Project 2000 XJ (Daily Driver)

[dieselenthusiast]

 

[dieselenthusiast]

 

[dieselenthusiast]

I lost somewhere between 1/2" inch to 3/4" inch in the rear and I didn't lose anything in the front. I plan to order the JKS greasable shackles which should provide me with an additional 1" inch of lift. Here's where she sets right now.

 

[BotakBeng]

I got a great deal on the StrongArm 4291 Jeep Cherokee Liftgate Lift Support that fits 1997-01 XJ’s. I bought them on special where you buy 1, get $5 off the second and free shipping. Total cost was $29.40

Nice build yo!
Care to share where you got those liftgate supports?

 

[dieselenthusiast]

Nice build yo!
Care to share where you got those liftgate supports?

Thanks! I got the liftgate supports from amazon.com. That’s also where I bought the dynomax catback system. Amazon not only has good prices, but they also offer free shipping. You’ll be very happy with these supports. They are very strong and work tremendously well.

 

[BotakBeng]

Thx.
Looks like you got a good deal.....is $25 ea now :tears:.

 

[dieselenthusiast]

When my wife went to shut her passenger door, the glass on the side mirror fell and broke. Our XJ didn’t come with heated mirrors, so I thought I would replace it with a heated mirror. Since the Jeep already has the rear window defroster, the heated mirror should plug into the OE harness. According to a forum member, there are a few minor wiring things that needs to be done before it will work. One of the minor things that I need to do is buy a replacement mirrors for the drivers side.

I found this one on ebay. One down and one to go.

 

[dieselenthusiast]

I’ve been looking at roof racks. There are three different types:

Type 1 is the gutter mount.
Type 2 is a generic rack that somehow ties into the factory roof rack system.
Type 3 is a custom rack that is solely designed for the XJ, for both full and short rail lengths.

After looking at several roof racks, I have decided to go with the custom rack made by Kevin’s OffRoad in Phoenix. There are many reasons why I like it, but I wanted to highlight 6 reasons for my decision with #1 as the most important to #6 as the least important.

1. Custom to the XJ and for the 2000/2001 short length rails
2. Mounts to the OE roof mount
3. 4 light tabs in the front and 2 light tabs in the rear
4. Mesh floor
5. Fully welded
6. Hi-Lift mount on one side, shovel mount on the other.

The rack can only be shipped by freight, so I’ll probably take the 6 hour drive down to Phoenix the next time I go. Anyway, here’s a link to the website: http://www.kevinsoffroad.com/cart/index ... cts_id=627

 

[dieselenthusiast]

Electrical Upgrade

I’m going to change out my electrical wiring for 1AWG, part # 2XJ-242-ANL-150(4) - which is the full kit and fuse setup. Eventually, I will upgrade to the Durango/Dakota/WJ/ZJ V8 upgrade (136A) Alternator.

Technical: http://www.kelleyswip.com/electric.html
Pricing: http://www.kelleyswip.com/price.html

1997-2001 Jeep Cherokee w/4.0L

Part # 2XJ-242-01
Description: B+ to Starter Motor
Length: 38"
Termination: 3/8" x 3/8"
Cost: $37.80 1AWG
Cost: $20.10 4AWG

Part # 2XJ-242-02
Description: B+ to PDC
Length: 18"
Termination: 3/8" x FAQ #9
Cost: $20.80 1AWG
Cost: $11.10 4AWG

Part # 2XJ-242-03
Description: B- to Fenderwell
Length: 8"
Termination: 3/8" x 3/8"
Cost: $12.30 1AWG
Cost: $6.60 4AWG

Part # 2XJ-242-04
Description: Engine Block to Firewall
Length: 10"
Termination: 3/8" x 1/2"
Cost: $14.00 1AWG
Cost: $7.50 4AWG

Part # 2XJ-242-05
Description: B- to Engine Block
Length: 28"
Termination: 3/8" x 3/8"
Cost: $29.30 1AWG
Cost: $15.60 4AWG

Part # 2XJ-242-06
Description: Alternator Output to Distribution
Length: 36"
Termination: 1/4" x FAQ #9
Cost: $37.80 1AWG
Cost: $20.10 4AWG

Part # 2XJ-242-A
Description: 2XJ-242 (Parts 01 to 05)
Cost: $114.20 1AWG
Cost: $60.90 4AWG

Part # 2XJ-242-ANL-xxx
Description: 2XJ-242 (Parts 01 to 06) + K-ANL-xxx (Includes Two fuses)
Cost: $207.00 1AWG
Cost: $131.00 4AWG

 

[dieselenthusiast]

Last week I drove the XJ to a friends house to hookup my trailer and get ready to cut firewood. After gathering my saw, fuel, gloves, hardhat, and bar oil; I went to start the jeep only to find out that it wouldn't turnover. There was no click, nothing. Since I didn't hear a click, I figured that my Neutral Safety Switch went bad on me. I didn't have much time to mess with it, so I had my buddy tow me into town down to the local shop. I went ahead and ordered a new N.S.S. online for a good price. A few days later I went by the shop to drop off my N.S.S. to find out that they hit the starter with a hammer and it fired right up. Anyway, they ordered a new starter. I now have a spare N.S.S., lol. Oh well, no biggie!

 

[dieselenthusiast]

I've found myself needing someway to convert DC to AC power. In this electronic day and age, there seems to be more and more reasons to need a power convertor. For this reason, it makes sense that many new vehicles come with OE built-in convertors. Anyway, I bought this Schumacher 410 Watt Power Inverter. It comes with a cigarette lighter adapter and alligator clips.

Maximum Continuous Output 410W
Surge Capacity 820W

 

[dieselenthusiast]

I haven’t had any cooling problems, but my OE radiator has developed a slow leak. After doing lots of research, I decided to go with the FF Dynamics all aluminum radiator and triple electric fan conversion kit.

The Radiator features:
Twin Wide Core Design out cools three core radiators by allowing much more airflow through core
100% Full Aluminum Core and Extra Thick Tig Welded End Caps
100% Billet Aluminum CNC Machined Filler Neck with Billet Overflow Outlet
Stainless Steel 16 lb Radiator Cap with Silicone Seals and Mounting Chain
100% Aluminum Furnace Brazed Core (CAB Brazed, No Epoxy)
Ultra High Efficiency Micro Vented Cooling Fins
Monster Hand TIG Welds
The fan feature:
Fully adjustable fan controller
Sealed weatherproof motors with ball bearings
Custom, reinforced, torch red cages with precision pitched curved S blades for maximum CFM.
Blade assemblies are fully balanced.
The control module will allow you to adjust your fans to turn on at any temperature between 150 and 220 degrees with the turn of a dial. You decide the temp you want the fans to turn on at. This controller will also allow the fans to be turned on automatically when the air conditioning is turned on. This is fully fused and short circuit protected.
Temperature hook up has a slide through radiator probe to make the install fast and clean. All wires are color coded so the directions are as simple as possible.

The Benefits:
Low AMP draw cooling fans
Removing the OE belt driven fan will free up to 7-12 horse power.
No more worries from the auxiliary fan, fan clutches
Gets rid of the noisy OE electric fan
Les stress on engine parts and increase engine life
10% - 15% better gas mileage
Extend your water pump life
AC will blow colder

“The fans have sealed ball bearing 100w motors, ten leg curved blade design that is fully balanced with weights to insure perfect operation, heavy gauge wires to carry the current, super strong red molded nylaglass cages (not your cheap plastic like others out there), high efficiency sealed ball bearing motors and ultra light blades make this the lowest amp draw electric fan kit out there for Cherokees. This entire system pulls under 15 amps. That's less amps then a set of offroad lights. Fans are also the lightest fans available for the Cherokee, each fan weighs in at under 2lbs a piece, making the entire system weigh in at 6 lbs. Factory Cherokee fan setup weighs in at a mighty 24lbs. Once the Cherokees stock clutch fan and clutch assembly, AC fan, shroud and brackets are remove you will have 18lbs of weight savings off the front end. CFM rating on each fan is 1100cfm for a total of 3300cfm for the system. The curved blade and nylaglass cage design makes these fans much quieter (you won't hear them when they are running, almost silent) then our other straight blade design."

You will receive everything needed to do this conversion:
Three heavy duty cooling fan installation kits to mount the fans to the radiator and keep them there even in heavy off roading conditions
One waterproof fully adjustable electronic thermostatic cooling fan control module with air conditioning circuit (this feature can also be hooked to a toggle switch to turn fans on full force with the flip of a switch which most rock crawlers and off roaders will love) that will control all THREE fans and allow you to set turn on temp where you want it giving you total control of your system

 

[dieselenthusiast]

Not too long after I had bought the XJ, the factory upper hose sprung a pinhole leak. I went to the Jeep dealership and bought a new replacement upper hose. It was a Gates hose sold by Mopar. I noticed that the Gates replacement hose was routed differently from the OE factory hose. Even though the inlet/outlet fit perfectly, the replacement hose rested against the battery in which overtime has caused rubbing. Plus, the replacement hose didn’t come with the protective sleeve like what came on the factory hose. I did a little research and discovered that Car Quest sold a replacement hose that was routed much like the OE hose and came with a protective sleeve. What’s funny is that the Car Quest hose is also made by Gates. Why Gates would make two different hoses for the same application is beyond me.

Here's the hose that rubs against the battery:

Upper Hose:
Car Quest Part # 23283 (Made by Gates)

Lower Hose:
Gates Part # 21615

 

[dieselenthusiast]

Since our XJ didn’t come with the tow package, I’ve had to be somewhat mindful while planning upgrades to include the extra cooling, wiring, and hitch requirements. I’ve been looking at different types of wiring harnesses and adaptors. I decided to go with a plug-n-play 4-pole harness from etrailer.com

etrailer.com
Part# 118354
$27.95

Now that the necessary wiring is in place, I ordered the adapter that converts the 4 pole to 7 pole round plug. This particular plug also has the 4 pole flat combo. The kit comes with additional wire leads for a brake controller. A mounting bracket is also included.

etrailer.com
Part # 37185
$22.95

 

[dieselenthusiast]

I’ve been looking for a multiple towing adaptor. Cabela’s had this really neat 7 RV blade to 6 pin round, 5 flat and 4 flat. It also includes two 12V power receptacles which would really come in handy. This adaptor is very well made, heavy duty, and well constructed. etrailer.com also carries this product under a different name, but Cabela's had the best price. It was the winner of 5 International SEMA best new products award plus runner-up in best engineered.

Cabela’s
7-WAY COMBO Wiring Adaptor
Part # IK-62-3021
$19.99

 

[dieselenthusiast]

Due to the relocation of the license plate, I needed a way to add a license plate light. As with any swing out tire carrier, there needs to be a method to connect and disconnect the light wires. For this reason, I like the Poison Spyder kit because it includes an electrical weatherpak connector and 6’ feet of wire. The kit uses LED bulbs for the license plate light and has three more LED's as a third brake light. It mounts to the two upper or lower bolt holes in the license plate. I also like the fact that LED's provide a bright light with a low power draw.

LED License Plate & 3rd Brake Light with 6' Extension Harness
Part # 41-04-LP6
Cost: 49.00
poisonspyder.com

In this photo, you can see the 3 LED license plate lights:

In this photo, you can see the 3 brake lights:

And here's the electrical weatherpak connector:

 

[dieselenthusiast]

This nice LED flashlight plus battery came free with the kit

 

[dieselenthusiast]

The 4-pole wiring harness install was very straight forward. The drivers side rear panel needed to be removed to get to the wiring port.

The connector on the far left (towards the rear of the jeep) is the one that you plug into.

The harness has a converter box that needs to be mounted.

It mounts by using double sided tape.

Here's the converter mounted

The white wire is the ground. You can see that I used an existing ground.

The only dilemma was in deciding how to route the 4-pole wiring. I have a few ideas brewing in my head, but for now I will keep the wiring inside the Jeep and run it out the liftgate when I need it. There’s enough play between the door and weather stripping to safely route the wires. I plugged the 4-pole into our utility trailer and everything checked out good.

 

[dieselenthusiast]

The 4 speed automatic AW4 transmission in these jeeps are very strong and durable. Other than a 4X4 truck, I can’t think of a better utilitarian vehicle than the XJ for my needs.

I want to do what I can to keep the transmission in the best working condition. We know that transmission fluid is the life-blood to any transmission. Besides switching over to Amsoil ATF, I decided to go one step further by adding an aftermarket transmission filter. After much research, I decided to go with the Magnefine filter.

Magnefine Transmission Filter
http://www.magnefinefilters.com
Fitting: 3/8”
Cost: $16.00

Features:
-Dual filtration - Magnet and filter media filters down to 3 micron and removes 99% of all wear metal contaminants.
-Full flow filter (Does not restrict flow and contains a built-in bypass system in case filter becomes clogged)
-Prolongs life of fluid
-Prolongs life of transmission
-Reduces the need to drop the pan to change OE filter.

Installation:
-On a used trany, the manufacture recommends installing the filter on the return cooler line.

 

[dieselenthusiast]

I have a Dynomax catback exhaust waiting to be installed. I hate doing things twice, so I’ve been waiting to replace the stock catalytic converter and have everything installed at once. Before choosing a converter, I had to consider that my XJ has the California emissions. A proper converter will ensure that the Jeep will run correctly and wont throw a code.

Much to my surprise, I don’t have an 02 sensor on or near my converter. It appears that all 2000 and 2001 Cali emission models stopped requiring the 02 sensor on the converter. I thought this was really strange since a 1999 non-California emissions has the 02 sensor on the converter. Instead, my 2000 XJ has two sensors on the first two cats near the exhaust manifold.

After some research, I decided to go with Thunderbolt’s high flow converter. It comes with a ceramic brick with 400 holes per square inch. We don’t have emissions or vehicle inspections in New Mexico, but this converter is OBDII EPA legal and designed for engines up to the 5.9L / 6000 lbs.

Length - 11"
Body - 4" Round
Inlet - 2.50"
Outlet - 2.50"
Brick Type - Ceramic

http://performance-curve.com/
Thunderbolt High Flow Catalytic Converter
Part # 410250
Retail: $73.90
Sale Price: $38.95