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Another slightly more than mild XJ build

56K views 410 replies 47 participants last post by  lososjoyride00 
#1 · (Edited)
Well, after building a couple xj's and a couple samurai's I've ended up back in a cherokee. This time I'm trying to keep it mild for now so I can enjoy it and do some wheelin' :blah:


Starting out with a 2000 Sport.

Current specs.

3" Zone Offroad AAL lift kit
33x12.50x15 KM1's
15x7 (more on that later) Summit Racing D window wheels
1.5" DOM steering with 3/4 Ruffstuff Hiem joints.
Extended the rear bump stops 2.5"
Extended the front bump stops 3"
Started building a Winch Bumper.
Trimmed fenders
No rubbing


Soon to come
Long arms
Winch
weld on beadlocks (hence the 7" wide wheels)
Rock sliders
Roof sliders
Flat(ish) belly skid
HP front dana 30 with Truss
OBA


I had the 3" lift and steering installed on the Jeep for quite some time rockin' some stock A/ts. I finally found a good deal on some 33" BFG KM1s from another member on here. Ordered my wheels from Summit Racing and had them the next day :rock: which was just in time for me to get the tires mounted on them, and get the front fenders trimmed enough so I could pull out of the driveway without rubbing :teehee: After getting them installed on the Jeep I took it out for a little wheelin' trip to BigBChevy's house.








I had a blast over there, but after losing the rear fender flares and bumper corners I knew I had to trim the rear and extend the bump stops.

For the rear I took a piece of 2.5x2.5x3/8 square tubing and used it as a spacer between the unirail and factory bump stop. Sorry no pics of the spacer, but it no longer rubs, barely.





For the front I used some the same tubing and cut it 3" long and capped one end. Then welded it on the coil bucket on the axle end. Worked out pretty good but when at full stuff with the wheel turned to lock, it would rub on the infamous XJ Hump. Pic is at full bump.






I couldn't wait any longer, trying to find a HP Dana 30 so I just welded a Truss onto my LP Dana 30. Built it from 5 pieces of .25" plate and it is fully TIG welded on. Took me about 8 hours to weld the truss on, I don't ever want to truss a Dana 30 again :sonicjay: I tried to keep the truss as low profile as possible, but only time will tell if I like it.



Also added Inner C gussets.




The Jeeps now torn apart in the garage getting some more "body work" done. Will post some finished pics later.
 
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#95 ·
Well, I've hit some clearance issues with the Passenger side Coil-over contacting the frame through it's cycle. With the way the Early Bronco D44 is made, the center section is damn near in the middle of the axle. This makes the yoke point directly at the exhaust manifold. To fix this, I just simply pushed the axle to the drivers side, in which caused my clearance issue. So I've ordered some exhaust parts from Summit Racing, so I can reroute the exhaust for more clearance. Hopefully it works out like I have it planned in my head :teehee:


Pics to come when the parts get here.
 
#99 ·
That's the best idea if you plan on keeping the Jeep for a long time. I never broke the Dana 30 besides the spiders gears, and I fixed that with a locker. So with the D44 and chromo shafts, and locker I should be pretty strong for 35" tires. If I want something more capable, I'll build a buggy. But for the Michigan wheeling that I do, I'm sure i'll be fine on the 1/2 tons.
 
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