A few people asked me to do a build thread so here goes. I skipped through some of the details so if you want them just ask.
The XJ joined my life as a clean 72K mile stocker in January 2003.
Quickly made some changes… long arm lift, tires, wheels, gears, lockers, steering, brakes, etc.
Wheeled it for a few years and had a lot of fun, made bumpers, skids, etc.
Then decided to get more serious.
Out came the rockers, in went sliders.
I also spent a long time researching and designing a hybrid cage. I took my plans to JCR and they agreed to build the cage and some rear doors for me.
Then I put some paint on it - Hemi Orange.
I drove it around and wheeled it like this for a while and started to become unhappy with the “performance” of the 4.slow. I was never impressed with the stroker motors for the gain vs. cost and about this same time a friend put a 5.7L Hemi in his JK and another friend put an LS1 in his XJ. I drove them both and was instantly hooked, I HAD to have a V8.
I could not find an LS1 that was reasonably priced and I wasn’t thrilled about putting a scoop on my hood to cover the LS truck motor intake so I looked and read, looked and read and looked and read some more. Finally, I learned that an LSI intake could be mated to the 5.3l and with some accessory rerouting it would stay below my hood line.
Pick this up from a friend at Premier Auto Parts in Cedar Springs. It’s a 2005 5.3L 45K miles and all accessories, PCM, harness, TAC and pedal.
Found an LS1 intake with injectors and fuel rail on ebay and dropped it on top. That’s when I learned the water pump would be an issue too.
I picked up and LS1 water pump and started playing around with accessories rerouting and came up with this. I was never thrilled that the upper hose was captive, but it worked and I was up against the clock to get something done.
One of the things I really wanted to do was keep the Jeep instrument cluster. I spent a great deal of time searching, reading and experimenting but I was unable to make it work. Edit: The details start on post 95.
Ultimately this is what I ended up with and I am pleased with it.
Somewhere around this time I bumped up to 35’s. So, I was enjoying my new V8 and wheeling with a D30/8.25 with stock shafts. Although I never broke anything, the Internet made me think I would every time I went out.
Picked up a D44/9” from a ’75 F100 for 200 bucks and went to work narrowing and building them. OX/Detroit, alloys, 300M joints, 35 spline rear, 5.13’s, high steer, and hydro-assist. I did a write-up on those and you can find it here.
XJ: Narrowed D44/9" Swap - Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest
Everything was going great, trails were getting harder and harder and I was having a blast when the Internet again made me think my transfer case would never hold up to the abuse I was giving it. I started researching upgrades and decided to build my 231J into an HD version using a 6 planetary gearset and a wide chain. I did a write-up on that and it can be found here. 231J HD Transfer Case Upgrades - Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest
So, that pretty much brings it up to date. However this week I came across these babies! 38X12.5X15 Super Swamper SX, thanks Daryl.
So, now I know what I will be doing for my winter project this year…
The XJ joined my life as a clean 72K mile stocker in January 2003.
Quickly made some changes… long arm lift, tires, wheels, gears, lockers, steering, brakes, etc.
Wheeled it for a few years and had a lot of fun, made bumpers, skids, etc.
Then decided to get more serious.
Out came the rockers, in went sliders.
I also spent a long time researching and designing a hybrid cage. I took my plans to JCR and they agreed to build the cage and some rear doors for me.
Then I put some paint on it - Hemi Orange.
I drove it around and wheeled it like this for a while and started to become unhappy with the “performance” of the 4.slow. I was never impressed with the stroker motors for the gain vs. cost and about this same time a friend put a 5.7L Hemi in his JK and another friend put an LS1 in his XJ. I drove them both and was instantly hooked, I HAD to have a V8.
I could not find an LS1 that was reasonably priced and I wasn’t thrilled about putting a scoop on my hood to cover the LS truck motor intake so I looked and read, looked and read and looked and read some more. Finally, I learned that an LSI intake could be mated to the 5.3l and with some accessory rerouting it would stay below my hood line.
Pick this up from a friend at Premier Auto Parts in Cedar Springs. It’s a 2005 5.3L 45K miles and all accessories, PCM, harness, TAC and pedal.
Found an LS1 intake with injectors and fuel rail on ebay and dropped it on top. That’s when I learned the water pump would be an issue too.
I picked up and LS1 water pump and started playing around with accessories rerouting and came up with this. I was never thrilled that the upper hose was captive, but it worked and I was up against the clock to get something done.
One of the things I really wanted to do was keep the Jeep instrument cluster. I spent a great deal of time searching, reading and experimenting but I was unable to make it work. Edit: The details start on post 95.
Ultimately this is what I ended up with and I am pleased with it.
Somewhere around this time I bumped up to 35’s. So, I was enjoying my new V8 and wheeling with a D30/8.25 with stock shafts. Although I never broke anything, the Internet made me think I would every time I went out.
Picked up a D44/9” from a ’75 F100 for 200 bucks and went to work narrowing and building them. OX/Detroit, alloys, 300M joints, 35 spline rear, 5.13’s, high steer, and hydro-assist. I did a write-up on those and you can find it here.
XJ: Narrowed D44/9" Swap - Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest
Everything was going great, trails were getting harder and harder and I was having a blast when the Internet again made me think my transfer case would never hold up to the abuse I was giving it. I started researching upgrades and decided to build my 231J into an HD version using a 6 planetary gearset and a wide chain. I did a write-up on that and it can be found here. 231J HD Transfer Case Upgrades - Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest
So, that pretty much brings it up to date. However this week I came across these babies! 38X12.5X15 Super Swamper SX, thanks Daryl.
So, now I know what I will be doing for my winter project this year…