1996 xj

[tcaradon]

I bought this jeep in 2009 as a daily driver. I drove it nearly everyday for the next 3 years. No issues other than a sticking caliper and a rusted brake line.

[tcaradon]

In 2012 I pulled it off the road to fix some rust in the rear unibody rail that I thought was fairly minor. After pulling the carpet I found there was very little metal left in the rear of the xj. The entire floor above the gas tank was gone. I started doing some patching, then I took a new job, we moved, and it sat for over a year.

[tcaradon]

Christmas of 2014 I had a week off and decided I was either going to work on the cherokee or part it. I cleared the mouse nest out of the intake, bumped the starter, and it came to life. I worked on it for a week straight and got the backhalf of the body put back together and painted, new fuel tank, mix-matched 3" lift, a ford 8.8 rear axle, and re-geared it to 4.56 with spartan lockers front and rear. My cousin gave me an old set of 33" swampers and wheels and it was back on the road and now trails.



I built a front bumper for it, added hood vents, and a fuel tank skid

[tcaradon]

And then we wheeled it. Badlands, Wilstem, Redbird, Windrock, and Slade several times.

[tcaradon]

Along the way I cut out the rockers and replaced them with tube, trimmed the fenders, added a steering and transmission cooler, and put ten factory shafts in the front.



https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=5B46E9F3

[tcaradon]

Next came the roll cage. I wanted it to be safe, mostly internal, have headroom, and a removable top that sealed decently.







I also added a set of beadlocks


And back to wheeling

[tcaradon]

I originally put this together as cheep as possible. Over time I changed out parts with higher quality pieces. It still uses the stock short arm suspension mounting points with currie upper and lower control arms. It has a stock style steering with a durango box, v8 wj pump and a currie linkage. I modified the RE trackbar to be double sheer with a bracket and hiem joint from barnes4x4 .

The axles had held up decently well to this point, but I was often getting hung up on the differential in ruts. I wanted 35's and ended up with a set of 35" LTBs. I saw no reason to abandon the dana 30/ ford 8.8 so I sold the original axles and Built a fresh pair with a yukon full case locker in the front and an ARB in the rear with 4.88 gears. I run the ARB off a paintball co2 tank.



First trip out the the 35s Cat put the xj on its side at Redbird


After that it went on three trips to Harlan and some trails I wouldn't have dreamed it could do.







Current state:

[RebelK25]

Been fun to see this rig come to life. I'll vouch for it being able to climb some trails that blew my mind...this rig is proof that with quality, well laid and executed plans, you can have a capable rig without (completely) breaking the bank. Driver skill helps too!

Looking forward to Windrock in a few weeks! What is still on the list before we go?

[keepviper13]

Another serious wheeling trip under the belt of this XJ.
Thanks for the build thread, didn't even realize it had gone through so many stages in life....

[tcaradon]

Windrock April 2018








Only issues were a broken track bar, and some exhaust damage/leaks