Project older and wiser

[XJ_Vikings]

So a little background to start.

Bought my jeep stock back in 2002 when i was 16, about 55k on it. After some casual wheeling I decided to throw on 30x9.50 BFG AT and then a year later decided to lift (I know, i was young and stupid). Didn't do any research on the lift, ended up with a garbage trailmaster, drop brackets, add a leaf etc. It still pains me to think about it.

Didnt do too much on it except relocate the solenoid to the engine compartment and relocate the master on/off to the dash. Pretty happy with it however the wire was quite expensive. I upped the diameter to account for the increased resistance.





I started planning and researching everything I wanted to do back in 2006. However, a deployment and school made things go slowly. Before I left I decided to commit and take her off the road, buy a DD and start my work when i got back.

Heres the 2009 Honda i picked up last year



The jeep in its current state


Its been sitting in my garage for a couple years now. Only issues were a dead battery and a broken hood release.

Did some work on it today (first time in 3 years) and replaced the battery with an optima yellow top, and started the hood pin install.





Ive had a 44 sitting in my basement for about 4 years now, I did all the cleanup work a few years back, just been waiting to take it to CT Axle to finish it up, that's happening next week finally. The plan now is to get as much done for the rebirth as possible without immobilizing her. I don't want to deal with the Honda this winter so I'm getting the heep back in shape for a DD, then starting to throw everything on in the spring. Hopefully this thread keeps me motivated.



Heres what ive come up with in my years of research (while the other guys in Iraq were using their computer time to talk to their girlfriends, I was on )....

Alcan rear leafs
Bilstein shocks
woody shaft
TnT 5.5 arms
not sure how much im going to put into the 30
4.56 gears, aussie in 44
not sure on tires yet... still

not at all worthy of advanced fab yet, being that it is neither advanced or fabricated, but itll be there in due time

the whole idea behind this is to use my age, wisdom, and engineering degree to do it the way i should have the first time.

[chedisme]

Hey you got to start some where.

and trust me we have all seen people do MUCH dumber things with there XJs. so dont kick your self too hard.

good luck.

[fasteddieyj]

Thanks for serving. Glad you made it back ok. Good luck with your build.

[XJ_Vikings]

Finished up the hood pin install on Sunday. Went smoothly, only needed 400 Dremel cut wheels and grind stones. I'm gonna weld the top nut on to gain some elevation on the pins, right now its tighter then I would like.




I'm debating switching out the strap style yoke to a u-bolt style, not sure if its necessary though.

On the agenda now is to do all the little things to bring it back to life after 2 years of sitting in a garage. The hoses and serp belt look good, but aside from greasing the joints and changing the oil I'm not sure how far I have to go. Next weekend I'm gonna ditch the lights, clean up the wiring in the engine bay and hopefully finish up my rear bumper, pics of that to come later.

Any suggestions for things I should look for and fluids I should swap after a 2 year hiatus? As I said before I'll certainly do oil, coolant, and grease the joints.

[kastein]

I'd flush the brakes as well, they are supposed to be done every 2 years and no one ever does. right rear, then left rear, then right front, then left front, keep the reservoir full and you're done! Speed bleeders (or a power bleeder) help.

Looks nice so far!

[jeeperjohn]

Originally Posted by kastein

I'd flush the brakes as well, they are supposed to be done every 2 years and no one ever does. right rear, then left rear, then right front, then left front, keep the reservoir full and you're done! Speed bleeders (or a power bleeder) help.

Looks nice so far!

Agree, and if you live in a humid environment I would do it annually.

[XJ_Vikings]

A little update:

Finished up swapping out all the fluids, got the vehicle registered and just passed emissions.

I'm a little surprised at how nicely it drives after sitting in a garage for 2 years.

The next thing to work on is finishing up the bumper I started before I was deployed. No pictures with me, but its basically L2x2x1/4 mounted inside the framerails recessed into a 3x4x1/4 rectangular tube. Ive got all that work done, just need to weld on the ballistic fab shackle mounts to the sides of the L2x2x1/4's and then weld those to the regtangular tube.

Heres a rough sketch





I plan on running the 2" tube from my bumper over the front wheel wells, connecting it to my sliders, over the rear wheel wells then connecting to the bumper to give some rear 1/4 protection.

[beakie]

just a thought in regards to the pic above.
you may think about angling the outers (from the frame mounts out, or where they angle upward at the ends), so they follow the line of the hatch a bit.
I think you'll like the look of it better than straight across the way the diagram has it.