MagicNelson
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- New Jersey
Since I recently became a member here after a few years of lurking, I figured I'd share my build. It's been 4 years since I bought my XJ and haven't really documented anything except for a few pictures but better late than never, right?
Ok here we go.
Mission statement: I will build this XJ using the best parts* I can afford to maximize both on-road comfort and off-road capability while maintaining an attractive appearance.
*best parts does not necessarily mean most expensive. The term "best parts" is completely dependent on the goals I want those parts to achieve.
Now that my mission statement is set, let's get started. Here is a picture of my XJ on the first day I got her. Note: I refer to my Jeep as "her" the same way a captain would refer to his ship or the way you would talk about a really great dump.
Named after my (recently deceased) great uncle Joe who fought in WWII in a Jeep, I called this XJ "Josephine". I added the "-ine" to the end to make it a she because referring to my Jeep as a dude just sounds a little....well you know. lastara
Specs on Josephine:
1999 XJ 4.0 AW4
HP Dana 30
Chrysler 8.25
118k miles
Things I inherited with this jeep from the previous owner:
2" aluminum lift blocks
Broken 1" coil spacers
Spray painted rims
4 holes in the front of the hood (still have no idea why they are there)
Bald tires
Leaky brake cylinders
Very minimal rust
Since brakes are kinda important, fixing the leaky cylinders was the top priority. It was my first encounter with drum brakes but I did one side at a time and it went smoothly. (About a year later, I did the KJ disc brake conversion and haven't looked back).
Next order of business was the suspension and tires. When deciding on a setup, I thought hard about my goals for Josephine. This is when I came up with my mission statement.
The setup I chose to go with was a 3" kit from Rough Country with full leaf packs and new coils and run a 31" tires on TJ rubicon moab rims. At this time, I was a college student working part time so funds were limited and this setup seemed to meet my mission statement. 3" and 31s seemed to be the cutoff before dropping a lot more $$ into things like SYE, trackbar, control arms, etc.
It took me about 2 full days to install the lift by myself. This was the first time I ever worked on a suspension and I learned a ton along the way. Broke plenty of bolts, used a couple cans of PB Blaster, threw a few hammers in frustration, cursed a lot, had a few bloody knuckles, etc. but it turned out pretty nice.
I had vibes but a T-Case drop fixed that. Not without a fight of course. I broke 1 bolt and couldn't get either stud out so I ended up drilling and tapping 3 out of 4 crossmember bolts. Not fun.
After the lift, my next priority was recovery points front and rear. I added a Reese hitch and Iron Rock Offroad's front tow hook bar.
Once the recovery points were covered, I needed to add some armor. I was lucky and found some JCR Stage 2 rock sliders on Craigslist. They just needed a fresh coat of paint and hardware. Not a problem since I worked at a hardware store at the time.
The guy I got the rock sliders from threw in a Hi lift jack for free because it needed to be rebuilt. So I rebuilt it and mounted it using my spare tire mount.
In search of a ZJ gas tank skid, I made a trip to the local pick n pull and scored one for $10. It took me a few hours to get out because of rusted bolts but it was worth the frustration. I don't think I have a picture of it installed but you guys know what a gas tank skid looks like.
The transfer case skid was the next one on my list. I forget the brand, but I bought one off eBay for like $75 or something. It works great.
Josephine stayed like this for a couple years and served me well. I kept up with routine maintainance and saved my money for school. I drove her 1200 miles west to Springfield, Missouri where I finished my Undergrad in Business & Marketing. During my stay in Springfield, I made a trip to Southern Missouri Offroad Ranch (SMORR) and had a blast. The fisheye picture above is actually from that trip.
I graduated in May 2013 and made my way back to the great NJ. Josephine did great cruising at 75 the whole way. Averaged about 20mpg.
That summer, I did some wheeling and bent my front bumper and passenger side fender. I was able to find a 99xj in the same color blue being parted out on Craigslist. I took a drive and picked up a new fender.
For the bumper, I decided to use it as an excuse to upgrade. I did a lot of researching and wanted to get a winch bumper if I was going through the expense of upgrading. I was lucky to find an ARB Bull Bar for a great price from a member on here who lived local to me. I think his name was John.
I was still working part time at the hardware store the summer after I graduated (tough job market) so funds were still limited. With this in mind, I took a chance on a $300 Engo 9000lb winch to go with my Bull Bar. I used it all summer with no problems until one of the solenoids quit working. I called up Engo an they immediately shipped out a new one. Great customer service!
I got my first full time job at the end of the summer and have been paying off student loans steadily since. Turns out I just went from a poor college student to a poor not college student so budgeting is still a huge factor in this build.
Josephine has 151k miles on her now and is still running and driving great. The suspension has settled and is broken in nicely. However, the JK shocks I used have been over extended and are in need of replacing and my tires only have about 10k miles left in them. That means, stage 2 of this build is approaching. Stay tuned to find out what's next!
Ok here we go.
Mission statement: I will build this XJ using the best parts* I can afford to maximize both on-road comfort and off-road capability while maintaining an attractive appearance.
*best parts does not necessarily mean most expensive. The term "best parts" is completely dependent on the goals I want those parts to achieve.
Now that my mission statement is set, let's get started. Here is a picture of my XJ on the first day I got her. Note: I refer to my Jeep as "her" the same way a captain would refer to his ship or the way you would talk about a really great dump.
Named after my (recently deceased) great uncle Joe who fought in WWII in a Jeep, I called this XJ "Josephine". I added the "-ine" to the end to make it a she because referring to my Jeep as a dude just sounds a little....well you know. lastara
Specs on Josephine:
1999 XJ 4.0 AW4
HP Dana 30
Chrysler 8.25
118k miles
Things I inherited with this jeep from the previous owner:
2" aluminum lift blocks
Broken 1" coil spacers
Spray painted rims
4 holes in the front of the hood (still have no idea why they are there)
Bald tires
Leaky brake cylinders
Very minimal rust
Since brakes are kinda important, fixing the leaky cylinders was the top priority. It was my first encounter with drum brakes but I did one side at a time and it went smoothly. (About a year later, I did the KJ disc brake conversion and haven't looked back).
Next order of business was the suspension and tires. When deciding on a setup, I thought hard about my goals for Josephine. This is when I came up with my mission statement.
The setup I chose to go with was a 3" kit from Rough Country with full leaf packs and new coils and run a 31" tires on TJ rubicon moab rims. At this time, I was a college student working part time so funds were limited and this setup seemed to meet my mission statement. 3" and 31s seemed to be the cutoff before dropping a lot more $$ into things like SYE, trackbar, control arms, etc.
It took me about 2 full days to install the lift by myself. This was the first time I ever worked on a suspension and I learned a ton along the way. Broke plenty of bolts, used a couple cans of PB Blaster, threw a few hammers in frustration, cursed a lot, had a few bloody knuckles, etc. but it turned out pretty nice.
I had vibes but a T-Case drop fixed that. Not without a fight of course. I broke 1 bolt and couldn't get either stud out so I ended up drilling and tapping 3 out of 4 crossmember bolts. Not fun.
After the lift, my next priority was recovery points front and rear. I added a Reese hitch and Iron Rock Offroad's front tow hook bar.
Once the recovery points were covered, I needed to add some armor. I was lucky and found some JCR Stage 2 rock sliders on Craigslist. They just needed a fresh coat of paint and hardware. Not a problem since I worked at a hardware store at the time.
The guy I got the rock sliders from threw in a Hi lift jack for free because it needed to be rebuilt. So I rebuilt it and mounted it using my spare tire mount.
In search of a ZJ gas tank skid, I made a trip to the local pick n pull and scored one for $10. It took me a few hours to get out because of rusted bolts but it was worth the frustration. I don't think I have a picture of it installed but you guys know what a gas tank skid looks like.
The transfer case skid was the next one on my list. I forget the brand, but I bought one off eBay for like $75 or something. It works great.
Josephine stayed like this for a couple years and served me well. I kept up with routine maintainance and saved my money for school. I drove her 1200 miles west to Springfield, Missouri where I finished my Undergrad in Business & Marketing. During my stay in Springfield, I made a trip to Southern Missouri Offroad Ranch (SMORR) and had a blast. The fisheye picture above is actually from that trip.
I graduated in May 2013 and made my way back to the great NJ. Josephine did great cruising at 75 the whole way. Averaged about 20mpg.
That summer, I did some wheeling and bent my front bumper and passenger side fender. I was able to find a 99xj in the same color blue being parted out on Craigslist. I took a drive and picked up a new fender.
For the bumper, I decided to use it as an excuse to upgrade. I did a lot of researching and wanted to get a winch bumper if I was going through the expense of upgrading. I was lucky to find an ARB Bull Bar for a great price from a member on here who lived local to me. I think his name was John.
I was still working part time at the hardware store the summer after I graduated (tough job market) so funds were still limited. With this in mind, I took a chance on a $300 Engo 9000lb winch to go with my Bull Bar. I used it all summer with no problems until one of the solenoids quit working. I called up Engo an they immediately shipped out a new one. Great customer service!
I got my first full time job at the end of the summer and have been paying off student loans steadily since. Turns out I just went from a poor college student to a poor not college student so budgeting is still a huge factor in this build.
Josephine has 151k miles on her now and is still running and driving great. The suspension has settled and is broken in nicely. However, the JK shocks I used have been over extended and are in need of replacing and my tires only have about 10k miles left in them. That means, stage 2 of this build is approaching. Stay tuned to find out what's next!
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