Overland XJ Build. Not my first Rodeo.....(video included)

[Overland History]

Man this makes me miss my old jeep, It always managed to keep me entertained.

Great looking XJ! Are those 34x10.5 SSR's? I considered that exact same tire for my old XJ 10yrs ago!

 

[Overland History]

Well, my Mopar HD Radiator came in a few days ago, and I just opened up the box this evening. Needless to say, I'm livid!

I ordered it from www.rockauto.com and I've always had great products from them, so I'm really surprised at what they sent me!

It looks like they sent me a used radiator that was previously installed, dusty, dirty, rusty and cracked. The crack doesn't surprise me considering how ****ty that they packed the box.

Here's what I got:














Horrible way to pack a Radiator






Needless to say, this goes back and I'll buy from elsewhere if they make me eat the shipping on this one. I was hoping to have the Jeep on the road for a Camping trip weekend after next, but it doesn't look like that will happen....

 

[mtbxj87]

Good work. I'm at 220k and have done all that too. Labor of love

 

[Overland History]

Labor of love

That reminds me of this.... :clapping:

 

[Overland History]

Had an hour today to wrench....

I painted the oil pan with high temp paint....




I also popped off the valve cover to replace the gasket and paint it. Considering the lack of sludge in the oil pan, I'm not surprised at how good and clean the valvetrain is!






I also took a drill with a wire wheel to my full size spare wheel that I picked up recently and then painted it with wheel paint....

 

[Overland History]

Almost forgot, some goodies came in today!

4.10 Ring and Pinion Gears, applicable Master install kit, and the Lockright Locker for my D30 front axle.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Coming along...and that valvetrain is very clean, especially for the mileage. Mine was clean both top and bottom end like that too. Lets hear it for previous owners who follow regular maintenance protocols and look after their stuff.

 

[Overland History]

Coming along...and that valvetrain is very clean, especially for the mileage. Mine was clean both top and bottom end like that too. Lets hear it for previous owners who follow regular maintenance protocols and look after their stuff.

Thanks Greg! Being that the motor was taken care of, I'm expecting to get at least another 150K before tearing it down for a rebuild!

I got my rear axle buttoned up and ready for installation tomorrow! All of the brake hardware will go on once I have it installed.

For peace of mind, I installed brand new bearings and seals on the axle shafts. One of the bearings ended up being bad which I quickly figured out while I was cutting it off.

My buddy has a 20ton press, so I took advantage of it while I had access to it!

I packed the new bearings with grease and bolted them back in....









I sealed up the differential cover with RTV and installed it. I loaded up the axle for transport from my buddies garage to the race shop where the XJ is. I was surprised to see that the axle fit into the back of my 2007 Honda Fit(daily driver). I use the car kinda like a pickup truck since it's got a ton of room with the rear seats folded down.

 

[Overland History]

Also, the same buddy whom sold me the axle, also has a '90 parts XJ on his property. I've been slowly picking at it and checked it for the patch pieces that I need to weld in before I install my sleep platform. The rear hatch area has good metal in it, so I'll be cutting that out hopefully this coming weekend and prepping it....






I also checked the rear passenger floor board, as mine is also rusted through with a few holes. Unfortunately, his had the same issue, so I'll likely have to cut clean metal out of the driver's side passenger floor board....




I picked up a Gas Tank skidplate off of the same '90 XJ for a song! I'm going to clean it up, paint it and install it sometime in the near future.

 

[Overland History]

Pretty excited about this one, as this is largely the catalyst of my sleep platform build! :jump:

I ordered the Dometic Coolmatic CD-30 Drawer Refrigerator to be mounted under the sleep platform at the rear hatch. It runs on 12v, doesn't draw a lot of power and is only about 10in tall.

Best price I could find it was on Amazon...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00P81J8EA/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It looks very well built and has a 31 quart capacity; plenty for days and days of being out in the middle of nowhere.










Anyway, I'm hoping to have the XJ buttoned up and back on the road tomorrow after spending almost a month on the lift in the shop around my crazy schedule.

Pics to follow!

 

[HercDriver]

Build is coming along nicely. I dig the fridge setup!

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Wow, I really dig that fridge! I have had a Dometic in our camping trailer for the past 6 years, it was a 3 way and worked awesome. They are very reliable and work very well. I have a Dometic CF-35 for the XJ, and it is great.

Are you running a second battery for house power with an isolator (cant remember)? I am still only running one, need to put the second one in soon. I have some solar panels to keep the battery for the fridge topped up.

Cold beer and fresh fridge food is important!!

 

[F40]

That fridge is neat! Since you mentioned a sleep platfom, does that mean you're ditching the RTT?

 

[iluv83vettes]

I also checked the rear passenger floor board, as mine is also rusted through with a few holes. Unfortunately, his had the same issue, so I'll likely have to cut clean metal out of the driver's side passenger floor board....

View attachment 331676

That area usually rusts quicker from the Cat and muffler heating up the metal and allowing water to permeate through the paint. You can get some of those air back cookie sheets such as these and place them between the exhaust and floorboard to help combat the rust and keep the cab cooler.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...269X1V7A6V8I8&psc=1&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl

 

[Hranni]

Nice build! kinda make's me want a XJ again!