Junkyard upgrades

[filmxj]

Thanks, I've been enjoying this thread. My other XJ has a junkyard D44 rearend that I regeared to 4.10 and a 4.10 D30 that I found on a 4 banger XJ.

 

[jeepinxj05]

long, awesome thread, but i couldn't really look to hard for what i need, so i'll ask really quickly now... can you bend the rear LCAs from the WJ for a 4.5-5.5" lift on a '91 xj???

 

[Spanky88]

this thred was exactly what i was lookin for and im glad i took he time to check the site. I am a relativley new xj owner and already love the vehicle, i have a 93 xj sport with the 4.0 and ?awx4?:dunno: tranny and i was wondering if there were ever models that came from the factory with a tranny cooler. i have been meaning to add a cheap tranny temp gauge to monitor my temp on my 12 hr drive home from college and back. any ideas? i am also doing some minor wheelin while im here at school. pullin out stuck fullsizes:roflmao:

 

[waggy]

its a aw4 , and yes you could get them with a factory cooler with the tow package .(possably other packages ) . i cant say i would bother with a guage , get a good sized cooler toss er on ,drop the pan , change the filter and fill it up with fresh fluid and call it a day . just my .02

 

[beakie]

just be sure not to pay full price for the cooler, you can grab one from a Ford Taurus or Explorer (or lots of other junkyard vehicles) save yourself the $50 or so for the cooler, and hoses by grabbing what you need at a wrecker. Wish I had realized that before I bought my first one.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

some more cheap junkyard mods:
- lebaron hood vents -12$ each
- rear sway bar axle mounts as bar pin eliminators on your shocks -free$$$,
- newer xj's have longer sway bar end links by about 1-1.5", cheap at 8$ each to clear coils on a small lift
-all skids at picnpull are 13$ in CA, (gas tank, t case, front skid too!)

 

[Love2Ride450]

just be sure not to pay full price for the cooler, you can grab one from a Ford Taurus or Explorer (or lots of other junkyard vehicles) save yourself the $50 or so for the cooler, and hoses by grabbing what you need at a wrecker. Wish I had realized that before I bought my first one.

Yeah, just make sure to flush it out AT LEAST! NAPA sells a product called Kooler Kleen, and it retails for $10-11. The part # is 765-2614. Don't even waste your time with the cooler if the reason the car is at the wrecking yard is the tranny. It will most likely be stuffed with metal/junk.

 

[fiyerbirdie]

Love this old ass thread.... so far I have scavenged OEM ZJ Gas tank skid, OEM T-Case skid, Front Skid, ZJ Tie rod + end, and I'm soon to swap the rear discs from another ZJ.

I heard about a 93-95 3.8 taurus electric fan swap. I thought it was worth mentioning.

I think alot of newcomers look for this type of tech article.... especially as our XJ's are not exactly "new" anymore.

 

[schardein]

I have a 2000 XJ, and added cruise from the junkyard for $30!!

You need the underhood servo, with its vacuum line and throttle cable. The holes for it are already in the pass fender. The wiring plug was there also. Even the throttle cable bracket and throttle body were set up to accept the cruise cable. The vacuum line at the servo mounting point even has a "T" fitting with a small cap on it. Just take off the cap and plug on the servo's vacuum line.

You will also need the switches off the steering wheel. This means you need to take off the airbag so be sure to disconnect the battery. Needed a small torx bit to get the switches off. They bolt right on in place of the "blanks" on my steering wheel.

You also need the clockspring that sits behind the steering wheel. Pull you own wheel first so you know what tools you need. The first time I went I was not prepared. You need a good steering wheel puller. The clockspring is what connects the wires from the airbag and switches to the rest of the wiring, allowing the steering wheel to turn.

BE CAREFUL--apparently the switches from 98 or 99 and down and 99 or 2000 and up are different EVEN THOUGH THEY LOOK IDENTICAL. Sorry I don't know exactly, I wasn't paying attention when I pulled my first set but they did not work. I went back and got some off a 2000 (after doing some research) plugged them in and BANG the green "cruise" light on the dash lit up when I pushed on. Works like a charm and easy.

Sorry don't know how much work is involved in the earlier models.

 

[schardein]

I scored a plug in factory trailer wiring harness from the junkyard.

Skidplates and factory tow hooks are also something to look out for.

On the earlier models you can get the clock off the dash and bolt it on.

Factory fog lights and switches.

I've seen XJs with factory stereo amps under the rear seat. I've never bothered as mine isn't wired for one, and pulling all that wiring seems like a lot of work.

I also scored a newer style intake manifold from the junkyard, and got the power steering bracket that is required to install it. Got it to use on my 91 ho motor in my CJ, as my 2000 already has the hi-perf manifold. I paid $35, the yard I go to uses a fixed price system.

When I go to junkyards, I always look for someone who has upgraded their heaadlights to the Hellas or any with the replaceable H4 bulbs. No luck yet but....

 

[John90XJ]

I've seen XJs with factory stereo amps under the rear seat. I've never bothered as mine isn't wired for one, and pulling all that wiring seems like a lot of work.

Did they have those? I know that under the driver's side rear seat is where the ABS computer goes on many models.

These are great ideas.

 

[ILLXJ]

Did they have those? I know that under the driver's side rear seat is where the ABS computer goes on many models.

These are great ideas.

I know my 97 with the Infinity system had one. I don't know if any of the older ones had an amp. Neither my 92 or 96 have one. JIM.

 

[5.2poweredxj]

for my rear lift I had bought early 90's 4 door blazers and 3" add a leaf. Been almost a year and still sitting square and at 6" I used all the leafs from both plus the add a leaf. Still flexes decent.

Rear brake line option. 84 dodge ram van is 12" longer than a stock hose and works great. I had to use a used one when it was saturday night and my hose got wrecked.

 

[joshv98xj]

I pulled a power drivers seat out of a 99 and bolted it right into my 98 in place of the manual one. I pulled the carpet back and found the plug, it was different, but I just hardwired it into place. It is such a world of difference over the manual seat. It is so much more comfortable just because of the range of adjustment.

As far as the rest goes, a lot of the mods on my XJ are from the junkyard:
Factory geared 4.10 D44
Stock gas tank skid
Stock transfer case skid
Power drivers seat
Cruise control system
ZJ tie rod
ZJ rear discs on my D44
99+ intake manifold
Misc plastic parts

 

[troy6187]

chevy truck brake lines in the front and dakota line for the rear. more than enough for 6in.

 

[clunk]

don't know if it's been mentioned, but a "free" mod is just using the stock rear swaybard mounts as BPE's. Use 1/2" x 2 1/2" grade 8 hardware with the bushing pressed out of the swaybar and pressed into the new shock eye. Works perfectly well, beats buying the same thing that comes with a fancy sticker..except I guess my rig might go faster with stickers on it :lol:
here's a picture, stock shock on the right and rear MJ shock with the aforementioned BPE attached on the left. Good for 3-4" of lift.

 

[5.2poweredxj]

Forgot about an other good mod that I had to do.
converting from the close system to open without changing your radatior using junkyard parts. Go to the yard and look for dakotas or durangos with a 4.7 and grab the upper hose to get there fill cap. Cut section out of the upper hose and install into it and find an any over flow bottle that will work. Block or elimitate the T'ed lines in the heater core and your done.

It will kinda look like this when your done except for the V8

 

[tomcat]

I pulled a power drivers seat out of a 99 and bolted it right into my 98 in place of the manual one. I pulled the carpet back and found the plug, it was different, but I just hardwired it into place. It is such a world of difference over the manual seat. It is so much more comfortable just because of the range of adjustment.

power seats use a pigtail from under the carpet up to the seat, sort of like the foglamps pigtail

 

[smcdonaldaz]

ZJ rear discs on my D44

I'd love to do the ZJ disc on my D35, how does the swap rank on a 1-5 toughness scale? I've done clutches and rear mains, will I have a problem with it?

 

[Sting25]

I have not done a ZJ disk conversion on a d35 but I did do it on a C8.25 and was very easy...

much easyer than a clutch or rear main.

I'd love to do the ZJ disc on my D35, how does the swap rank on a 1-5 toughness scale? I've done clutches and rear mains, will I have a problem with it?