Hello from SoCal

cleanEG

New member
Just wanted to say Hi from Southern California. I've been building a 1999 Cherokee over the last 18 months to explore some trails and provide some therapy to escape the daily commute, traffic and work. After putting a few scratches in my Crew Cab Silverado I decided to build a "budget" offroad vehicle that I wouldnt care if it got beat up on the trail. 18 months later and waaaaaay over budget, I'm enjoying every minute of it.

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cleanEG

New member
Welcome to the family from Redondo Beach. Great looking Cherokee!

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Thanks!!

You're xj looks awesome, please share more pictures and some build specs. Welcome from Aliso Viejo.


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Thanks! Well, I bought it with a 2" budget boost lift, cut fenders, and overall in good shape from the previous owner. The first order of business was to fix some mechanical issues which included oil filter flange o-ring seal, rear main seal, valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, plugs and wires. With all the oil leaks gone, and a few weeks after purchase the heater went out, so I replaced the heater core, AC evaporator, drier, and then recharged the AC. I then replaced the alternator with a 130amp durango unit, Interstate AGM battery, and passenger hub bearing. I had some cooling issues on the trail while climbing in low gear and after troubleshooting the cooling system, I found that the trans fluid was getting so hot that it was heating up my coolant in the radiator since the transcooler was built into the radiator. I then bought a B&M trans cooler and bypassed the radiator all together and havent had a single issue overheating since. I also overhauled the cooling system at the same time with a new radiator, water pump, fan clutch, fan shroud, thermostat, etc.

Since I like to do alot of trail camping, I built a rear cargo drawer system and bought an ARB fridge for those long trips. Now that the mechanical issues were out of the way, I started with some armor. RuffStuff frame stiffeners, front/rear diff covers, ORFab front winch bumper and rear JCR bumper. Soon I'll be building rock sliders and purchasing a gas tank skid to complete the armor.

I bought a 4.5 Rubicon Express superflex kit, Advanced Adapters SYE and Adam's driveshaft to update the suspension and provide clearance for 33's. While installing the suspension, I noticed the ball joints were shot so I replaced them all. I started modifying my axle shafts for full circle clips and while removing the u-joint I bent one of the yoke ears. Rather than source another one, I decided to throw in some Ten Factory chromo shafts in my Dana 30. I also found a Spartan locker for cheap and threw that in the front along with new bearings/seals.

I picked up some Cooper STT Pros in 33x12.50 15 after the lift and have been very pleased with traction on these tires and the noise level on the road. Even though it's a weekend toy, I still want to drive it 1000s of miles to the trail and be comfortable. I was saving money to buy gears and a rear locker all at once so now that I have all the parts, those are going in next weekend :)

4.88 gears front/rear and an ARB air locker for the Chrysler 8.25 rear axle.

Some other miscellaneous items, led interior lights, HAM radio, custom roof rack and 9500lb XRC winch.


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AZ Explorer

Caught the Bug
Welcome from Phoenix AZ! I used to have a 2001 that I bought new and it was also lifted on 33's. However, looking at your pics, your's is built better than mine ever was. Looks very capable off road, I like it!
 

cleanEG

New member
Welcome from Phoenix AZ! I used to have a 2001 that I bought new and it was also lifted on 33's. However, looking at your pics, your's is built better than mine ever was. Looks very capable off road, I like it!
Thanks! I'm really impressed with the XJ so far. It's always surprising me on every trip, especially for being relatively new to Jeeps.

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