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Project Cheap Xj

Finally done!! Woopwoop! I cant wait to get home and get this thing mounted :D :D :D

PS579vE.jpg


5MbxJ03.jpg
 
Well I got my bumper installed over the last couple of days. One of my steering box bolts broke, and my steering box spacer was not about 10 pieces. Brent from iron rock was nice enough to meet me there so I could get a new one, then I was able to get the steering box and frame tie in installed.

As of now it's all finished up, and I couldn't be happier with how it looks! Now I just need to figure out what to do with my license plate.





 
So i had everything tied up, and i drove it into work this morning...... Getting off the highway, my brake pedal went down lower than normal, and my (Brake) light on my dash came on.

I got to work and looked under my jeep, and saw this on the drivers rear..




Now i get to try to find a way to either replace the rusted line with a pre-flared line in the parking lot, or just bend it up and fill it with fluid and hope i make it home.. Ugh
 
Well it cost me $21 and 45 minutes, but its good enough for a repair in a parking lot in North Minneapolis on my lunch break lol.

The pedal is soft because i couldnt bleed it, but it doesnt leak...... As far as i know lol. Ill have the wife help me bleed it when i get home. Its way too low for my liking.

 
I took the Xj deer hunting over the weekend. Put about 150 miles on it. And i drove it out to the pasture to see if there were any good spots for a stand next year. I was pretty impressed with the duratracs, and only had to use my 4WD for like 20 feet.

I also found out that im getting about 12MPG......... Lol

 
I replaced my cap and rotor and plug wires yesterday...... I would say they were LONG overdue.. Im not even sure how it was running lol. It starts and runs and idles smooth as it ever has now :D

And maybe that will help my 12MPG that ive been getting lol



 
Well i think from looking at it, my transmission is overfull. I was on my way into work this morning, and once again, it started spewing transmission fluid onto the exhaust and letting off a smoke screen down the highway.... Needless to say, ill be draining the fluid and adding new fluid and getting it to the correct level when i get home, and maybe thats why im getting codes for the TC lockup, and my TC definitely isnt locking up. That and my fluid doesnt smell the greatest.
 
Well i drained out just over a quart of transmission fluid. Im assuming that and what i added the other day, and what burned off, i was about 1.5 quarts over filled. I drove it for about 20 minutes, and checked the fluid level again, and its just over the center between the "ok" and "max" line, so at least now i know i have the right amount of fluid in it.

These are the old codes, and now i only have the P0700. My fluid was nasty brown though, so i will have to drain and fill that this weekend for sure.

I got it up to 60/65 on the highway on lunch, and i still have no TC lockup.

 
Well I did some work on the Xj tonight.....

I noticed my exhaust was getting louder, so I crawled under it, nd my exhaust clamp had wiggled loose! I tightened her up, and now she's quiet as a mouse!

I also chased down a clunk that I've been looking for for 9 months or so... I got almost one full turn out of my passenger side front leaf spring bolt, now the clunk is gone!

This thing is almost scary how quiet everything is now!

I also checked my trans fluid again.... Still overfull. So I drained out almost another quart, and NOW she's in the "OK" range.

The fluid is dirty as shit, but the matter at hand is that it was over 2 quarts over full!

The pop can is for reference..

 
I took the xj to the tree farm with the family again yesterday. It was really muddy with all the rain weve got, and all the melting snow, but the Jeep handled it well. There was a guy that got his big Buick SUV stuck in the mud, so i pulled right up to him and grabbed my tow strap. Then my brother in law walked over and said, "We can just push him out." So 3 guys and 10 minutes of pushing later, he was out, and i still didnt get to use my Jeep to extract them :(

What a difference a year makes.... They grow up so fast :D





 
I finally got around to replacing my turn signal switch, so no more both rears flashing with my left turn signal. It also stays on until I'm all the way through my turn now. I love it!

 
Not too much new lately. Im going to get started on my frame stiffeners after vacation next week.

I did take it for a spin last night after i plowed the driveway. I kind of miss driving that thing..... I should probably take it out more lol

 
Well Saturday Brent and I spent some time with the grinder and welder. We were able to cut out the rust, and then we welded in a piece of 10 gauge in where the rust was. After that we got the rails stripped down, and got the unibody stiffeners welded in. A quick coat of undercoating and it was all finished up!

The only issue i has was one of the weld nuts for the crossmember stripped out, so i tapped it to a 7/16s, and used a 7/16s bolt, and it was good as new :thumbsup:


Heres the before and after:
















 
I did pick up a hitch rack for the Xj so i can haul my bike around. Ill have to get the adapter for the receiver, but i think it will work out well.




I also got some rock lights from Brent. They are just the small 9w eagle eye dual LEDs, but i think with the 12 that i got, it should light it up nicely. I hooked a few up last night, and they are surprisingly bright! Im going to see if i can 3D print some brackets for them so that i dont have to drill a hole for each one.

 
I installed my auxiliary trans cooler last night. Hopefully this will alleviate the issue of the trans overheating and blowing fluid out of the vent. It hasnt happened since i drained out the 3 quarts of fluid that it was overfilled, but im still somewhat leary. Im going to take it for a run this weekend and see how it goes.



 
I finally washed the Xj this weekend, she was long overdue. But with the unseasonably warm weather weve been having, like highs in the 40s, it didnt make it out of the parking lot before it was dirty again because of all the snow melting everywhere........ I really need some flares.





 
Whew. So thats where she sits as of now (02/15/17). Soon ill be stripping the rock sliders and redoing them in something more durable. Im also looking into some new flares, a winch, and possibly a little more lift. We will see what the spring has in store!
 
Well I made the 1.5 hour drive to dresser, WI today for the annual winter run with a few friends. They had a good turnout of 100 or so rigs. It was about 40 today, so the ground was mostly frozen, and didnt get sloppy until the afternoon when it warmed up. I pulled my flares off at like 10pm last night, and man Im glad I did, or they would have been toast lol. I did some of the hardest trails that I've ever done, and the Xj did great! I didn't get stuck or hung up once, and it made the trip there and back with no transmission overheating, or any issues at all! It was a great time, and I can't wait until the next event!

















 
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