2000 Classic DD Build

[J Pugh]

Well guys, it's been a while, but inevitably I've got another XJ. I think it's been probably 3 years since I sold my 98 XJ to buy a car for my wife. Since then I got an 04 WJ, which was a great DD and all, I even put a little lift on it and some nice rubi take-offs, but as I found out, lifting a WJ kinda ruins it as a passable commuting vehicle, so I got a DD Honda and traded my WJ for a TJ. I then found out how miserable a soft-top TJ was any anything besides riding around, slowly, when the weather was just right, with the top and doors off. I'm sure it's not bad off road either lol, but I didn't get the chance. So I sold my TJ to come to Afghanistan for a year. Now that it's time to come back, I had been trying to decide what vehicle could I get that would be a jack of all trades for me. I want to get not miserable gas mileage on the highway, I want to be able to load up for a camping trip, drive down the beach, get up my parent's ridiculous mountain driveway in all weather, do a bit of proper off-roading, etc, etc. I considered everything from putting roof racks on an Acura TL, to a Subaru Forester, to making big payments on an LR4, etc. Of course the only solution to this equation was coming full circle and getting another XJ. So that's my little back story.

A couple of weeks ago I set out to find a good XJ to start out with, definitely looking for something stock, nice looking, but being a bargain hunter I wanted to find one for nothing.

My goals/plans for this Jeep would be:

1. Not compromise daily drivability and road trip ability.
- MPG
- Comfort
- Safety
- Cargo space
- Aesthetics

2. Decent off road ability
- Beach
- Mountain property
- XJ events
- Camping
- Protection (Skid plates/bumpers/sliders)
- Self-Recovery (Winch and hook points)
- inclement weather

3. Loading up and pulling
- Tow hitch
- Roof racks
- Maximize cargo space (tire carrier)
- Stopping power

4. Misc Accessories
- On-Board Air (minimal, not necessarily for tools)
- Provide good/realistic amount of 120V Power

So it would be a very mild build, very low key, good amount of armor. I had pretty much decided to get an OME 2" and either 30" or 31" A/T as soon as I got home.

So one night I fire up CL and find this thing:

It's a 2000 Classic, one owner, custom ordered from the dealer back in 2000. I don't know if there is an option that this thing doesn't have. Everything I had in the back of my mind that I wanted, factory towing, skid plates, the recovery hooks up front, cruise, the overhead console, 8.25" rear. What's more is that it looks absolutely immaculate inside and out:

So I quickly email the guy, ask him a few questions, and guess what lift he's got? the OME Medium springs, front shocks, SS, and apparently rear "air shocks", I asked him to clarify this, and he simply said he went with "air shocks" because he was getting more sagging under a load in the rear than he wanted with the medium springs. I pretty much thought to myself, well whatever, I can sort that out if it's something weird.

At this point I asked the guy for some more pictures, and I got my bubble burst slightly when he showed me a few trouble spots with the paint, but it certainly wasn't enough to put me off of the Jeep, it still has the lift I was planning on, and a good set of tires. So, long story still pretty long, my wife brought that dude some money this morning and the Jeep is now in front of our house. It will still be a few weeks before I get to see it myself, but that doesn't mean I can't plot and scheme in the meantime. First thing I'll have to do is get my wife out of it! She's driven it once on a test drive yesterday, and once again to drive it home, and she's already trying to convince me to take her Honda to work every day so she can drive the Jeep, she loves it. That's always good

As it's new owner, and not having seen it yet, my initial thoughts are:
- What's going on with the rear "air shocks"? Hopefully you guys can weigh in on this, I have no idea why anyone would put actual air shocks back there. It sounds like either he's mistakenly calling them air shocks, or someone convinced him that was the way to go to deal with the sagging. I honestly don't have a clue, I'm gonna have my wife take a picture of what's under there.
- I doubt the rear shackle angle is good on this Jeep, it's another thing I'm going to have my wife send me a picture of, might get some relo brackets first thing if it's bad.
- The tires are fine, but they're E load rating, which has to ride stiff. If I can find someone interested in buying them, I'll probably replace them with Cooper A/T3s, maybe same size (I'm pretty certain they're 245/75/16), maybe closer to 31, since there looks to be plenty of room.


That's it for now until I can get my wife to take a few pictures of what's underneath it, but I'm really freaking excited to have an XJ again and I can't wait to get home to see it. How's Uwharrie in October?

 

[KPTHEMP]

nice rig, I may be interested in those bfgs if they are decent and 245's

 

[J Pugh]

My wife managed to get a couple of ok pictures of the rear spring/shackle for me.

The shackle looks like it's pretty much straight up and down, but it's hard to tell. From what she said it sounds like it rides a little stiff in the rear. I don't know if I've ever ridden in a Jeep with a bad shackle angle, so idk how much difference it will make, but since I'd like to fix it anyway I'll probably do the no lift relocation right away.

It also looks like it has the 5 leaf OME spring pack which has the higher spring rate of the 2 they offer, not sure which height. Does anyone know if OME stamps part numbers on their stuff? Will I be able to tell what exactly is on there? I think I'm gonna look into getting their lower spring rate ones since this jeep doesn't have much weight to it.

Anybody interested in a set of OME leafs?

The shocks don't look like air shocks to me, but since they're black and unlabeled I'll have to wait until I get home to find out exactly what they are and determine if they warrant replacing.

 

[J Pugh]

nice rig, I may be interested in those bfgs if they are decent and 245's

Sweet, I'll hit you up as soon as I get back!

 

[CarbonXJ]

Nice and clean. Just like mine when I first purchased...and still today! HA!

I have the OME Medium leaves (CS033RB) and it does not have a problem with sagging; I tow a 2500lb boat, it drops maybe 1/2" static. Most people think air shocks are "insurance" against sagging.
I also removed the "extra" left, and still netted 3.5" over stock lift. The rear shackle angle on mine is vertical with a 3/4" Rusty's lift shackle. I need the reloc brackets, but it doesn't ride bad at all; firm. I run Bilstein 5100s.

I try to get up to Uwharrie all I can, it's just a nice place! If the weather stays warm October would be a good time. Camping at Badin Lake and some of the training center events are great. Take a look at the night ride coming up. I was on the original and it was a blast! That's also my Jeep in the front on their Facebook event photo haha

 

[CarbonXJ]

OME leafs have part numbers painted on the top of the pack. And shackle angle makes a HUGE difference. Get some relocation brackets before making any other changes to see how you like it.

 

[J Pugh]

Nice and clean. Just like mine when I first purchased...and still today! HA!

I have the OME Medium leaves (CS033RB) and it does not have a problem with sagging; I tow a 2500lb boat, it drops maybe 1/2" static. Most people think air shocks are "insurance" against sagging.
I also removed the "extra" left, and still netted 3.5" over stock lift. The rear shackle angle on mine is vertical with a 3/4" Rusty's lift shackle. I need the reloc brackets, but it doesn't ride bad at all; firm. I run Bilstein 5100s.

I try to get up to Uwharrie all I can, it's just a nice place! If the weather stays warm October would be a good time. Camping at Badin Lake and some of the training center events are great. Take a look at the night ride coming up. I was on the original and it was a blast! That's also my Jeep in the front on their Facebook event photo haha

I made my assumption about which these were based off of their current catalog, I didn't see the CS033's in there, only the 34 and 35. I guess they got rid of the 33. I'm googling the specs of it now - It could be that that's what is currently on there, I dont know how long ago he installed the lift.

I did learn after looking in their catalog that the "lighter" duty CS034 is actually a stiffer, static spring rate than their "heavier duty" CS035, which is a lower rate and has an overload to make it "dual" rate. Pretty confusing.

Did your CS033RB's come with an overload leaf on the bottom?

 

[CarbonXJ]

It sure did.

Sent from my LG G4 using TapaTalk

 

[J Pugh]

I finally found some specs on the CS033 leafs. It took me forever to find them using the Google, so I'm gonna re-post them here in case anyone in the future finds them useful.

           Free Length       Free Height      Primary Leaves     Overload     Designated Load (lbs)     Drop @ Designated Load     Spring Rate (lbs/inch)
CS033RA    48.03             9.05             5                  1            1058                      2.76                       168 / 256.8
CS033RB    48.78             8.27             5                  1            925                       2.76                       169 / 256.8
CS034RA    48.90             7.68             5                               881                       1.57                       148.4
CS034RB    49.49             7.48             5                               749                       1.57                       148.4
CS035RA    48.82             7.87             4                  1            793                       1.97                       137.2 / 257
CS035RB    49.41             6.89             4                  1            650                       1.97                       137.2 / 257

 

[J Pugh]

Officially a member again! :cheers:
The BFG's on there right now are 245/70R16 Load range D. I'm sure D load tires aren't the worst thing in the world, but I will probably still replace them with a set of C load range 245/75 Cooper A/T3's when I get home. From everything I've been reading about the Coopers, they're what I want for a 99% on road/highway DD.

 

[J Pugh]

Well, I've been back and driving the Jeep for about a week now. There are a couple things that need attention.

The PO cut the E-fan cable and attached it to a relay/switch in the cab. I noticed that it made a decent amount of vibration when turned on, and it finally gave up the ghost a couple of days ago. I'm guessing the PO noticed it making the vibration/noise, and put the switch on it so he could just turn it off instead of replacing it. So number one thing I need to find at the JY is a new E-fan and put it on the stock wiring. Also need a new rear cargo dome light assy, the switch doesn't function.

I did some driving at 70-75mph speeds yesterday, and noticed some humming/ vibrating when on the gas. At first I thought maybe it was the flowmaster droning, but it doesn't change with the engine RPM, so either the T-case drop isn't enough for how high the rear is, or maybe I just need to replace a u joint, idk. I've never dealt with driveline vibe issues before.

Other than that the Jeep is great. The rear lift may be a little high, it leans forward a good bit. It looks like the rear shocks are Gabriel HiJackers, which it seems like might be adding to the lift, so I might pull those off or let some air out of them or something when I get a chance and see how it sits. Any input on those? I've never seen anyone use them.