Overland XJ Build. Not my first Rodeo.....(video included)

Overland History

Wanderluster
Well, after being out of Jeeps and Wheelin' altogether for the past 10 years, I decided to start looking for another project.

Here's a couple of pics of my old '92 XJ that I sold back in 2005. It had a 4.7L Stroker(275hp, 330ft/lb tq), D30/D44 axles, Locked front and rear with 4.88 gears, 6in lift and 33x10.5 BFG MTs. Never should've sold it!

IMG_0395.jpg
IMG_8779.JPG



Anyways, I recently picked up a '94 XJ 4.0L 5spd w/ 198K on the clock for $450. I purchased it from the original owner's son and it even came with the original window sticker. :)

The day I bought it and had it towed home:

1.jpg
2.jpg

More to come.... :jump:
 
Last edited:

Overland History

Wanderluster
Once I got her home, I decided to go to work on the faded red paint. It looked just awful. Nothing some polish and wax with a buffer can't take care of! :D

4.6.jpg
3.jpg


The interior was absolutely disgusting. It didn't look like it had been cleaned in 10years. :Wow1:

4.jpg


I pulled out the interior seats and carpet...

5.jpg


....and went to work with some Purple Power and a Pressure Washer, which worked ok, but not great.....

6.jpg
 

Overland History

Wanderluster
The seats were absolutely disgusting too, so I used simple green, a stiff scrub brush and a hose on them. It took them about 2 days to dry. Before and after....

8.jpg
9.jpg


While I had the interior out, I found some rust holes in the passenger rear floor board on the inside and outside of the "frame" rail, which makes sense considering the muffler is right below that area. I didn't have the time to weld in new metal just yet, so it'll have to wait considering I had a wheelin/camping trip within a few weeks.....soooo it's on the list of things to fix.

13.jpg


Before I got the interior back in, I painted the carpet with this stuff, which looks more blue in the pictures than it really is. The color looks better in person...

21.jpg
15.jpg
14.jpg


The wheels had almost 200K miles on them, so they needed some painting. I used a wire wheel on an electric drill to clean them up, then I used wheel paint to bring them back to life.....

10.jpg
11.jpg
12.jpg
 
Last edited:

Overland History

Wanderluster
Next up was the bad throwout bearing in the clutch, which was the reason why the Jeep was so cheap in the first place. :D Got a new clutch kit in and replaced the whole lot, including the Master Cylinder and Slave Cylinder. Both cylinders didnt need to be replaced, but I'm anal. :D

16.jpg
17.jpg


Next up, I managed to pick up an RTT for the Jeep on Craigslist for $600. I also picked up Thule Locking Crossbar racks for $150. I've wanted one for so long, and I finally got me an RTT for $750 all in! :jump:

18.jpg
20.jpg
19.jpg
 

Overland History

Wanderluster
After buying the RTT, I decided to take the XJ(bone stock) up to Oak Ridge Estate in Arrington, VA to the Virginia Four Wheel Drive Association Annual Trail Ride on Sept 17-20th. It was hilarious to see the looks on everyone's face that an experienced driver in a stock XJ could keep up with everyone else in lifted/locked vehicles on the majority of the trails and obstacles. :jump:

IMG_8552.jpg

I made a video of the experience, I hope you all enjoy!

https://youtu.be/-Em4hQFSvic
 

Overland History

Wanderluster
Thanks guys! :D


Continuing on....

Since today is my day off work and school, I got a lot done on the Jeep.

Replaced the water pump and re-sealed the thermostat housing with RTV. No leaks! :D

image.jpg



I also replaced my Oxygen Sensor, as the Jeep started throwing a code for it!

image.jpg



My alternator also decided to take a dump on me, so out with the old and in with the new...

image.jpg




Also painted my new(slightly used) 3in lift shocks.

image.jpg



Also, I recently picked up a 3in lift kit and 31x10.5 Mud Terrains. All of it has only 800 miles on it. The guy I bought it from apparently had the front driver's side of his XJ set on fire by someone, so I'm missing a Coil and I was missing a shock, which just came in yesterday. It also came with lower Control Arms, which one of them got burned and ruined the bushings. Ive since replaced the bushings and painted that rusty control arm. I've got a buddy with a matching 3in lift coil that he doesn't need. Now all I've got to order is 2 new matching tires, since one was lost in the fire and I want a full-size spare. :D

image.jpg
image.jpg
 
Last edited:

Overland History

Wanderluster
The same buddy of mine with the spare coil also has a D35 rear axle that is locked with 4.10 gears, so I'll be buying that from him as well for cheap! :D When I've got the cash, I'll also lock and gear my D30 front axle with 4.10's.

The reason I'm building this XJ so mildly with lift and tires, is because it's maiden trip when I graduate school will be from Alaska to Argentina along the Pan-American Highway, so there will be a lot of Road use with moderate off-road use.

The idea is to be able to live out the XJ for up to 7 days, completely self-sustained. The plan is to add solar panels to charge my aux camping battery. I'm going to build a platform with drawers for the rear, similar to below with a built-in fridge and tool drawer.. I'll also have a 20 gallon tank for water for showering using a solar shower. If the weather is really bad, I'll still be able to sleep in the back of the Jeep instead of the RTT.

Love this setup with fridge and drawer for tools/parts. :D

image.jpeg
 
Last edited:

ibanezer

Adventurer
Man I really like where this build is going. Looks like you got a pretty good deal on the lift stuff and tires.
 

Overland History

Wanderluster
Thanks fellas! I used to work as a mechanic for a Porsche/Lamborghini/BMW race team, so most of this stuff is pretty easy. :smiley_drive:

Anyways, I had some more time today to dedicate to the Jeep before I leave to go camping on Thursday.

I decided to give the Jeep a good once-over to see if anything needs attention. After some crawling around, I found 2 issues:

A bad motor mount...

image.jpg


And it looks like during my last wheelin' trip in the video, the upper control arm somehow made contact with the lip of the oil pan where it meets the block. I've checked every link for play and found none....

image.jpg
 

Overland History

Wanderluster
Well, the Jeep's distributor started making a funny, intermittent whining, so with likely 200K on it, I decided to replace it. While I'm in there, I might as well do a tune-up and replace the plugs, wires, cap and rotor.

image.jpg


Removed the old cap, rotor, wires and distributor....

image.jpg

image.jpg

image.jpg




Out come the old plugs. God only know how many miles are actually on them! They look terrible and I'm embarrassed to say that I've put 2K miles on them and never had a look at them. The Jeep ran suprisingly well with minimal low RPM ping/knocking.

image.jpg


Take a look at that Gap! That must be .060 or more! :Wow1:

image.jpg
image.jpg



In go some shiny new Champions....

image.jpg



It's always a good idea to check the plug gap, even if the plugs allegedly come "pre-gapped". Mine came gapped but we're not correct at all!

Added the new wires to the new cap. If you look close, it's good practice to number the wires for which cylinder they go to, even though the firing order is scribed onto the intake manifold. :D

image.jpg
image.jpg
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
185,533
Messages
2,875,597
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top