SOLD: JUNE 2020

Never was something I thought I'd do but I've parted ways with the XJ after 13 years of ownership and over 80K miles.
It served everything from a DD, Weekend Warrior, Overlander, Rock crawler and was headed toward a dedicated crawler.
I decided that the Cherokee was too good as it was to be turned into a dedicated crawler as I've seen to many great builds die a terrible death as a crawler.
So the New Owner is happy to have hold of it and plans to keep it as a Overlander.

PHASE 3: COMPLETE MAR 2018

3-Link Front, 13" Travel Shocks, Hidden Winch Front Bumper w/ Integrated Steering Brace, LED Bar, 2x6 Rockers, New Seats, Roll Bar, Front & Mid Frame Stiffeners, Power Steering Cooler, Selectable Front Locker

How the Jeep Currently Sits:




Desertfox1023
1994 Jeep Cherokee SE... Mostly

Front Suspension:
6" Total Lift
XJ Coils
Custom 3-link
Doetsch 13" Shocks

Front Axle:
HP D44
Eaton E-Locker
760x Ujoints, Full Circle Clips
4.56's
RE Track Bar w/ Brace
1-Ton OTK Steering
Ruffstuff "The Cure" Spacer
Solid Diff Cover
Warn Premium Hubs
Passenger Side Alloy Shafts

Rear Suspension:
S-10 Bastard Pack
Lift Shackles
RC Shackle Relocation Brackets
M.O.R.E Stretch Plates
Doetsch 13" Shocks

Rear Axle:
XJ D44
8.8 Disc Brakes
Detroit Locker
4.56's
Solid Diff Cover
Alloy Shafts

Drive line:
4.0L HO - Rebuilt Head
Cold Air Intake
62mm Bored TB & 1" Spacer
99+ Intake Manifold
703 Injectors
MSD Coil, Taylor 8.2mm Wires, D.U.I Cap & Rotor
APN Style Header
HiFlo Cat w/ 2.5" Flowmaster Catback
Brown Dog Motor Mounts
Daystar Poly Trans Mount
AW4 w/ 6 Row Cooler & 1st Gear Lockout
NP231 w/ H&T SYE

Recovery and Armor:
Factory Gas Skid & Hitch
Custom T-Case Skid
Hidden Winch Front Bumper w/ Integrated Steering Box Brace
IRO Center Drop Long Arm Crossmember
Front & Mid Section Frame Stiffeners
Rusty's Roll Bar

Tires and wheels:
37x13.50 Toyo MTs
17" Allied Beadlocks

Brakes:
4 Wheel Disc's
96XJ Double Diaphragm Booster
96XJ Master Cylinder
ZJ Proportioning Valve - For Disc's
RC SS 24" Front Lines, 26" Rear Line
YJ Parking Brake Cables

Other Stuff:
136 AMP ALT
ZJ Fan Clutch
102" Wheelbase
Removable Front Doors
97+ XJ Mirrors
Durango Steering Box & Inside Frame Brace
Marine Speakers Mounted in Kick Panels
72" Wilderness Rack w/ 240W Light Bar
AUX Fan Override
Headlight Harness Upgrade
01 XJ Seats
Power Steering Cooler
Custom Rock Body Work and Body Trimming
Cup Holders!!!


Date of Purchase APR 2007:




PHASE 0 "Original Post" OCT 2008:

Well I figured since I got such big plans for the jeep I might as well start a build thread for it. The jeep is a DD so the idea behind it is to keep it street legal while still making it able to hang out with the big boys. The idea is to keep it as low cost as possible with out cutting corners or going with the it will work for now and I'll upgrade it later concept.

How the jeep sat:



3.5" Lift, 31's, D30 Front, Dana 35 Rear, Homemade Bumper Winch Mount


PHASE 1: COMPLETE AUG 2011


5" Lift, 33's, Cut Fenders, New Bumper, IRO OTK, & Rock Sliders

Axles:
HP D30 w/ 297x ujoints, 4.56's, lockright
D44 w/ discs, 4.56's, Detroit


PHASE 2: COMPLETE MAR 2015



6" Lift, 35's, HP Dana 44 Front End, Ford Radius Arms, & Lots of 4.0L Bolt-ons.

 

awesome. cant wait for updates.

 

Sounds interesting, check out ironrockoffroad.com. they have very good prices on misc. lift parts. They also have a radius arm style 3 link that I am running that is a really nice setup for the money, cant wait for updates.

 

Ya, the guys at iron rock are a pretty cool group and will cut some deals to. But I didn't know they made a three link. Where is it on there site?

edit* never mind I found it, It doesn't seem to bad but I plan on getting it while I'm sitting at 4.5" lift then adjusting it out when I go 7". That and I'm already pretty much sold on the Rock Krawler kit.

 

Rockrawler looks like they have nice setups, i was thinking about there rear coil conversion.
I originally purchased the non-adjustable 3-link, but it backordered for 3 weeks because ironrock was out of the shop for the moab easter safari. So they upgraded it to the adjustable for free, there real cool to deal with.

 

Ya they are a great bunch. They were going to cut me a sweet deal on my fixed lowers till my buddy gave me his when he went to a long arm. Making mental note though to order things when there not working

 

yah I hear yah on that

 

So I got a little work done on the jeep and it's back to running right again with a new fuel pump and filter and a new crank shaft position sensor.

I ended up postponing the idea of running 33's for now when I picked up a sweet deal on some 31's.



A little flat black spray paint took care of the ugly spoke rims.



The tires aren't going to be worth anything off road but they got around 30,000 plus miles left on them.



You might be a redneck if you got a set of tires in your dorm room.

I saved a ton of money picking these tires up, so a new SYE and the RK long arm should be on before summer.

 

Well, sorry to say the jeep won't be seeing a big lift and 35's for a while.

The new build plan for it will be

4.5" lift
33x12.50 M/T's
D30/D44
Locked F&R
4.56 gears

 

Picked up a roof rack for the jeep today and mounted it up, I'll try to get some pictures up of everything.

 

Well I ripped all the interior out of the jeep and fixed some rust spots. Then put down some bedliner. Also drilled some drain holes in the floor so I can just wash it out with a hose when it gets dirty. Turned out pretty good, pics to come.

 

Built some custom light tabs out of some scrap steel I had and mounted 4 new front lights to rack along with 2 rear.

 

I'd love to see pics of how you custom mounted your winch behind a stock bumper. I'm considering doing the same to hold me over until I can afford a ARB bumper.

 

Sorry for the late reply to this, I just noticed it today. Basic I removed the stock brakes for starters. I ran a piece of 3/16" steel down the frame rail and bolted to it in 3 places along it. I took some angle Iron 2x2x3/16" and set it flush against the bumpers and bolted my universal winch plate to it through the bumper with 4 grade 8 bolts. I welded that to the steel running along the frame rail. I also took another piece and bolted it to the front and then welded a piece to run from it to the bumper attachment.

Hopefully you get an idea of it. It's pretty darn stout and I've not had any problems out of the use it's seen. I'll be removing the stock bumper and building a new one now that I've got some more money. I'll be sure to snap some pictures this time as well as some of the old setup.

 

Here's a couple of pics of the new Plasticote roll on bedlined interior. I have done Hercuiler on my friends TJ and I will say it is easier to work with but if done right they so far have the same good quality. I just went with what Santa brought me so I'm not complaining. I love the new look and the moldy old carpet is finally gone, as well as some rust posts that were worse than I thought. Some new sheet metal was screwed in place then I applied bondo over it just for added strength to the area.