1988 Cherokee Pioneer Project

[idriveanxj]

I've been snooping through ExPo for a bit now, and figured I should introduce myself and post up pics of my Jeep. My name is Trevor, the Jeep is a 1988 Cherokee Pioneer (4.0L, AW4, NP242, Dana 30/35) with 315,000 km. At the moment it has a 2.5" lift (with BDS coils, OME Leafs and Tomken shackles), rear locker, 30x9.5 General Grabber AT2s and a set of HiCountry Offroad front recovery shackles.

Stage 1:
I originally bought the Jeep in the Spring of 2006 right after I finished college and kept it stock for the first six months, albeit with a tune-up. Then I decided I wanted to go wheeling with my buddies and that it needed some upgrades. I started with a Daystar budget boost and a used set of 235/75R15 Mud Terrains. I found out why the guy sold them on a subsequent snow wheeling trip, when aired down to 20 psi they would pop beads (two loaner-spares later I made it home).

I finally got tired of the piss-poor lighting, so I upgraded the headlights to some nighthawks and got some KC knock-offs.

Stage 2:
During the winter of 2007, after two flats I decided it was time to pick up new set of tires. After a flip-flopping between another set of mud tires and some all terrains, I ended up with a set of 30x9.5x15 General Grabber AT2s so I could run one set of tires that would do well on pavement and gravel and still have the mountain-snowflake symbol. I also invested in a set of cupholders for the poor Jeep. :coffeedrink:

After almost a year of driving around with sad face rear springs I decided to bite the bullet and invest in a proper lift kit. I did my research and decided what best fit my requirements was piecing together something from various manufacturers. I ended up going with 2" BDS coils and Energy Suspension isolators in the front and the medium OME Dakar Leafs in the back with Tomken 1/2" shackles in the rear. It netted me roughly 2 1/2 inches of lift and cleared the 30s nicely. A couple of months later I also added a Lockrite locker in the rear.

Old leafs w/ Daystar shackles.

With new lift, new 8" driving lights, roof rack, and Grabbers.

In December of 2007 I was looking into buying a new truck. Originally I was going to keep the Jeep for camping, but then a coworker of my dad's made me an offer I couldn't refuse (and I realized that since I bought it I had only used it for one weekend camping trip), so I sold it and bought a 2004 GMC Sierra.

End of first ownership. To be continued.

 

[idriveanxj]

Chapter 2.
Two years later

After I finished my second tour of college (this time for forestry), I was looking to find a bush-basher that I could take out 4x4ing. After looking at other Cherokee's and deciding that everyone wanted too much for them I found out that my Jeep was for sale again! (Now on it's third owner since I sold it.) The kid had been using it for 4xing and now it needed a new fuel pump. Sight unseen, I bought it from him in the spring of this year. Thinking back, I'm not sure what the outcome would have been if I had seen it before I bought it.

Much to my dismay, the poor XJ was beat. The kid had ripped out the headliner, ripped the front and rear bumpers off on trees, and sold off the rack, lights, husky floor liners and aerovisors. The interior was full of dog hair, hay and pieces of copper tubing. It also looked like someones head had smashed into the passenger side of the windshield.

I was a little deflated after seeing it, but it still had the lift, locker and tires. So I was a step ahead of the game with a couple thousand worth of parts still on it. So I sucked it up and started getting it back to at least a roadworthy stage. I replaced the fuel pump and bumpers over the Summer (I wasn't very dedicated as you can tell), installed a set of HiCountry Offroad recovery shackles on the front and for some reason took off the fender flares. I finally insured it in November, and drove it for the first time after letting it be a nice lawn ornament for in my parents' yard for six months.

Here is is with a set of studded winters.

So now I'm faced with a pretty good list of things to get the poor girl back up to snuff:
- replace the headliner
- fix the heater (only works on defrost)
- fix the wipers (only one setting)
- figure out the charging issue (ridiculous draw when lights, wipers, and defrost are on)
- replace the windshield
- install the antenna
- wire up a set of Hella 700s

Then I can get to the list of fun stuff:
- Build sleeping/storage rack
- Build roofrack
- Quick disconnects
- Extended Bumpstops
- Replace grill/Headlight bucket
- Skidplates
- Diff guards
-Rear tire carrier
-Jerry can/HiLift mount
- Inverter
- Tint windows
- Awning
- Adjustable Tracbar

So now you have met my Cherokee. I guess in the six months since I bought it back I've already decided to make it more of an exploring/camping vehicle than a hardcore offroader. I've been reading though the forums and I really like Exrunner's sleeping platform so it will be something along the lines of that, except my cargo tiedowns are broken so I'll have to bolt it to the floor. And my rear seat is now broken (thanks buddy) so I'm just going to remove it entirely.

I look forward to any comments/suggestions.