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Considering a 98-01 Cherokee....advice??

Discussion in 'Cherokee' started by BigNuge, Jul 27, 2019.

  1. Aug 17, 2019 at 5:06 AM
    #21
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Made some progress yesterday after work. I think I’m going to pull the tranny before pulling the motor. I was going to try and leave it in during the swap, but I don’t think that’s going to be doable.

    Pics of where I’m at...

    9C5B5897-5962-4430-ADB8-846909A7853E.jpg 2151C4E3-4813-47AE-B722-6E151395A334.jpg A43AE069-A9B9-499C-ABE9-6DA79E102659.jpg
     
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  2. Sep 5, 2019 at 10:44 AM
    #22
    Prerunner1982

    Prerunner1982 Well-Known Member

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    Did you get the motor out? You can get the engine and trans out as one unit you just have to lift the engine straight up. It's a lot of weight to maneuver around but it's doable. Pulled the engine/trans/tcase as one unit out of my 93 and put the "new" engine with the old trans/tcase back in as one unit. Working by myself I felt this was easier than trying to lift the trans up and connect it to the engine from below.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2019
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  3. Sep 5, 2019 at 5:42 PM
    #23
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Hey guys, sorry about the delay in an update. I been trying to maintain threads on two forums, and get things done on the XJ at the same time.

    A lot has happened since my last post, I’ll try an detail it all below.

    I did get the motor/tranny/tacse out. I dropped the tcase off first, then pulled the motor and transmission as one (wasn't too bad). I got it all done single-handed, but should have gotten an hand dropping the tcase, that was tough on my own.

    01c0224c2cd818aeb1c51217c7adcb0120b6e3f2fc.jpg
    0114b16ccf09811ed608f75858f6dbe623cdbebeac.jpg
    014f575429e7b99364a4f61d1d9b9b62a670c256c4.jpg 0165b1aa8a5eb46b267c0c25c92aa9d62f2e9d294f.jpg 01ce18b2a84393a034afab7931c9b59824dbe0a7f4.jpg

    After getting the motor out I separated the motor and tranny, pulled the flex plate, set the bad motor aside until I have the donor motor in.

    I got to work on the soft spots on the passenger side floor. It was worse than I thought, but I got it all fixed up. Made up floor patches, rebuilt the seat riser, welded everything in, seam sealed everything, covered any other rust (solid metal with some rust) with rust converter, painted everything with rubberized undercoating.

    01d7b2182ae35dc12a358a0020296c8e523bd93657.jpg 013c89111dca31ffe86542b12afbffea13bc8a829b.jpg 01b884c010745a51d61cbe7406bac9fd9cfca5891b.jpg 01160e8de19339c2bac05731a2f293d2aa993951c0.jpg 01ae639ab91f27f27a63f65a90b715be96f20edecc.jpg 0188d775c078f74af83d45a9a7e4988467f1c85c83.jpg 0189fa846b7f6797d879dd951d943c918061e4d5b5.jpg


    I moved on to the driver side. This side had a few soft spots up under the pedal area. I got it all cut out, rust treated, cleaned up, and ready for the patch. I'll get that patch made up this weekend, and hopefully welded in.

    010057ab3dcf8c6c795f8c546214a47e026c9315f6.jpg 0110c281cfcf0790846c829d7a4dafea860237cfd2.jpg 0116d86adc2881a9beffe2255feb676deca19ec454.jpg
     
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  4. Sep 5, 2019 at 5:57 PM
    #24
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I ordered the lift, I went with the RC 4.5" X-Series lift. Already ordered new shackles, all new sway bushings, flag nuts for the upper rear shock mounts. I will be doing the DIY hack and tap for a DIY SYE. I am going to use the front DS out of the donor XJ as the new rear DS after this is done.

    Next up will be tires and wheels. I am going simple black steel wheels, 33" tires. I am thinking of going with Goodyear MT/R's, or Cooper SST's....I want good on-road behavior, and solid off road performance. I am going to be driving this thing an hour+ to our wheeling areas, don't need it to suck for on-road driving.

    In the interim I have pulled the OEM flares and bumper trim off. I wont be doing any sort of bumpers or anything just yet. For now I plan on cleaning up the OEM bumpers and painting them black.

    01e57b80737a181bc6096391fd7241ef4c09bd9d7d.jpg 01fd7d83b68e2562c1159ef9da34ab7c6d723f1eb3.jpg

    That catches things up for now....Let me know if you guys think I'm missing anything!
     
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  5. Sep 5, 2019 at 7:20 PM
    #25
    JKBob 25

    JKBob 25 Well-Known Member

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    Awesome progress @BigNuge . My first Jeep was an XJ. I have a blast following these builds. :cheers::popcorn:.
     
  6. Sep 6, 2019 at 10:51 AM
    #26
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    The UPS man brought goodies today....just itching to get this under the XJ!

    874CC009-703C-4FCC-9E1B-EF660D9FA55F.jpg 21DEC4E3-DCD3-4BCA-BACD-A809CF2AF920.jpg

    Also got the patch made up for the drive side floor....

    22310512-1225-4A17-93B1-44BF52908199.jpg

    I’ll get the patch welded in today/tomorrow...then get the interior back together and get ready for the lift!

    Still waiting for shackles and whatnot.

    I was wondering, does anyone know what size hardware I need for the shackles? Just wanted to grab as much ahead of time as possible so I’m not running around while doing the lift.

    Stay tuned!
     
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  7. Sep 6, 2019 at 7:20 PM
    #27
    JKBob 25

    JKBob 25 Well-Known Member

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    Nice.....RC makes some nice quality shit.
     
  8. Sep 7, 2019 at 4:09 PM
    #28
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Dayum....what a job that was!!

    68F39946-832B-4EEE-94F6-F36185059125.jpg 6DEB1182-99A4-4AAA-B24E-21A64C0B2C3E.jpg B9F408BD-A130-4800-B85F-857B8DAFDCD5.jpg 7F658BCD-4B80-4BAD-B0EA-FC0E44026F22.jpg 6881850B-E565-427E-96FC-2F36AC3AAFF1.jpg

    Gonna get the chassis all cleaned up, treated with rust converter, top coated with rubberized undercoating, then start installing the lift.
     
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  9. Sep 7, 2019 at 7:04 PM
    #29
    aggrex

    aggrex Well-Known Member

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    Nice to have access to a lift for such a big job. Rubberized undercoating has a reputation for trapping moisture in some cases and could cause unseen ongoing rust issues. Wire brush the affected areas, rust converter, then some rust-oleum-type paint and inspect over a period of time.
     
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  10. Sep 8, 2019 at 4:26 AM
    #30
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Good point. I will take a look at other options for top coating the underside of the XJ.

    I am going to look for a nibbler/needler for loose rust removal. Access to the rear area is so easy now, makes sense to do it up right!
     
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  11. Sep 8, 2019 at 2:32 PM
    #31
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Todays progress involved dropping the fuel tank, charcoal canister, hammer out the nurserts for the upper shock mounts, clean up all loose rust, wipe everything down and give it all a good treatment of rust converter. I also pulled the rear OEM flares, rear bumper caps, rear bumper, tow hitch, flag nuts for the tow hitch.

    BCF1291B-0F8F-4259-81CC-60A46B3B6275.jpg 44AC5708-A26F-4CD9-B8A7-9E1070DFA8CA.jpg 806FF734-6B77-4E06-8CE2-8087F90CBE76.jpg 69E9A426-51E3-48AA-A2F1-8F239BD9916E.jpg 2CED3643-A51D-4443-BC47-29A91601FF90.jpg F1AA6D81-B03A-4F6C-BC19-8D9EB8768C6B.jpg 01D1BB54-ADC4-4BC6-89B4-24EE4C312CFA.jpg C357FCBE-CE58-487A-A8A4-BC5BAC939E4A.jpg 81B85336-F2DE-42DA-807E-2B44CEFED111.jpg

    Got the new bump stops ordered, they will be here next week. Going to do the DIY bar pin eliminator using the donor XJ’s rear sway link mounts. I already have the flag nuts for the top mounts. Ordered new fuel filler hoses (fill and vent).

    In the process of pulling the axle I broke the driver side lower shock stud. Im going to do a universal shock stud for a replacement.

    Hope to get get the chassis all painted up and prepped for the axle re-install by Wednesday. Kind of a pain having it hog up my bay with no way of rolling it out!
     
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  12. Sep 9, 2019 at 10:38 AM
    #32
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    So I was doing some research regarding the lower shock mounts on the rear axle. I found the “high clearance” mounts for a good deal (not that there’s much to them). Wondering if anyone out there has used them in conjunction with a 4.5” lift? Should I stay away due to shock bottoming out with the shorter dimension? I like the idea of the higher mounted shock, but don’t want to risk bottoming it out. FYI, I do have extended (2”) rear bump stops coming for the XJ...
     
  13. Sep 9, 2019 at 10:46 AM
    #33
    Prerunner1982

    Prerunner1982 Well-Known Member

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    Higher bottom shock mounts allow for shorter shocks. Measure articulation (compressed and fully extended) and buy a shock that closely matches those measurements.
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2019
  14. Sep 9, 2019 at 3:58 PM
    #34
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I understand that’s the straight forward way of establishing that. My XJ is in pieces, I am in the process of installing a RC X-Series 4.5” lift, I can’t accomplish that at this time. I’m trying to find out wether I’m causing an issue by considering high mounts for my rear shocks (only considering it since I broke one of the studs off during disassembly).

    I am pretty sure I’d be fine, but I’d like to hear from someone who has done it and had no issues.
     
  15. Sep 9, 2019 at 4:54 PM
    #35
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Just did a chat with RC. They said it would be really close to causing an issue. I’m just going to stick with drilling out the stock mount and replacing the stud.
     
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  16. Sep 9, 2019 at 5:01 PM
    #36
    aggrex

    aggrex Well-Known Member

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  17. Sep 9, 2019 at 5:25 PM
    #37
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Yup, got a set of those already! The issue I was trying to work out was the lower mount on the axle. From what RC said it sounds like using the OEM amount is best in this case. I’d entertain the high mount brackets if I ever replace the shackles with longer ones.
     
  18. Sep 9, 2019 at 8:04 PM
    #38
    JKBob 25

    JKBob 25 Well-Known Member

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    Interesting. Still :popcorn:
     
  19. Sep 10, 2019 at 5:28 AM
    #39
    Prerunner1982

    Prerunner1982 Well-Known Member

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    What issue did they say going with higher mounts would cause?
     
  20. Sep 10, 2019 at 9:26 AM
    #40
    BigNuge

    BigNuge [OP] Well-Known Member

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    RC says that shortening the dimension of the shock mounts by 2” puts the shock close to bottoming out during articulation. Obviously we don’t want the shock being the limiting factor and bottoming out. I’m going to stick with the OEM location and just drill it out and mount the replacement stud (already ordered).

    Speaking of hardware, damn it is difficult finding 10.8 hardware in the right size for the leafs! I finally ordered a full set (6) on line @ $5.50 each. I did find them at my local hardware store but they were nearly twice the price!

    New leaf spring bolts on order, new track bar bolt kit on order, new pitman arm puller on order

    They don’t call them J.E.E.P. for nothing!

    Now to get the damn track bar bolt cut out the rest of the way....
     
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