Another Car... 5th time's the charm!

Thanks TomCat!

Everything CrazyJeeper said is correct and very true, except the AX15 came out in mid 1989, so the optimal Cherokee is actually a 1989.5 with non-abs and the towing package. That way you get the AX15 (which mine has) except you also get the Dana 44 rear axle that came with the non-abs tow package. The D44 is a much stronger axle than the D35 in the rear of my cherokee... but if I upgrade axles I'd probably do a ford 9" in the rear and a D44 up front.
 
can i have a look at the interior?

For sure, I'll snap some pics tomorrow when I dismantle the exaust system.

But for now, to answer your first question... here are my plans for the Jeep.

Well, First things first, I have to get it to pass emissions. I've ordered a new EGR pipe (mine was rather mangled) and I'm going to order a CAT within the next few days.

After that I'm going to have to replace the rear tranny mount and probably one of the engine mounts.

After all the repair work is done (I'm really hoping that's everything). New tires are a must. (perhaps some opinions would be good here) I've narrowed it down to 3 tyre types. 31X10.5X15 is the size.

BFG Mud Terrains T/A KM2
mtavm6.ang.jpg


Goodyear Wrangler MT/R
gdyvm3.ang.jpg


Kuhmo Road Venture KL71
kumvm2.ang.jpg


After I'm done with tires I plan on getting some steel bumpers with recovery points on them and a winch mount point (winch to come later)

I heard of this company JCR offroad, and apperenty they make really quality stuff, a bit pricey, but quality.

I'm planning on getting this bumper made...
xjwinchfrnt2desc.jpg


And this rear bumper...
stage2rearxjside.jpg


After that, I think I'll call it quits for awhile depending on how the current lift plays out. If I don't like the flex I'm getting I'll probably upgrade to a Rusty's 4.5" add a leaf kit. Then I'll get some swaybar disconnects.

I'm sure after that there will be more, such as a winch, tire/luggage rack/aux lights. But I'm not going super H-core on this truck. I still want it to be drivable as a winter vehicle DD. Once I have acheived that, I think I'll purchase myself a new project, in the form of an El Camino. (corvette drive train and 6spd manual to come)
 
I'd get a full kit rather than the add a leaf setup. Also, Rusty's shocks are shit, his instructions suck, and he never includes everything you really need - like longer brake lines. His brake line extenders are just drop brackets and not longer lines.

I would also look at getting a rear bumper that sticks out past the rear hatch a bit more, to protect against idiots rear ending you a bit better.

The Wrangler tire will probably be the best on-road, if you're going to be doing mostly road work.
 
Sounds good. As for tires, I've heard great things about the BFGs and the Goodyears, but nothing about the Kuhmos. Whichever is cheaper, would be my advise. My tires look like they have 50k miles on them, but it's more like 300 miles. :p I will say that my BFG MT KM1's are very good on the streets, not bumpy at all, but they do have some pretty nice tire roar. :cool:
 
I'd get a full kit rather than the add a leaf setup. Also, Rusty's shocks are shit, his instructions suck, and he never includes everything you really need - like longer brake lines. His brake line extenders are just drop brackets and not longer lines.

I would also look at getting a rear bumper that sticks out past the rear hatch a bit more, to protect against idiots rear ending you a bit better

Thanks for the lift advise... I might just save the extra coin and go with rubicon express. Oh and I can't beleive I forgot to mention that a locker is in that list too. rather near the top.

As for the bumper, Have you seen my truck? lol. If someone rear ends me body damage is the least of my worries. And I'm pretty sure a steel bumper will hold up pretty good to most cars now a days. (that and the fact that their hoods will probably just get lodged between the bumper and the pavement.

@ TomCat, The only reson I'm considering the Kuhmos is because my coworker swears by them. He uses them on his car and his truck. I will probably just go witht the BFGs because I have had experience with them on my Lada and was generally satified.
 
It's less body damage than "someone hitting you in the back can jam or spring your hatch" which is really irritating.

Also, your Lada wasn't running long enough for you to get experience with the BFGs. :p

I have Kumho tires on my Series III and love them. Others have reported excellent results - their only problem seems to be that they're a bit noisier than you would expect.
 
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Thanks TomCat!

Everything CrazyJeeper said is correct and very true, except the AX15 came out in mid 1989, so the optimal Cherokee is actually a 1989.5 with non-abs and the towing package. That way you get the AX15 (which mine has) except you also get the Dana 44 rear axle that came with the non-abs tow package. The D44 is a much stronger axle than the D35 in the rear of my cherokee... but if I upgrade axles I'd probably do a ford 9" in the rear and a D44 up front.

In the US, the Dana 44 was only available in 87. Otherwise, you have the Dana 35, which is crap, or the Chrysler 8.25.
 
Just a thought, instead of a Ford 9", look into an Explorer 8.8" Same bolt pattern as your Jeep, and all that noise...

Here is the minimum for parts (minus the axle and drive shaft adapter)

And here's some guys write up on the swap
 
The 9" is much stronger than the 8.8 and has far more parts available. Plus either would have to be adapted to the Jeep and that's a PITA.

From a personal opinion standpoint, I would stick with upgrading Dana 44 axles. Not only is the XJ not really heavy enough to need much stronger (if you keep it a daily driver), it also doesn't have enough power to really shred a 44. More importantly, you can do a JY swap easily - the first generation ZJ often came with Dana 44s front and rear and they're a direct swap.

If you decide to run ridiculously oversized tires and/or do an engine swap, then you should do a Ford 9 - or more likely a Dana 60.
 
The 9" is much stronger than the 8.8 and has far more parts available. Plus either would have to be adapted to the Jeep and that's a PITA.

From a personal opinion standpoint, I would stick with upgrading Dana 44 axles. Not only is the XJ not really heavy enough to need much stronger (if you keep it a daily driver), it also doesn't have enough power to really shred a 44. More importantly, you can do a JY swap easily - the first generation ZJ often came with Dana 44s front and rear and they're a direct swap.

If you decide to run ridiculously oversized tires and/or do an engine swap, then you should do a Ford 9 - or more likely a Dana 60.

I am fairly certain that the ZJ (1993-1998) Grand Cherokee never came with Dana 44s front and rear. They had a Dana 30 front and a 35 rear. I know that some WJs had the aluminum Dana 44, but I don't recall if any ZJs had that.
 
ahh, thats going to be great, good luck with all that! Ours bone stock(still in progress) anyways :p needs new absorbers, new tires and some body work needs to be done. And oh, the power steering gearbox needs new seals, we bought it from an idiot anyways. Waiting for the parts to be delivered to Pakistan.
 
I am fairly certain that the ZJ (1993-1998) Grand Cherokee never came with Dana 44s front and rear. They had a Dana 30 front and a 35 rear. I know that some WJs had the aluminum Dana 44, but I don't recall if any ZJs had that.

The 4.0L ZJs had D30/35s - but some of the V8 ones had D44s as did the 93-98 ZJs. When merp trashed his D35, we found a D44 under a ZJ in Grand Prairie to put under it.

I had, however, forgotten that the ZJ D44 was a C-clip variant and therefore had issues.

That said, I'd still go with a D44, just out of an 87-90 XJ:

http://www.4x4wire.com/jeep/tech/axle/xj_dana44_02/
 
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That looks fantastic, did you end up selling the Lada Niva by the way?
 
That looks fantastic, did you end up selling the Lada Niva by the way?

Umm, It's complicated. Technically I still own the Niva, but I gave it to a friend who collects Ladas and Fiats. He gave me $1100 for it. But he said that he wasn't going to transfer the registration and he might end up giving it back to me.

UPDATE: (minor one) It's been quite cold here (or atleast for Vancouver) so my truck decided it doesn't want to start. I've basically just been doing some minor things here and there. I started on the exaust, but it started snowing so I stopped. I've replaced some old squishy hoses and a seatbelt latch that didn't work.

When I do the exaust I'll do a proper update.

Anyone got any Ideas why it won't start? It turns over fine. But it just won't fire up. I can smell fuel inside the truck when I try to start it, but not in the engine bay... Any ideas?
 
Not that im biased or anything, but id go with the Wranglers :p. That said they do roar a bit onroad when new, mine have just started to settle down and ive put about 2000kms on them. Nothing wrong with the BFG's though, I did look at a set of those but the Wranglers were cheaper.
 
Anyone got any Ideas why it won't start? It turns over fine. But it just won't fire up. I can smell fuel inside the truck when I try to start it, but not in the engine bay... Any ideas?

Pull off a plug and check for spark.
 
Well, A big update (for me atleast, not so interesting for you maybe)

I finally got a catalytic converter for it, I basically had to rip apart the entire exaust system and put it all back together inorder to make the cat fit. I'll be taking it through air care within the next couple days. Wish me luck. Fun fact of this whole ordeal. AMC 4.0L i6 sounds AMAZING with no muffler. I really want to get a less restrictive one now just to get back that wonderful noise.

I also managed to replace the transmission mount that needed replacing. No more movement in the drive line, that's a good thing. It was alot easier than I had anticipated, although a helping hand would have been nice when I was putting the crossmember back on.

There is a bit of a mud pit near the aircare place, so I'm planning on doing a bit of minor 4x4ing when I take it out. I'll get some pics of the truck in the mud.

(I also got a red top battery for the truck)
 
If you're still looking for tires, I had a set of these on my old truck (84 Chevy K10), and they could take me places where my friend's jeeps and, in one case, a Hummer couldn't go. They're a bit scary in the snow, but seeing as we only get one decent snow a year, I can chock that up to inexperience from the idiot behind the wheel. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the tires held the road, for what they are. Had them on for about a year and a half before I sold it, and there was still plenty of tread left.
http://img5.imageshack.**/img5/5748/gegrabberat2owlci2l.jpg
 
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