Hey everyone
I met a few of you last night at the club meeting (Lachlan in the Ultimate Suspension shirt), and some have probably seen my build up over on Ausjeep. I'll just cut and shut the build process to date on here and will update as more gets done.
A lot of the younger guys at work had started picking up old solid-axle vehicles for VERY cheap. Before I bought the XJ, there was an '88 GQ Patrol with 400K+ on the clock, an '84 60 series cruiser getting rebuilt and a leaf/leaf hilux just at work alone. Everyone kept pestering me to get something old-school that I could go to town on, but do so without breaking the bank.
After talking to a number of overseas and local distributors, I settled on the XJ Cherokee. The main reason was the 5-link front end, which offers heaps more flex in the front from standard than any of the above vehicles. I just had to find the right one at the right price.
Anyway, a very clean '96 Sport came up on Gumtree for $1400 with auto issues. I haggled the seller down to $900 without rego, and the deal was done. Picked the car up the next night and towed it home. Put 6 months rego on it the day after that and she was good to go. Drove it around for a couple of weeks, and found a couple of issues:
-Wouldn't start when hot, and would randomly stall when changing gears after driving around town;
-Had to change gears manually, meaning a loss of 2nd gear.
These were rectified, which I'll cover later.
The whole point of this build is to create the most capable off-roader for under $9k. So far I've spent around $3k including rego, insurance, servicing and initial purchase, so I'm off to a fairly good start. I'll be building as much as I can myself for this (rear bar, shocks, etc.) to keep the cost down. And, of course, a photo of it on the night I picked it up:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...12966620_n.jpg
Anyway, onto the build-
First issue: Inconsistent starting habits.
After testing the injectors, fuel pump and relay, dizzy and everything else I could think of, it was left down to the Crank Angle Sensor. Sure enough, it was malfunctioning. New one was ordered through work and fitted it up, all good. Starts up within the first couple of cranks now.
Next problem: Non-auto auto.
I had to manually shift through the gears as the auto box would simply try and take off from a stand-still in 4th if left in D. This was alright for a while, but the TC wouldn't lock-up on the highway either, which was seriously killing the fuel economy. I know the XJ's aren't great on fuel, but 15L/100km on the highway was a bit crap.
Anyway, after testing the inhibitor switch and checking all fuses and relays for the transmission ECU, the only thing left was to pull it apart. Did some forum surfing on AusJeepOffroad, and found a member with identical symptoms that were fixed by replacing the solenoids. Ordered new solenoids, along with a filter kit and new fluid.
2.5hrs on the hoist, and it was all done. Had a little issue with the clearance between the pan, exhaust and crossmember, but got there in the end. New gear all fitted up with fresh new oil, and it was running like a dream. Now need to replace the trans. cooler lines as they're leaking.
Next up - New tyres.
I swapped the original steelies and road tyres with a friend who has a TJ he's trying to sell. Also helped him out with a few bits on his 80 series, so got 31x10.5R15 retread muddies on TJ alloys for free. Just a shame they didn't fit in the guards properly haha.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9...31%2527s-2.jpg
Then the suspension turned up at work. 2" Coils, 3" leaves, Superpro bushes and U-bolts for now. Fitted them up and wondered why it looked funny.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i...2520lifted.jpg
I now leave my toolbox in the boot to keep the back down and make it ride a little nicer, at least till I build new shocks for it. :lol: Having the toolbox in the back is also just a bonus for when it requires impromptu maintenance.
Onwards and upwards!
Ordered a set of sliders off the AusJeep forum, then they sat in the garage for about a month before getting fitted up. Fitted them over 3 nights with lots of swearing, bloodied knuckles and broken drill bits.
Next - Steering Bits. Replaced the Tie Rod and panhard with HD units from Wooders Garage, and the Steering Damper with a HD Foam Cell unit. Then got a rough alignment (castor is still WAY out).
Finally - New Bump-stops and coil-spacers. 30mm spacers from SuperPro for the front, and Rubicon Express 1" bumpstops from Wooders Garage. Took a little creative thinking to get them fitted, but all in now and good to have two bump-stops again.
Here's how she sits today with close to 300kg in the back :
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...76470333_n.jpg
And a gratuitous flex shot:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-F...xed%2520up.jpg
Managed to finish building the front shocks at work on Tuesday. Machined the cross-bar for the lower mount after work, and pressed the bushes and cross-bars into the shocks before I left. Got home and started to pull out the original monotubes. Got them out without too much fuss thankfully, as this was only the beginning.
Out with the old:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9...105_191322.jpg
Compare the pair:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-z...105_191140.jpg
It wasn't until I fitted the new shocks to the vehicle that I realised my mistake - I'd forgotten to measure the size of the lower shock eye.
The eye is a little too big for the mounting bracket, so the shock won't sit down properly. I spent so long making sure I'd grabbed the right cross-bars and was getting the lengths and valving right, that I'd forgotten to make sure the lower eye would actually fit and just assumed it would.
Missed it by that much...
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x...105_193354.jpg
I'll grab the dremel from work tomorrow and grind out the mounts where necessary. On the bright side, the new bump-stops look like they'll limit the up-travel just enough for the shocks to work on full up-travel. Down travel isn't an issue, as these shocks have more than enough movement in them with the standard control arms (620mm/375mm open/closed).
Also managed to pick up an old alloy non-winch bar from work for very cheap. Currently painted white, but I'll be sanding it back and painting it in grey hammer-tone before fitting it to the XJ. Will also be modifying it a little to get the approach angles as good as, if not better than standard. Might even make a winch mounting plate out of 8mm steel C-section for further down the track.
Anyway, that's all for now. I hope to meet more of the members out on trips and such, and should hopefully be able to organise a trip or two myself once I get to know this place a little better.
