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DUI replacement rig, in with the zj

12K views 26 replies 5 participants last post by  argentums 
#1 · (Edited)
So figured it was a good time to finally start a build thread. So back in Oct I ran over a drunk driver on the freeway when he cut me off on my way back to my hotel after the military ball. My xj and his Nissan pickup were totaled. I walked away and he went to jail. My xj had 3 inch RE short arm lift, 31, sliders, and bumpers. I was planning on giving this to my oldest son as his first rig because i wanted to move up to a ZJ. well things didn't work that way.

after the wreck, my bumper did its job. Destroyed the nissan








So with the insurance money i went out and bought myself a new project. A 94 limited with a 5.2l, dana 30/35,a 2 inch budget boost, and a 249 with a bad vcc, 155k for $1200.
the night i picked it up



So the build plan.....
--already purchased--
IRO 5.5 inch long arm lift, douch tech shocks, JKS discos, xj long arm, and hack n tap SYE
249 to 242 or 231,( cant decide i have both in the garage cant make up my mind. leaning towards 242.)
Flat land 4x4 bumper plans (purchased)
Cragar 5 spoke black steel 16x8 wheels set of 5
Treadwright.com Guard Dog tires with Kedge Grip 285/75r16 set of 5

--future--
swap to a hi pinion dana 30 with axle sleves, c gussets, and alloy usa u joint tabs
swap to a rear 8.8
build storage with slide out drawers in rear cargo
thuroughly detail interior adn wash carpets and hopefully replace drivers seat bottom
install gps,dvd, stereo entertainment system to keep kids and women happy.
install cb
cut fenders as needed
cut out rockers and replace with tube steel like i did on my xj
add chasis stifening
add ofroad lighting above and below.


My ultimate goal is for this rig to be a aggresive trail rig/expo capable rig.


santa brought me some presents the day after xmas...
wheels



lift with hack n tap SYE



killing time waiting for parts to arrive i started on rear storage









and where ran out of energy. the plat form just sits on top of the wheel wells and fits inside the tie down points.






After running over the drunk, i learned that having my spare tire inside the veicle is a absolute no go. My full size spare 31 inch tire that was in the back of my xj was strapped down to prevent issues off road or roll over. but never thought of front impact. luckily my friends who were ridding with me earlier decide to take a cab to a different hotel. Because my spare came through my back seat all the way to the front of the back of the front seats. So it will go out back on a bumper mounted carrier.


To be continued...
 
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#2 ·
lift kit loaded and ready to head to my sons step dads house to use his lift to install my lift



front end on









new upper track bar mount



new crossmemeber with long arm mounts









Time for the rear





dads little helper kept pulling the ladder and hammer out, said it was his favorite tool.





didnt take enough pics of the rear i was tired and working on it at 4am.

back on the ground at its new height.







first flex, best i could do with a floor jack and sway bars on front and rear











Needed to modify the pass side tie rod so i reinforced it after heating and bending





after teh kit install. I have a pretty gnarly vibe at 30mph and up. Took teh front drift shaft out to try and narrow it down. Def coming from the rear. My drive shaft is a long way out of the transfer case, so untill i can swap the tcase adn install the ahck n tap i wont be driving much. Today my tires showed up on my door step so once i am done here at the hopsital and the baby stuff settles down i can get back to the build.



I did get a chance to take it out for its first trip last weekend







my buddy brian and his wrangler



at the end of this trip apparently the motor didnt like 5 grand and no traction. blew the oil pressure sending unit apart and blue smoke and leaked like a siv all teh way home. 30 bucks later had it fixed.
 
#4 ·
You could have swapped in the hp30 from your XJ instead of having to do things twice, did you buy the adjustable version of the IRO arms to compensate for the change in pinion angle when you do swap it in?
 
#6 ·
Actually, the 94-99 are all high pinion and have the larger u-joints. Before that they were also high pinion but had smaller u-joints and the even older models had the vacuum disconnect junk.
 
#8 ·
Your ZJ and my ZJ are twins...I think I saw you at Fred Meyer the other day.

I'm still in the middle of building mine though. I went with IRO LAs just like you except I am doing 7" and 35's. I also have a HP D30 out of an XJ with 4.10's and a Ford 8.8 with 4.10's, but I am building a 4 link for the rear which is what I have left to do.\

I think I've been wheeling with your friend in the blue Jeep at Robie Creek...he might know my friend Jon with the Jeep buggy (it's on 43's)
 
#11 ·
There is definitely plenty of snow, that storm we had over the weekend was pretty serious, we have been in the negative digits the last few nights since it cleared out. This morning was so cold that my gear oil was so thick it was hard to get the Jeep going off the line.
 
#13 ·
yes there are some updates. i will get on uploading the pictures. I got a deck on my rear storage area and got my front bumper from flatland 4x4 built. I am shopping for a winch right now so i can finish weld in the winch mounting plates to my bumper. i have been out jeeping every chance i get. Hopefully in the next couple weeks i can get my rear bumper done and axles swapped. I have been busy with work and starting the this past monday i work straight thru till march 7 straight through. So wont be much jeeping this month. 33 straight days 12 hours a day. Will build up some comp time. I might do i night jeep run or two during that time. I will get some pictures uploaded to post on here. I have been up to sinker creek near silver city twice in the last month. mostly been dealing with a very post pardum babys moma. Been occupying about every second of my free time.

Milan jeep... if you havent bought tires yet i would recomend treadwright.com

https://treadwright.com/p-77-315-75r16-guard-dog-m-t-d.aspx

good prices and customer service and i have been very happy with their product for the past couple years.
 
#22 ·
Sweet GC. My woman just got me the f/r bumper and tank skid plans from flatland and I can't wait to get them done. This whole federal budget and furlough crap is prob gonna bone me and postpone everything tho. Lookin forward to seein your rear tire carrier when it's done! Keep bringing the pics!

-shock-
 
#23 ·
I too am holding back till I know this budget junk is gonna play out cuz I am a federal technician. Thurs I am headed to cali to pick up a trailer. I am u6ogradeing from 24 foot bumper pull to 38 foot gooseneck enclosed cargo trailer. Rated heavy enough to haul my stuff. Once I get my 24 foot sold I will finish the jeep, gotta do rear bumper, axles, rocker protection, and tcase swap. Then ill be happy with major mods. And can shift focus to interior and cosmetic changes. Like heated seats, stereo, and cb, along with navigation.
 
#24 ·
I decided to finally pull the trigger on the tcase swap on my grand cherokee. While i was at it i did the SYE. i built a drive shaft as a experiment to see if i could. I now need to get it balanced. Any one have a recomendation for a shop to get it balanced. Also some of you more tech savy types. I set the slip joint at middle of the stroke when i set the length with the vehicle setting at ride height. Does mid stroke sound right or does any one have any input?

so i am put a hack n tap on my Grand.



shaft tacked together



now i need the shaft balanced

 
#25 ·
time for a update. Been wheeling all winter. Last month I picked up a 8.8 with 4.10 lsd for the rear of my grand. so I scored a hi pinion front at the junkyard this weekend with 4.10s in it. came out of a 4cyl Cherokee. I got a hair brained idea while I was walking around at the junkyard. I pulled a CAD axle out of a 85 Cherokee with a 4cyl motor. That is geared with 4.10s.

So my hair brain idea , and reason for getting the CAD axle is that I can do a Lincoln locker to the spider gears and then use a manual conversion kit to the CAD. and have a trailer park selectable locker. Any thoughts on this or am I nuts? worse case scenario. if I break it too much I can put the 4.10 gears in one of the other 2 hi pinon non disconnect axles I have.

I also last week ordered artec axle trusses for the front dana 30, and a truss and mounts for my 8.8 swap
 
#26 ·
Little update. Been a while. The rig currently sits on 35s, Diy TMI beadlocks, upgraded the rear to IRO long arms to match my front when I did the 8.8 swap. It now wears MVF quarter panel armor, im now on version 3 of the rear bumper Based off flat land 4x4 bumpers. This version incorporates a rear winch in the bumper. Converted my front long arms to adjustable.

Then this past week i Finally got around to building a new roof rack for my 94 jeep grand Cherokee. Have about 200$ tied up in it with the light bar. It's 1x1 .90 square tube frame and 3/4 expanded metal decking. I wanted the light bar tucked up under neath to keep it protected from branches I often encounter on the trail. I also wanted it as close to the roof as I could get and keep it flat. I used the factory roof rail mounts. Got the idea from TheKsmith's wj a while back. Needed a place to put my tent cot for the over night trips and a few bundles of firewood. I am not in love wroth the tire downs but they are strong and effective. Also not living the look of the square corners. I think I'll be making a version 2 at a layer date once I get my tubing bender up and running.

The base mounts using factory rivnuts



Perimeter 40 inches by 60 inches



Building the base



Getting it low





Adding color



Somehow missed a tiedown on passenger side.



Drivers side had it



37 inch single row light bar tucked underneath nicely. Set back so there is zero glare on the windshield or hood.





Completed







Test fit of planned load. My trailer park math worked out. Load fits as planned. It's low to the roof as planned, and the light bar is protected.

 
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