2000 XJ (work in progress)

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:15 pm

I‘ve always wanted to build an XJ for a hunting, off-road, trail rig. I found this XJ on Craigslist with $168,440 miles. The price was right and so the build begins.

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:18 pm

Shes a Beauty! Love the later model XJ's.

Whats your plans so far?

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:31 pm

Oh

Let the fun begin :twisted:

JeepBumm68 · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:35 pm

wow looks to be in great shape. nice find. My buddy want's to help you chop the top and tube the rear already ha ha. jk jk. '

what are your plans for turning into the hunting rig and so on?

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 10:20 pm

Looks good and yes it is the right color :wink:

Ok now following along to see where you go with this one

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 11:01 pm

JJsKJ wrote:

Shes a Beauty! Love the later model XJ's.

Whats your plans so far?

The short term plan is to do all the required maintenance. This poor XJ has been neglected and is in need for much TLC. The long term plan is to build it with fidelity. Like with all things, funding will determine the speed in which the progress will happen. Here’s my projected goal:

1. 4" Lift
2. JCR Stage 4 Front Bumper http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/mer ... y_Code=XJB
3. JCR Stage 3 Rear Bumper http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/mer ... y_Code=XJB
4. 4:10 Gearing
5. Wheels and Tires
6. Someday I would like to paint it “Dukes of Hazzard” orange.

The XJ has always been one of my favorite Jeeps. So I look forward to this project.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 11:20 pm

JeepBumm68 wrote:

wow looks to be in great shape. nice find. My buddy want's to help you chop the top and tube the rear already ha ha. jk jk. '

what are your plans for turning into the hunting rig and so on?

I didn’t go into specifics in my post above, but I am looking to add ARB lockers for the front and rear. I haven’t gotten a build sheet yet, but I think I have the 8.25 in the rear. I was kinda surprised, but I don’t have ABS either.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 12:20 am

Oh that would be cool... then you would a little mule :twisted:

JeepBumm68 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 12:25 am

Well let me know more about what you want to do with it. the really determines a build on those things. I can help you with suggestions and plenty of very helpful xj websites to, and for parts ha ha

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 12:33 am

JeepBumm68 wrote:

Well let me know more about what you want to do with it. the really determines a build on those things. I can help you with suggestions and plenty of very helpful xj websites to, and for parts ha ha

Like I said, I’m pretty open to ideas. However, I want about 4” inches of lift. What lift kits or combinations do you recommend?

JeepBumm68 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 1:29 am

well if your going to run 4'' of lift its like any other vehicle, your going to have extreme control arm angles. My buddy runs 4.5'' of lift with 31's. of course he should be running 33's.

With XJ's I would either buy the front long arm upgrade from TNT custom(gotreks) for i believe 849.99. It will help a lot for ride comfort on and off road. Then with the front long armed you can just buy bigger leafs for the rear. If you wanted to run 33's nicely i would do about 6'' of lift. You can get away with 4'' of lift and 33's easy or trim it out and run 35's.

Lift companys to look at
Rubicon express, clayton, tnt customs, superlift, rock krawler, full traction, dpg offroad. those are the ones i know of. The rusty's line for xj parts as going ok but i would still stay clear of it. Hell Marty is an XJ owner and he can tell you more about the companies to go to for lifts.

I would truss both axles and upgrade the inners if you keep stock and plan on running nothing bigger than 35's. You can do either a limited slip in the rear or an arb. I would much rather have my front locked than my rear.

And for lift combos there are tons you can do to get 4'' of lift.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 1:37 am

JeepBumm68 wrote:

Lift companys to look at
Rubicon express, clayton, tnt customs, superlift, rock krawler, full traction, dpg offroad. those are the ones i know of. The rusty's line for xj parts as going ok but i would still stay clear of it. Hell Marty is an XJ owner and he can tell you more about the companies to go to for lifts.

I like what dpg off-road offers for 4 inches of lift. So far, I would go with the DPG Super Ultimate 4" Hybrid XJ System which includes:

OME Long Travel Shocks
OME Leaf Springs w/ D22XL Extra Leafs
OME Coil Springs & Spacers
JKS Quicker Disconnects
JKS Adj. Trackbar
JKS Adj Lower Control Arms
DPG Adj Rear Bumpstop Plate Kit
New U-Bolt Kit
Front Extended Bump stops
DPG Swaybar Disco Cables
Leaf Spring Bushings
DOT SS Brakelines (F&R)

I like this kit because it fits 31"-32" tires with no trimming

JeepBumm68 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:30 am

then there ya go. with minor fender trimming front and rear you can take that 4'' of lift and fit 33's easy without tearing things up. another option would be to pick up some arms from a jk for the front. They would be a mid arm system for the xj and already longer, so you would get a better ride quality.

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:34 am

looks like a great start! DPG offers some great parts for the XJ, have you talked to Dirk or did you just check out the site?

JeepBumm68 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:34 am

if your going to to spend that much you might as well get it long armed. the bottom of this link has there long arm version

http://www.dpgoff-road.com/site/REXJhybridkits.htm and it's on sale with everything you need.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:34 pm

JeepBumm68 wrote:

if your going to to spend that much you might as well get it long armed. the bottom of this link has there long arm version

http://www.dpgoff-road.com/site/REXJhybridkits.htm and it's on sale with everything you need.

You have a valid point, I've just heard that the OME springs are superior, especially for the added weight of a bumper and winch. I'll give Dirk a call and let him lead me in the right direction. I just want to do it right the first time and be done with it.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:39 pm

jsc7002 wrote:

looks like a great start! DPG offers some great parts for the XJ, have you talked to Dirk or did you just check out the site?

I've been off and on Dirk's site for a long time................... I need to give him a call. I just hate calling until I have the cash in hand and ready to buy. He's a good guy and I will always support his business.

JeepBumm68 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:42 pm

Shoot even calling and just asking him what he thinks is good, even without cash in hand. I did that for four months off and hand before i bought my LA lift for my jeep. Remember there are ome springs that can provide lift that are not jeep one's. Of course again Dirk would be able to tell you anything you need to know.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:28 am

First, I felt the need to clean the engine compartment so I know what's leaking and what's not. I used engine degreaser and Simple Green.

Second, I wanted to clean the throttle body. So I used the Amsoil Power Foam. Maybe JJ can chime in and tell me if I did it right. I sprayed the entire can into the intake while the vehicle was running; however, the butterfly doesn't open up much at idle, so I'm not sure how much cleaning actually got done. The butterfly really needed to be opened up more, but that would mean full throttle while the vehicle was running. So maybe I should have removed the IAC. What‘s the best method to remove this?

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:47 am

Like I said, I bought the XJ for a reduced price knowing that it had been seriously neglected. For example: the overdrive was not working when I bought it. After I made the purchase, I drove the Jeep all the way home (1.5 hour drive) and it never shifted once into overdrive. So when I got home I started an Amsoil drain and fill interval. I pulled the plug and averaged about 3 quarts each day and continued this cycle for 4 days. I seriously suspect that the fluid could have been the original factory transmission fluid because it was the color of used engine oil. HOWEVER, after my second transmission drain and fill, my transmission shifted into overdrive!!!!!! I have changed my transmission fluid now 4 times with Amsoil ATF. It shifts a lot better.

As with any good maintenance, I didn't want to neglect the power steering fluid. So I used the ol’ turkey baster and guess what I found?

And this is what it should look like:

2000 XJ (work in progress)

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