98 XJ New Adventurer Build

[vonguido]

Not a bad setup you got there.

Outside of the plans I already listed above, I would really love to get an adventure trailer of some kind. The horizon by AT is well out of my price range but I'm looking at getting a Manley Trailer with a CVT trailer tent. I might get a CVT before I get a trailer though since it will be nice for camping. I have a 4yr old and want to take him camping and fishing so camping is in the future just gotta get the XJ ready for it.

 

[xjman88]

You should be happy with the JCR offroad winch bumper. I am running their stage II sliders and am very happy with em. Very well built and can take a hit.

 

[vonguido]

You should be happy with the JCR offroad winch bumper. I am running their stage II sliders and am very happy with em. Very well built and can take a hit.

Trust me I can not wait to get it. Im gonna get a hoop/prerunner at some point but right now I'm not worried. I was looking at their sliders too so we shall see. I'm going to be working a lot of extra hours in July to make sure I have enough extra money for all the parts and trip, so stay tuned more progress to come.

 

[jscusmcvet]

John I replaced the radiator, thermostat, thermostat housing, waterpump, upper/lower hose, and fan clutch. I got everything from advance auto parts because a friend works there and I got a stupid good discount. So all factory equivalent or better parts. The thermostat is a 195°.

I did a complete coolant flush the week before I did the parts change and will do another coolant flush next week.

The heater hose and heater core are the only things I did not replace because they were replaced by the previous owner 15k miles before I purchased the XJ.

I intend on buying Napier Precision hood vents next week to help with the engine bay temps. I have been told they help keep the engine compartment about 20-30° cooler then just the factory setup.

I would love to do a flex-a-lite 3fan electric setup but I have other things to upgrade before that ever becomes reality.

Thanks for the detail. as we approach summer I am evaluating the hood vent install I did a few weeks back and seeing if it makes a difference. I can tell you that it easily vents heat out from under the hood, especially when idling... you can see it. I went with the gen right vents, because I had portions of the 5 pieces left over from another project. If you are a detail oriented guy these are great because you can place them in the best locations... I say detail oriented because there is a lot of measuring and placement issues to figure out.

I am decidedly not a detail guy, so if I were to do it again, I would have gone with one of the single piece units such as poison spyder. Although I don't know what's out there for the xj. I did my first hood vent install on a 2001 xj I had and it definitely helped with the heat soak issue I was getting on start ups after short trips with a short break in the summer.

Thanks again for the cooling detail. I see a rebuild such as this in my future, proactively trying to improve cooling so I can make the engine last as long as possible.

John

 

[vonguido]

Thanks for the detail. as we approach summer I am evaluating the hood vent install I did a few weeks back and seeing if it makes a difference. I can tell you that it easily vents heat out from under the hood, especially when idling... you can see it. I went with the gen right vents, because I had portions of the 5 pieces left over from another project. If you are a detail oriented guy these are great because you can place them in the best locations... I say detail oriented because there is a lot of measuring and placement issues to figure out.

I am decidedly not a detail guy, so if I were to do it again, I would have gone with one of the single piece units such as poison spyder. Although I don't know what's out there for the xj. I did my first hood vent install on a 2001 xj I had and it definitely helped with the heat soak issue I was getting on start ups after short trips with a short break in the summer.

Thanks again for the cooling detail. I see a rebuild such as this in my future, proactively trying to improve cooling so I can make the engine last as long as possible.

John

No problem man. I'm looking into the Napier Precision Vents because they do NOT let water and anything else in just the heat out....now I'm sure it lets some stuff in but not that bad and they are only around $60 with a discount code. I wanted the Hyline offroad vents but they were $200 for bare aluminum I believe and that is out of my price range...I could get Currie adjustable lower control arms for that price. I'm glad I got the cooling system done now because it gets really hot and muggy here in Ohio. I'm ordering the vents on payday and will have those installed by the end of the month before we hit the really humid time of the year.

 

[stolz]

Nice XJ dude, she is clean!

 

[vonguido]

Nice XJ dude, she is clean!

Thanks,

She looks good for the most part, when you get up close you can see some of the pin stripping from tree branches and door dings but other than that the red paint has held up pretty well.

 

[vonguido]

Update:
So I ordered up the following yesterday from Leadfoot Offroad got a sweet deal so I couldn't pass it up;

Smittybilt X2O-10k Gen2 Synthetic lined winch. I went this route because its IP68 rated and no other winch company produces that...honestly I love Warn but do not have 1100 to spend on the winch I would want from them.
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Winches-Winch-Accessories/X2O-10K-Waterproof-Synthetic-Rope-Wireless-Winch-Gen2-with-Fairlead.aspx?t_c=18&t_s=300&t_pt=100702&t_pn=S%2fB98510
ARB Heavy Duty Air Compressor. I was gonna get the small portable one but got another good deal on this plus I plan to have air lockers down the road so it'll be nice to already have this. Mainly for tire fill ups and maybe air tools but I doubt it.
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Winches-Winch-Accessories/Heavy-duty-Air-Compressor-for-ARB-Air-Lockers.aspx?t_c=18&t_s=190&t_pt=100435&t_pn=ARBCKMA12
Lastly ordered up a Tough Light 40" Pro Series LED Light bar in a combo pattern. It's 240 Watt's Cree LED's and roughly 20,000 Lumens. Price was right and its also IP68 rated.
http://shop.tough-light.com/40-Pro-Series-PS40.htm

Those will all hopefully be here in the next week or so and I will hopefully have my JCR bumper the end of this week. So installs soon

 

[GenPatTuck]

These are always nice upgrades.

 

[vonguido]

These are always nice upgrades.

Thanks I can't wait till I actually have them here. The suspense is getting to me.

 

[overlandxj]

Warn zeon winches are ip68 rated.....FYI. Love your build. That ARB compressor is the same I have..... Suggestion to buy at least a 3 gallon tank..... You can run tools and it fills up a tire quickly. Without a tank it's limited. But it's fast. I found a great spot under the drivers seat that that fits the compressor perfectly. Keep the pics coming.

 

[vonguido]

Warn zeon winches are ip68 rated.....FYI. Love your build. That ARB compressor is the same I have..... Suggestion to buy at least a 3 gallon tank..... You can run tools and it fills up a tire quickly. Without a tank it's limited. But it's fast. I found a great spot under the drivers seat that that fits the compressor perfectly. Keep the pics coming.

Thanks man, had no idea the Warn zeon was IP68 rated still it sucks the one I want is $1100...nice suggestion on the tank I will have look into it. I follow you on instagram and love your build. Hopefully this weekend or beginning of next week I will have pictures of some new parts to post.

 

[vonguido]

Another update.
I decided to go ahead and order my rock sliders. I went with AJ's Offroad Super rock sliders. The price was right and saw Mcobray put them on his old XJ and loved them. So I'm looking forward to getting those hopefully by the end of next week.

Also just got shipping notifications for the JCR winch bumper and the LED bar and compressor, the Smittybilt winch is on back order by about 5 days which is fine because I still have to paint the bumper when I get it. So lots of pictures to come very soon!!! Hopefully this stuff will trickle in before/or on my birthday on Thursday. Glad this build is picking up some steam.

 

[vonguido]

My JCR winch bumper came in the mail early this morning. I love when Brown Santa shows up I told him to be on the look out for more heavy packages coming this way, especially another 80lb package which is my sliders.




I'm hoping to have the Bumper painted by the weekend as long as weather and humidity cooperate.

 

[Jakeleverett]

Do you feel all the weight from the bumper/sliders/oversized tires/etc.?

I only have 31" tires and a roof rack, but coupled with camping gear and the RTT man does the XJ feel underpowered!

Have you done any engine modifications?

Looks great though, I've always loved the red XJ's!