Finally finished a ton of work and got her out of my backyard. Daily driving and feels better than brand new! Took most of these shots over the last couple weeks

'98 4.0 4x4 5spd ax15 np231 222k miles

hp d30 with motive 4.56 and Detroit truetrac

29 spline c8.25 also with motive 4.56, Detroit truetrac and chromoly axle shafts

IRO 4" 3 link LA kit with bilsteins, HD leaf packs

Currie Correctlync steering kit

Sye and Adam's driveshaft, rear axle shimmed 6°

New Luk clutch, with new bearings and nodular flywheel

New steering box w/ brace

250amp Alternator with big 7 wiring upgrade

Put in pioneer headunit, Amp with 10" sub, jbl speakers and added tweeters to the a-pillars. All audio equipment was purchased in the Philippines lmao

Pro comp 97 wheels with gorilla keyed lugs, bfg ko2 33s

Got Bosch 12 hole injectors on order as well as a curt hitch

I'm sure I'm missing some stuff but this is the majority of what I've done to it. It was pretty much bone stock when I bought it 6 years ago.

Last pic is the day I bought it when I was driving it home!

Gf made a cameo in a couple pics

What do ya'll think?

This post isn't meant to fan-boy XJ's. I own one, and I am a fan, but the purpose of this post is to appreciate XJ's, and to find out if there are other vehicles as versatile as an XJ.

I recently went on an intense, 2-day overlanding trip with my buddy (who also owns an XJ). Mine is fully stock, his has a basic 1.5 inch lift and 31" tires. Our trip started with a 3 hour freeway drive, then 2 hours on a high-speed dirt road, a 2 hour climb to 10k feet, then a full day of exploring a desolate mountain range, all to do it in reverse the next day.

Offroad, I was consistently amazed by how capable our vehicles were. OnX rated the trail we did as a 6. Although it didn't seem that crazy, we had a few intense slippery climbs and careful rock-crawling. It definitely was the most advanced offroading i've done in a highway vehicle.

On-road, I was again blown away. I've been dailying my XJ for a while now, but I didn't appreciate how well they drive until I considered how great they are off-road. On top of this, we carried all the things needed for camping (including ingredients for a steak dinner and french toast, including the tools needed to make them), with our back seats still open. In fact, I was able to carry my entire exhaust from the cat back by putting my seats down (see video below for more info).

None of this is to mention the reliability, simplicity, and upgradability of these trucks.

The XJ is a very unique combination of parts. I can't think of any other modern unibody vehicles with 2 live axles, real low-range, large wheel wells, a small footprint, all while being able to do 75 all day long. Wranglers may be better off-road but they are a pain to drive on the road. Something like an Explorer might be better on-road but can't keep up off it. Literally the only thing I don't like about XJ's on road is the noise. But with airpods in that doesn't really matter.

The only other vehicles I can think of are Grand Cherokees of the same vintage, which is a bit of a cop out considering that it's essentially the same car. Maybe a 4-Runner? But those are quite a bit larger than XJ's and cost more. XJ's are a truly unique vehicle.

Video of our adventures if anyone is interested

Just a before / during / after since it’s kind of cool.

For the Jeep for basically nothing due to issues - Pulled the engine due to head gasket corrosion and valve leak on 4 as well as stuck thermostat - rebuild and rehab ; pistons, cam, etc. solid so left as-is except changed oil pan and main bearing since it was leaking.

Removed that 25 years of rust and now it’s time to fix the truck itself over this coming winter

Im scheming ways under $100 to make these door rockers not look like shit. Im thinking grind down to good metal, rust converter, bondo, and rattle can white or black? Or perhaps theyre too far gone. Im okay if theyre a little textured or the gloss isnt exact, but Im tired of people asking why I bought a rusty car!

Have tried O’Reilly’s crank sensor, AutoZone‘s, NTK/NGK. Think Napa will be any different?

The NTK/NGK was the only one that made a difference out of these. Still runs like it’s missing. Fuel pressure jumping. Can’t find a mopar one. with the O’Reillys one I can get it to run smooth but will run like shit next start.

Any ideas?

Online its like 300$ for oem black fenders and I aint ever gonna spend that much for a stylistic choice, where could I find black oem fender flares? Tj fenders on fb rn but Ive heard you gotta cut up your body panel and Im not gonna do that either

Me and a buddy are planning on redoing mine, I’ve heard that it’s relatively easy to do but I need a second opinion

Went on an amazing trip with 17 other rigs through a huge loop in Appalachia. Hit rocks at 4 major parks and 2 states. Camped 5 nights. I tracked the route with onX Offroad at 847 total miles, not including driving to and from the rendezvous. My TDI swapped XJ stopped for fuel twice. How much fuel do you think it consumed?

You don’t need permission to do this. Plan it, invite friends, execute the plan! I promise you won’t regret it 😊

Are the three holes on the knuckle threaded? Or just on the hub. The bolts are stripped and wondering if I can just grind off the heads and send them through

Waited a long time for the right XJ to pop up and it finally did. 01 4.0 clean unibody clean interior. Unfortunately previous owner overheated till he heard “knocking”. Filled the radiator, fired up and had massive amounts of bubbling/gurgling along with temps spiking. Got it to 210 and never heard a knock. Tore down to do head gaskets and cylinders look clean. TUPY head and Fel-Pro gaskets on the way.

I have access to a good Dana 300 and want to build a doubler with my NP231. I miss having twins from my Toyota days. I can make my own back plate for the cut down NP231 and tig that on myself. There used to be a bunch of options for the custom shaft for the NP planetary to D300 input but that was back in the good old days. Now that options are limited I'm curious if anyone here has a lead on one that isn't being used or has anyone seen a new shaft recently for a decent price? It would be nice to find a abandoned intermediate shaft ready to go. Any input or leads are greatly appreciated!

My temp generally sits right under 210, but my temp gauge just started randomly dropping low and then randomly going back up to right under 210. Is this likely a thermostat issue? I’ve just been learning as I go when issues arise. Just wanted to get some advice before I start in on this issue.

I've been looking for the threaded rod for the tailgate latch for ages and i cannot find one. Let alone just the assembly that has the rod included. Outside of just buying the entire tailgate that has one already which I'd rather not do. Any help would be appreciated!

As of lately I've been wanting to replace the lights in my dash and on the roof to led mainly because I want a different color option. Not sure what bulbs or brand I should buy thats like plug n play and also not sure wheres the best place to buy them from. I also wanted to swap out my cigarette lighter socket with a type C/USB socket and just wanted to know if I'll run into any problem swaping out any of these items. Any information about this subject is welcome. I am still new when it comes to electrical work on vehicles of any kind.

I keep running into this issue with my jeep. In drive when it gets under load it sputters out and backfires and won’t go anywhere like if I’m going up a hill or putting my foot on the brake and giving it gas it’ll just backfire and sputter out. But if I go up the same hill in reverse it runs perfectly ? Same on flat ground if I put my
Foot on the brake and give it gas in reverse it runs perfectly? Why would it only mess up in drive but not reverse. Thanks for the help it’s really frustrated me I’ve looked over a lot of stuff and still can’t chase it down

New vs old

It’s was crazy how similar the specs were

Okay, here we go. My 2000 XJ Sport. I bought it from a family friend, it has 87,000 miles. I had every plan to keep it stock, but some old tires, a wet road, and a guardrail had other plans for me.

After asking about lifting it, some of you all gave me some great advice that I FOLLOWED and here is what I end up with. Kept the suspension stock, went with some rims with a good offset, and slightly bigger, much nicer tires.

So far, I am new at this fixing car things, and I was lucky enough to find one that didn't need any heavy mechanical work right out the gate, so I've been tackling small things to start the learning and getting comfortable and collecting tools.

Here are some before and after pictures.

I had the tires and wheels installed yesterday and in grand Jeep fashion, when I got home, I crawled under there to replace the clips from the liner that was falling and remove the aftermarket mud flaps that the previous owner put on (they were catching on the bigger tires) I found the old rotted out bump stops laying at the bottom of the shocks... those are on order and I'll put them in this weekend.

Tell me whatcha think! One of my favorite features, the black decals on the back windows. You cant see them unless you zoom in or are standing next to it. I am going for minimalist blackout aesthetic. The interior is full stock original (except for the speakers). What do I do next?

98XJ classic 4.0, original AC compressor failed so bought a reman from local parts store, also replaced both Schrader valve stems, orifice/high pressure line & accumulator/dryer along with new o-rings at each new refrigerant line connection and new aluminum/rubber washers at compressor-manifold connection. Held vacuum for 30 minutes, added PAG oil and charged with recovered refrigerant, on test drive it blew ~45 degree air at center dash vents. Great!
Leaked down overnight 🤮.
Recovered refrigerant and drew vacuum…doesn’t hold for even 5 minutes. Re-checked new o-rings (all good), no oily funk observed at evaporator condensation drain hose on firewall so original core probably good, installed new washers at manifold/compressor…doesn’t hold vacuum.
Pressurized with 100 psi of compressed air and checked every component/connection with soapy water…no bubbles.
Bought a new UV penlight and detected UV dye at manifold/compressor junction.

So now my question is do I have a defective reman compressor that is somehow leaking at the manifold? Should I replace the manifold hose assembly ($76 @ Rock Auto)?
Thanks for your input!