XJ "Budget Build"

[raptor314]

To get the old school wiring to work with the multifuction LED lights, I got a Drawtite adapter used for adapting a Jeep to a trailer. It also took a digital flasher up front in the fuse panel. It works like a charm and the lights are badass. I can provide the info on the adapter or lights if anybody is interested.

 

[GroversXJ]

Man you really kick arse fabbing stuff up. I've never seen someone build their rig as fast as you either and I dig the pink boots. Great job.

 

[raptor314]

Man you really kick arse fabbing stuff up. I've never seen someone build their rig as fast as you either and I dig the pink boots. Great job.

Well those pink boots are my secret for mad fabbing, well that and my speedo. The price I pay is welding sun burns on my lilly white thighs.

I wish...this thing has taken me forever, just finally posting...It's actually almost done though...

 

[raptor314]

Looks good.
But, with your fab ability, Kind of disappointed with the RC and (c)Rusty's choice of steering parts. Hope it works for you though.

I hear you. You'll see a steering and track bar upgrade in the very near future. And as far as the RC parts, the track bar bracket is actually pretty nice, but I would agree that the hardware on the track bar is jenky. I can't comment on the springs yet.

 

[raptor314]

This is actually the coolest mod on the XJ

I got the parts off Amazon. I used a single strut and it works awesome!!! Once you release the latch it just glides up. You just want to make sure you use 2 hands and apply pressure evenly on both sides when you close it.

I first installed it with sheetmetal screws into the hood and fender apron on the drivers side, but after a few reps the screws loosened.

So for plan B, I moved it to the passenger side coolant body mount where there's some heavier steel to attach the screws. I took some flat bar and tapped it for fine thread machine screws. Then I welded the bar to the hood. It gave it solid mounting without issues.

I love opening my hood!!!

 

[raptor314]

Next I decided to add a hoop to the front bumper so I could mount a light bar I got off Amazon. 1 1/4" pipe bent on the HF pipe bender.

I'm really happy with the light I got. A ton of people complain about the imports leaking and having poor quality, but this one is pretty bright and dry as a bone inside. So far so good. I love it at $60.

 

[raptor314]

Next I turned to the interior. I pulled the seats, sagging headliner, all all the trim panels. I sanded the roof and treated it to a few coats of flat black rattle can.

Then I sanded the entire floor and sprayed in several coats of Herculiner. While the Herculiner was still tacky, it hit that with a few coats of gloss black rattle can.

A common complaint about Herculiner is that it lacks the UV protection and gets chalky over time. My thought was that a few coats of rattle can would help maintain it's shine.

Another complaint about Herculiner is that when rolled on, it's rough and can grind your skin off.

I sprayed mine with a $20 undercoating gun and it came out with nice round texture. I would say smooth, but smooth is the wrong word.

It's more like smooth round blobs, more like you would see with a professionally installed liner. I can't spesk to how long it will last, but it looks good so far and it been in for about 8 months.

 

[raptor314]

More shots of the interior.

 

[raptor314]

This is about the point where I pulled it out of the side yard and got my first drive.

So my first drive...So to tell this story I have to go back to the beginning.

When I got this XJ it wouldn't shift into 4Lo, so I climbed underneath and adjusted the linkage so I could hit 4Lo, but then I couldn't get into 2H...I legt in alone until this part of the build.

So my solution was to leave it adjusted so I could hit 2H, and then clearance the shift gate with a die grinder to give the shifer some more rearward travel. It worked like a charm and I can now hit all my gears.

Without realizing it, I created a problem by test driving it back and forth on the side yard. The stock D30 3.55 gears didn't play well with the 8.8's 4.10's. Eventhough I shifted it back to 2H, the case was still engaged in probably 4H. As we all know vehicles don't like 4wd on pavement, especially with different gear ratios front and rear.

I finally figured out my F Up and I had to run it with all 4 wheels off the ground to get the transfer case to shift into 2H.

 

[raptor314]

With it in 2H it obviously rolled a lot smoother. The bias ply LTB Swampers take awhile to warm up and get round, but they still roll pretty rough.

The handling was fairly sketchy because I didn't have a sway bar. I was hoping to avoid running one, but I quickly realized I needed it...BAD....I also figured a steering stabilizer would help.

 

[raptor314]

I ended up getting some RC links and a Pro Comp steering stabilizer and they made all the difference in the world.

My first trip on the freeway was super scary, at least mentally. The thought of rolling on a vehicle where I hand built the suspension was a little daunting. Worrying about death wobble, driveshaft vibrations, it shaking apart, or just handling crazy. It wasn't like I did one thing at a time and was testing one thing at a time...I was testing everything all at once.

My speedo doesn't work so I used a GPS ap on my phone. I got it up to 55 and it drove straight, no death wobble, vibrations, ect. No negative characteristics. I cautiously got it up to 65, and still no problems.

I have since had it up to 70, it's smooth and straight, but that's as fast as I care to go in it.

 

[twinhauler]

Quick work on the build, must be some good coffee. I really like the camo paint, never been a fan but on your XJ it works good! Get out and wheel!

 

[raptor314]

So now to deal with the different axle ratios. I went to 4wheelparts and got a quote for gears, an E Locker, and 30 spline G2 axles. Basically a Super 30.

They talked me into a G2 TJ Dana 44 because it was only like $500 more for a complete assembly up to the C's. I paid for it, but it was back ordered forever and they couldn't give me a delivery date.

Meanwhile I do more digging in the forums and research the difference between the TJ 44 and the XJ HP30. The tubes are the same wall thickness so no advantage there, in fact I would argue that my trussed D30 was more bend resistant than the D44.

The D44 is a low pinion, my D30 is high pinion. This relates to a steeper driveshaft angle and possibly a need to lengthen my shaft.

As for the ring and pinion, many people say the reversed cut D30 ring and pinion is as strong, or almost as strong as the D44 (low pinion). Not sure.

Axle shafts, both the D44 and a Super 30 use 30 spline shafts...same same. The drawback here is I can't get trail spares from the junkyard.

To do the D44 I would have to make a truss and create a mounting point for my upper link.

I considered all of this and decided to cancel the order for the D44 and build the D30.

 

[raptor314]

I have never done gears, but I know it's a bit complicated juggling pinion pre load, pinion depth, backlash, ect. I researched it, bought the tools, and decided to give it a shot.

EPIC FAIL...

So I took it to a transmission shop that has done work for me before. I told them it was going into a rockcrawler. They quoted me $400. It was worth it for me for the piece of mind of having it done right....

 

[raptor314]

So I get done and pick it up...I got it home and was getting ready to unload it when I noticed the sweet place where they ran the wiring...See anything wrong here?

WTF???

 

[raptor314]

If you look closely, you can just barely see the electrical connector for the E Locker on the BOTTOM of the diff towards the driver's side. WTF? WTF?WTF?

The next problem I found was that they shimmed outboard of the carrier, and one of the shims had shifted and was blocking the entrance for the shaft into the carrier.

So I took it back to the shop and showed the owner where the wire was. I reminded him that the axle was for a rockcrawler and that they had ran the wire to the absolute lowest part of the vehicle. I told him I was concerned about #1 destroying the wires and not being able to lock or unlock the locker #2 ripping the plastic grommet out on a rock, losing the oil, and destroying the diff.

He kinda had a "Duh" look on his face and said that was the only place they could figure to run it since I had the truss over the top.

I told him I would drill the hole in the truss so they could run it the right way. He said he would tap and plug the hole they drilled.

They had it ready a few days later. The plugs aren't ideal, but they will work.

 

[raptor314]

Quick work on the build, must be some good coffee. I really like the camo paint, never been a fan but on your XJ it works good! Get out and wheel!

Thanks. It was fun to do, and I figured it would make touch ups easier. I'm getting so close to being done.

 

[raptor314]

So I was having an issue with my brakes. I had the factory Bendix ABS system and the brakes worked OK...not well, they would stop 35's but it would not lock them up.

Plus the ABS pump was starting to make noise like a bearing was going out. I saw that the cool kids with older XJ's would swap in dual diaphragm boosters and corresponding master cylinders.

I don't have pics but I did the swap with a 1999 WJ booster and master. The braking was better, it would lock up the fronts, but I couldn't get the pedal to feel right. It was firm and would lock up the tires with the pedal a few inches from the floor, but if you kept pressing, the petal would go to the floor.

I would bleed it, evacuate all air and the pedal would be the same, I replaced the booster and master again, every inch of line, and the rear calipers. Still the same.

I had my buddy who is an ASE master tech work on it...Same.

I took it to a shop and they worked on it over a month in their spare time. Same...

I had to just say F'it, it is what it is. It stops hard, but it will go to the floor...

 

[raptor314]

So next I started looking at doing a WJ knuckle swap to get high steering and bigger front brakes.

As for the knuckle end of things, It looks like there are 2 ways of doing it.
1. Use Explorer Sport Trac rotors which may require spacers of questionable thickness to center the brake calipers...or
2. Use WJ rotors and redrill them to 5 on 4.5. I wasn't to excited about redrilling rotors, but when I saw that Iron Rock Offroad sells double drilled WJ rotors that have both bolt patterns, plus they are drilled and slotted...Option #2 became a no brainer.

 

[DeftwillP]

I'm assuming this has all taken place over a couple of months right? If not, this is the quickest build ever.