Someone Else's Problem: What is Dead May Never Die - EyeMWing's sorta big red box

EyeMWing

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Back in the dark ages when the forum software worked and I intentionally made awful car buying decisions.... Well, one of those things hasn't changed when you consider I paid cash money for a 1989 Dodge Aries last month. THAT adventure will be coming to some form of media near you one day. But this is not the story of that Dodge Aries. This is the story of something else entirely.


I decided I needed an offroader project. Mostly because I need something with 4WD to drag shit around the yard, and partially because I want to thumb my nose at the section of the offroad community which resemble mall crawlers more and more every passing day. But I had a shitload of other projects to do that were eating all my time and money.

You know, like I explained at the end of this thread:
https://forums.finalgear.com/forum/...a-big-red-box-1995-jeep-cherokee-sport/page48

Well, the time has come. Not because I finished any of those other projects, but because I DESPERATELY need something 4WD to drag broken shit bodily around the yard.

So I bought an XJ.

Look at it! So majestic!
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Look, it's even missing the same trim as Rick's was? Remember that shitbox? Who would ever have bought that thing?

This guy.
The rickhamilton620=>EyeMWing junk car flip has struck again.

It even runs, after a fashion. Look, here it is towing broken shit around the yard! Totally successfully!

Just after 45 seconds in that video, you get introduced to it's most endearing feature, and one it didn't have when I bought it:
The t-case is absolutely, totally stripped out. Attempting to move in 4WD results in nothing but 2WD with an additional horrifying grinding noise. The chain skipped on the sprocket if you applied too much torque when I first got it from Rick, but by the time I'd actually parked it at home, I'd completely buggered it.

It's been that way for 2 years now, so I guess I should probably fix it.

Went and got another t-case from a newer XJ ('99). Wrong tailshaft housing, maybe wrong tailshaft. Same t-case, though, so I can just take it all apart and swap crap around. Maybe I'll get fancy and install a slip yoke eliminator, but probably not.
 
Correction to the above: I am reminded of the actual incident that broke the t-case for good.

I had a l stripped Subaru Legacy chassis on the trailer hooked up behind the Ram. Naturally, it got stuck on the hill coming out of the garage. Needed something to pull it out.

Instead of walking to the (then completely serviceable) Chevy truck, I walked to the much closer Jeep, saving several tens of feet of walking. It had been a long day, okay!?

Well, as it turns out, a wallered out NP231 ain't having any parts of helping to move 11,000lbs of truck, trailer and diseased shitbox.
 
More FG Family cars, yay! I’d say congrats, but I think good luck is more apt :lol:
 
OMG, I'm shocked that this is here :lol: Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!
 
Damn, if I knew you bought that, I'dve tried to sell you my XJ too.
 
Overall plan is to do a low buck off-road park truck.

Basically fix the tcase, maaaybe do a slip yoke eliminator, 3 inch suspension lift, wheels and tires.

Gonna assemble my own spring packs in the back, will need to find some takeoff coils for the front.
 
Shoot, how did I miss that you bought Rick's box? 3" lift in the front is easy, V8 ZJ front coils + a 2" spring spacer should get you there no problem. No real need for a SYE on an XJ at 3" as your rear shaft is easily long enough to deal with the lift - SYEs are mostly for 2-door Wranglers. Don't bother with a transfer case drop either.
 
No real need for a SYE on an XJ at 3" as your rear shaft is easily long enough to deal with the lift
Can confirm. Had the Zone Offroad 3" kit on my XJ with no SYE, never had issues. I still have the transfer case drop in my garage that I never used if you want it.
 
Okay. So this thing got promoted above the Whambulance in the priority queue because it should be easy to get driveable for the rally. Needs a tcase, tires and tags, and it's under 10k lbs so I can do the stupid tag hack.

Grabbed a wrong-year tcase from a scrapyard (actually did this like a year ago now).
Pulled the case today.

Basically, the process to make the wrong case fit is:
- Swap the tailshaft housings
- Swap the mainshaft and its associated gearing over (could just swap the shaft but that requires doing way too many effing lock rings)

Took both cases apart. Old case was full of schmutz and looked like the chain had just stretched and fallen off, cleaned up the parts that are being reused, smashed it together real quick and dirty.



Then I remembered I should try taking the fill plug out to make sure I can put lube in it.

Guess what is now stripped to hell and gone?

Contemplating filling it through the breather or if I want to fuck with it.
 
Initial "fuck with it" pass isn't working (I welded a nut to it. Twisted the nut right off several times....), so I'm just going to rig some way to fill it through the breather.

Will do that and get it back in the Jeep in January.
 
Not on the 231. Shifter is a shaft through the side of the case and is only removable after the entire thing is gutted.
 
Yeah. If I really wanted to pull it apart again, I could just swap the rear covers. They're identical.

I really don't want to do that because squeegeeing off all the RTV would suck.

Incidentally, I have a new favorite tool:

That plus RTV tubes equals YESSSS.
 
I shall be eating the proverbial virtual popcorn to see how this progresses!
 
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