Peteyg
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Corona, CA
Hi everyone! I'm Pete. Some of you may or may not know me from various other forums. I'm new to the XJ, but not to Jeeps....
A little progression:
I started with an '82 Full Size Cherokee, then moved into a CJ7, then moved into a TJ (my upgrade to Fuel Injection), and then built on the TJ for 9 years or so. It ended up with full widths, custom built link suspension, 38.5" tires, yada yada yada. I spent more time wrenching on it than wheeling, and decided I was done with Jeeping. I sold the TJ, the tow rig, and the trailer and bought a '73 Dart Swinger with a 318. I thought I was happy, and I was! But then, this thing found it's way into my garage. I'm not sure how it happened...
That is my '96 Country edition. I picked it up for $1600. It had some issues:
Broken steering box bolt
Incredibly rusty suspension (that would come back to haunt me later)
AC didn't work
Iffy cooling
Dana 35
Broken radio antenna
Dana 35....oh, wait...
Anyway, I dealt with the broken steering box with a donor from a '95 I found in the junkyard, dealt with the cooling by replacing...well...everything, recharged the AC, and fixed the broken radio antenna.
And then I had to do something about that stock height problem.
After MUCH cursing and many, many sawzall blades later, I got the old rusty suspension off and had my nice new 4.5" lift installed.
Combine with some nice Pro Comp 1028 series wheels and Pro Comp Xtreme MT's (no I'm not trying to pimp their stuff....it's just what I got). It also has a Rubicon Express tie rod. Someday it will have an RE 5.5" long arm lift, but that's in the future.
"But wait!", you say, "Pro Comp doesn't MAKE a 4.5" lift for the XJ!" Right you are....
But they DO make a 4" lift for the TJ, and the Pro Comp rear XJ springs give an honest 4.5" of lift. Combine with JK 3" Springs and a 1.75" spacer, and I got an honest 4.5" lift. So, if you order the front TJ components with adjustable uppers and an adjustable track bar, JK 3" springs, some spacers, and XJ rear leafs, with some strategic trimming, the 33's fit just fine....but I'm getting ahead of myself...
Other things I have done to it:
NP231 SYE. Rear driveshaft is a front XJ shaft. Convenient. I only have to carry one spare...It's a little short for a D35, but is a perfect fit with the D44.
Good stereo with upgraded door and soundbar speakers, and cheap pep boys dual 10's. Gotta have tunes! Cobra CB, K40 antenna, and other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting.
But what to do about that pesky Dana 35? As it happens, I am building a D35 for a friend's ZJ (in a perverse way, the D35 is an UPGRADE from the D44HD aluminum abomination that is in it now). As part of that build, I have a 30-spline Super-35 kit just laying around....I was about to put that in my Jeep when one Saturday morning I went to the JY just to look around and found...
Yep, it fit in the trunk of my beater Lincoln Continental. It didn't have axles or brakes, but I wasn't worried. I planned to upgrade the axle shafts, and I would figure out the brakes. (I have another one I found a few weeks ago if someone wants to buy it. It has backing plates, but no axle shafts, and no drums....both easy to get).
G2 provided me with chromoly axle shafts, and I found an Eaton E-Locker with the right case break on the test and re-box table at a Truckfest event for an obscenely low amount of money (you don't want to know). Stuff full of 4.56's, mix well and enjoy!
Backing plates, axle retaining plates, and drums came from a non c-clip D35. I love the Junkyard.
I left the front open for now, but eventually it'll be getting an ARB from a friend's front D30 when he upgrades to the Waggy 44 we're building for his XJ. I'm tempted to throw a lock-right in just for a while, but then I need to get chromoly front shafts, too. I may still do that, but money is tight right now....
Anyway, I've condensed a lot of work into just a few paragraphs, but it was easy. Like I said, I've been doing the Jeep thing for a while...
And then I went wheeling! It was SO much fun. I hadn't had that much fun wheeling in a LONG time. Can't wait to go again. Truckhaven again, Dec 10th.
Anyway, glad to be here! I hope to meet some of you on the trail!
A little progression:
I started with an '82 Full Size Cherokee, then moved into a CJ7, then moved into a TJ (my upgrade to Fuel Injection), and then built on the TJ for 9 years or so. It ended up with full widths, custom built link suspension, 38.5" tires, yada yada yada. I spent more time wrenching on it than wheeling, and decided I was done with Jeeping. I sold the TJ, the tow rig, and the trailer and bought a '73 Dart Swinger with a 318. I thought I was happy, and I was! But then, this thing found it's way into my garage. I'm not sure how it happened...
That is my '96 Country edition. I picked it up for $1600. It had some issues:
Broken steering box bolt
Incredibly rusty suspension (that would come back to haunt me later)
AC didn't work
Iffy cooling
Dana 35
Broken radio antenna
Dana 35....oh, wait...
Anyway, I dealt with the broken steering box with a donor from a '95 I found in the junkyard, dealt with the cooling by replacing...well...everything, recharged the AC, and fixed the broken radio antenna.
And then I had to do something about that stock height problem.
After MUCH cursing and many, many sawzall blades later, I got the old rusty suspension off and had my nice new 4.5" lift installed.
Combine with some nice Pro Comp 1028 series wheels and Pro Comp Xtreme MT's (no I'm not trying to pimp their stuff....it's just what I got). It also has a Rubicon Express tie rod. Someday it will have an RE 5.5" long arm lift, but that's in the future.
"But wait!", you say, "Pro Comp doesn't MAKE a 4.5" lift for the XJ!" Right you are....
But they DO make a 4" lift for the TJ, and the Pro Comp rear XJ springs give an honest 4.5" of lift. Combine with JK 3" Springs and a 1.75" spacer, and I got an honest 4.5" lift. So, if you order the front TJ components with adjustable uppers and an adjustable track bar, JK 3" springs, some spacers, and XJ rear leafs, with some strategic trimming, the 33's fit just fine....but I'm getting ahead of myself...
Other things I have done to it:
NP231 SYE. Rear driveshaft is a front XJ shaft. Convenient. I only have to carry one spare...It's a little short for a D35, but is a perfect fit with the D44.
Good stereo with upgraded door and soundbar speakers, and cheap pep boys dual 10's. Gotta have tunes! Cobra CB, K40 antenna, and other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting.
But what to do about that pesky Dana 35? As it happens, I am building a D35 for a friend's ZJ (in a perverse way, the D35 is an UPGRADE from the D44HD aluminum abomination that is in it now). As part of that build, I have a 30-spline Super-35 kit just laying around....I was about to put that in my Jeep when one Saturday morning I went to the JY just to look around and found...
Yep, it fit in the trunk of my beater Lincoln Continental. It didn't have axles or brakes, but I wasn't worried. I planned to upgrade the axle shafts, and I would figure out the brakes. (I have another one I found a few weeks ago if someone wants to buy it. It has backing plates, but no axle shafts, and no drums....both easy to get).
G2 provided me with chromoly axle shafts, and I found an Eaton E-Locker with the right case break on the test and re-box table at a Truckfest event for an obscenely low amount of money (you don't want to know). Stuff full of 4.56's, mix well and enjoy!
Backing plates, axle retaining plates, and drums came from a non c-clip D35. I love the Junkyard.
I left the front open for now, but eventually it'll be getting an ARB from a friend's front D30 when he upgrades to the Waggy 44 we're building for his XJ. I'm tempted to throw a lock-right in just for a while, but then I need to get chromoly front shafts, too. I may still do that, but money is tight right now....
Anyway, I've condensed a lot of work into just a few paragraphs, but it was easy. Like I said, I've been doing the Jeep thing for a while...
And then I went wheeling! It was SO much fun. I hadn't had that much fun wheeling in a LONG time. Can't wait to go again. Truckhaven again, Dec 10th.
Anyway, glad to be here! I hope to meet some of you on the trail!
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