95 YJ Family Adventure Jeep

[JeepN95YJ]

I bought this Jeep in 1996 with only 18,000 miles on it. Got it at Zimmer Jeep in Florence, KY. I don't know who owned it previously, but judging by the number of golf tees and stubby pencils found under the carpet and in the console, I believe I saved it from a boring life.

The purpose of this thread is to document the gradual changes made over the last 13 or so years into what it is today. I still have some changes I plan on making over the next few months and plan to post those here as well.

Currently it looks like this:

Current Specs:

5.0 Mustang engine
AOD automatic transmission
D60 front, ARB, 4.56s, Hydraulic assist.
9 Inch rear, ARB 4.56s, custom FF conversion, Currie HP center
35 x 13.50 x 16 Mickey Thompson Claws on American Racing wheels
Warn 8274 Winch
Home-made rocker protection, bumpers, anti-wrap bar, flat skid, SOA etc.

I've built every piece of this Jeep and as typical of most Jeep-owners, I love to talk about it. If you are curious about any part, I'll move it to the top of the list for posting.

:arabia:

 

[jasonL_031]

how do you find the baja claws??

nice jeep.

 

[JeepN95YJ]

These are the Bias Claws. I've used bias 36" Swamper TSLs in the past and the claws are much better on the street. They ride much smoother and do not flat spot as badly.

Haven't had a great chance to test them off the pavement yet.

 

[Root Moose]

Great looking Jeep. Love the stance.

 

[JeepN95YJ]

I started my mods with tires....31x10.5x15s with no lift. They rubbed a lot. Added a 1 inch body lift and JKS Quick Disconnects for the sway bar and it worked great.

My wife and I used the Jeep for everything. Traveled all over as newlyweds often do. We're still using the tent pictured. I ran it like this for about a year before adding more lift. The stock D30 & D35 handled it great. No traction aids, just careful driving, a tow strap & highlift and trusted friends.

 

[JeepN95YJ]

The next step involved adding a 3.5" lift from Superlift. I thought the springs were too short as the shackles pointed toward the center of the Jeep while sitting flat and level. I found out on the first ledge of the very next trail ride that I was right. I bent a front spring main leaf and received absolutely no support from the manufacturer. I straightened the spring on the trail and ran it for another couple of years. I had to re-straighten it several more times.

All mods had been bolt-ons to this point during this time I won a Lock-Rite locker in a raffle.

 

[JeepN95YJ]

Finally I wore out the 31's (approximately 30K miles) where I felt it was time for new tires. I still had plenty of tread left and sold the 5 used tires for $200.

The next step was a spring over axle mod using the stock springs (which I had saved for this purpose). I added 35 inch tires and a front locker. I tried to drive it with a modified stock rear driveshaft (one inch longer) and the superlift transfercase lowering kit. I had minor vibrations but was able to drive it like that for a long time. The front and rear lockers allowed me to take it fairly easy on the Jeep on the trails of the day. I still had the stock D35 at this time as well. Held up great for nearly 2 years of soft-footed driving.

Pulling a disabled CJ5 out of the woods near Livingston, KY eventually damaged the homemade driveshaft and a ujoint exploded on the way to the hotel that night, taking the transfercase rear output shaft and housing with it. Time for a JB Conversions SYE. Decided to add an 8.8 Explorer rear end at the same time.

It was a love/hate relationship with the 8.8. This was a relatively new mod at the time. Axlewrap had never bothered me with the D35 with 1330 yokes, but the 1310 flange-style yoke one the 8.8 bound up and broke my shiny new CV Driveshaft. I installed a Sam's Offroad Antiwrap bar which cured that problem but made another painfully obvious. I twisted the tubes in the 8.8 and broke ANOTHER driveshaft. Nickel rod and 8 1-inch tack welds finally fixed it.

 

[JeepN95YJ]

I had regeared the axles to 4.10s when I went to 35s. Worked pretty good. I also started pulling a 21.5ft Cuddy Cabin boat a lot (I mean a LOT!) Definitely overloaded the Wrangler and my sense on calm. Wore out the stock 4.0 with only 128,000 on the clock.

I started attending a lot of Rockcrawling events and helped start the EROCC series in Tennessee. I started building more and more towards that type of wheeling, but my son was born 5 years ago and everything was put mostly on hold. Those last five years have brought me to where we are now. I had put 37" BFG Krawlers on the Jeep but the thought of wearing out $400 (ea) tires on the street wasn't very appealing. I found that keeping the Jeep in the garage and never driving it took ALL THE FUN OUT OF OWNING IT! Who would have thought???

Here are a few pics of the mods over the last few years:

Axle swap in progress:

This pic is of the frame I built for the raised gas tank. I used a TJ tank to clear the factory body mounts I wanted to retain. I removed the crossmember between the body mounts and raised the gas tank approximately four inches. Combined with a 1" body lift.:

Rolling it out of the garage...finally:

Engine installed:

D60 up front:

Rear HP 9. Anti Wrap bar not yet installed:

 

[JeepN95YJ]

Nearly-flat Skidplate in progress:

Custom Anti-wrap bar built from scrap:

And we're pretty much up to date.

The current projects are a rear chuck box to fit behind the back seat and a simple trailer for a camping trip on Memorial Day. I'm also working on a few storage solutions for a family of 4 and a 9 gallon auxilliary gas tank.

 

[JeepN95YJ]

Great looking Jeep. Love the stance.

Thanks, RM.

The stance has always been an important consideration for me. I like a lifted Jeep, but I don't like too narrow nor too wide. I'm planning trips to the Outer Banks and to Michigan's UP this year so driveability is important as well.

I took the wife's Grand Cherokee to Moab last year and want to take the YJ out that way next year.

 

[98dango]

verry nice

 

[jasonL_031]

again amazing work

 

[Root Moose]

I want to put a 9" in the back of my YJ.

What would you say is the price premium to run a HP 9" diff versus a LP diff?

 

[Renrag]

And we're pretty much up to date.

The current projects are a rear chuck box to fit behind the back seat and a simple trailer for a camping trip on Memorial Day. I'm also working on a few storage solutions for a family of 4 and a 9 gallon auxilliary gas tank.

Iffn you need to borrow a trailer. I know where there is one. Wrong color of green though.

mikE(haven't used it since our trip)

 

[JeepN95YJ]

Iffn you need to borrow a trailer. I know where there is one. Wrong color of green though.

mikE(haven't used it since our trip)

Hey mikE! Thanks.

I've been looking at the pictures I took of your trailer a lot. I plan to make something very similar. Slightly bigger, with a swing-style YJ or TJ tailgate and a couple of other things. (all that means it will be heavier...) I have a nice little trailer frame I bought several years ago that is about 4 x 6. It has a very heavy-duty (but narrow) 6-lug axle. I want to put 8-lug hubs with brakes on it and run matching wheels/tires.

We often camp at established campgrounds and other kid-friendly places. I want the ability to carry bicycles for the whole family as well.