My First XJ Build

[cencal96xj]

hey naxja!!
well i'm getting more into my jeep and asking more question so i figured better to start a build thread than to keep making new threads with my questions, plus this will help me keep track of my progress
here we go
i bout the jeep with a salvaged title from a guy in pomona for $1500 it already had a 3.5" lift and bald 31s on stock rims.
here it is the day after i got it at my old job (sears auto) gett ALL fluids changed for my peace of mind:

the day after i was already cutting it up. i cut the part of the fender that hangs down under the headlights and removed the stock flares

finished product at the trailhead of garcia ridge near pozo

couple shots from garcia ridge

next week i cut and folded the front fenders, threw on the old american racing rims i had on my old ranger and some 32" bfg ats

went to the off road swap meet at morango casino the same day i bought the jeep and pick up these 14" racerunner smooth body internal ressys.

my original plan was to make some shock hoops in the back cargo area with the shocks through the floor but decided against it cuz i wasnt ready to cut holes in the floor yet so i traded them to a friend and he built me a front bumper

also you can see i installed HIDs
next was paint for the bumper

then i cut and folded the rear fenders

 

[cencal96xj]

scored a stock swing out tire carrier that had a spot for my hi lift from norcalchris

drove it like this for a while and was happy with it.

then sierrafest came around. it was a blast had a great time getting to meet everyone and seeing what my jeep is really capable of.
chris definitely pushed me to wheel it more and more. he bet me $100 that he could wheel better than i could since our vehicles were similar in capability. when we went to slick rock the second day i was not going to try the staircase because i flat towed there and i didnt want to risk breaking something that could hinder that...buttttt we all know how chris wheels and when i saw him haul ass up the case i had to try it for my self. luckily i made it with only one downfall, a small slash in the sidewall of my pass rear tire, small enough to only leak whenever that part came in contact with the ground. but on the drive back to camp it blew out.

here are some pics from the trip!

 

[cencal96xj]

and my favorite taken by goblazers_6

tims beast

this trip really showed me what i need to upgrade.
one of these things being some sort of slider (which i already knew i needed just didnt have the time or money to do so before SF). my dad got material from work and i decided i wanted to go all out and do rocker replacement so he got me 2x6.
cutting to fit:

unfortunately that as far as i got on that project cuz i havent got a welder yet haha

next big update
when i slashed the sidewall on my pass rear i decided i wanted to upgrade rather than replace. so i kicked down the cash for some goodyear wrangler mtrs w/k in the 33x12.5x15 flavor. as soo as the came in i wasted no time taking them to work (pep boys for those of you that didnt know...or care lol), and putting them on.

quickly realized that then rubbed somethin fierce and i didnt want to cut the fenders more cuz i like the way they look now so i threw on a 1 3/4 spacer on top of the already 3.5" coils bringing it to about 5" in the front
here it is cali lean and all haha

and earlier tonight i put a 2" shackle in the back to bring it up to par
crappy night time cell pic

sooo that pretty much brings you (and me) up to speed haha
i have some rubicon express long arms sitting in the garage waiting to go on, thanks to norcalchris again. but before i do that i will be getting unibody stiffeners, thinking about going with HD Offroad, and possibly building my own OTK DOM with heim steering.

thanks for looking!
comments, advice and criticism are always welcome!

 

[knucklehead 61]

great upgrade on the tires!
don't forget to roll over the inner pinch seam under the front wheelwell so it doesn't slash your new tires.
also,i have a jcr gas tank skid with built in shackle drops for sale for $200 if you wans some armor.

 

[cencal96xj]

thanks tim!
yeah i will be doing that today along with adjusting my track bar. would you recoment doing that to the rear as well? or is there no need for that

edit: and about the gas tank skid that would be great but youre kinda far away. if i ever make it up that way i will pick it up for sure. i do have a stock gas tank skid that i will put on in the mean time though

 

[knucklehead 61]

the rear seam is out of the way. look under the front fender area & you will see a seam that will cut your tires at full stuff. beat it over with a hammer all the way down to the rocker panel area & you will be fine.

 

[cencal96xj]

the rear seam is out of the way. look under the front fender area & you will see a seam that will cut your tires at full stuff. beat it over with a hammer all the way down to the rocker panel area & you will be fine.

okay cool. yeah you showed me at SF I actually had to do it to the pass side a little bit while we where there cuz it was rubbing haha

 

[the_weirdo]

Nice. Now all you gotta do is get rid of that LA sticker on your back window.

 

[cencal96xj]

Nice. Now all you gotta do is get rid of that LA sticker on your back window.

nnnaaaahhhh I think that will stay

 

[cencal96xj]

couple small updates
put a drop bracket for the rear brake line on

folded the inner pinch seam

i also adjusted my trac bar to get the axle center as well as bent the front brake lines to get more slack. no pics of that you all know what that looks like

also me and my dad made some battery hold downs. one for my sisters jeep (she baught barney, chris' old jeep for those of you that didnt know) and mine.

barney has a regular batter so we cut out notches for the caps to fit in. turned awesome and looks bitchen:

and one for mine. i have an optima so didnt need to make notches for caps. i did however drill holes in it just for looks cuz it looked bland and boring as just a strip of aluminum:

these are made out of 1/2" aluminum

 

[cencal96xj]

took it to a dirt lot to flex it out a bit to check brake lines and check for any rubbing. i have plenty of brake line front and rear, not so much on the e brake though. any suggestions? also may have to trim a bit more

 

[the_weirdo]

For ebrake lines - I know on the later models (97+) you can unbolt the ebrake bracket under the vehicle and move it back 6-12" to give more slack in the cables that go to the tires. Not sure if you can do something similar on the earlier models.

 

[cencal96xj]

For ebrake lines - I know on the later models (97+) you can unbolt the ebrake bracket under the vehicle and move it back 6-12" to give more slack in the cables that go to the tires. Not sure if you can do something similar on the earlier models.

that would be sweet. ill take a look at it after work. can anyone confirm if it will work on earlier models?

 

[cencal96xj]

looking more towards a kit for the steering now
need input
its between the ruff stuff kit
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/YLINK.html
and the currie kit
http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/product.aspx?id=1219

obviously a pretty big differance in price but they seem to both be good choices in my mind.
any objections/suggestions?
also if anyone has either of these on their jeeps i would love to see some pics :worship:

 

[knucklehead 61]

i run the curry on my green heep. it is a direct bolt on, although i did weld a tapered insert in the drive side knuckle so the tre would be over the knuckle.
but...
i like the looks of the ruffstuff setup. the tre's should be in stock at any good auto parts store, but you will need to weld in tapered inserts into both spindles. that is a benefit anyway since you end up with full over the knuckle steering.
you will have to modify your sway bar mounts (cut them off & weld on modified ones) with either setup if going over the knuckle.

 

[JOSEJALAPENO]

I had great luck with my Currie steering when i was running my Hp 30. I now run a inverted T style that WFO built for me when i was building my Hp 44. I now have had great luck with that steering. That steering has been on my rig for over a year now.

 

[cencal96xj]

i run the curry on my green heep. it is a direct bolt on, although i did weld a tapered insert in the drive side knuckle so the tre would be over the knuckle.
but...
i like the looks of the ruffstuff setup. the tre's should be in stock at any good auto parts store, but you will need to weld in tapered inserts into both spindles. that is a benefit anyway since you end up with full over the knuckle steering.
you will have to modify your sway bar mounts (cut them off & weld on modified ones) with either setup if going over the knuckle.

it looms like it says on the site that it comes with the TREs. and i dont even have my sway bar on so cutting it off wont be a big deal. i too like the looks of the ruff stuff kit. right now i am leaning more towards that one

 

[cencal96xj]

small update. finally ordered bumpstops cuz i didnt have any. they came in yesterday. i have mon and tues off so they will go on one of those days

 

[GordoSmasho]

x50 for the currie. Rock solid.

 

[cencal96xj]

so i got these http://www.daystarweb.com/productdetail.php?productID=361 and i'm just noticing that it says for 97-01. :banghead:
can anyone one confirm that these will not fit on mine? (96)
i dont see any reason why they would be different...:dunno: