Mira's '93 XJ 2-dr. build (11-year-old's first Jeep)

[JeepFreak21]

This thread makes me happy. I've got an 16 month old daughter, whom I have the privileged of spending most of my days with, and as much as I don't want time to pass any faster than it is, this thread makes me excited for the future. I love what both of you are doing! Mira rocks!
Billy

 

[1x1_Speed_Mira]

Thanks everyone! My dad just signed me up on this site and i love seeing what everyone has to say. I tell my friends that i have my own car and they don't believe me, i try to make them believe me, but no matter how hard i try, they still don't believe me. its really fun having my own car and i learned to drive an automatic. My goal this year is that i'll learn to drive a stick, or at least learn what pedal to hit to shift.
Right now were working on my truss and was just taking off my bumper to put some where that it won't rust.
I'm glad my dad is helping me build a jeep, but sometimes(between you and me) He is kind of WHOO HOO- CRAZY!!!!!:woohoo:

 

[jbsjunk]

Driving a stick is fun, and people won't want to use it because they can't drive a stick.

I know your dad is crazy, who else would climb that pile of rubble without a helmet?

 

[xcm]

boots... check, gloves check! procede with the crazy!

 

[jeeperjohn]

Good luck with your build Mira, nice work so far! :repair:

 

[Outlander560]

nice work this is awesome...keep it up Mira!!

 

[Egodfrey]

This is awesome, subscribed.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Thanks all. :cheers:

After a nice weekend with my girls, and then returning them to their mom tonight (), I hit the garage again and built a jig to easily transfer the positioning of the XJ bracketry over to the LJ Dana 44. I also used a digital angle finder to capture the pinion angle relative to the spring perches, and will position the new HD perches on the new axle tomorrow night. I'll also get the lower-profile M.O.R.E. shock mounts positioned and tack-welded on.

No photo updates just yet, but they'll come soon.

Craig

 

[XFACTOR]

to me it looks like your dad is the helper!!! great build thread Mira!!! keep the updates comming!!! and best of luck!!

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Small progress, but progress nevertheless. I got the brake backing plates/outers/yoke prepped & painted, and got the H.D. spring perches positioned & welded on. My Millermatic 135 worked very nicely with the spring perches.

Next...shock mounts, and then the T&T Truss.

Once the axle itself is done, we'll paint the brake calipers & detail areas on the rotors with Eastwood caliper paint (but that can be done in the warmth of the house).

Craig

 

[Ghost]

Nice build. Why truss the LJ D44 if it's not getting linked up?

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Nice build. Why truss the LJ D44 if it's not getting linked up?

Just added strength. The axle tubes are not that big (2 9/16" IIRC), and the TJ/LJ D44s are known to start leaking over time due to slight bending of the tubes, from what I have heard. The time to truss it was now, and the cost not horrible ($200ish). Mira plans on wheeling her XJ, so it was the right thing to do, even if it was slight overkill.

Craig

 

[Ghost]

Did not know that about the TJ/LJ D44.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Did not know that about the TJ/LJ D44.

Here's one write-up from Jp Magazine.

Bent & Broken Dana 44 Axle Replacement Options
Rear Axle Wrangling

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Let me preface this by saying that it's been a full year since I have bought a parts rig...


I'd like to thank Shane Rugg from Grandville, Michigan for sponsoring Mira by giving us a REALLY great deal on this wrecked 1999 Cherokee. Shane has owned it for about 4 1/2 years, and is a mechanic (vehicle is well-maintained). He drove it until he was t-boned. Save the tears...he has a couple other Jeeps now.

This XJ has only 94K miles, and runs GREAT. It also has a variety of other great parts that we'll be able to use for Mira's project. At this point, I think this will be our new engine donor. Thanks again, Shane.

Craig

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

FWIW, the purchase of this 94K-mile '99 XJ has completely temped me to sell the two (2) complete AX-15 manual transmission set-ups that I have (one '95 with external slave, and one '92 with internal slave). I tried to list them for sale here, but got an "insufficient rights" message; I'm currently checking with the mods as to why.

In the meantime, if you're interested in a turn-key AX-15 manual trans "package" and want to help support Mira's XJ build in the process, shoot me a PM or e-mail me at craig.emenaker a+ gmail d0t com. Pricing/details HERE until I can get them posted here on .

Thanks,
Craig

 

[Brown Dog]

Subscribed. My Dad helped me with a build of a different type when I was your age. I learned so much. I'm still using what I learned. Sometimes my ideas are incorporated into our product designs. Mira, you have a very bright future. A little tip....you might want to negotiate a favorable price for the set of used motor mounts from Rocknxj. (He just won a full kit from us at the SierraFest raffle and will need to do something with his old set of our mounts.)

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Subscribed. My Dad helped me with a build of a different type when I was your age. I learned so much. I'm still using what I learned. Sometimes my ideas are incorporated into our product designs. Mira, you have a very bright future. A little tip....you might want to negotiate a favorable price for the set of used motor mounts from Rocknxj. (He just won a full kit from us at the SierraFest raffle and will need to do something with his old set of our mounts.)

Thanks, Brown Dog. I looked at your site...nice mounts! I may be checking into those once we're ready to do the swap.


PROJECT UPDATE:
I got our wrecked '99 XJ home today. Holy cow, this a clean, great-running Jeep! It's clean enough that I'll likely be able to use parts of the floor pan to repair Mira's (with the factory stampings). It also runs like an absolute dream.

It looks like Mira's Jeep will get the "heart & mind" of this '99...all wiring, computer, interior, dash, etc. I'll have some research to do for the '99 dash swap. We also decided to go ahead and keep the AW4 auto for an easy swap over. Mira's fine with that.

I sold both AX-15s and the other 4.0L (from our '92 donor vehicle) in less than 12 hours, so that more than recouped the purchase price of the '99 XJ. WOOT!

Craig

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Forgot to mention...as of today, we're only into the entire project for $602. :cheers:

Craig

 

[1x1_Speed_Mira]

Just finished taking the dash-board out today. Was fun, but there was a lot of screws, broken glass, and a bird's nest along with the poop. But anyway, at least Dad didn't hit his head this time... :clap:

Thanks for all the support, and i'll keep posting. :compwork:
-Mira