Building "Bouncy Blue Betty" - 98 XJ

[guywithajeep]

I inherited my 98 XJ from my parents in summer 2015 to have in Colorado where I had just moved. I wanted an off-road Jeep that could handle Colorado's trails and still be my daily driver. Here is before I left to drive it from Virginia:

I installed to bumper LED lights, roof rack, and a new stereo deck before leaving.


The LEDs came in handy when getting to camp later than expected.


Once I got here I ordered my new suspension and started prepping for the install, which means all the ugly, bulky, sun faded plastic needed to go;






and hit some trails. I was running on basically bald all terrains and almost got in trouble a few times, but I had the itch and was excited to keep building.

 

[guywithajeep]

The lift arrived!

Rubicon Express 4.5" Super Flex Short Arm Kit

• Front springs
• Front shocks
• Extended brake lines
• Adjustable upper control arms
• Lower control arms
• Adjustable track bar
• Rear leaf springs and shackles
• Rear shocks

Old vs. New


Time was not kind to the rear bump stops




DONE! With 33x10.5R15 BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain TA-KM2's it looks pretty mean.

I ended up doing a T-Case drop and replaced the u-joints on the rear drive shaft and that got rid of 99% of my vibrations (lucky me!) Time to hit the trails!

 

[guywithajeep]

Added a mount for my shovel on the basket

 

[guywithajeep]

Winter is coming; off with the basket and on with the ski racks.

 

[guywithajeep]

Trail shots:






Doin' what Jeeps do!




At work in the snow

 

[guywithajeep]

The mudders were not cutting it in the snow and ice we deal with here. So I found a buyer for them and got all new BFG TA-KO2 All-Terrains 31x10.5R15.




The difference is night and day with handling, and I think the smaller size fits her a little better. I'm getting a few more MPGs too by not having to be in 4hi just to get to work.

 

[guywithajeep]

Been chasing an intermittent misfire of cylinder 4 for a while now. I replaced all the spark plugs, that helped for a little bit, then it came back last week. I replaced the rotor, but the parts store gave me the wrong cap that was too small. I plan on getting the new cap on this weekend and I have new plug wires and a new ignition coil on order that should get here before the weekend so I can do it all at once.


Old rotor vs new

 

[mysahara]

Nice jeep gotta love colorado

 

[kojackJKU]

Great rig. love the xj. I would next put on some flares and the smittybilt front and rear bumpers.....I love the look of those on the xjs.

 

[kojackJKU]

Like this!...If I had an xj, this is how it would sit!

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Nice build...

 

[guywithajeep]

Great rig. love the xj. I would next put on some flares and the smittybilt front and rear bumpers.....I love the look of those on the xjs.

Flares are up there on my list, but bumpers aren't as much. The plan for this jeep is to do a very long stay in it on mostly highway/back road driving, so the winch and heavy bumpers aren't as necessary to me as some other things. Eventually though I would love for a nice matching set with tire carrier and everything.

 

[kojackJKU]

I know hey. My jeep spends equal amounts of time on and off road. That's why I'm still on 33" and stock bumpers. I want the nice aftermarket bumpers, but don't want the weight associated with them. I have been looking at the Olympic 4x4 phoenix. lightweight, full width and inexpensive. but I love the look of the smitty's on the xj.

 

[guywithajeep]

Finally got around to installing the distributor cap and new plug wires, all while getting about a foot of snow around me. It idles a little bit smoother, but still stutters a little. I'm waiting on a wiring harness for the ignition coil and maybe that will help a little.


Does anyone have a better solution for making them look cleaner? The factory clips for running the old wires don't seem to line up to any reasonable lay of the wires. I would love to see how others get their wires to look so much cleaner and out of the way.

 

[GordoSmasho]

Finally got around to installing the distributor cap and new plug wires, all while getting about a foot of snow around me. It idles a little bit smoother, but still stutters a little. I'm waiting on a wiring harness for the ignition coil and maybe that will help a little.

View attachment 328477
Does anyone have a better solution for making them look cleaner? The factory clips for running the old wires don't seem to line up to any reasonable lay of the wires. I would love to see how others get their wires to look so much cleaner and out of the way.

Care to ellaborate on the coil harness you have coming.