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Mira's Jeep Cherokee Sport

91K views 349 replies 96 participants last post by  1x1_Speed_Craig 
#1 · (Edited)
This is my jeep cherokee - thanks to our friend Don Briney-aka-BOBCAT. Were still trying to figure out what its going to look like when its done... :bdr2: I'm going to work on it a lot with my dad,.....but you never know...dads a talker-he might do more explaining than doing... :blah:

-Mira :rock:




EDIT (from dad):

Mira will only be posting in this build thread and her "Intro" thread, with me by her side when she does. I'm very proud that she wants to build up a Jeep with me; it'll be her car when she gets her driver's permit/license. Please keep any posts in this thread "Rated-PG" (I have already turned off Avatars/signatures for her).

EDIT: See two (2) posts down for project sponsors...
 

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#317 ·
Thank you, 1TFROT (I've been watching your buggy build, BTW...very nice).


The big news today is not with Mira's XJ 2-door, but rather with her little sister Maeve's new 2000 XJ Sport 2-door that we just picked up today for only $500 (money well spent!). It's a 1-owner, female-driven vehicle that is pretty clean for its age (the owner's significant other works at a car wash/detailing center, so it got washed a LOT). It runs beautifully, despite its 220K miles. It's a 2WD with a 4.0L/AW4 auto, factory theft-deterrent system, and bone stock. It has a few minor electrical quirks (e.g. passenger window doesn't work), but it drives very nicely. A/C works. Cruise works.

There is some minor rust repair that we'll eventually have to tackle, but it's nothing we can't handle.

We also already have a set of aluminum TJ/LJ Ravine wheels with good tires that'll replace the factory steel wheels & tires.







Yeah...I'll have to explain what this C-A-S-S-E-T-T-E player thingy-majig is all about (it'll get replaced).
 
#325 ·
Spring is here, and we made good progress on Mira's Jeep today.

We installed the '98 ZJ disc/disc proportioning valve "guts" into the stock XJ proportioning valve today (ZJ parts on left {note shorter spring}, XJ parts on right). It was straightforward, except that we originally reinstalled the XJ "plug/bolt", and it didn't seal. When Mira pumped the brakes, brake fluid shot out the center hole. Once we scratched our head a bit, then used the ZJ plug/bolt instead, it stopped the leaking. I did test-drive it after the switch, and the pedal didn't feel mushy; however, just to be safe, we'll re-bleed the entire system at the calipers before it officially hits the road.




Mira & I had fun pulling the front axle. We got the front axle is pulled, and ready to clean up for paint. Aside from prettying it up, the following will be replaced on our next work weekend:

  • Upper control arms (53K miles, from my old '05 LJ); already painted.
  • Lower Teraflex adjustable control arms (sponsorship from Teraflex)
  • Track bar (53K miles, from my old '05 LJ)
  • Tie rod, drag link & steering dampener (53K miles, from my old '05 LJ)
  • New Moog upper control arm bushings (already purchased; need to rent/borrow a ball joint press to install). We found that the stock uppers were shot, which may have been contributing to some steering "wander".
  • New sway bar bushings
  • New Rokmen adjustable bump stop extensions (left over from my 1-ton '05 LJ build)

Excuse Mira's crazy eyes in this pic. I think she was thinking about chocolate or something. It was not excitement over pulling the axle. :)



Here are the Rokmen adjustable bump stops



Success!




While trying to remove the upper control arms from the body, one of my sockets popped off the wrench, and slid into the frame rail. At this point, we called it quits for the day, but I asked Mira to write a note to get it out the next time we worked on it. She took the liberty to add creative verbiage, as-necessary. Kids..

 
#330 ·
No chocolate on Saturday (but she seems to eat enough for the both of us). :teehee:


nice to see kids into working on there own vehicles...
Thanks. Neither of us are mechanics, but I hope that her hands-on learning will serve her well in life (not just with Jeeps/vehicles, but also with basic problem solving). Time will tell.
 
#332 ·
"Dumb Dad" went fishing this afternoon, and finally got the missing 15mm socket out of Mira's Jeep XJ frame rail. It probably would have been a good job for Mira (think "lesson in patience/problem solving"), but I took one for the team.




Mira's old front upper control arm bushings have seen better days. I used the tool check-out program (free rental) at Autozone, and used a ball joint press to remove/install front upper control arm bushings on Mira's Jeep today. I made some additional spacers for the press out of some old CJ rollbar tubing I had laying around. All in all, it went very smoothly (first time doing these).






New bushings installed. Front axle is now ready to be cleaned up & painted before reinstalling.



 
#333 ·
Since I won't have my girls over Easter, they got their Easter gifts early (along with a chocolate bunny)...their own tool kits (which they can keep in their respective XJs), and "designer" duct tape.




With the cold temps, it was a relatively lazy Jeep work day. We did, however, get Mira's Rokmen bump stop extensions installed...drill, tap, cut down bolts, chase threads, and bolt on. It's too cold to paint the axle today, though. I swear by the Blair Tools Rotabroach bits, FWIW; they cut like butter.




I had these adjustable bump stop extensions left over from my 1-ton LJ project. They'll work perfectly!

 
#335 ·
Thank you...much appreciated. I hope they appreciate it even more as they get older.

We prepped and primed (first coat) Mira's front axle today. It's SO nice to have it warm enough to paint! We're hoping to reinstall the axle, along with the "new" control arms, steering components & track bar, in a couple weeks.



 
#337 ·
Yes...Prerunner. :sonicjay: Not really. Their mom bought a house across the street from the high school, so she won't be driving much. She also can't afford to fix things if something breaks wheeling. :teehee: At this point, at least, we're keeping it 2WD. We can always convert it down the road once she gets a job.

Yes, it's the sweatshirt they gave her at the open house. JCR rocks! :thumb:
 
#338 ·
Mira & I got her new suspension bits, including a set of complimentary TeraFlex adjustable LCAs thanks to Porscheguy & TeraFlex. We still need to get her new steering parts bolted in, and torque everything down yet...another day. All in all, it was a good/productive day for Mira's XJ.



 
#345 ·
Well I can say she is 3 years older now!
:sonicjay::sonicjay::sonicjay:



No. Unfortunately, progress halted when Mira hit a "I'm a slacker with ridiculously-horrible work ethic" phase. This could also translate to "Instagram/Snapchat is more important than everything, including doing a good job with my chores". After a year of warnings that I would sell her Cherokee if she didn't shape up, I did just that...sold it to another high school girl that a mechanic friend connected me with. She was very grateful. Mira was annoyed, but she was warned. It was probably one of the toughest parenting moments I've had, but it had to be done.

Mira is now a Freshman in college, and doesn't have or need a car. We built her up a sweet Diamond Back single-speed campus beater bicycle, and that gets her where she needs with no real maintenance needs. Oh, and it was pretty close to free.

Back to your regularly-scheduled re-runs...

Craig
 
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