Introduction/build thread 1995 xj

[Mont-ster]

First, I looked and couldn't find a general "intro" section, so I figured this was the closest chapter to home. If I'm wrong, can someone please point me in the right direction? Thanks!!

Howdy folks, I'm Monty. Been lurking for about a year, and y'all have helped me immensely so I figured I may be able to help someone else now?

I bought a 98 xj in October 2012 with plenty of car experience, but zero 4x4 experience. It was an ex-county jeep and was SPOTLESS. 140k, bare bones interior, aw4/np231/d35, white on grey. Exactly what I wanted. I got it cheap, spent a year DDing it doing the cooling system and all the little maintenance crap it needed. The lift was coming soon. I was in love.

Then, in December last year I got t-boned. HARD. Shifted the core support over 5", opened up the front axle C 3/4". I'm okay, the passenger was okay, and I had fat $$ in my pocket. So I bought a clean-ish dark green 95 with an np231 and an 8.25 for a thousand bucks from a buddy of mine and towed my crashed one to his house. The green one has just enough small body damage I'm not worried about modifying it and having fun. I was hesitant in the white one!

It already had a new cooling system, so I was dialed there. I've since put together my lift components, I still need a few more things, but here goes.

Things I have put on:
-Late model manifold. Definitely a good upgrade.
-703 injectors. Jake at Dr Injector in Rancho has become a bud, has a lifted 99 xj and is a seriously nice guy. He cleaned and flowed the neon injectors, and they were probably one of the best upgrades I've done, no lie. Between the manifold and the injectors, butt dyno says the torque curve migrated down and broadened out.
-New exhaust manifold. Needed to happen.
-Motor and trans mounts. Need to be done again, I'm going poly this time, they're already blown out. The fan rubs the shroud when I romp on it.
-New fan clutch
-Fuel filter
-JCR nut strips and a junkyard hitch. Put the damn nut strips in backwards by mistake and haven't flipped them around yet so only 4 bolts are holding it on.
-Other little stuff I can't remember right now

Stuff I have that's waiting to go on it:
-Used RE 3.5 coils and LCA's that will get spaced to match the:
-New OME 4.5 leafs and moog bushings
-33x10.50 MTR's on 8" canyons
-1.25" spacers to clear the canyons. I already have two, need to buy two more
-Advanced Adapters sye
-Stock front ds with new u-joints. I'll run it and see how it holds up. It's hard to justify a Tom Woods for the tire size and type of wheeling I plan on doing in a DD rig. (Camping, basic trails etc)
-ZJ steering with new ball joints.
-XJ d44 with a beefcake ram charger front diff cover. The diff is currently a 3.07 LSD. I'm planning on doing 4.10's and a mechanical locker of some type, so I'll hafta learn how to regear an axle. Never done it before, but no reason I can't figure it out!
-JCR steering box spacer
-Gas tank skid. I need to trim the plastic cover on my tank so the skid fits properly.
-Driver's side wing window. I love vent windows!!
-Stock TB, I'm going to straight bore it and get that stupid lip out of the bottom.
-Magnaflow and 2.5 from the cat back. Going to build the exhaust after the lift
-I'm pretty sure there's more, I'll add to this later too.

Stuff I need:
-U-bolts
-frame stiffeners
I'm planning on grabbing both of these tomorrow after work from RuffStuff.
-Hitch harness
-Front and rear gears
-Steel for making bumpers
-Relocate the puke can and put a later model windshield washer bottle on the fender so I can put a cone filter on the passenger side of the compartment.
-Cutting the beat-up rockers and replacing with some box.
-Bumpstops modified to work properly with the 33's.
-At some point I'll rework the front end and make long arm mounts and trans crossmember. I'm looking forward to seeing how the RE arms work though.
-OBA. Finding a gas station after a trip SUCKS.
-Interior LED's, half of my lights are burned out anyway.
-CB. Breaker breaker....
-Headlight relay harness.
-Fogs/spots
-A power steering pump.
-Trans cooler
-I'm sure I'll keep adding to this.

I've got a few questions though. Last time I got stuck snow wheeling, it was obvious I needed some type of front locker too. My Toyota buds (sorry to mention that blasphemy here) gave me an idea. They all weld diffs and unlock a hub on the street. Any reason I can't take a vacuum-disco axle, convert it to cable and weld it? Should be more than strong enough to handle 33's, unless someone knows something I don't? Hell, I can probably find one already geared correctly. Is there a cost-effective alternative mechanical locker and gear set that would be a good alternative?

Went looking at pick and pull today, and noticed the front flairs are taller than the rears. Any reason guys don't flip front flairs around and run them on the back for more clearance? Do people do this and I just don't know? I also saw another XJ D44 in a blue 87 out at antelope pick and pull, just a heads up if anybody's interested.

My power steering pump is HURT. It smells, feels and tastes bad. Don't ask me how I know. Anybody got some good advice on an upgrade/good replacement that won't cost a ton? I'll Lucas it and hopefully that'll keep it alive a little longer.
I can't figure out how to upload pictures... Anyhow, thanks guys! I'll figure out the picture deal and update as I build. It'll be slow, be patient.

 

[Mont-ster]

Holy CRAP I talk too much. Sorry guys.

 

[BigKintheXJ]

That's a lot, don't expect all the answers to come right away haha.

Setting gears is not a weekend ordeal. It's a ton of tedious, precision work. It can be done in a weekend, but usually only if you've done your research and have someone who has done it before helping you.

Welding diffs Is another challenge, the heat can wassup the carrier and cause breakage. A mechanical lunchbox locker will be completely unnoticeable when you're not in 4x4. They lock only when torque is applied via the driveshaft.

A couple of guys here run psc? remanufactured power steering pumps. I dunno, I haven't had to deal with steering issues yet.

As for photos, I use photo bucket. Pull up your pic in photo bucket, click the "direct link" on the right hand side. This will automatically copy the link which you'll embed in your post. When you go to make a post, there's an icon at the top of the box with a mountain on it, click it, paste with control + v And press ok. Use the preview post button to make sure your pictures come out ok.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Mont-ster]

Interesting. Thanks for th heads up on the locker, I'll check it out. Ive welded diffs in street cars before and never had much of an issue. Preheating the carrier and high-nickle rod really helps, but I like the idea of a mechanical locker. May as well do it right if it's not overly expensive. As far as setting gears, the plan is to get it lifted with the axles that are under it already, and grab another front so I can go thru both axles on the bench on my own time. I've got a few friends that have experience too, but any advice helps.

Thanks for the power steering advice, I'll search more. When I get Internet access at the house I'll set up a photo bucket. Doing this on a phone is a hassle.

Thanks man!

 

[blondejoncherokee]

keep in mind you can probably find a 8.8 with 4.10s, discs, and LSD for under 200$ at PNP, and to regear the 44 you will spend at least 260$ on gears and master install, and then another 400$-700$ on tools to re-gear, such as 20 ton shop press, bearing splitter/remover, inch pound dial indicator type torque wrench, 250 ft lb torque wrench, extra pinion seals and pinion nuts, probably extra shims (carrier, pinion, and inner pinion) , dial indicator with magnetic base, digital micrometer, bearing race installer tool, brass punch set, and probably a lot more I am forgetting.

don't forget a spare set of bearings for setup bearings.

 

[Mont-ster]

Yeah, that'd crossed my mind too. I was hesitant, I thought I'd already need to be running spacers with the 5" back spacing on the wheels and didn't want to get stupid with them but I found some folks running a similar setup without an issue. Good call, that's probably the way I'll end up going.

Installed some wing windows today, I'm stoked. I also Lucas'd the power steering resivoir again too, maybe limp it along a little while...

 

[blondejoncherokee]

Yeah, that'd crossed my mind too. I was hesitant, I thought I'd already need to be running spacers with the 5" back spacing on the wheels and didn't want to get stupid with them but I found some folks running a similar setup without an issue. Good call, that's probably the way I'll end up going.

Installed some wing windows today, I'm stoked. I also Lucas'd the power steering resivoir again too, maybe limp it along a little while...

its just an idea. I only recently learned to do gears and accumulating the tools was vey expensive, and then add things like extra shim packs and other stuff and I spent a lot. Remember, if you plan on doing more than one or two axles then you will be smarter to buy all the stuff and just do the 44. it really depends on when you think you will do your next re-gear.

 

[Mont-ster]

For sure! I'd like to do it once, but I've said that before. I'll put the lift on with the factory axles and go from there. You've definitely given me some stuff to think about.

I've only got a 2 car garage that's currently housing my model a, my dad's 36, a Harley project and a ton of other random crap. I'm not sure I've got room for all this!

 

[knucklehead 61]

in my green xj i run cheapo o'reilly ps pumps with lifetime warranty. they last about a year of heavy abuse. i just swap out the dead one with a new free warrantied one when they go bad. you dont need to spend the bux on a psc pump with only 33's.
depending on how much you beat on the rig you may want to invest in a psc smaller diameter ps pully though. they help steering at low rpm's. a ps cooler & tranny cooler are must haves though. forget blowing the money on a tom woods shaft. install an advanced adapters sye & grab a junkyard front shaft & mount it in the rear. i don't even bother swapping out the joints anymore as the shafts get beat to death on the rocks just as fast with old joints. get some rocker protection first thing before you get too deep into the rocks. also, forget oem motor mounts & step up to a set of brown dogs. money well spent.

 

[Mont-ster]

I've got the oreilly parts sponsorship program for my radiator and waterpump already, I may as well add in a power steering pump! Im gonna cruise pnp for a couple plate-style oil coolers, just haven't gotten the time. Rocker protection is definitely coming, after the lift and frame stiffeners. Any reason I shouldn't take the 20 minute drive to RuffStuff and buy theirs stiffeners?

I'm glad to hear pick and pull front driveshafts are holding up. Bonus. Did you do the poly trans mount along with the motor mounts?

 

[knucklehead 61]

on my red heep i made a poly tranny mount using a chevy mount.
on my green heep i use an oem tranny mount, but need to come up with a better one as i kill one a year or so. im pretty rough on my xj's.
i run ruff stuff stiffeners on my red heep & have installed them on 1 other rig. they do not fit nearly as well as hd offroad's stiffeners do. they are thicker & a better/stronger design (which is why i use them on my red xj on tons & 42's).
i run hd offroad stiffeners on my green heep & have installed 4 or 5 other sets of them. they always fit like a glove, much better than ruff stuffs do. if you are on 33's they will be fine.

tell us about your model A. i always liked them, but never owned one, but have had quite a few 33-41 willys over the years.
how about the HD? is it pre 1984? if so, im interested in hearing about it. ive had at least 50 pre '84 HD's.

 

[Mont-ster]

Sweet! I like the idea of ruffstuff because they're right down the road, so it's guys I can just call if I run into issues, I don't pay shipping, and I try and put $$ and food on tables in my hometown if I can. I'll check out HD though... I'm interested in the chevy mout idea. Got a link to a write up? Is this a common thing? Sorry for the noob questions, I'm pretty far out of my element here!

I love all willys coupes. Apparently you have good taste in cars, motorcycles and jeeps. PM me details on your cars and bikes!!

The A is a little complex. I got a complete '30 chassis, all original parts. Thought about building the flathead 4 that's in it, but I came across a sohc 4 cylinder mustang motor, t-5 and harness for $60, and it should be plenty to haul the car around and those little pinto motors have a ton of aftermarket support. Also found a steel '21 T roadster body and a real(!!!) mor-drop axle with '40 juice brakes for a song. I'm modeling this car after Multi Aldrich's roadster, if just in "vibe". The body won't fit the chassis perfectly, it won't be slammed, but it'll be fun and I'm into the whole deal for less than a grand so far. I'm planning on running the 8.25 out if the Cherokee in the T when I swap diffs, should be geared close to perfect and the width is right with big-5 adapters.

The Harley is a complete basket, back-burnered indefinitely. Traded it for an ammo press with a buddy. Pan chassis that was hacked in the 70's, fork/wheels/controls/brakes/tins from an '06 night train and a TON of extra little stuff he'd been collecting over the years. I don't have a motor yet, contemplating picking up a wrecked shovel or evo and just buying a paughco frame. This one is in bad shape, the neck casting was cut down and I'd need to build new dropouts for it. He cut off the santee plunger dropouts and threw them in the trash.

I have made zero progress on my jeep. Working a ton. Lame.

 

[knucklehead 61]

the tranny mount install is burried somewhere in my stoopid blog, along with lots of other useless information. there may be some good tidbits of information in there, but you'll have to dig through the drivel to find it. there's some pix of some of my hot rods / race cars / harleys etc. as well. read at your own risk...
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1042976

 

[Mont-ster]

The PS pump got really bad this week, so I swapped to a late-model cardone reman pump to go with my manifold. Everything went smoothly, lines fit perfectly on the new pump. The only weird thing is the pulley I put on a few months ago with the manifold was cracked in three spots, so I warrantied it.

Went and got my ruffstuff stiffeners and u-bolts, and ordered some Brown Dog motor mounts. Just gotta order some shackles, leaf bushings and get some time off, and the lift is going on. I expect it'll be another month, work has been crazy!!

Thanks for everyone's advice and encouragement, muchos gracias!

 

[Skipper51]

Looks like you have some big plans and some skills too. Welcome to Sierra Chapter.

 

[Mont-ster]

Thanks man. It's definitely been a learn as I go thing.

Don't buy a reman, parts store pump. The 3F pump I bought immediately started pissing fluid from a large bolt on the bottom side of the pump, maybe a lash adjustment? Either way, I wasn't too happy. If the new warrenty reman I just put in today craps the bed I'm getting my $$ back and ordering a PSC.

On a good note, I installed a new factory spec trans mount and Brown Dog rubber motor mounts today too. The liveliness of the pedal and immediate power transfer more than makes up for the minor vibration at idle. I haven't messed with the cross bolt tension like the instructions state either, maybe I can get that to go away.

I'm pretty pleased.

 

[Mont-ster]

So, it's still not lifted. I sold the D44 I had and bought an 8.8 with 4:10's and an lsd. All the parts are still sitting waiting to go on. I went to work for a fence company and this xj is now my daily work truck. But I'm having some issues. Sorry for the rambling first post, I guess i was bored/excited/buzzed.

Since I've bought this jeep in winter 13/14, it's had an overheating issue at idle when it's warm outside and a few times up long grades in third gear. It creeps up around 220/230 and takes a very long time to cool off once you start moving again. A few weeks ago it hit 250* in traffic which was pretty exciting. I've had multiple radiator caps, multiple fan clutches (stock and zj), I've verified the e-fan is working properly, two different radiators, all new hoses, flushed the cooling system, three different thermostats, and one water pump when I first got it. The exhaust manifold is intact. I even went and got a new cat on Friday, thinking it was plugged and building heat in the head. I'm currently running no thermostat and this is the coolest so far, against all odds. The head gasket is still holding, I'm not seeing evidence of steamed plugs or exhaust in the coolant. We used a laser temp gun and measured at the water neck, it was consistent with what the gauge reads so I don't think it's the temp sender.

I've settled on an 18psi radiator cap, 50/50 mix, a carquest pump, carquest radiator, an upgraded napa zj fan clutch, amazon fan shroud, and was running a factory spec 192 (?) thermostat. The only thing I haven't done is divorce the trans cooler from the radiator, but I haven't noticed anything out of the norm trans wise. This is not a particularly heavy jeep, and other than neon injectors and 99+ intake manifold it's all stock. Anyone have any insight? I've poured over countless threads on this, and I'm at a loss.

The only thing I can think of at this point is the water pump isnt up to snuff. We've had them for other vehicles and the impeller is 2-3mm off, causing cavitation and overheating. Before I go and throw MORE dollars at this thing, does anyone have any insight? I'm dying here. My 98 ran about 200-210 regardless of conditions. 220 makes me uncomfortable, and going above that makes me real anxious. Thanks in advance gentlemen.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

Get a mechanical gauge . And a IR gun. Verify temps that way with 2 other methods. Gauges are around 25$ and a IR gun is the same at HF. Get the tranny fluid out of the radiator and into a stacked plate cooler. Verify no exhaust leaks. Around the manifold. Swap the manifold out for good measure . If so, fix them. Verify the cat is good too. I doubt a brand new water pump is already bad. Put the 99+ Efan on it run it to a relay and a switch in th cab so you can leave it on. Get a good 2
Core all aluminum radiator