1998 Jeep Cherokee "Classic", 103K on the clock, 3" Skyjacker lift, 33" BFG MTs (which Im soon going to drop down to 31's of some sort), 8000# winch, and some kind of cool custom front bumper. This thing is in great shape. There are a few rock chips etc, but thats to be expected.
Needs: Drop pitman arm (*nevermind), SYE, full size spare, exhaust fixed, O2 sensor, new tires in a little while, and an oil change in a bit.
otherwise, Im PUMPED!
Spent a few hours cleaning it in and out today after I got it...its always fun getting a new ride. This will be my DD and a toy, so I must be good to it!
Update: 9-3-2008
Ok, so I have been doing small things to the Jeep the past little while to get it looking and performing a little better...as money allows, and not in any particular order (actually, the order depends on the cheapness..ha ha).
I cleaned the engine bay pretty well with Simple Green (great stuff, biodegradable, non-toxic, cleans everything) and water. This was after I put dielectric grease in every electrical connection in and under the engine bay and vehicle I could find.
Next I removed the rear sway bar for extra flex offroad. The front is still attached and seems to work just fine without the rear one keeping it company. I just spend a few extra minutes before trail time to take the links off, and Im sure this will get old very quickly, but for now it works.
I mounted my CB from my 4Runner on the ceiling of the Jeep with a different approach. A small write up is here, if interested: http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17845
I corrected the steering issue...Since the Jeep has a lift and stock everything else, the steering wheel was turned to the right going straight...so I just adjusted the drag link.
Then I repainted my front bumper with spray on bed liner. Tough stuff, looks good, cheap. I also ground off the rust and cheesy chrome from the
crossbars on top of the winch and the drum and did them also.
Close up.
Cross bars and you can see the inside flanges of the drum.
Cruddy side view
Behind the hood over the engine bay, there is a small weather strip that seals the back of the hood to the rest of the body. I removed most of this today, except two small sections about 6" long at each end. I then hammered down the strip of metal that held the weather strip. This will allow excess heat (which ALL XJ's HAVE!) to escape from the rear of the engine bay as well. I checked below this strip to scope out any electonics on the firewall that might get in trouble b/c of this, and found no threatened areas. Other XJers have done this and have had no problems and a noticeable temp drop, so we will see.
I took it to Wooly's Offroad this Labor Day weekend to see how it would fare, and it did much better than I anticipated, especially since I have open diffs and no rocker protection. This is the most technical terrain I have tried personally to date, so it was a blast...I know its not "overland style", but I enjoy both realms I guess...rock crawling and overland travel, which I want to do both of. The only problem is that since this trip, I want BIGGER tires and more lift...ha ha...but that is not in the cards for me now, so I will probably go down to 31's when these wear out for practicality. Excellent trip though...Couple of pics and a link here for this trip:
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18366
This pic doesnt give that ledge justice...it was a good 14-18" high.
All I have for now.
Needs: Drop pitman arm (*nevermind), SYE, full size spare, exhaust fixed, O2 sensor, new tires in a little while, and an oil change in a bit.
otherwise, Im PUMPED!
Spent a few hours cleaning it in and out today after I got it...its always fun getting a new ride. This will be my DD and a toy, so I must be good to it!
Update: 9-3-2008
Ok, so I have been doing small things to the Jeep the past little while to get it looking and performing a little better...as money allows, and not in any particular order (actually, the order depends on the cheapness..ha ha).
I cleaned the engine bay pretty well with Simple Green (great stuff, biodegradable, non-toxic, cleans everything) and water. This was after I put dielectric grease in every electrical connection in and under the engine bay and vehicle I could find.
Next I removed the rear sway bar for extra flex offroad. The front is still attached and seems to work just fine without the rear one keeping it company. I just spend a few extra minutes before trail time to take the links off, and Im sure this will get old very quickly, but for now it works.
I mounted my CB from my 4Runner on the ceiling of the Jeep with a different approach. A small write up is here, if interested: http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17845
I corrected the steering issue...Since the Jeep has a lift and stock everything else, the steering wheel was turned to the right going straight...so I just adjusted the drag link.
Then I repainted my front bumper with spray on bed liner. Tough stuff, looks good, cheap. I also ground off the rust and cheesy chrome from the
crossbars on top of the winch and the drum and did them also.
Close up.
Cross bars and you can see the inside flanges of the drum.
Cruddy side view
Behind the hood over the engine bay, there is a small weather strip that seals the back of the hood to the rest of the body. I removed most of this today, except two small sections about 6" long at each end. I then hammered down the strip of metal that held the weather strip. This will allow excess heat (which ALL XJ's HAVE!) to escape from the rear of the engine bay as well. I checked below this strip to scope out any electonics on the firewall that might get in trouble b/c of this, and found no threatened areas. Other XJers have done this and have had no problems and a noticeable temp drop, so we will see.
I took it to Wooly's Offroad this Labor Day weekend to see how it would fare, and it did much better than I anticipated, especially since I have open diffs and no rocker protection. This is the most technical terrain I have tried personally to date, so it was a blast...I know its not "overland style", but I enjoy both realms I guess...rock crawling and overland travel, which I want to do both of. The only problem is that since this trip, I want BIGGER tires and more lift...ha ha...but that is not in the cards for me now, so I will probably go down to 31's when these wear out for practicality. Excellent trip though...Couple of pics and a link here for this trip:
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18366
This pic doesnt give that ledge justice...it was a good 14-18" high.
All I have for now.
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