Slow and Steady: '99 XJ

[MonsterNoggin]

Alrighty, here is the kickoff for the rebuild/restore/upgrade of my '99 XJ. Fair warning, this first post will likely be wordy, I apologize now.

I was given this Jeep by the folks with instructions to preserve it and use it to help instill the love of Jeeps in the next generation of Guys. No pressure.

Here are the obligatory pics (repost from the Welcome MonsterNoggin thread):
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=641&pictureid=4244

http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=641&pictureid=4245

The body is rust-free with a single half-dollar sized ding below the drivers keyhole and was given a fresh coat of paint within the last year. Barring a some heel-wear on the drivers floor mat, the interior is essentially pristine.

We're working with the inline 6, 4.0ltr engine, the Chrysler 8.25 rear-end (yes, it's 2WD...for now), and around 220k miles on the original automatic transmission.

For now, the Jeep is serving as my DD. As we are an avid outdoors household, I've been given the go-ahead to begin building it up as an overlander/family camping vehicle....slowly.

The goal is to have the cash scraped together to do a full swap to 4WD with new front and rear differentials sometime around the 1st quarter of 2018. With that in mind, I've got around $100-$200 bucks or so a month to commit to ongoing maintenance and the upgrade of components in anticipation of the swap.

So far the engine and tranny have been given a clean bill of health from a shop I trust here in Houston, and I've replaced the brake pads, calipers, water pump, hoses, thermostat, as well as the usual filters, tires, wiper blades, etc.

I felt the first hint of a 'clunk' from a ball joint the other day, so they have been bumped to next in the queue.

Since I'm going to have the front end apart, I figure I may as well go ahead and replace all the original bushings, bump stops, and shocks as well.

Which brings me to my first question for the XJTalk hive-mind:
Are there any considerations beyond ball joints, shocks, bushings, and bump stops I should keep my eye open for while I've got the axles down?

I'm allowing myself a 4 day weekend in December for the front end and a 3 day weekend in January for the rear (if needed). Since I will have the time, if there's any wrenching I can do now to prevent headaches in the future I would appreciate hearing the thoughts of you more experienced Jeepers.

After the suspension and ball joints have been taken care of, the next item on the list will be plugs, distributor cap, and wires. As they will be long term investments, are there any favorites? I haven't applied the Google-foo in that direction so forgive the lack of research.

I'll be posting back with any progress/acquisitions/questions. In the meantime, thanks for looking and here's to getting this ball rolling!

[WrenchDevil6]

I'll be doing my suspension/steering upgrade in spring 2017. There's a ridiculous amount of resources for us here; especially if you focus on Adam's, Jake's, and Ryan's builds. They're pretty epic. I'm sure there are other builds, I'm not as caught up as I'd like to be. I look forward to seeing how your upgrade/replacement goes, as well.

[xj-jake]

I'm going to be watching this one closely, welcome to the addiction Mike, you couldn't have landed in a better place. If you're going to be pulling the axle apart make sure you're control arm bushings are in good shape. Try to replace everything with the best stuff you can afford. Nothing is more frustrating that having to do the same thing twice. Ask questions and get opinions here, you'll get a straight answer. If I can I'll put my 2 pennies in on what you're starting on.

Ball Joints-- Alloy USA is what I run. Synergy also has a nice set available.

Shocks-- I need to upgrade mine but here's my opinion. Bilstien OR Doetsch Tech. I'm leaning heavily toward Doetsch Tech. I have a set on my wife's WJ and they ride nice and are beyond beefy.

Bushings-- Available through most parts stores. Do it for piece of mind knowing that if you decide to lift your Jeep you may not even be using them in the future.

Bump Stops-- Your call but I would just leave them be.

Make sure you're axle seals are not leaking. Brakes are in good condition. Wheel hubs are not grinding. Take a solid look at the tie rods and make sure they aren't loose. If they are it might be a good time to take care of them.

As far as your tune up parts. I'm a firm believer in putting back what the factory had there. Champion plugs I believe, and brass terminal ignition parts. I won't skimp on plug wires either, all of mine have the lifetime warranty plug wires.

If you see a theme here it's something I learned from my dad long ago while working with him on projects. DO IT RIGHT DON'T DO IT TWICE!!

He actually had the nickname of 2 time Artie for a while.

Good luck and welcome to the madness!

[MonsterNoggin]

The holiday wrenching list is being compiled and I'll be pulling the trigger on it sometime over Thanksgiving.

Although a number of these parts will be replaced/upgraded in the next couple of years, I know life has a way of delaying plans and so I'm opting to make the best decision for the Jeep now rather than be stuck with a bandaid for longer than anticipated.

Here's what I've got in the works, the tip jar is out and $.02 is always welcome:

(4) Bilstein B6 4600 and 5100 steering damper
http://www.bilsteinus.com/products/truck-off-road/bilstein-b6-4600/
Reviews seem to be solid on the Bilsteins, but I'm wondering if the 4600 is the better choice for a stock lift in lieu of the 5100. Thoughts?

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/2.18105?gclid=Cj0KEQiA08rBBRDUn4qproqwzYMBEiQAqpzn s__Ey8La1AX0FniCphbEOAT1PA83yKPmCPJ7NQFyj3AaAt9w8P 8HAQ
Google foo is relatively weak on the bushings. Any duds to avoid?

Synergy upper and lower ball joints.
http://www.synergymfg.com/Synergy-D30-D44-D50-D60-Heavy-Duty-Front-Ball-Joint-Sets-p-26182.html

JKS front and rear Bar pin adapters.
http://jksmfg.com/c-381164-shop-by-vehicle-cherokee-xj-shock-mount-cross-pin-mounts.html

Aside from likely having to drill out some broken bolts on the rear shocks, any potential pitfalls that I need to keep an eye out for that a breaker bar, drill, ball joint puller, spring compressor, and a heavy dose of PB Blaster can't handle?

Thanks for the input as always.


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[xj-jake]

X2 on the heavy dose of PB Blaster

[MonsterNoggin]

Alrighty, ready to click 'buy' and either I'm missing something (entirely possible) or Bilstein doesn't offer a 4600 steering damper. Can anyone weigh in on the contrary?

I know it's trivial, but if I'm dropping the cash my inner OCD would like for the components to match.

Also, XJ-Jake I'm not seeing stock height options from Doetsch. Any recommendations?

[xj-jake]

That might be right Mike. In that case I'd probably go with a bilstein shock.

[denverd1]

sounds like an AWESOME platform to build! looking forward to it.

[MonsterNoggin]

Update:
Well, some surprise dental work has postponed the shocks/ball joints till next month. Thanks multiple root canals....

In the meantime, I popped the hood the other day to find a near dry coolant reservoir and a splash pattern which looked to be emanating from the thermostat housing.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161212/9aee769d42c746d711c09ebdc52298f9.jpg

The water pump went out on me this Summer, and when I replaced it I left the t-stat alone (I've had problems with faulty t-stats from the parts store in the past, so I now tend to leave them be unless they absolutely need attention).
I guess connecting and reconnecting hoses must have compromised the gaskets, so I replaced it this weekend. No issues with running small errands around town, we'll see how things go with my 45min commute in the morning.

I also had dropped some Seafoam in the crankcase a week or so ago. I've always heard good things about the product and figured now was as good a time as any.
I'm pleased to report that after a few days the more pronounced rattles quieted down, and a fresh oil change with Shell Rotella T6 and she sounds almost mean again. I've also ordered a test kit from Blackstone Labs for the next change, am curious to see how things shake out.
Wrenching on this XJ marks a return to the garage for me after 15yrs of being a vagabond with no place to hang my tools or make a mess. Man, the depth of info that's available now is staggering.

To help me get a handle on maintenance, as well as build a schedule and budget for upgrades, I downloaded the Tinkerbuilt Vehicle Logbook for iPhone. https://appsto.re/us/WZamt.i

Seems to have the features I need, but I'm open to any suggestions or tools y'all use to keep on top of the day to day fiddlies or help plan your builds.

Hopefully more exciting stuff to come in the next few weeks.


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[4.3LXJ]

Not sure what you mean by tools to help plan your build. That will depend on what you want the outcome to be. But the tool for that is the entire forum really. We have builds that go from stock to wild

[MonsterNoggin]

I'm thinking apps, spreadsheets, order-of-priority lists, flowcharts, etc.
Professionally, I'm in the planning/scheduling side of construction and for better or worse it's leeched over to the rest of my interests.
I feel more comfortable when I have a plan/schedule/blueprint as it lets me track progress, feel like I'm accomplishing goals when the mid-build stagnation starts to set in, as well as prevents me from going on a buying spree.
I'm cruising the build threads and getting a feel for the common threads, but I live by the axiom that if I have an issue there's likely half a dozen folks who already tackled it.


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[WrenchDevil6]

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k225/WrenchDevil6/99%20XJ/20161212_184941.jpg

App, spreadsheets, order-of-priority list, flowchart, etc...

Professionally, I'm on the production/installation side of construction.

;)

[denverd1]

I keep a document on Evernote dedicated to Jeep stuff. It's prioritized, but serves as a big drawing board more than anything.

[MonsterNoggin]

Wrenchdevil, after years of masonry and residential, my job is making sure guys like you never have to slow down on the commercial/medical side of construction. God help you if you keep a superintendent/foreman waiting....
I always have to add the qualifier, tho, otherwise folks look at me odd when I start drawing schedules and mapping my deliveries.

Denver, my master list and ongoing budget is in google docs for now, may take a look at Evernote. Do you know if it compares to OneNote?

Thanks to both of you for chiming in. There's a lot of pics floating around of folks' progress, it's nice to get a peek at the methods behind the madness.


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[denverd1]

I need to do a build thread, been saying that for a few years.

Onenote is Microsofts cloud storage right? They're similar, I think in that you can access docs from anywhere.

Evernote syncs across all devices and is basically an online archiving system. Can capture Web pages, emails, etc. has plug-ins that work with browser and other programs. Pretty handy.

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[MonsterNoggin]

Minor update:

The fates are conspiring against me getting new shocks and ball joints. I had the alternator crap out on me Tuesday so, after putting kiddo to bed, I got some wrench time in and now have a shiny new alt and battery.

Knocking around the garage last night also drove home how badly I need to reorganize, clean, and prep the space for more serious work. Seeing as my car budget has been eaten up through mid-January, I'll be focusing my energies on getting ready for the suspension work.

Till the next time, hope everyone has a merry Christmas, Hannukah, time with the family.

[4.3LXJ]

Merry Christmas to you also

[MonsterNoggin]

So following the wake of 'diagnose this noise' posts on various forums and FB pages, I've gotten paranoid.
Here's a quick clip of my engine following my 22mile, 45min commute home.

I'm hoping what I'm hearing is some lifter tick and injectors firing off on a typical high mileage 4.0. As always, I'm deferring to those with more experienced ears than my own.

https://vimeo.com/196659397

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[denverd1]

is a bit chattery.

run MMO or anything through it?

[MonsterNoggin]

A bit chattery I can handle.

I ran Seafoam through the crank case before the last oil change (about 400 miles ago), MMO was going to be the next additive I give a try and I've yet to run any fuel treatments through it. TBH, my wrenching experience stops at the engine and transmission beyond regular oil and filter changes. I've worked on/replaced everything bolt on (pumps, exhaust, full suspension, brakes, etc) in the past, but have been intimidated by messing with the engine and drive train.

I'm seeing evidence of valve cover and oil pan gaskets needing replacement as well as the main seal, so I'm working up the courage to start cracking things open. This weekend will be changing the oil in the rear diff and seeing how that's wearing so you'll likely see some pics of the opened case.

As always, thanks for the input, and any advice is most welcome.

[MonsterNoggin]

New alternator and battery earlier this week. Popped the rear diff cover and all is looking well after 215+ miles. Now for some clean up and new oil.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161224/12ff467eaac51208338d6c08d099fd25.jpg


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[MonsterNoggin]

And over a year without post, well done Mike.

In the intervening months there has been some progress made in the garage, as well as some fairly major life events which have set things back a skosh.

Since the last post I've replaced the alternator, distributor (dizzy, cap, and rotor), swapped in some 8mm Taylor Cable spark plug wires, champion plugs, starter, and ignition coil so hopefully there's that system sorted for awhile. On the plus side, I've got a new helper who's more than happy to hand me tools.

I've also gotten Synergy ball joints, along with new tie rod ends installed. Confirmed hubs are still in good condition (found receipts for their replacement dated just before I took possession of the XJ).

Still hemming and hawing over what to do with the suspension. Practical side of me says to go with Bilsteins and keep the Jeep at it's stock height. On the other hand, I can put off the purchase till the end of the year and go for a full suspension swap and 2.5'-3.5" OME lift. I've still got some hemming and hawing ahead of me on that one.

Meanwhile, next on the list is new header and exhaust. While I'm at it, I figure I may as well throw in some new motor mounts as they are likely stock and worn out as well. Brown Dog seems to be the current leader in motor mounts but I'm open to suggestions. As far as exhaust, I'm looking for a more deep, mellow sound instead of a load/throaty scream as this is will remain a daily driver garaged in a sleepy suburb. If anyone has a more conservative exhaust they'd recommend, I'm all ears.

[4.3LXJ]

As far as suspensions go, I think the OME would be the way to go for you. They ride nice and don't lift you high enough to get you into additional expenses. I see you have a helper there. Good to start them young

[carloxj]

Another vote for OME. A bit pricey yet can improve ride handling and quality.