Grand Cherokee ZJ Builds (Share you pictures)
- Thread starter OceanOneH
- Start date
whaleinafishbowl
"Roads? Where we're going we don't need... roads!"
I'm on my 2nd 1996 ZJ after daily driving my original from 2010 - 2018.
I DD this one as well and use it for overlanding / towing my home-built teardrop camper and mild wheeling around Colorado and the 4 corners region.
My build as it stands is as follows -
1996 Laredo - 4.0 with 242 TC
2018 JK takeoffs - 255/75/17 BFG Mud Terrian KM (Summer)
Stock Canyon Rims - 265/75/15 Cooper Discoverer M+S Snow Tires (Winter)
2.5" Old Man Emu HD Coils + 3/4" spacers
Bilstein 5100 Shocks
Addco stabilizer bars front and rear
JKS quicker disconnects
High Pinion Dana 30 from an XJ + Ford 8.8 LSD w/ Artec truss both geared to 4.56
Iron Rock Off Road adjustable short arms
Iron Rock Off Road adjustable double sheer track bars front and rear
Iron Rock Off Road frame stiffeners center section
Iron Man 4x4 Fab lower radiator support
Dana 30 rock guard cage
Skid Row Oil Pan / Exhaust / Transmission Pan Skid
Iron Rock Off Road Belly Skid
Stock front and gas tank skid
Custom 2x6 tube steel rock sliders
3" stainless steel Kolak Exhaust with Magnaflow cat and Flowmaster 70 muffler
Future mods -
Custom hidden winch mount + winch (possibly incorporating stock front skid)
4.6L Stroker Engine (Donor 4.0 from my OG ZJ on a stand in my garage waiting...)
AX-15 Manual Swap
Doug Thorley Tri-Y Header (already purchased)
WJ horseshoe intake (already purchased)
Bosch 12 hole injectors (already purchased)
Throttle body spacer (already purchased)
62mm bored throttle body (already purchased)
DEI insulation kit for fuel rail / injectors (already purchased)
DEI gold insulation for under intake manifold (already purchased)
Detroit rear locker or Eaton E- Locker?
Long Arms + 4" coils
I DD this one as well and use it for overlanding / towing my home-built teardrop camper and mild wheeling around Colorado and the 4 corners region.
My build as it stands is as follows -
1996 Laredo - 4.0 with 242 TC
2018 JK takeoffs - 255/75/17 BFG Mud Terrian KM (Summer)
Stock Canyon Rims - 265/75/15 Cooper Discoverer M+S Snow Tires (Winter)
2.5" Old Man Emu HD Coils + 3/4" spacers
Bilstein 5100 Shocks
Addco stabilizer bars front and rear
JKS quicker disconnects
High Pinion Dana 30 from an XJ + Ford 8.8 LSD w/ Artec truss both geared to 4.56
Iron Rock Off Road adjustable short arms
Iron Rock Off Road adjustable double sheer track bars front and rear
Iron Rock Off Road frame stiffeners center section
Iron Man 4x4 Fab lower radiator support
Dana 30 rock guard cage
Skid Row Oil Pan / Exhaust / Transmission Pan Skid
Iron Rock Off Road Belly Skid
Stock front and gas tank skid
Custom 2x6 tube steel rock sliders
3" stainless steel Kolak Exhaust with Magnaflow cat and Flowmaster 70 muffler
Future mods -
Custom hidden winch mount + winch (possibly incorporating stock front skid)
4.6L Stroker Engine (Donor 4.0 from my OG ZJ on a stand in my garage waiting...)
AX-15 Manual Swap
Doug Thorley Tri-Y Header (already purchased)
WJ horseshoe intake (already purchased)
Bosch 12 hole injectors (already purchased)
Throttle body spacer (already purchased)
62mm bored throttle body (already purchased)
DEI insulation kit for fuel rail / injectors (already purchased)
DEI gold insulation for under intake manifold (already purchased)
Detroit rear locker or Eaton E- Locker?
Long Arms + 4" coils
Last edited:
Cottontail
Easy Street on Mud Tires
I bought my ZJ in 1999 with 43,419 miles on it. She's sitting in my driveway with just over 263,000 now. I'm in the process of getting it road worthy again. If I could find a good example of a ZJ as a builder, I wouldn't hesitate to replace my XJ with it! Best Jeep I've ever owned, and I've owned 9.
Hackopotomus
Observer
I've had 5 ZJ's (I have a WJ now).
The green '94 with 3" lift sold to my buddy that still has it.
The black '95 with 6" lift on 33's, 4.10 gears, OX locker front, Detroit Locker in rear.
Silver 5.9 was mint and too nice to wheel so I sold it and then installed a 9" long arm on 40's for the buyer.
They make great rigs and there is a ton of stuff available for them. Hard to find nice ones now though as they are all getting pretty old. I attended a couple of the Grand Slams years ago but they don't have them any more.
Also had the very first carbon fiber cowl induction hood. My Jeep was used to create the molds. It looked really cool but I didn't like it for wheeling because it stuck up so far and blocked view when going over crests.
The green '94 with 3" lift sold to my buddy that still has it.
The black '95 with 6" lift on 33's, 4.10 gears, OX locker front, Detroit Locker in rear.
Silver 5.9 was mint and too nice to wheel so I sold it and then installed a 9" long arm on 40's for the buyer.
They make great rigs and there is a ton of stuff available for them. Hard to find nice ones now though as they are all getting pretty old. I attended a couple of the Grand Slams years ago but they don't have them any more.
Also had the very first carbon fiber cowl induction hood. My Jeep was used to create the molds. It looked really cool but I didn't like it for wheeling because it stuck up so far and blocked view when going over crests.
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OverlandZJ
Expedition Leader
Nice ZJ's...
@whaleinafishbowl I recognize your rig from JF, I had a recent Addco thread you commented in and helped me out with.
I'v had a few rigs now, I think the ZJ platform is most comfortable for me. My latest is a 94 5.2L Limited one family owned and garaged Florida rig with 84K miles, although I was searching for a 5.9 I couldn't pass on this rig as it's really clean. Currently sitting on 31" BFG's with 2" spacer lift and Bilstein's.. just purchased OME HD coils for it. It's also received a pair of ecode headlights/harness, full stainless exhaust from Magnaflow, cross drilled rotors and ceramic pads as well as a few other typical interior mods. This is the first V8 Jeep i'v built, fuel economy isn't too much lower compared to the 4.0's and large tires i'v run in the past.. I wanted the power to pull my offroad popup.
Any fellow ZJ owners planning to attend the Rocky Mountain Overland Expo this coming August? I'm planning to leave east coast late August for it, then meander around Colorado and Utah till mid Oct. PM me if you'll be around, see if our paths cross.
@whaleinafishbowl I recognize your rig from JF, I had a recent Addco thread you commented in and helped me out with.
I'v had a few rigs now, I think the ZJ platform is most comfortable for me. My latest is a 94 5.2L Limited one family owned and garaged Florida rig with 84K miles, although I was searching for a 5.9 I couldn't pass on this rig as it's really clean. Currently sitting on 31" BFG's with 2" spacer lift and Bilstein's.. just purchased OME HD coils for it. It's also received a pair of ecode headlights/harness, full stainless exhaust from Magnaflow, cross drilled rotors and ceramic pads as well as a few other typical interior mods. This is the first V8 Jeep i'v built, fuel economy isn't too much lower compared to the 4.0's and large tires i'v run in the past.. I wanted the power to pull my offroad popup.
Any fellow ZJ owners planning to attend the Rocky Mountain Overland Expo this coming August? I'm planning to leave east coast late August for it, then meander around Colorado and Utah till mid Oct. PM me if you'll be around, see if our paths cross.
This is my 98 limited 5.2 e
brooke.kk7
New member
I'm struggling to find good bumpers for my '98 Grand Cherokee Laredo ZJ 6cyl 4.0L. I really like the look of the EAG, XRC and JCR bumpers but I can't find any for ZJ's. Anyone know of good places to look or if I could modify an XJ bumper?
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Little Foot
Crawler/Overlander
Quadratec has a couple for sale. The JCR is a DIY bumper if you have a welder or a friend with a welder. Not a lot of options anymore. I think the modifications you’d have to do to an XJ bumper would be pretty extensive but I’ve never researched that. I really wish I had gotten the matching front bumper from ProtoFab when they were still making it. Now they only make old Bronco bumpers.
Don’t think I’ve posted in here for awhile. Getting my Jeep ready to drive from California to Georgia. It’s in a million pieces and I have to leave in 2 weeks
. Can’t wait to drive it again though. Got the transmission rebuilt, redoing the headliner, resealing the transfer case, fixing the plenum leak...among other things.
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Don’t think I’ve posted in here for awhile. Getting my Jeep ready to drive from California to Georgia. It’s in a million pieces and I have to leave in 2 weeks
. Can’t wait to drive it again though. Got the transmission rebuilt, redoing the headliner, resealing the transfer case, fixing the plenum leak...among other things.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Little Foot
Crawler/Overlander
Made it to Georgia! Rig had no issues the whole way even driving through the Mojave Desert at temperatures of 114 F. Got an average of around 11-12 MPG which isn’t bad considering I’m still on 3.73’s with 33’s haven’t to drop out of overdrive anytime a slight incline appeared haha
To expand on my last post though, Kevin’s Off-road is now able to get the old ProtoFab ZJ bumpers. They had a couple to choose from, mine is the pre-runner style but they also have a more closed ARB style bumper as well. They are just exclusively making them for KOR. I can highly recommend KOR I’ve bought from them multiple times and the customer service has always been great.
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