Jeep Build.....

[88_Eddie]

5 wheels for $100 aint bad, i can never find deals like that down here. i had to search for months to get my 31's off craigslist

 

[mjonesjr]

Since I've "gone through" a few XJ's I figured I'd throw in my $.02 as well

6.5" of lift is quite a bit of lift with short arms, but its your toy, so play with it as you please For reference, Here's my '87 (pre chop) on 3.5" of lift with 32" swampers I only had to pull the inner fender liners to make it not rub:

CPS (Crank Position Sensor) - Throw one in the glove box as its not a matter of "If" it will go out so much as "When". Nothing sucks more than being out on the trail run only to have your CPS give out on you.

PULL UP THE CARPET NOW! - I see that you're in the rust belt, so my bet is that there is some rust going on under the carpet (The XJ's were bad for this, regardless of the year). Fix it sooner than later. If you want some scary photos, I'll post a few of my rust photos for you.

Plate the frame raiils before you wheel it - It does't take much to collapse them, so if you plan on keeping this one for awhile, plate them sooner rather than later.

The 4.0/AW4/231 combo is pretty darn stout. Put an additional tranny cooler on it and forget about it.

D30/8.25 is a decent combo as well. Throw some money at the front to lock it up, and be happy with where it goes. While I don't like the D30, I've only managed to kill one shaft in the 4 years I've beat on the '87. And that's with being retarded with the skinny pedal and a stroker. Just don't get them too bound up, and life should be good.

Other than the whole "unibody" thing (which is why I'm moving away from the XJ's) and other Jeep quirks, they're not that bad of a package. If nothing else, the wagons are allways cooler than the Barbie Jeeps Keep the photos coming as you progress!

Sorry, I deleted one of your double post and for whatever reason it deleted both of them.


Yea, I do need to get a CPS to keep with me. Hopefully I won't ever need it.

The short arms don't flex all that bad with the 6" springs. The picture below the spring is almost completely "free" in its location and the lower control arms are not hitting the axle yet. I might cut a little off the bottom of the shock mount so it hangs a little more before it hits.

I plan on plating the unibody as soon as I get the lift on. I have a ton of 1/8" flat stock that I am going to use to plate the unibody. I figured I would weld it on, probably all the way around the plating.

 

[mjonesjr]

5 wheels for $100 aint bad, i can never find deals like that down here. i had to search for months to get my 31's off craigslist

If I could get the guy to call me back I would be set.

I also have a eye on a set of 4 that are in the bottom of a guys scrap trailer for $25 or my steel stockers to replace them as weight.

 

[Kage]

Sorry, I deleted one of your double post and for whatever reason it deleted both of them.

No worries.

Yea, I do need to get a CPS to keep with me. Hopefully I won't ever need it.

Its really not that bad to swap out so long as you have enough extensions to reach the thing (which can be extra fun with a warm exhaust manifold).

The short arms don't flex all that bad with the 6" springs. The picture below the spring is almost completely "free" in its location and the lower control arms are not hitting the axle yet. I might cut a little off the bottom of the shock mount so it hangs a little more before it hits.

Oh I'm sure it'll flex fine, the ride will be a bit rough with the arms at that angle, but its all personal preference.

You'd mentioned a trailer early on, is this going to be a trailer queen for the most part? If so, you might look into getting some Goferit Tie rod inserts (<--Linky) and running the modified YJ linkage. This will help get your steering angles a little happier as well as raise the linkage up a little higher (Its annoying as heck to have to straighten the linkage after every run). Do note that to do the tie rod flip, you'll need to cut off the sway bar mounts on the axle side.

If you don't want to go that route, go grab a Tie Rod off a V8 ZJ as its quite a bit beefier than the XJ's. Bolt in affair. You'll still bend it, just not as fast as the XJ one

I plan on plating the unibody as soon as I get the lift on. I have a ton of 1/8" flat stock that I am going to use to plate the unibody. I figured I would weld it on, probably all the way around the plating.

That'll work, at a minimum, just run the 1/8" stock down the lower portion of the uni-frame. Its even better if you can wrap it around one or both sides (Making an L or a U shape) to help stiffen it up. Its a bit more time consuming, but better than the alternative of dealing with doors that don't like to close Plus it'll give you a sturdy mounting point for some sliders.

HTH

 

[mjonesjr]

Where is the CPC located at? I have a complete spare engine I could take the sensor off of instead of buying one.

I am going to trailer it to where ever I wheel it. I don't want to be stuck with a broke down rig. It will be driven on the street, just not to wheeling events.

I wonder if I could use the stock steering linkage with that insert for a while until I can find/modify a YJ linkage?

What modifications are needed for the YJ linkage to work on the XJ?

If I have enough of the plate, I plan on going all the way around it. If not, I know I have enough to do the outside of the unibody and the underside. That is what I planned on doing. I am not going to spend the $200 for a "kit" to do the same thing that I can do with the plate I got for free.

 

[Kage]

Where is the CPS located at? I have a complete spare engine I could take the sensor off of instead of buying one.

The best way to get at these is from underneath the XJ. If you're looking at the back of the motor (towards the flywheel) its at the 11 o'clock position:

I wonder if I could use the stock steering linkage with that insert for a while until I can find/modify a YJ linkage?​

Yes and no. You can use one insert on the Drivers side knuckle to get the TRE up in the air some (using the stock XJ "Y" linkage). Here's a before and after of what my friend did on his (He has the ZJ Tie Rod on there). Note that you'll still need to cut the sway bar mount off the Drivers side: (Big image I know, but should make it easier to see)​

Here's before:

And after:

With the YJ linkage, you will need to have both Tie Rod Ends on the same side (Either flip them both, or leave them both stock). The YJ linkage is a "T" style setup.

What modifications are needed for the YJ linkage to work on the XJ?

Depends on what you do. You’ll probably need to shorten the drag link. If you do the Flip, you’ll need to drill out the tie rod for an insert (and probably move your steering stabilizer). I’ll try to grab a photo of mine tonight to give you a better idea of what I’m talking about.
　

If I have enough of the plate, I plan on going all the way around it. If not, I know I have enough to do the outside of the unibody and the underside. That is what I planned on doing. I am not going to spend the $200 for a "kit" to do the same thing that I can do with the plate I got for free.

While the "kits" are nice, they’re not $200 nice. Free to cheap is always a winner in my book ;-)​

　​

 

[Kage]

Looks like I allready have a photo or two in my photo bucket. Here's the YJ linkage on the front of my '87. It has been flipped and the drag link shortened:

I had to cut off my steering stablizer mount as it was rubbing with YJ linkage. I later fab'd up a new mount to combat some Death Wobble I was having.

Before:

Ater cutting it off:

 

[mjonesjr]

So the CPC is mounted on the bell housing? That is the way I see it by the diagram above.

I think if I upgrade my steering it will be one of the aftermarket kits. I don't have any of the tools required to modify the linkage and don't want to shell out the money for someone else to do the modification. I found a kit from Currie that was $200 and had all new heims and tubing for links.


I got the front buttoned up tonight; well all except for the sway bar disconnect. I can't for the life of me get the stock sway bar end link bolt out that mounts to the frame. I have broke 2 T55 torx sockets trying to get them broke lose. It may come down to grinding the heads off and drilling the bolt out. I do like the way Rough Country designed their sway bar end links with the mount that holds the end link and the sway bar up out of the way when wheeling.

Once it is all on and road worthy, I am going to test the flex out and see if where the extended brake lines meet the hard lines need to be moved down. The lines are the Rubicon Express lines for their 5" kit.

I got started on the rear. I have full replacement springs and shackles for the rear. I am taking the sway bar completely off so I won't have to worry about it on the trail. The bolts are tight as a virgin. I am using a 1/2" drive ratchet & socket with a 4' pipe for a breaker bar. I got the driver side shackle off. That is where I had to stop for the night.

 

[Kage]

So the CPC is mounted on the bell housing? That is the way I see it by the diagram above.

That is correct:

I think if I upgrade my steering it will be one of the aftermarket kits. I don't have any of the tools required to modify the linkage and don't want to shell out the money for someone else to do the modification. I found a kit from Currie that was $200 and had all new heims and tubing for links.

That'll work too.

I got started on the rear...<sinp>..I got the driver side shackle off. That is where I had to stop for the night.

You stopped at the easy part Hopefully you won't have to cut into the uni frame to get the front bolts out. Soak those really good if you haven't allready because it sucks to cut them out. Those two bolts allways seem to take the longest when doing any lift on the XJ's. Good luck!

 

[mjonesjr]

You stopped at the easy part Hopefully you won't have to cut into the uni frame to get the front bolts out. Soak those really good if you haven't allready because it sucks to cut them out. Those two bolts allways seem to take the longest when doing any lift on the XJ's. Good luck!

The front bolt is coming out, slowly but surly; at least on the driver side. It is just taking a 1/2" drive with a 4' breaker bar.

 

[ChrisR1S]

When I put the rough country shackles on my '87 I went through 3 of my good ratchets, apparently 5' of breaker bar is a little too much Finally got them both out(with one of my "junk" ratchets) and anti-seized the heck out of the new hardware so it'll never happen again!

 

[4.0B2]

i gotta subscribe to this! i like xj's..

 

[mjonesjr]

Well I got the rear springs off. The bolts were sticking to the metal bushing inside the rubber spring bushing. Once I got the bolts out, they when back in with my fingers.

Here is the difference in the springs.

Here is some pictures of it backed out of the garage.

I just need to get the stock bolts that hold the front lower sway bar end link to the axle off. I am going to take it and have someone either blow it out with a torch or drill it out. I have busted 3 T55 torx bolts trying to get it broke lose.

Other than the sway bar end link bolt, I have a few little things to do and it will be ready to hit the trails. I have a trail ride I am going to next Sunday.

 

[88_Eddie]

looks good

 

[mjonesjr]

I got the stock sway bar end link bolts out of the brackets on the axle. It was no wonder I broke 3x T55 torx bits; the damn things were splined and drove in. It took a torch to heat them up and drive them out. The bracket and bolt would only come out when it was glowing red.

I also got a set of D-ring mounts welded on my front bumper today. Now I just have to stop at Tractor Supply and pick some D-rings up.

I am now in the cleaning process. The inside is pretty dirty from the previous owner. I spent 2 hours cleaning the windows and dash tonight. It looks a ton better.

I have a trail ride planned for this weekend. It should be fun taking the XJ out on her maiden voyage.