Building a 96' XJ

I’ve been seeing alot of posts both on rockymountainextreme.com and naxja.org about XJ tech questions. I won’t at anytime claim to know EVERYTHING about the XJ, but i know alot...LOL. Anyways I first started with 1996 XJ with the 4.0/AW4/231/30/8.25 set up.
I bought it in 2003 for 6k from a park and sell. The vehicle was originally sold to the DOD as a civil engineers vehicle. After I bought it I had a friend in Anchorage (Ryan "Frosty" Frost) look at it who is a XJ/MJ guru and informed me it was equipped with the skid plate set, and a rear "track lok" and as far as I know also known as a Gov Lok.




It was bear stock when I got it, and since I have a TJ also, and since it’s gone through many lifts too I had enough spare parts to do the front. I started with a 3.5" front and a AAL 3" rear. Without trimming I was able to clear 31"s with no other mods than the springs. I wanted it bigger (don’t we all) so I added a 2" BB and the 1.75" shackles. Trimmed the fenders and added my old TJ flares to it. I was able to clear 33's now with nothing else. I did it by cutting 3" off the front all the way around and 2" off the rear (to the pinch seam). I drilled some holes and cut the TJ flares to follow the body line and attached them with some pop rivets. Since then I have learned to duct tape the flares in place, use a magic marker to outline the flares, trim it from there, tack weld the front fender to the body, and relief cut the rear. After the rear is relieved, bend it inward and use some sheet metal screws to hold it in.




This is at the same 3.5" lift trimmed fitting 33's



Since I had to cut the rear flare in half to still allow the door to open, I used some of the leftover plastic to help make a lip
to keep it from losing shape when closed.


This was phase 2 to the original lift I had in it.

IMO it still wasn’t big enough so (almost a year down the road) I added a set off 4.5" coils and a 1" block to the rear. I now needed some lower control arms, so I bought some used Rusty’s fixed LCA's and was now able to clear 35's, at full flex I did get some fender rub in the front. So as usual, went bigger. Since I always wanted LA's, and a big a$$ XJ, I saved some tax return money (still hunting for deals) and bought the RK front LA upgrade, Rusty’s 9" coils, Pro Comp rear 4" Blocks, and a used set of 4.5" rear leafs.



The new RK Long Arm upgrade no longer uses the old style weld on front Upper mount, they do send a rebuild able joint to be used with the stock upper driver side mount now.


At this point I was getting low on my allowed budget, so I used the Optima from my TJ, my Warn XD9i, Amsteel rope, RE TBar, RE Tie Rod, JET chip, and ended up buying a Crane Cam, and a K&N Cone filter. After getting a buddy to help me install the cam, I put the rest of the performance mods in; I couldn’t believe the power difference from just a few mods that really were pretty easy. With my stock 3.55's and on 35's now, I was able to crack 110mph on the highway again and able to light up a 35 at dead stand still.



After putting it together, I have now realized that 10-12" of lift on an XJ is too much, well, WAY TOOOOOO MUCH.

To get by this I wanted to make it as safe as possible for the family and kids, so I’m adding an 8pt cage, and have already added some summit and RCI race seats. For the kids in the back I went with a set of RCI 3" cam buckle lap belts to hold there car seats in. In the front I used some 3" RCI Y harnesses with the latch system. To keep my performance up since this will become a trailer princess eventually
I ordered some 4.88 Yukon gears, and a rear spool. I swapped the front axle joints for some larger stronger joints, and decided since I was re gearing, I was going to replace the rear 8.25 for a rear factory 44 from an 88'.


Since the stock seat rails are wider than the replacement seats, I still wanted to use them, SO I narrowed them using some 3/16 flat stock steel and some bolts.


These are the rear seats that I don’t currently have a picture installed, but it was really easy. In the 96' there’s a lip that runs under the front of the stock seat. I cut a piece of 2x2 channel and bolted it down; this raised the front level with the cargo area of the rear. I made an angle Iron rear x bar
to bolt the seats to in the rear and welded some 1x1 square tabs to with a hole in it. I bolt the rear to the seats, and bolted the tabs to the stock locations. After getting the front 2x2 in, I welded another piece of angle iron to it to act as a bolting place for the front of the seat.

I have also added and built a rear tire swing carrier, and some rocker protection.




There are many other little additions done to this vehicle that I just didn’t take pictures of:
BPE in the rear, front upper post shock eliminator, replaced steering stabilizer, damn cup holders, CB, CD, rear speakers, many other little things I can’t think of at this point....

I would like to thank alot of locations and businesses for there help in getting this thing done.


www.naxja.org

www.ak4x4extreme.com - My first real club

www.rocklogic.com - for getting my gears and spool for me at an awesome price and time

www.jackitoffroad.com - for the long arms

www.go2rdsi.com - for all the goodies I got from them

www.downeastoffroad.com - for the steering flip inserts


www.rustysoffroad.com

www.rubiconexpress.com


And many, many friends who have helped me when I was stuck on something, (also to hand me another beer when I was cramped up underneath the damn thing)

If anyone would like a better picture or more info on anything I’ve done, feel free to message me.

Brian "Badcop" Thomas
Ogden, UT

very nice xj! how are you liking the RK LA's? im thinkin about getting them but cant get any consistent feedback on them, the rear seats are a sweet idea, keep us posted!

I love em so far, there not loud like they have been badmouthed in the past, I think RK is finnaly turning there rep around. The upper rear mount is kind of a BS idea, but seems to be stronger since I welded it on with the bolting.

As soon as I get all the steel for the rear seats painted today and put back in Ill take some pics since I know theres a hoop load of interest in it.

did i read 4" rear blocks?

what axles u runnin? d30/35?

XJ_ranger said:

did i read 4" rear blocks?

what axles u runnin? d30/35?

Click to expand...

Yes you did, unfortuntly I ran into project broake along the way and couldnt get the leafs I wanted, so theyll have to wait for now, there not never going to be put in, just not soon.

I have the 30/44 combo with the super 30 kit.

I was just thinking about this this morning, I now kno wwhy no one uses blocks at this height.

When floored, I can feel the ass end slip right under full torque, and I have a small amount of axle wrap.

Mental note to all then DONT USE BLOCKS!!!

Wow!!!

Jeeps gone Wild.