

My next big things are sye and re-gear (needs it pretty bad). Also need new motor mounts and transmission mount. Hopefully this summer that will happen.

Also a little MPG update...and kind of interesting. I dove back to school 800 miles yesterday Arkansas to Colorado and have some useful data. I have 3.55 gears with 33x10.5 tires. In Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas where the altitude varied between 2500 ft and down I was averaging 17.3mpg at 2200 rpm in OD. now get to the end of Kansas and Colorado where the altitude is getting higher my MPG drops and OD is useless. Through Colorado I had to keep it in 3rd and varied RPM between 2800 and 3200. This resulted in an average MPG of 14.6.

This result could be because of a few things, however these are what I think are the most significant. 1 - altitude, hands down huge killer especially since OD was useless at this point (the altitude caused the elimination of OD) . 2- because of a useless OD running a higher RPM. 3- all the gas stations in Kansas and Colorado use up to 10% ethanol where Arkansas and Oklahoma are all 100% gasoline. 4 - low grade in Colorado is 85 and that’s what I was running. Hope this helps some people since MPG questions are always coming up...I need some 4.88's bad for out here.

Thanks for all the compliments everyone I hope I am providing useful information.

Also will try to get up some more after pictures of the same angle of the before's soon.
 
Last edited:
CherBear said:
How do you like your hellas? I got a pair for Christmas and LOVE them.
Click to expand...

Honestly I am a little disappointed with them...but yet can complain for 60 bucks.

If they ever break i might try out some KC's...even though some lightforce HID's would be sweet.
 
hpaull said:
After...having a tach is so nice
IMG_0606.jpg
Click to expand...

Had you swapped oil pressure sending units in this photo? My gauge did this once when the oil shop had broken my sending unit and replaced it with an "idiot" light version. I had to explain to them there was 2 versions of the sending unit and they had the wrong one, took longer to convince them to track down and install the right sending unit.
 
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