98' XJ Sport.. Another XJ Thread

[V1GiLaNtE]

Guess I'll start this one up.

Many of you know the black XJ got totaled over the summer thanks to a drunk driver. Insurance cut me a check, bought it back and proceeded to buy the same damn thing (very original right?)

Old jeep hur ----> <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.mmsports.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9897&start=100">viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9897&start=100</a><!-- l -->




First one never failed me and always got me home. Took it on plenty of wheeling trips and made general good use of what it was designed for.

So this guy.

1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport
144k on the clock. Picked it for $3000.



My intentions with this were to take a lot of the parts from the black one and throw them on the white one. I went back and forth on how much lift it would have and had plenty of struggles with justifying building another XJ with 3.5" of lift. Just didn't need it now that Vienna is 2.5 hours away from almost any decent trail. This this was going to have to see a lot of DD duty with the capability to haul camping gear, fishing gear, shooting gear, people, groceries, car parts blah blah blah.

So I settled on building it up for around 2.5" of lift which would give it very modest off road performance but keep it manageable on the street.

Most of the summer not much happened

Small maintenance items, damn those brakes were bad, changed the diff fluids and pulled off my old front tow hook kit and Hella 500 fog lights.





Sat like this for quite some time.


Took it on a few adventures and camping.



Ended up selling my black XJ to a NOVA Jeepers members and kept the wheels and 31's. 31's DO NOT fit well already under a stock XJ without some serious rubbing. Well when your rear leafs are practically flat you get even more.



Took the money and ordered/bought the following

OME HD leaf packs
Rubicon Shocks
JCR Offroad Transfer case skid.





Already had 2" lift springs from the first iteration of my black XJ, extended rear bump stops and some bar pin elminiators from my old busted Rubicon shocks to give me an extra ~1" of shock travel.

Some of you were at the lift day and thanks again for all of your help.

Front took about an hour and the rear consumed most of the day. The biggest hold up being the shear torque needed to loosen the bolts which held the old packs in place.. And my dumbass for forgetting well over a month ago to press out a metal sleeve in the bottom of the rear shocks.

Some pics of install and old parts comparison.




So now it sits like this.




I've got a few driveline vibes which aren't bad.

Mainly my next course of action is as follows:

Install Tcase Skid
Fix driveline vibes
Build CB antenna mount
Mount CB antenna and wire up CB
Purchase/install some front quick disconnects

Get it out on the trails! I'm really itching to get back up to Harrisonburg and hit all the local trails I miss.
Updates will come as things progress.

[ibjeepin95]

Nice dude! I almost did the JCR skid, but I can't keep a stock cross member to save my life playing in the rocks. If you ever want to do some wheeling, let me know. We go all over the place, but we still do the GWNF thing!

[V1GiLaNtE]

Yea man I follow your LCOG build on Jeep Forum!

So I should probably add some updates to where the XJ is now.

TC drop was installed and helped rid almost all of the vibes except around 35mph and 55. Got the JCR skid installed and cannot be more happy with the fit and finish.

XJ's are notorious for burning up Fog light switches so got to order a new one of those and my cruise control stopped working. Couple of things to check and eliminate the problem.

So I would say ~Stage 1 has been accomplished with a few things to set it right.

I threw the 2" coils on because I had em. Jeep sits too raked and I know it will cause some clearance issues with flex.

So Stage 1.5:
Buy 3" Rough Country coils to bring it up to level and give me more clearance.
Buy/Install JCR Quick Discos.
Build/Install CB mount/Antenna

Keep up with Maintenance(burned switches, fix CC, etc.)

I found this guys 93 XJ running 3" and 32's.. With the proper backspacing and bumpstopping (and obvious fender trimming) he's got no rubbing. So 3" and 31's has never been a problem for me but the look and feel of this jeep is the long term blend of function and form I'm looking for.

[Kaan]

that jeep is running the wheels sylvia has laying in the garage lol. hmmmm maybe we should keep them.

we'll need a spring compressor for your 3 inch springs i'm not sure my fast ass will be enough

[V1GiLaNtE]

He's running 1.25" spacers on it.. They're the same wheels I have.. Ecco's.

I'd be willing to try without..

[JPolen01]

If you run the spacer do you need to get extended lug studs? Just a thought. Never looked at a jeeps studs but to run wider wheels on most cars you need to have extended studs.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[V1GiLaNtE]

Most of the ones I see the spacer bolts to the the existing studs and then has its own you mount the lug nuts too.

[ibjeepin95]

I've talked to this dude before, he is actually running 33x10.50's on 3" of lift. You can do it man. As you know, I run 35x12.50's on about 3" of lift. Bumpstops, back spacing, and running the correct length shocks makes all the difference. As for those Rusty's springs, I'd skip on those. Rusty's is terrible on customer service and their shipping is outrageous. Rough Country 3" coils are about the same quality and will yield you basically the same results. Their shipping is cheap, tell them you are a JF member and they will knock 10% off. Plus, their customer service is top notch.

[V1GiLaNtE]

I just didn't realize they sold springs individually direct. RC customer service is pretty sweet..They are indeed awesome! Shipping and cost was a huge bonus.

While it would be easiest to grab a set soft8's or Dwindows I still just have a soft spot for the OEM eccos. I'd probably run the spacers. Out back I'm already running extended bumpstops. The front I will have to reevaluate after putting the new springs in. Still got decent tread on my AT's but I imagine around summer time I'll need to upgrade.

[ibjeepin95]

I just didn't realize they sold springs individually direct. RC customer service is pretty sweet..They are indeed awesome! Shipping and cost was a huge bonus.

While it would be easiest to grab a set soft8's or Dwindows I still just have a soft spot for the OEM eccos. I'd probably run the spacers. Out back I'm already running extended bumpstops. The front I will have to reevaluate after putting the new springs in. Still got decent tread on my AT's but I imagine around summer time I'll need to upgrade.

They do, just call them up. As for the spacers, I ran some from RC on my old TJ for a while and never had a problem with them. If I wasn't so damn hard on wheels, I'd run stock ones. I love the look of them, and the Eccos are nice!

[V1GiLaNtE]

How are you running the bumpstopping up front? Extended stops with hockey pucks? what?

[ibjeepin95]

How are you running the bumpstopping up front? Extended stops with hockey pucks? what?

Yup, up front I'm running Daystar extended bumpstops up top and a single hockey puck on each spring pad.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Rough Country 3" coils ordered up.. Should be able to have them in hand and installed before Turducken

[ibjeepin95]

Cool, they give you a good deal?

[V1GiLaNtE]

Shipped to my door was about the same cost without discount at all.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Derivery...

[Kaan]

when do you need my help?

[ibjeepin95]

Sweet!

[V1GiLaNtE]

when do you need my help?

Lulz.. I was thinking I may steal your impact and be motivated to do it Thursday night.. I need to thank Sylvia and return her sander as well.. :thumbup:

[ibjeepin95]

Updates?