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Build thread for project "why am I doing this"

A

adanymous

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Georgia
Hey guys I'm new here and to the xj. Honestly I'm not sure I've ever even driven one before this junker which made it 20 miles before I had to get a trailer to get it home. The rear end failed in Atlanta, on I-75, in the rain. Sweet.

The point of this project is really just something to do. I bought the jeep about two weeks ago and I bought a couple Mercedes om617 diesels. I'm gonna put one In (currently have a reman 4.0 if anyone can suggest where to sell it) I want to end up with a pretty serious truck. I'm gonna do ox front and rear cable lockers, lift obviously, big tires blah blah blah. I have substantial fab skills and tooling including a pneumatic tubing bender, so I may cage it as well.

Anyhow. It's a 96 4x4 manual 4.0 for now.I got it to the shop, the floor pans were trash so I cut them and the cargo area pan out. The frame rails were fairly solid except the pass rear and I cut out the factory support which was crumbly and replaced it with 1/8 plate. I bought the HD frame stiffeners and have the rears on middles tomorrow fronts after the engine is out and the front suspension is out of the way. Currently there is no rear end, rear suspension, tank, doors, or bumpers on this rig. So it's pretty close to being paint prepped. But I'd like to get it rolling before paint. So on to my first questions of the build.

I'm gonna do the 8.8 swap. But I'm not finding much info on shock mount locations and pinion angle. Can someone help with that.

I want to put the first Ox in while the rear end is out. I'm thinking a 4.56 given the rpm range of the om617. And I'm thinking 33s. Any gear ratio input?

I'm thinking of the RE 3.5 superflex with full leafs. Can I cut the fenders enough to clear 33s and is that enough lift on these for a fairly serious trail rig. I'd like to avoid the added expense of the taller lifts. But can do if necessary.

And my spring shackle mounts make me nervous because they are so thin. Do you plate those or is there a better way.

All of these have to be done to get it rolling I think. Anything I'm missing?
 
The easiest way to post pics is to get a free photobucket account and post pics to there. Once that is done you can click each pic you want to post, look at the right hand side and click the copy link and CTRL-V it to the post
 
If your not planning on going any bigger then 33's I would say 4.10 ratio will be fine. Remember the deaper you gear the smaller the contact on the teeth and boom goes ring gear.
 
I've seen a lot of people say that with 33s and a manual to go with 4.56 or 4.88

For pics, I just use facebook. Works well and I'm already posting there anyways. haha.
 
downs807 said:
If your not planning on going any bigger then 33's I would say 4.10 ratio will be fine. Remember the deaper you gear the smaller the contact on the teeth and boom goes ring gear.
Click to expand...

Avoid making gearing decisions based on blanket statements. ^^^

The SEARCH button will become your best friend, tons of info here on the questions you have asked.
 
Last edited:
Jeepedo129 said:
Careful with the "F" word, some of the older folks get nasty when they hear the word Facebook.
Click to expand...


I'm 26 and hate facebook, but I smoke a pipe and shave with a straight razor so I'm not like most 26 year olds.


To the OP: for your rear shackle hangers, look back at HD Offroad for the no lift relocation brackets. They cut out the stock brackets and replace them.

For the pinion angle and shock mounts, I would dial in what the ride height will be before welding on the spring perches and shock mounts then use u-bolts to hold the axle to the springs, set the pinion angle and weld them on.
 
Nobody cares about your borkum's riff and dollar shave club aggy.

But yeah, spot on with the advice. I've actually got 1st gen HDO relocators and I'm thinking about moving to no lift to lower a tad.
 
I will say this is one of the best first posts from a new member.

Sounds like you pretty much know what you're doing.

Poke around on here, spend a few evenings reading through these forums and pretty much everything you could need to know will be here somewhere.

There's another big xj forum on the internet also that has a ton of info.
 
This is what got me started on the metal fab. You can see the high quality craftsmanship of the previous owner. The floor pans were roof flashing held in by 6 or 8 tiny rivets. And yes those corners are fiberglass
 
How I prep pans except weld through primer isn't on in this pic. Note the notches on the sides. The go all the way around except the back. This method gives a bunch more weld surface area as well as helps the metal bend to the right contour more easily. And makes getting tight joints easy cause you can tap the bottom of the notch til it's tight much more easily than the bouncy edges. When the bottom is tight tack it then tighten up the rest of the notch then weld. Repeat 137 times.
 
How I prep pans except weld through primer isn't on in this pic. Note the notches on the sides. The go all the way around except the back. This method gives a bunch more weld surface area as well as helps the metal bend to the right contour more easily. And makes getting tight joints easy cause you can tap the bottom of the notch til it's tight much more easily than the bouncy edges. When the bottom is tight tack it then tighten up the rest of the notch then weld. Repeat 137 times.
 
Better starting pic. Note the jacked pans and the cargo area cut for access to shock bolts. Laziness. Seriously I wanted to punch the guy.
 
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