My '01 XJ - A Work in Progress

[Ben824]

Maybe easy for someone with mechanical know-how. I read about replacing the ball joints and how much of a pain it can be. I also don't have any of the equipment necessary to jack the Jeep up, and I don't have any air tools. I'd be afraid to mess something up. Other stuff like replacing my track bar, and replacing some bushings, I should be able to do by myself. In total, parts and labor included for everything, it'll be around $1k.

$1000?! Ouch!

Hey man I wasn't trying to insult you but rather be encouraging to try and tackle projects like this yourself. Working on your own jeep is very rewarding and gives a great feeling of accomplishment when a job is completed and works. When I started out I was terrified of brakes thought they were super complicated and needed all this special know-how to ensure they worked and that someone didn't die if even the slightest thing was done wrong. I then took a introduction automotives course my freshmen year of college and learned how brakes work and what they consist of and they really are quite simple and easy. Point is all of those things are alot easier than you would think. I just helped my cousin with his water pump Wednesday and it only took us 45 mins and a $40 water pump with a lifetime free replacement warranty (which is actually a legit no questions asked warranty) from autozone. He too doesn't know much about working on cars and wanted to do it himself and learn so I stood there and instructed him on how to do it even got my hands in there when he was having a little trouble but he did 95% of it himself. I did ball-joints and swapped my control arms out in about 3 hours a few weeks ago no big deal. I ran into a snag when doing the ball-joints so I googled it and there was a youtube video showing how to do ball-joints and boom question answered and I headed back out and finished it up.

I have air tools and I will be honest I really only use them for getting off really stuck bolts and to quicken the process of putting on and taking off lug nuts. I have found that most things can be done with a well rounded socket set, extentions, a large breaker bar, and a mini sledge hammer. Any specialty tools can be rented at your local autozone or advance auto parts or the like. The rental is really more of a borrow since you get a full refund of your money when you return the tool. Point is you could have spent way less money and bought a great set of tools and the parts and done the work yourself.

I live not 20 mins from Dahlonega in Dawsonville near the outlet mall and would be glad to help you and let you use all of my tools. I really enjoy teaching others how to work on their Jeeps. I have air tools, a decent set of sockets and other tools, a welder, and a big floor jack and jack stands. It might not be close to what some of the other guys here have but I get alot done with what I have.

I do apologize if I came off insulting you as that was not my intention.

 

[bzauche]

There are a couple members in the Atl area that might offer to assist you but I'll let them chime in. If you were close to me I'd invite everyone out and we'd have a rebuild day! I've done lift install parties before too.

I will definitely be looking into getting some local help for future stuff!

Ya know. Once upon a time none of us had any mechanical know-how. Then we decided to give it a shot. Now, a LOT of us have completely custom Jeeps that we did every bit of ourselves.

By just a quick tally of what your parts cost I think I'd be safe to say I could do everything your shop is doing for less than 300 bucks and one after noons work. I'm not sure what those fancy brake pads cost but I'm fairly certain your shop has some stupid high labor rates.

If you have the cash, go for it. I wish I had 1k to spend on a whole bunch of stuff.

I will start branching out with things like a track bar, tie rod, etc...my Dad owns a portion of the Jeep and for some reason, to him, things like brakes are something that he just won't let anyone but the professionals do.

The pads and rotors are about $230, and all 4 ball joints run about the same. I don't consider $50/hour "stupid high" as far as labor rates go, especially with the work being done by one of the most experienced 4x4 mechanics around. When I bought the Jeep, I left myself with a pretty good "maintenance fund" for stuff like this, but I do definitely want to start doing some work myself.

$1000?! Ouch!

Hey man I wasn't trying to insult you but rather be encouraging to try and tackle projects like this yourself. Working on your own jeep is very rewarding and gives a great feeling of accomplishment when a job is completed and works. When I started out I was terrified of brakes thought they were super complicated and needed all this special know-how to ensure they worked and that someone didn't die if even the slightest thing was done wrong. I then took a introduction automotives course my freshmen year of college and learned how brakes work and what they consist of and they really are quite simple and easy. Point is all of those things are alot easier than you would think. I just helped my cousin with his water pump Wednesday and it only took us 45 mins and a $40 water pump with a lifetime free replacement warranty (which is actually a legit no questions asked warranty) from autozone. He too doesn't know much about working on cars and wanted to do it himself and learn so I stood there and instructed him on how to do it even got my hands in there when he was having a little trouble but he did 95% of it himself. I did ball-joints and swapped my control arms out in about 3 hours a few weeks ago no big deal. I ran into a snag when doing the ball-joints so I googled it and there was a youtube video showing how to do ball-joints and boom question answered and I headed back out and finished it up.

I have air tools and I will be honest I really only use them for getting off really stuck bolts and to quicken the process of putting on and taking off lug nuts. I have found that most things can be done with a well rounded socket set, extentions, a large breaker bar, and a mini sledge hammer. Any specialty tools can be rented at your local autozone or advance auto parts or the like. The rental is really more of a borrow since you get a full refund of your money when you return the tool. Point is you could have spent way less money and bought a great set of tools and the parts and done the work yourself.

I live not 20 mins from Dahlonega in Dawsonville near the outlet mall and would be glad to help you and let you use all of my tools. I really enjoy teaching others how to work on their Jeeps. I have air tools, a decent set of sockets and other tools, a welder, and a big floor jack and jack stands. It might not be close to what some of the other guys here have but I get alot done with what I have.

I do apologize if I came off insulting you as that was not my intention.

I didn't take it as an insult at all! I know I need to start doing my own work on the Jeep. I will hopefully be getting an Ironman Fab track bar within the next month or so, so I might hit you up for some advice and use of your tools. Thank you for the willingness to help!

 

[Lowrange2]

Geez, what's special about these brakes and ball joints? I think my pads and rotors together cost 80 bucks. My ball joints cost about 100.

 

[bzauche]

Geez, what's special about these brakes and ball joints? I think my pads and rotors together cost 80 bucks. My ball joints cost about 100.

Black Magic pads and Centric Rotors. They'll lock up 33's...even 35's if you want. Search online and you'll see.

Moog ball joints are just more expensive. I had my two front tires wearing extremely fast and oddly, and I don't want it happening again.

If I can afford quality stuff, I'm gonna put it in my rig.

 

[jeepgeek2002]

$1000 .. Holy Crap... Gold plated Serpentine belt and must be performance water pump for the speed bumps at the local Mall..
Damm dude.. after you cheaped out on my $40 control arms.. I should have known better.

 

[bzauche]

$1000 .. Holy Crap... Gold plated Serpentine belt and must be performance water pump for the speed bumps at the local Mall..
Damm dude.. after you cheaped out on my $40 control arms.. I should have known better.

I don't want to start an argument, but I never cheaped out on your control arms, you said you'd check on the shipping, and I never heard back from you.

 

[jeepgeek2002]

not for sale anymore

 

[stumpXJ]

Just throwing this out there... that would have cost you a large pizza and a 6 pack at my shop. Next time, post up before you take it to a shop. Like Ben said, that stuff is pretty straight forward, and I would have offered to help with it for sure. Its hard to own these vehicles, and never figure out how to work on them. Unless you're loaded, in which you would probably be driving something newer and nicer anyway.

 

[Ghost]

Just throwing this out there... that would have cost you a large pizza and a 6 pack at my shop. Next time, post up before you take it to a shop. Like Ben said, that stuff is pretty straight forward, and I would have offered to help with it for sure. Its hard to own these vehicles, and never figure out how to work on them. Unless you're loaded, in which you would probably be driving something newer and nicer anyway.

This is one of the guys I was refering to. Top notch work and very willing to teach and help out. IMHO one of the stellar members of our chapter. :thumbup:

 

[Ben824]

Just throwing this out there... that would have cost you a large pizza and a 6 pack at my shop. Next time, post up before you take it to a shop. Like Ben said, that stuff is pretty straight forward, and I would have offered to help with it for sure. Its hard to own these vehicles, and never figure out how to work on them. Unless you're loaded, in which you would probably be driving something newer and nicer anyway.

Stump here is a great teacher! He helped me figure out how to use my welder! He also helped me raise the shock mounts on my D44 I am swapping in and I even learned some tips and tricks from him just seeing how he goes about fabricating things. He also has the most bad ass home garage with a two post lift and all kinds of cool man stuff!!!

 

[bzauche]

Just throwing this out there... that would have cost you a large pizza and a 6 pack at my shop. Next time, post up before you take it to a shop. Like Ben said, that stuff is pretty straight forward, and I would have offered to help with it for sure. Its hard to own these vehicles, and never figure out how to work on them. Unless you're loaded, in which you would probably be driving something newer and nicer anyway.

Well next time I'll know! I'm not loaded by any stretch, but my Dad owns part of the Jeep so he has some say as to where the work gets done...he's still in the learning stage of this whole thing. While I would have loved to have bought you a pizza and a 6 pack and helped me work on the stuff that needed to be done, he's more confident in a professional 4x4 mechanic.

This is one of the guys I was refering to. Top notch work and very willing to teach and help out. IMHO one of the stellar members of our chapter. :thumbup:

Confidence in others is key!

Stump here is a great teacher! He helped me figure out how to use my welder! He also helped me raise the shock mounts on my D44 I am swapping in and I even learned some tips and tricks from him just seeing how he goes about fabricating things. He also has the most bad ass home garage with a two post lift and all kinds of cool man stuff!!!

Great to hear! I will try to ween off the 4x4 shop haha.

Alright, so I got the Jeep back today. It took a little longer because it ended up being 2 freeze plugs that needed to be replaced, one of them being on the back of the engine block, so that was added labor (free of charge). All I can say is WOW! Upgraded/replaced ball joints made a huge difference in the ride quality (not as much as Bilstein 5100's will when I get them :yelclap but certainly enough to notice. And HOLY CRAP! I did the first section of break-in for the Black Magic pads and Centric rotors, and I am blown away. My XJ stops like my Dad's Honda! If any of you have driven a new Honda, you know what I mean. I still haven't slammed on the brakes, but I will eventually, and I fully expect to lock up my tires. I'm only running 31's, and I am sure guys with 33's can lock their tires up with these things. Seriously, if you want to upgrade your brakes, get these!

 

[bzauche]

I've been doing a lot of thinking as far as where I want to take this build, when I have the opportunities to make upgrades etc...

Right now, with it being my DD/some trail fun rig, I am planning on sticking to a low lift. OME leafs and coils are on my list...probably 3-3.5" max. I'm running 31's and don't plan on going any bigger than that or 32's. I just want to get rid of these sagging coils, spacers, and AAL's. I know with it being lower, I'll need to bumpstop like crazy (hockey pucks? I'll need some help with bumpstopping after I get the springs. Someone near Dahlonega or Cumming...I can provide pizza and beer!), and get some armor, but I'm ok with that down the road. Sticking with the smaller tire will also put less stress on my stock axles

, although I am looking at the Super 35 kit for farther down the road. Right now my To-Do/To-Buy list look something like this:

OME Coils and Leafs
Bilstein 5100 shocks (or OME)
Quick Discos
Wheel Spacers
Adjustable Lower and Upper Control Arms (probably IronManFab)
Track bar and Tie Rod (also probably IronManFab)
CB (need help with wiring/mounting!)
More lights for the rack (more wiring help!)

Further on:
Super 35 Kit
JCR Front Winch bumper and rear bumper
Skids
Rock rails



Holy PISS this is gonna take awhile!

On a more current note, does anyone know where I can find a gutter mount kit for my Garvin roof rack? Or something that uses the stock roof rails? The way it's mounted right now (to the cross-beams) rattles a lot and the cross-beams are taking a beating.

 

[Ghost]

I would not waste the money on the super 35 kit. Get with some of the locals and they can show you how to do an 8.8 or 8.25 swap.

 

[jeepgeek2002]

Well since he'd rather spend money on having a "mechanic" do his stuff.. you can rule out the " locals"

 

[bzauche]

I would not waste the money on the super 35 kit. Get with some of the locals and they can show you how to do an 8.8 or 8.25 swap.

That is certainly an option. The axle mods will be later down the road so I have some time to think about it.

Well since he'd rather spend money on having a "mechanic" do his stuff.. you can rule out the " locals"

You know what, you are SO funny. I REALLY enjoyed reading that one. I'm dying of laughter right now, seriously. You know why? Because you keep trying to force your opinions on me, and there's absolutely no way you'll succeed, so please stop trying! Unless you have something valuable to say, please, keep quiet. I'll decide where and how to get work done on my XJ.

 

[bzauche]

I got my new roof rack mounts today! UPS dropped off a little box from JCR

Question: is it ok to leave the rain gutter trim on when using these, or should the trim be taken off? I've seen some pictures of some pretty rough stuff underneath the trim and I'd love to keep it on if I can. The thing is, there's a little "play" in the mounts when tightened down, but I'm guessing once they're welded to my rack and everything is on, they should be solid.

 

[mhb0004]

Wow Brandon, way to piss off the veterans. Look at how many post they have, and the descriptions of what they're wheeling. Realize that they put in the time and have done that work themselves before you write off their "opinions". You've done some research, they have knowledge and they're trying to help you.

 

[bzauche]

Wow Brandon, way to piss off the veterans. Look at how many post they have, and the descriptions of what they're wheeling. Realize that they put in the time and have done that work themselves before you write off their "opinions". You've done some research, they have knowledge and they're trying to help you.

Not trying to piss anyone off Matt. I'm just trying to decipher why I'm getting ridiculed for having a pro work on my Jeep. I have a separate bank account for Jeep up-keep, and I can spend it how I choose. I'm new at all this, so I'm not quite as comfortable with bigger repairs as I am with changing my oil or spark plugs. I'm sure these guys would be pleased to hear that I refurbished my roof rack, made my own light tabs, and will be wiring up 4 new lights (relays, switches, fuses, and all) without spending a dime on labor. I realize they are trying to help, but saying stuff like "Well since he'd rather spend money on having a "mechanic" do his stuff.. you can rule out the "locals"gets us nowhere. Yes, I have since talked to Stump about having him help me out with some projects, and yes, I will hopefully be headed to his shop when I get the parts ordered and he's available.

 

[Cottontail]

Not trying to piss anyone off Matt. I'm just trying to decipher why I'm getting ridiculed for having a pro work on my Jeep. I have a separate bank account for Jeep up-keep, and I can spend it how I choose. I'm new at all this, so I'm not quite as comfortable with bigger repairs.

Just keep doing what you are doing and learn as you go. I had a shop do a lot of work on my first XJ. I just watched and learned so I can do things myself now. Assisting others on their work or hanging around watching is a valuable education.

Since this is a DD I certainly understand not wanting to use the Jeep as a practice platform for repairs.

Nice looking Jeep.

 

[bzauche]

Just keep doing what you are doing and learn as you go. I had a shop do a lot of work on my first XJ. I just watched and learned so I can do things myself now. Assisting others on their work or hanging around watching is a valuable education.

Since this is a DD I certainly understand not wanting to use the Jeep as a practice platform for repairs.

Nice looking Jeep.

I'm glad you understand! Thank you for the compliment!



Today was a major success in my book! Here's the story:

Yesterday, I disassembled all of the lights, scuffed them up real good, and put two coats of Rustoleum Self-etching primer on. I also picked up some steel and got it cut, and drilled all my necessary holes. So today, I started with this:

My homebrew mounting tabs:

First thing, I made quick work of the lights with Rustoleum Spray-On Truck Bed Liner, which I also used for my entire roof rack.

Two full coats and some touch-ups later, it was time to mount the tabs to the rack:

Then it was time to reassemble the lights!

Naturally, the next step was to get the lights mounted on their tabs!