Thing Two (an Expedition XJ build)

Metal Man

Member
Joined
May 1, 2015
Location
Garner
I picked up this 99 2 door last summer and didn't do anything with it (didn't even drive it) till this spring. Couldn't decide if I was going to keep it or not. Finally decided to keep it and build it as the family expedition ride. First things first, address all the common XJ stuff. This truck came from Ohio and started life as a fire truck, then went to a Marine at Cherry Point so it has some rust but nothing a new set of floor pans and cutting the rockers out for slider won't take care of. It had a 3 inch lift and I don't plan to go higher but I may go 33s down the road.
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When I got it I also got a 4 door parts Jeep that has now been stripped and junked.
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First thing was 4 new ball joints, 2 new wheel bearings, and a new passenger side axle shaft.
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Then to the common hot running of the XJ, step one was to louver the hood with a set of louvers I made out of an old AC unit. Step two will be an electric fan but I haven't gotten to that yet.
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Then add some new rubber, 31x10.50R15 Desert Hawk M/Ts, I have on ongoing review on these to see how they do. They cost $556 delivered from easy-tires.com.
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Then to restore the original base model rally rims.
Got a lot more coming soon on this thing, she will be getting rock rails, exo, top rack, and int racks, frame stiffeners, steering box plates, armor, and getting rid of that crap red. I'll be building most of the metal parts myself (I'll buy the chassis stiffeners and steering box plates, that's about it.
 
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Well, Time for stage 2 of "Common XJ repairs". So now I have a 160 degree thermostat, a radiator, lower radiator hose, water pump, cooling fan shroud,and valve cover gasket on order. Should be here in 5-6 days. All for under $200 with shipping from RockAuto, can't complain about the price but the wait kinda sux.
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I would NOT do the 160 thermostat. The 4.0 is set up to run at 200 - 210. The factory plastic caps and aftermarket radiators crap out often. I just put an all aluminum one in my 98. I have not had it on the road yet because of other things we are working on.
 
The Thermostat only allows water to start flowing at 160 degrees, the fan will still not kick on till 220. I've done this to all 4 of the XJs I've had and the result is a little better throttle response (fuel injection adjusts for warm up and running temp, I am purposely fooling the computer) and a LOT less issues with heat soak on and off the trail. The radiator I have on order is an upgrade but not full aluminum, just don't have the funds for it or the electric fan right now.
 
Metal Man said:
The Thermostat only allows water to start flowing at 160 degrees, the fan will still not kick on till 220. I've done this to all 4 of the XJs I've had and the result is a little better throttle response (fuel injection adjusts for warm up and running temp, I am purposely fooling the computer) and a LOT less issues with heat soak on and off the trail. The radiator I have on order is an upgrade but not full aluminum, just don't have the funds for it or the electric fan right now.
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Right forgot you are familiar with the xj. I've always run factory style thermostats on all my xj's and never had heat soak. Of course most of my xj's were pre 97's.
 
OBD2 adjusts fuel down some as the engine reaches operating temp so I just fool them, haven't seen any adverse side effects (as long as the little bit of extra power doesn't make you drive more aggressively LOL). The other thing is that if you do have a cooling system failure you have a larger window to notice it before you reach 240-250 range and start doing damage to the motor.
 
needs a turbo, stock axles and double cases

man that never gets old:huggy:
 
^ inside NC4x4 board joke.

as in, theres a dude on here that runs that and thinks its awesome
 
O, gotcha. Don't think I'd ever add the heat created by a turbo system to a vehicle KNOWN for making more heat than it can handle LOL. Mater of fact I don't see a need for any HP upgrades to the 4.0L HO at all. By the time you get any real power out of it you could have an LS under the hood anyway, just MHO though.:huggy:
 
Metal Man said:
O, gotcha. Don't think I'd ever add the heat created by a turbo system to a vehicle KNOWN for making more heat than it can handle LOL. Mater of fact I don't see a need for any HP upgrades to the 4.0L HO at all. By the time you get any real power out of it you could have an LS under the hood anyway, just MHO though.:huggy:
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Last time I checked an LS was way more expensive then a stroker..... like 12K more!
 
Check out what you can pick up a 4.8l LS for, around $200 to $800 bucks at a U pull it. Top that with the fact that the 4.8L and 5.3L only differ about 10hp with the same mods to them and you could go LS, SM465, NP203/205 for less than a stroked 4.0L.
 
Metal Man said:
Or I should say I could, I do all my own stuff so if you had to pay someone to do it then yea an LS would cost more LOL
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Bingo! I'm not messing with wiring harnesses and all that crap. My days of sitting for hours looking on how to make things work are about done. My kids are about to be 17 and they are spending less and less time with me. I know it's natural course. I'm fast approaching 50 and I'd like to wheel more then work on my shit these days!
 
For me personally, I'll just stick to a stock 4.0L for the first 500,000 miles or so. By then I will have another one built up to drop in LOL
 
Got in late yesterday and disassembled the cooling system.
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Took 10 min for the water to run clear out of the block and another 5 for the heater core!
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^^^That was 5 min into it!
 
Cooling system tested and a quick stretch of her legs at my buddies house.
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Now the new floor pan is on order and the exhaust is getting done Friday...what I didn't mention someone cut the exhaust off just behind the cat and left it. I'm over 18 so that crap has got to go. Also have a Rusty's front skid I scored for free and new rear shocks that came sitting in the back of the Jeep when I got it to put on. Think the owner was sure the upper shock bolts were going to brake...I am too LOL.
 
Floor Pan came in today so before next weekend I have to weld that in, install the new shocks in the rear (NEED MORE FLEX!!!), install the skid plate in the front, and put exhaust on it. Should be a fun week!
 
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