Not your usual Cherokee (XJ) expo build

[Chi-Town]

Yeah I've got a lot of time in planning my cargo area but I haven't quite nailed it down yet. Hopefully I can get it all together before the expo.

 

[MtnClimber]

I enjoy my Billies 5100 on my 00 XJ. Some days the rear is empty, other times it's packed and with my expo trailer w/RTT in tow with very little noticable difference in ride quality.
My stock rims are painted flat black but I'm digging the white rims as my xj is also white.

Nice build so far, subscribed.

 

[wreckedxj]

Have you considered FOA shocks? They are decent for the money, depending on your budget you want to spend on shocks...

 

[NEexplorer]

I'm very excited to follow this as I am looking to do the same with my XJ. Quick question where did you order those o-rings for the oil filter adapter? I believe mine is leaking from there and also the valve cover as well.

 

[Chi-Town]

I'm considering the Bilstein 5100's too, thanks for the compliments on the wheels.
I have not heard off foa shocks but I will look into them.
The o-rings I ordered from 4wd hardware as they were cheaper than the dealers.

 

[wreckedxj]

I'm considering the Bilstein 5100's too, thanks for the compliments on the wheels.
I have not heard off foa shocks but I will look into them.
The o-rings I ordered from 4wd hardware as they were cheaper than the dealers.

The bilstein 5100s are nice, I run them on the rear of my xj and it rides the best it ever has with them

 

[Chi-Town]

Ok it's been a while since I've been able to sit down and write a post and a lot has been going on. I've been able to finish my lift which put the truck at roughly 3.5-4" up which is exactly where I wanted it unloaded. I've also picked up a dana 44 for the rear and a class III hitch.
I also picked up a roof rack from Defender.

Next up in the plans are an external trans cooler and a good radiator. If needed I may re-gear from my 3.55 set to something a little deeper (4.10 or 4.56) to help with step grades and towing

 

[Ex Jay]

Nice XJ! Do yourself a favor and stick with a mopar radiator!

I'm still planning my storage so I too am looking forward to your build.

 

[Chi-Town]

Thanks.

I haven't had good luck with stock radiators in XJ's, even with the heavy duty cooling setup. The core just isn't big enough for the small amount of surface area that the XJ has, especially if you start towing even close to the 5000 lb. rating up a good hill. I usually use Griffin radiators, they use a cross flow core and fitment is always spot on.

The cargo area is my biggest conundrum. I have figured out a good water storage setup for the rear footwell area and the compressor and water pump are going where the factory jack was stored so I'm good with that. The drawer situation for the cargo area is probably going to be based on 2 ARB drawers (one with roller top) and then I'll build in the side fillers to hold the 12v inverter and other misc.

 

[corprin]

View attachment 200233

What is going on with that AE86?

 

[Chi-Town]

That's one of my other projects. It's an sr5 coupe that's being converted to a 20 valve canyon carver.

 

[Ex Jay]

HAHA I caught that too. I was always intrigued by the Eight-Six but I was an FF guy. You should make that a second build in this thread lol.

 

[Chi-Town]

I would but that's a long story with no end in sight yet lol

 

[corprin]

I am more of a hatch guy... had three of them in my time.

I have a Zenki TRD 2-way LSD 3rd member and a set of TRD springs sitting in my garage if you are interested ;-). Brought them back from Japan for my project that I ended up selling to my buddy Max.

 

[Chi-Town]

This one is my second, both coupes because hatch rattles drive me nuts. lol

Send me some prices on those bits, I'm always looking for spares.