First XJ... I mean 4th or so.

[DannyH]

I bought this XJ about a year from today, and I am just now getting progress on my very first build!

It was very capable as a stock jeep and fun to wheel for the first year.

I decided i wanted more so the first thing was the lift and tires. So I Jumped right on it with a Rough Country 4.5inch lift kit off of a donor jeep and some 33inch tires!

Put it all on in a single day, because a ride at devil's playground was next day. Also it's a daily driver.
So we tested out the new suspension the next day and even though we have yet to install the SYE we didn't get vibes going 55 down the highway to DPG. Had some fun at DPG no breakdowns or problems!
Here is how it sits right now!

 

[DannyH]

Got a deal on a Ford 8.8 from an explorer that is already set up for the XJ and also has a spartan locker all I need to do is re-gear along with my front dana 30. I will be re-gearing to 4.56 to compensate for moving up to 35s or 36s.
This is how she will sit till I can get the gears and install kits for that and the 30.

 

[gmentavlos]

I like it

 

[DannyH]

Thanks George gonna go back to the black wheels when I get a spare!

 

[DannyH]

So I got my slip yoke eliminator in and was SURPRISED by how much of a difference the sye actually made. Also wasn't as hard as expected only had to open it back up once to put the magnet and spring in!
All in all it was a pretty simple mod with more than great results!

 

[DannyH]

So not many pictures from the work that has been put in, but over the past few months plenty has been done.
I added a DIY dirtbound offroad extreme front winch bumper. Which can be found here for a good price (http://www.dirtboundoffroad.com/extreme-winch-diy-bumper-jeep-cherokee-xj.html). It was a simple and strait forward assembly. I started with 0 welding skills and had my father who has some welding skills to back me up and help me when I needed it. In the end I could lay a decent bead way better than when i started. I added some rustoleum bedliner and some spray pain and it came out nice. I will later add on the d-ring mounts and a stinger or some type of brush guard.

And here is how it looked on the xj

Sorry I have no pictures to show for the re-gear and locker install... But they were a great addition to the jeep.
Re-gear was done front and rear to 4.56 (by jayjay from maybrees auto in albemarle)
Spartan Lunch-box Lockers were installed in the front and rear
Since the xj was a DD and lockers on the street aren't very fun I bought a warn locking hub kit from jayjay along with chromoly axle shafts.
The 33 inch BFG Ats were just not cutting it so I decided on KM2s after some research and asking around the club. Also I went with 35s since I was doing the 8.8 swap.

The day I got the 35s was the day I got the motivation to swap in my freshly re-geared ford 8.8. My 8.8 already had the spring pearches setup for a xj along with the shock mounts so it was ready to go! all in all was an easy swap, but I ORDERED the wrong 1310 adaptor flange, because there are 2 different types. one with a 2 inch width, and one with a 3 inch width, so we wanted to go wheeling ASAP so we decided to drill and tap new holes in the flange which was a pain! 4 drill bits later. we finally got our drive shaft bolted up and so far haven't had any problems with that. KNOCK ON WOOD.

Here was the finished product. after the 8.8 swap and the 35s. Yes we did do a lot of hammering considering it was only a 4.5 inch lift...

The 35s were a bit tight but the larger lift and trimming is to come!
We took this pic during the sketchy shakedown run to Uwharries which luckly is only 30 mins from our house! But we had no problems and went right through dickey bell without any worry. And we didn't forget poser rock.

So the next day we took a 3.5 hour ride to the Gultches in SC with the Club. Pretty awesome place!

We had some cutting issues withe the fenders and tires due to incorrect bumpstops and stuffed tires, but no real harm to the tires life or function. But this problem will be soon fixed with the new BDS coils and daystar extended bumpstops and hockey pucks. Well hopefully atleast if anyone has a better suggestion feel free to voice!!
But for shortarms and stuffed 35s the articulation is nothing to complain about!

Many more mods to come.

 

[DannyH]

Got the coils from BDS in today so decided to udate the tread Will have pics of the coils posted tomorrow along with some better pics of the 8.8 perches and shock mounts. Also got a smoking deal on the new smittybuilt 9500lbs winch, which I installed but have yet to use. Also since i went with a higher lift in the front I fabbed up some temporary sway bar links out of 2 sets of stock swaybar links... kindof some homebrew redneck engineering but will have to do for now! More pics TOMORROW!

 

[DannyH]

My "to do" list keeps getting longer. So far I have:
-install frame stiffeners
-long arm suspension
-More fender trimming
-replace destroyed rockerpanel with 2x6 square tubing for rocksliders
-rear bumper
-Exo with interior tie ins
The list continues but it will probably be retired from the daily driver soon.

 

[DannyH]

Slowly gaining little progress
First the new coils and shocks

The shocks have the built in bumpstop which are at the perfect setup to stop my rubbing issue. They are a little long for my application but I will add a spacer in to fix the problem when I put my long arms on.

Next problem to save my gas tank from the rocks with a skid-plate. The prices on custom skids are pretty high so I decided to go the cheaper route and pull one off of a zj. It was a completely bolt up application and the only problem I have now Is finding new rear tow points. Due to pulling off my trailer hitch and not putting it back.

 

[BigClay]

My "to do" list keeps getting longer. So far I have:
-install frame stiffeners
-long arm suspension
-replace destroyed rockerpanel with 2x3 square tubing for rocksliders
-rear bumper
-Full EXO front to rear bumper
-More fender trimming
-tubefenders
-4-link rear with coilovers
The list continues but it will probably be retired from the daily driver soon.

That is a lengthy list and an expensive one at that. Liking the progress so far. I had an exo on my last two ZJs, with the second being tied into the interior, and that seemed like a much better design; however, the first exo had no interior tie ins and I survived a nasty barrell roll, but the jeep did not.

 

[DannyH]

Thank you, and yes I plan on having it tied into the interior. Sorry to hear about the jeeps. Had a very close call the other weekend at wind rock

 

[NickMaul]

May want to reconsider the rocker panel replacement tube size. I did 2x4 and it doesn't even stick out to protect the door. I did one on a friends zj with 2x6 and they stick out a whole lot better. Just a suggestion

 

[DannyH]

Yeah I have been doing more research on that and have decided to go with the 2x6, so I would have a good lip on it.

 

[DannyH]

So I finished up my Skid plate today and also did a little cutting and folding on the rear quarter panels.
All the was need for the skid play was two hole drilled that allow the gas line protector bolts to slide on through. Simple enough and the skid is done.

Next I started the cutting and the folding. SD card was full so just had to go at it without pictures. Turned out okay. I am trying to put together a way that I could put some steel plates there to help with any impact to come. Also didn't exactly seal it up, and isn't the prettiest job cosmetically, but I will get on it and make it look all nice and pretty. Soon to have a bumper hopefully can cover it with that.
Drivers side:

Passenger had on the rear corner so looks a less attractive but eventually will be covered up.
Passenger:

Noticed some body separation from the fenders being cut and the seam broke, so trying to find a way to cover that up. May result in more fender trimming!

 

[DannyH]

Next up is the rocker panel replacement and the durango steering box upgrade. Have measurements on the steel for the replacement going with 2x6 for the rocker panels and 2x2 for the tie in to the unibody.

 

[DannyH]

Also had the door mod done for a while now just haven't posted any pics without the doors
.

 

[GOAT]

Looks good nice work

 

[DannyH]

Looks good nice work

Thanks man!

 

[DannyH]

parts are coming for the durango steering box upgrade.

 

[BigClay]

I just put a durango box on my TJ, steering feels better than stock, but the stock box was worn out haha.

 

[DannyH]

I am in the same boat! mine is leaking fluid horribly!

 

[DannyH]

Scored a rear tire carrier bumper last night! Got a really nice deal.

Only problem is I will have to be adding on to it and cutting since I have the already folded quarter panels.
Slowly getting parts in for the steering box upgrade so far I have the brace that I will be adding to the steering box and the durango steering box its self. All we're waiting on is the spacer and we can start.

 

[DannyH]

So I finally got the parts in for the complete install of my dodge durango steering box! Just in time because we are taking a trip to the flats and mine origional xj steering box was leaking Power steering fluid horribly. Was a very simple install, and everything went smoothly except for braking the power steering fluid reservoir, which resulted in replacing the entire pump. After the accident it went smoothly from then on. The bolt hole lined up correctly, but you want to start with the top bolt just mad things easier. Also I added a steering box brace that braces from the other side of the frame. I bought Rugged Ridge brand and after a few tries I got it to line up, but had to do way more drilling than expected! some holes didn't line up correctly.

Here are the parts before the install (excluding the iron rock offroad spacer that replaces the flimsy stock on which fell out and broke almost instantly)

The steering box was ordered from automotix for around $130. Which saved me from doing tons of work at the pull a part for a bit more on the price!
You do have to remove the stock pitman arm which can be a pain and can call for more than one pitman arm puller. In the end we got both the original and the durango arm off after only bending 1 puller.

Next is the steering box installed and brace and bracket installed. The bracket is behind the steering box so it isn't visible obviously.

I replaced both hoses so I wouldn't have to worry about them wearing out soon.
Also you can see there is only 2 bolts to the brace on the passenger side of the frame one on the lower frame and one on the front. there is one more but i didn't get time to drill the hole.

The brace just clamps right on to the steering box above the pitman arm, and as you can see my previous box got fluid everywhere!

It was a very simple swap and was worth it!

 

[DannyH]

lot has happened in the 2 years since I last updated this thread. By that i mean breaking the frame of the blue cherokee, trading a truck for a cherobuggy, then wanting to go back to my own build so saving the parts rather than selling them, buying a jeep that was sitting on the ground and not running, getting it running, taking this entire jeep build and putting on the next cherokee, putting cage in new cherokee, and now finally I am painting the new cherokee.
Oh yeah and that's the extremely summarized version of what I did to this xj.
so here are some pictures!

this is the DancC extreme cage that I installed. i was doing this for my senior project as I am a graduating high school senior this year and did my research on welding.
It was a decent cage, but I really wasn't impressed with the triangulation of the cage nor was I impressed with the fitment and notching. Most of the notches had the be ground or re cut in some way to get the tight fit that I wanted. Next time I will be bending my own tubes for a cage. For now I am going to add my own triangulation and beef to the cage so that it wont fold in a roll over.

Next I wanted something serious to keep from breaking my frame near the steering box again, so I went with this

please ignore my destroyed table.
this is a DIY kit form boostwerksengineering it is a crossmember that ties into both sides oft he frame and then has a special nut for the steering box output shaft that is centered in a bearing that is mounted on to the corssmember. This can be found at The Ultimate XJ Steering Brace
I think its a really great design but I have yet to put it to the test. It will be soon.
I am still polishing my welding abilities since I only started last year. I think it is coming along well.

So in the next few weeks I will be installing frame stiffeners. Then beginning my 3 link build. I am shoooting to have the 3link done by the Uwharrie work day so the parts are coming in next week for the mock up, and I'm going to get started on the cross member this weekend. hopefully. so the updates will be coming quick and I'm going to try and document the build really thoroughly.

I will get a picture of the steering box brace installled tomorrow!

 

[DannyH]

Here is the steering box brace painted and installed! Yes it is missing a bolt on that side because the nut that was there must have broken off.

I'm also using it with the durango box and it fit just fine. I really like the design so far.

I got the jeep out and drove it a little today seems to be doing really well since being woke from a 5 year+ sleep. it is not tagged yet so I have been able to really street it much.

Not really sure if I have mentioned the specs previously but I'm going to update them now.

1990 Jeep cherokee
Renix 4.0 aw4 np231 (with sye) same front and rear driveshafts
35" bfg km2
dana 30 front, 4.56 gears, spartan locker, chromo shafts, warn locking hub kit, short arm 6.5inch lift
stock draglink with ZJ tie rod ( full steel not tube), HUGE drop pitman arm, boostwerks engineering DIY steering box, dodge durango steering box swap
dirtbound front winch bumper
9500# smitty built xrc winch
ford 8.8 rear with a spartan locker and 4.56 gears
DancC extreme cage

That probably is not everything but that is it for now. here are the plans for the build:
frame stiffeners, frame stiffeners, frame stiffeners
install the rocksliders i bought off of a board member and repaired from collision
build a 3link in the front
make a shackle relocation assembly for the rear
truss dana 30 and 8.8

wheel it and repair what needs repairing, and move on to other projects. like my daily driver cj project that I started a build on.
so the 3 link needs to be done by the 19th. updates are going to be coming quick. oh yeah and paint! dark blue is in.