• Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Jeep #2, replacement of my 87XJ with my 00XJ!

I thought I would revive this old thread, after reading through everyones "ideal XJ" it made me think about this project.

Here is my update on this project, it kind of went in a different direction and I have been pretty low key on Naxja for a while. I ended up buying the 2000 XJ back from insurance for $500, as you can tell the frame is tweaked but it still drives fine. It now has 305,000 miles on it and still runs great, all factory drivetrain with zero issues except rear main seal leak. It is the most reliable vehical I have ever seen, it never gives me any issues exept for normal wear and tear items, its never let me down! It sits at my house now as a spare vehical and I ended up stealing lots of parts off it for a different XJ.

I bought a low mileage 2001 cherokee with a skyjacker rock ready lift and 33's on it. I went a different direction on this rig than I intended to on my old 2000 XJ. The dana 44's are still sitting at my buddys house not being used but 100% ready to be bolted on if I felt like it, but the picture in my head of the "ideal XJ" changed and I now think they are overkill. I know a few of you guys have seen it allready but I will post some pictures up.
 
d14ec758.jpg

A little mini rubicon action, the right side is steep as hell, apparently Jeeps don't have oil pressure at this angle. Tried getting up as far as I could, then decided to winch, then discovered I had no oil pressure so I had to shut it down. My winch decided reverse shouldn't work anymore so I had to keep winching up under battery power. The very second I was actually able to drive up the hill under my own power my winch broke, close call.

48d5a20a.jpg
c66b6dd8.jpg
Trailready bumpers front and rear.

694a8fa7.jpg
28b36955.jpg
Trussed the axle, reinforced the outer C's, rotated the knuckles so my drive line is pointing dead on straight at my pinion and I still have 6 degrees of caster. All the bracketry is from ballistic fab and the axle has 4.88's and no locker yet. I rotated the driver side tierod on top of the knuckle for increased clearance under the tierod. I am running a clayton trackbar, I would highly recomend this part to everybody. The johnny joint on the top is so low maint. and the larger clevite bushing on the bottom is burly and is showing no signs of any wear after a year of abuse. It also uses a 5/8 bolt on the bottom that is so much stronger than the factory bolt. I am currently running skyjacker 6inch coils, will be putting deavers in sometime soon.

ff661396.jpg
Built the rockliders from scratch, they hug the body super tight up high but stick out far enough to provide protection for my doors. I am running the skyjacker rockready mid arm front suspension that came on the Jeep when I bought it. I replaced all the lower joints with ballistic fab joints and put evolution joints on the uppers. Ground clearance for the skyjacker kit isnt the best but not much worse than a longarm plus the angles on this mid arm are really good. Upper arms are flat and about 70% the length of the lowers and the lowers have a really good angle too.

85cb7b89.jpg


8599f929.jpg


d349a720.jpg


170e36d5.jpg
I was not a fan of shocks through the back but in order to have the shock travel I wanted and to keep ground clearance it had to happen. It worked out really good, I sealed the shocks with shifter boots and the tubes that come through the floor to the frame fit so tight through the holes I drilled in the floor that they are fully welded. In the rear I have 4.5inch rustys leafs and 1.5inch lift teraflex shackles, hopefully there will be deavers in the back soon.
 
Last edited:
ebdd38a0.jpg
So much more clearance without the stupid shocks hanging down, the 8.25 sure has a fat lip hanging off the bottom of it though. I have a powertrax no-slip in the back and 4.88s to match the front. The powertrax is awesome, no clicking or popping, wouldnt even know it was there except for the two tire fires.

8bea8e26.jpg
Shock are mounted on top of the leaf springs, tabs are welded to the u-bolt plate.

4155b687.jpg
Prothane bumps are nice, need to redo them though. They need to be a bit longer.
 
This is really close to my ideal Jeep, it still needs aftermarket shafts, an ARB, Deaver springs, and some cage work. I really like having 33's again, 35's were too much. I don't have parts wearing out and breaking all the time with 33's and I like having more power and better gas mileage. It makes a good daily driver truck but works really good offroad too. Once I get different springs I will play with valving the shocks, need to sell some parts before I get some deavers though.

What I really like about this Jeep is all the running gear is factory, I can go to the autoparts store and buy parts for a 2001 XJ. I really like the 10.5 wide tires over the 12.5 wide tires, it drives so much better and I like them offroad as well. The Jeep is a automatic 4.0 with 70,000 miles on it, when I bought the Jeep it only had 55,000 miles! I am really liking the automatic offroad but I miss my 5speed on the street.

As you can tell the diff covers don't have enough rock rash yet but I hope to fix that soon. Looking forward to wheeling with you guys again. Dustin, hurry and get your Jeep done!
 
kndrewa said:
Glad to hear, I had been wondering about you.
Looking forward to hearing how and why your ideal XJ changed.
Click to expand...
I am still alive! I was reading your post about Need for speed and your involvement in the new game. I love the hot pursuit games, they are so fun to play! I got a XBox 360 last year and played the hell out of that game, can't wait to play the new one and see your XJ in it. I wish I could play on xbox live though, apparntly I "lag" really bad and everyone makes fun of me. My internet sucks.
 
I am so hung over today, I hate drinking! Here is what the shock hoops look like coming through the floor, we had a hole saw that was the exact size as the DOM we were using so they fit perfectly in the holes I drilled and we were able to weld them up all the way so there is no leaks. Cutting holes in a clean Jeep is scary though.

9b857129.jpg
 
Wow, I guess I should have expected a VERY NICE looking XJ before you posted pics.
Looks like it would perform just as well as your last rig, while keeping up with daily duties.

jeepboy381 said:
Cutting holes in a clean Jeep is scary though.
Click to expand...

hahah, yep.
I almost wish my Jeep was cleaner than it is now - I wish it was as nice as yours!
For a long time I was part of the 'cool crowd' with a clean 97+...
It's still clean, but I've done my fair share of bone headed maneuvers.
 
Yeah the shock needs to move a little bit so the hole for the shock is bigger and is sealed with a shifter boot. The picture is misleading though, the tubes pass through the floor and are welded to mounts on the side of my frame.

Andrew, my jeep used to be a lot cleaner too. The paint on mine was flawless and now it looks like I drove through a forest of branches, which I did! But it's a jeep. No dents yet.
 
It looks really good, and the shifter boot is a great idea. I did a Dana 44 swap on my Cherokee, and I did a Ford 9" in the rear. I want to do shock hoops in the rear at some point, but with out leaves that flex there isnt any point right now.
 
NW-ZJ-SCOTT said:
Looks Great josh! did that transmission work out for you?
Click to expand...
. It is working out great sitting in my shed as a spare! My transmission seems a lot happier after a big tranny cooler and the 4.88 gears. I think it was just working it way to hard with the 3.55 gears and 33's. It still heats up and leaks from the torque converter seal a little bit when I am hard on it in the sand or snow. I just deal with it though.
 
TORX said:
Love it. Sounds like we're on the same path as far as ideal XJ's go. I see my new rig turning out very similar. We definitely need to do some wheeling next year. It's been awhile.

That's funny, I said the same thing today. :laugh:
Click to expand...
. I had a feeling you were going for something similar, I am sure yours will be really clean and well built like usual. I'm interested to see what you do with your new xj.

Every time I am hungover I never want to drink again, one night of fun and a waisted day afterwards. I wish I could replace drinking with "something else" that wouldn't make me feel so useless the next day. I hardley ever drink that much though.

More wheeling for sure, I will have a lot more time this summer. Planning a wedding is crazy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Dana 30 arb locker question.
Replies
13
Views
241
Bmfinney
B
M
Need Part Number for Drum Brake Wheel Cylinder Dana 44 Axle
Replies
2
Views
87
Bent
Bent
ehall
steering overhaul
Replies
7
Views
144
Evan03
E
A
2000 xj aw4 on 34s 4.88 or 5.13
2 3
Replies
49
Views
5K
Andre2000
A
T
XJ shackle with custom springs question.
Replies
11
Views
213
XJlimitedx99
X
Back
Top