Hello all,
I've been checking out the forum for quite some time and finally decided it was time to join.
My name is Colin. I have a house in Portland, but I'm staying up in WA for a while.
I bought a 98' XJ in December as my first Jeep, or 4x4 for that matter. I've always had a love for late 90's BMW's and Audi's but thought that getting a vehicle I could take camping and up into the mountains would be a good idea.
After a decent amount of research I decided I wanted a 98' and got to searching. I found this one up in Kent, WA, got a decent deal on it and drive it home and got to modifying it.
I worked on it on the weekends up until May when I was deployed so she's been sitting in my driveway up until two weeks ago when I came home and got to start throwing all the parts I ordered while I gone at it.
So far I've added:
Rough Country long arms
Dana 44 rear with rebuilt trakloc from an 88' Cherokee
Portland Spring Co. 5/8" custom U-bolts
Spring plates
4.5" RE coils
3.5" RE leafs
1" Shackles
DIY Shackle relocation brackes
RE adjustable track bar
4.5" lift Stainless braided brake lines
Alloy USA ball joints
Rugged Ridge SYE
NW Custom Drive shaft
Alloy USA TC chain
Performance Curve Magnaflow exhuast
Throttle body spacer
Neon injectors
Accel 8mm wire set
new OEM motor mounts
new OEM tranny mount
new OEM Coil
Putco H4 headlight wiring harness
Autopal H4 headlights
Hella 80/100 bulbs
ZJ rear disc conversion
ZJ shift knob
Town & Country factory CD/tape head unit
ZJ transmission cooler
Yellow top optima
DIY 6 gauge battery cables made from welding wire
gojeep rear shock mount modification
bar-pin eliminators using rear sway-bar mounts
JK Rubicon shocks
16" MOAB wheels with 265 75 16 Goodyear Duratracs
And the parts I have collecting dust in the garage are:
WJ knuckles
Akebono calipers
WJ lower ball joints
Ceramic pads
Ruff Stuff 1-ton steering
Ruff Stuff axle side track bar relocation bracket
RE track bar frame side bracket
WJ brake booster
metal for a front bumper
4.56 gears/new bearings
Dana 30 Detroit locker
JKS dana 30 mini skids
All the stuff I haven't gotten installed yet is a bit more involved/above my current skill level so I'm trying to gather the necessary tools and knowledge before jumping into the gears and WJ conversion.
So before some pics, I just wanted to say that reading all the build threads here have been a huge help - so thanks if you've kept one going - I've likely pirated ideas from it.
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And lastly - here's my first time getting stuck. Had to call a friend to pull me out after the rotten tree I was using as an anchor for my hi-lift self-recovery gave up the ghost.
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I've been checking out the forum for quite some time and finally decided it was time to join.
My name is Colin. I have a house in Portland, but I'm staying up in WA for a while.
I bought a 98' XJ in December as my first Jeep, or 4x4 for that matter. I've always had a love for late 90's BMW's and Audi's but thought that getting a vehicle I could take camping and up into the mountains would be a good idea.
After a decent amount of research I decided I wanted a 98' and got to searching. I found this one up in Kent, WA, got a decent deal on it and drive it home and got to modifying it.
I worked on it on the weekends up until May when I was deployed so she's been sitting in my driveway up until two weeks ago when I came home and got to start throwing all the parts I ordered while I gone at it.
So far I've added:
Rough Country long arms
Dana 44 rear with rebuilt trakloc from an 88' Cherokee
Portland Spring Co. 5/8" custom U-bolts
Spring plates
4.5" RE coils
3.5" RE leafs
1" Shackles
DIY Shackle relocation brackes
RE adjustable track bar
4.5" lift Stainless braided brake lines
Alloy USA ball joints
Rugged Ridge SYE
NW Custom Drive shaft
Alloy USA TC chain
Performance Curve Magnaflow exhuast
Throttle body spacer
Neon injectors
Accel 8mm wire set
new OEM motor mounts
new OEM tranny mount
new OEM Coil
Putco H4 headlight wiring harness
Autopal H4 headlights
Hella 80/100 bulbs
ZJ rear disc conversion
ZJ shift knob
Town & Country factory CD/tape head unit
ZJ transmission cooler
Yellow top optima
DIY 6 gauge battery cables made from welding wire
gojeep rear shock mount modification
bar-pin eliminators using rear sway-bar mounts
JK Rubicon shocks
16" MOAB wheels with 265 75 16 Goodyear Duratracs
And the parts I have collecting dust in the garage are:
WJ knuckles
Akebono calipers
WJ lower ball joints
Ceramic pads
Ruff Stuff 1-ton steering
Ruff Stuff axle side track bar relocation bracket
RE track bar frame side bracket
WJ brake booster
metal for a front bumper
4.56 gears/new bearings
Dana 30 Detroit locker
JKS dana 30 mini skids
All the stuff I haven't gotten installed yet is a bit more involved/above my current skill level so I'm trying to gather the necessary tools and knowledge before jumping into the gears and WJ conversion.
So before some pics, I just wanted to say that reading all the build threads here have been a huge help - so thanks if you've kept one going - I've likely pirated ideas from it.
And lastly - here's my first time getting stuck. Had to call a friend to pull me out after the rotten tree I was using as an anchor for my hi-lift self-recovery gave up the ghost.
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