96 XJ "Sally"

[American Off-Road Club]

I had an entire update typed out, then it just disappeared. Short on time this morning, here's a brief photo update.

EDIT:
Now that I have a minute, I'll be going back and fixing a bunch of posts that my phone screwed up, including this one.

I had an ice mound in my yard, courtesy of the ridiculous winter we just had, and naturally I needed to park on it. That is a yard stick under the steering box. I can't use this as a legit measurement, since the yard is far from flat, but I thought it was cool. Nice to see that the bump stops are working well, and as I crested the mound, I actually lost traction. Time to put in the front locker. Also pictured is a 6 pinion planetary gearset out of a late 90's Chevy NP241C transfer case. Using information from multiple sources, I intend to swap this into my NP231J to replace the original 3 pinion gearset. This is for the low range. I'll be adding that information when I get the chance to do the build. This, as well as all the other write ups, will be edited into this build somewhere, and I may also post it to NAXJA forums as well. I've also received notification that my new steering upgrade from Rusty's Off-Road will be here tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Steering came in, haven't had a second to get it installed. Prior to that, I finally put on my "high clearance" receiver and a pair of recovery points my brother snagged off a Hummer.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Steering is installed. Gotta tow it in a turn this morning, but it's real nice so far. They provide a few extra goodies as well, such as a clamp on stabilizer bracket and a replacement track bar bolt, being the steering actually contacts the stock one at full lock. No complaints thus far.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Made some progress. Alignment is done, turns out my caster is out 2 degrees as well. Just more for my to do list. I've tore down my other transfer case, and confirmed the carrier for the planetary gearset is the same. Once my seals show up, I'll reassemble it and install it. Found 2 broken pins in my locker, going to make a couple new ones. Also ordered a new front bumper. Got tired of the bs.... As well as new shocks, Rusty's 4.5 inch front coils and boomerang shackles.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

No photos this time, but I've made some progress worth reporting. First off, shout out to Mike's Auto of Greene, NY! Got my alignment done, brought my caster 2 degrees forward as well. For those of you that don't know, it's apparently quite a bit, as it completely changed the way she handles. The Rusty's steering seems to have less roll than some others I've used, which definitely makes the wheel more responsive. Although, now that everything is tight and lined up, I really notice the play in the box. Time to build the replacement. Ordered the seal kit for the transfer case build, hoping to have that Monday. As for everything else, you'll have to wait until it arrives.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Transfer case seal kit is here, as is the new shocks from Rusty's. Once I get some of the other parts I ordered, I can start putting them on. Pucked up some Lucas Oil trans fluid for the Tcase build, so I should be able to have that ready to install by next week. Now I have to decide if I want to paint it......

 

[American Off-Road Club]

More parts! Silicone heater hose, which will get rid of the heater core bypass valve, and a universal wireless winch control. Had one of these before, seemed to stick and have a delay, but it beats fighting with tight clutches trying to drag this cable out. Also started back in on my trailer. Guess we will see where that goes.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Made some more progress on the trailer, but my tires came in way early and even though my steering geometry is near perfect, I'll be reinstalling my drop pitman arm, and figuring out how to add another steering stabilizer.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Looks like the rest of my parts have arrived. New tires are on, I e got the first coat of paint on the new bumper, and a pile of goodies to consume my weekend. Shout out to UPS for making paint prep a real PITA. New 150lb rate 4.5 inch lift coils, Rusty's massive boomerang shackles, 8.5mm plug wires with 2500deg boot protectors, new Luk HD clutch, new slave cylinder, braided stainless clutch line, Exedy aluminum clutch master cylinder, and I ordered the bumper off eBay. One of these days I'll post the link to it. Being the lift is only a couple years old, I'm hoping the bolts for the shackles come out nicely. I have another engine sitting here, but I trust the one that I'm currently running, even with the minor noises it tends to make.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

New shackles and springs are in, track bar adjusted, drag link adjusted, and test driven. Had to install the new rear brake hose that I never put on before. Now, the entire rugged ridge extended brake hose kit is on, and they are all braided stainless. More to do today. Gotta make some adjustments to the tailpipe, it's conveniently in the way now. I'll probably end up making it slightly less round. Hard to say just yet. The shackles are Rusty's boomrang shackles, and the coils are their 150lb rate 4.5" lift coils.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Only downside to driving this thing daily, I'm usually in a hurry to get it back together. After a couple broken bolts on the steering gearbox, installing the new bumper went from simple to a 5 day project, due to work and what not. Fixed the leaky radiator hoses and thermostat housing, eliminated the heater core bypass valve and that entire mess by the firewall, new power steering pressure hose, new bumper is on, finally did a few extras that were on the back burner, since I was already in there. Ill get some better shots soon, she's due for a wash. That pea soup looking nastiness in the pan is the old antifreeze.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Nothing new really.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Bolted on my old Yankees. New bulbs are awaiting pickup. Then it's new wiring and what not, and they will be done.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Been too busy to be on here. Much has changed, and there's a tore down engine on the stand. Never did get to go to the Gambler 500. View attachment 219050

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Four months, many hours, and all the wonderful things life brings. Nearly ready for this year's Gambler, Sally has gotten quite the list of upgrades. This week I'll be playing in the transfer case and rear end. Also need to build a box brace. I will post details when things are less hectic, but to sum it up, refreshed engine is in, as is the new clutch, and the new MSD ignition. I can confirm that a 2 step on a 4.0 is bitchin.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Another 4 months, another Gambler 500. Fall Gambler is in 2 weeks, and I'm fine tuning some recent upgrades. I'll add photos soon. This is today's update.

 

[bcmedicxj]

Great build! Glad to see XJ's on the trail.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Great build! Glad to see XJ's on the trail.

I've gotta get pics from the last event on here.

 

[American Off-Road Club]

Here she is, basically ready to go. I should add a leaf in the rear, fix the brakes, and pitch the axle different, but time is definitely limited. She performed flawlessly last time, and every point since, so aside from some minor adjustments, she was already pretty well off. This is gonna be a riot.