Thatxjguy's 1999 Jeep Cherokee Build 'Hole in the Pocket'

[thatxjguy]

I started with my Jeep in December of 2011. I've been a member of CherokeeForum and TBAJA for some time now and have been considering becoming a member too, so I finally went and did it!

I have a 1999 Jeep Cherokee XJ Limited in my favorite gunmetal pearl color. My whole definition in this build, titled "hole in the pocket," is because I have a hole in my pocket, and when I do things to this Jeep, I like to try and do it the right way rather than cut corners. For that reason, I like keeping it clean and maintaining it properly.

So here's how it all started:

It's a granny-owned Jeep with a full black leather interior and woodgrain trim. I fell in love with it as soon as I test drove it. It ran like it came right off the factory line, and the Carfax showed me that it was maintained religiously.

I added a few things, like a 6.5-inch Rough Country short arm lift, control arm drop brackets, NP242 slip yoke eliminator from Tom Woods, and 33x12.50r15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tires on 15x8 Cragar V5 wheels with 3.75 inch backspacing:

And in the end, it came out something like this:

When the time came, I put in a CB radio with my own custom CB mount setup:

 

[thatxjguy]

After my first trail ride:

It was a sad day when I had my fender gashed in by the tire, but I fixed it:

Good as new:

Then I went out again:

Found matching Tweeters at the junk yard:

 

[thatxjguy]

Next up, it was time to strengthen the front end of the Jeep with a bumper that was a little more solid than the factory one. I went with Rough Country's stinger bumper, relocated the vacuum ball, horns, and added a winch:

After cleaning out the interior (very thoroughly), I bought mats that would catch all the dirt from being offroad:

The dim little sealed beam headlights weren't doing it for me. I considered HIDs, but they just use too much power. I opted for Truck Lite's LED headlights, and they're amazing:

On my buddy's farm after a rainy day, I dropped the Jeep in four wheel drive and got it all pretty:

 

[thatxjguy]

Another small interior mod involved finding this mint condition Infinity radio at the junk yard with better equalizer controls:

Then I drove a few hours away to grab this roof rack at an unbeatable price:

And when I found a couch, I drove up on it:

Since I was tired of the Florida heat, I imagined that my leather interior must be too. I went ahead and limo tinted the windows:

I converted the interior map lights to red LEDs for no pupil dilation at night:

Put in all new motor mounts and a transmission mount:

Installed all new sway bar disconnects after breaking a pair, then installed a Rough Country performance 2.2 steering stabilizer (man this thing is really thick):

I added an 8-inch drop hitch because frankly, that's the height I needed to keep my trailer level. Then I added a really nice hitch step which is perfect for hopping in the back with my girlfriend for night of stargazing:

Very happy with my fuel mileage:

Installed this Rough Country Dana 30 differential guard to protect the cover from rocks:

 

[thatxjguy]

I made all-new mounting hardware for my roof rack to replace the old rusty hardware:

I had a blank spot, so I installed this cool non-functional axle lock switch from a Rubicon TJ for show:

Added this Mopar Trail Rated badge:

And that's it to date!

Much more is planned.

 

[Hillbilly XJ]

Looks like all you need to do now is "Do some REAL 4 wheeling and climbing with that thing". What kind of lockers do you have and what gear are you running?

 

[sunburned]

I remember when I wanted to keep my XJ clean. Bought it with a 3" lift and 32's, spotless. Thought it was perfect and I'd never have to mod it.

Then I went rock crawling. Lots of sheet metal was cut off, paint scraped off, heavy metal bolted/welded on, etc. I forgot about 'clean' pretty quickly.

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

I remember when I wanted to keep my XJ clean. Bought it with a 3" lift and 32's, spotless. Thought it was perfect and I'd never have to mod it.

Then I went rock crawling. Lots of sheet metal was cut off, paint scraped off, heavy metal bolted/welded on, etc. I forgot about 'clean' pretty quickly.

lol.

preach it brotha.

 

[dktool]

lol.

preach it brotha.

Hallelujah :cheers:

 

[Tony_SS]

I remember when I wanted to keep my XJ clean. Bought it with a 3" lift and 32's, spotless. Thought it was perfect and I'd never have to mod it.

Then I went rock crawling. Lots of sheet metal was cut off, paint scraped off, heavy metal bolted/welded on, etc. I forgot about 'clean' pretty quickly.

I think that's where I'll end up too. It's just a matter of time.

 

[Hillbilly XJ]

Yup Just Empty Every Pocket I dumped a ton in mine and not much of it you can see. Well other than bumpers, winch, lights and a custom made roof rack, lift, tires, wheels, shocks I guess more than I thought.

 

[XJEEPER]

Wow, 20mpg with 3:55 gears and 33" tires......

 

[Tony_SS]

Wow, 20mpg with 3:55 gears and 33" tires......

I'm thinking that little do-hicky in the console isn't so accurate... I'm lucky to get 15 on 31's.

 

[Hillbilly XJ]

I believe that once I did....going down hill with a strong wind behind me.


Mine with the 3.55's a 3" lift and 33x12:50x15's with an AW4, roof rack, rear swing out tire carrier, winch all make drag and weight. On a good day might get 12-14 on very level ground with no wind on cruise. But still no matter what the damn trans shifted all the time from OD to D and back.

When I replaced them with the 4.56's (should have been 4.88's now thinking 35's) that problem went away and mpg increased. What I liked and showed the best improvement was off road, installed Detroit Lockers front and rear. What a difference that made alone the single best upgrade on my XJ of everything I've done.

 

[thatxjguy]

I'm thinking that little do-hicky in the console isn't so accurate... I'm lucky to get 15 on 31's.

It's pretty accurate. If I were to do the math manually with my 20 gallon tank taken into account, I get about the same result.

I re-geared my speedometer gear after switching tires too.

 

[thatxjguy]

I've been spending pretty much all month tracking down this noise, and I'm pretty convinced it's a flex plate knock:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1111082

 

[thatxjguy]

My new injectors came today:

These are the Ford version of the 4-port 784 injector upgrade for the 4.0L.

The four-port injectors are plugged in now, and luckily, the motor didn't blow up. So now I'm waiting to see the results. I should see better MPG over time. I do notice better throttle response, insanely smoother idle, and also, a faster acceleration.

Also, in regards to that possible Flex Plate knocking, I bought a new flex plate from O-Reilly's just in case. That way, once it's apart, if it happens to be cracked, I can just swap it out.

 

[moparman96]

Let us know how the mpg works out with the new injectors. I have been thinking about that mod for awhile now.

 

[Sludge burner]

Looks good, my 99 is the same color. I like your stock wheels, mine has the factory steelies.

 

[thatxjguy]

I'm not so sure what to make of the upgrade so far.

My gas mileage doesn't seem to have "improved" at all. And perhaps the throttle response was an illusion – since resetting the PCM, throttle response actually feels weaker. I do seem to get better mileage at certain higher RPM speeds though. So it might be a "just broke even" kind of deal that is better for some applications, and worse for others.

I just refilled my tank with a full topped off tank from Chevron for the first time since the install, and I'm waiting until EMPTY to see how many miles I was able to travel. Will post results when the tank is empty.

I am noticing that the Jeep likes to start harder. I'll hear a loud "click" noise after the starter turns the motor over, and sometimes, the engine will even slug and feel like it's going to stall out before starting. That never happened before with the factory injectors. I don't really like the sound of the noise. I know the starter is good.

I replaced a broken lug bolt today that I snapped while doing a tire rotation (duh).

The aftermath after trying to extract the broken bolt from the lug:

I ended up just buying a replacement lug nut for $2.50 at Advance Auto Parts and I got the replacement stud from a buddy of mine.

While down there, I also played with the front driveshaft and felt some play.

New U-joints ready to go into the double-cardan front driveshaft.