My 96 Cherokee build thread. (56K BEWARE!)

I actually have seen that before. The one I like though, and will more then likely get, is made by Hanson Off-Road. Still shopping for the best price, but here is a pic....

Yea thoes would look good on your jeep That really is a good looking jeep bub. Just rember they are top heavy i almost fliped mine a few times....

yeah you definitly need some offroad bumpers and fender flares.. how many times did i dig my tires into my bumpers and fenders on the jimmy.. i still cant beleive the problem with the brakes was just the calipers hitting the control arms..

Jeep looks good brother. Something that would help take alot of strain off your engine and put your speedo back would be to upgrade the gears. IIRC you have 3.55:1's maybe 3.73:1's in your chunks right now. If you upgraded to 4.10:1's your power would make a huge leap you economy would increase alittle but because the engine wouldn't be working so hard to turn those tires. I went from 3.73:1 to 4.10:1 in the Z71 and couldn't believe the increase in power and gas mileage! And with 4.56:1's it'll be even better! So if the engine isn't very high on the list you could probably get away with new gear sets front and back for about 4 hundo which ain't bad at all!!

FaselZ71 wrote:

Jeep looks good brother. Something that would help take alot of strain off your engine and put your speedo back would be to upgrade the gears. IIRC you have 3.55:1's maybe 3.73:1's in your chunks right now. If you upgraded to 4.10:1's your power would make a huge leap you economy would increase alittle but because the engine wouldn't be working so hard to turn those tires. I went from 3.73:1 to 4.10:1 in the Z71 and couldn't believe the increase in power and gas mileage! And with 4.56:1's it'll be even better! So if the engine isn't very high on the list you could probably get away with new gear sets front and back for about 4 hundo which ain't bad at all!!

You are close. I have 3.27:1 in mine! I know, it sucks right! But on my list is upgrading to 4.10:1 to make it back to factory, or 4.88:1 if I want to ad larger later. Frankly, I may just go with the 4.10's, ONLY becasue then I can resell the axles more easily. Come either spring, or summer of next year, I AM doing a D44 conversion.... so I may save the 4.88's AND lockers for those axles....


Also, I may NOT do it at all for two reasons....

(1) I have plenty of power still. This motor is very tourqy and she still has enough to get out of her own way whenever I ask it too.

(2) Because it will keep the miles off my truck. let me explain! From where I park at work, to where I aprk at home, is exactly 11.1 miles. I made this trip the other night, and my tripper only clocked 4.3 miles! SOOOOOO, I can drive the pisss out of it, and it will not rack up the mileage! HAHAHAHA...


but back to being serious, even if I do the swap in these axles, it will not be for a while. I have a slip yoke eliminator, universal joints and other things that are topping my list, mechanically. ALSO, I need to have a complete throttle body cleaning, new fuel filter, air filter and some other things to keep the motor happy. It has already loved me after the high grade oil change, so a little more and the throttle response will be more stable, and the mileage will be as good as it can be...LOL...

Next month, it looks like I am buying a car. I need a second vehicle for when this spends a week in the body shop, and otherwise my mom needs a vehicle while I am at work. So sadly, there may not be a major update until the middle of January, but we will see.

Ryan_Crossman96 wrote:

Thats a good looking jeep. I had a 91 jeep it just had a 4" lift on 31 10 50 I know alot about theme if you ever have any questions let me know ill help the best i can... Ill get som pics of my old jeep up soon to let you take a look.

YES. But start a new thread, or upload them to the gallery....

Hey man that sounds like a plan. But just some food for thought... unless your gonna be running 38-40's on your jeep then 4.88:1's will not be an enjoyable choice for you. I highly recomend 4.10's maybe go as high as 4.56's if you gonna go to a 35-37" tire.

Your jeep will alway be a torquey beast because of the inline 6. Something about inline motors makes them real torque monsters.

Well, it has been a good long while since I have had the oppurtunity to move forward with my little science project here.... but I believe the time has come. I have made a list, checked it twice, am always naughtier then nice.... so all I need now is for someone to point me in the direction of SANTA so i can get this thing going again!


Anyone?


LOL


OH YEAH... its past that time of year... darn.


But seriously, before this month is out, this machine will be ready for the trails..... who is coming with me?!?!? LOL...

Maybe I am just overly excited.... but keep an eye out for the pictures and the update! It is almost here! LMAO....

whats the list man? hurry up! haha
i cant say nothin cause my truck is still sittin.

I do no want to post a completed list of what I am doing this month, until I actually have it in the shop being done. ... ... ... Life has a funny way of changing my plans on a daily basis!

But lets put it this way.... they are both NEEDS and WANTS, and solutions to just about every one of my current issues! Now lets just hope and pray these latest mods do not cause MORE issues! LMAO

every mod comes more issues.. bigger gears means smaller wallet, bigger lift means even smaller wallet, engine and trans mean no need to carry a wallet cause all your moneys GONE.. lmao..

Okay, UPDATE.

I am not having the best of luck with vehicles right now.... but that is a story for a different thread, as for the Jeep..... I have purchased everything...

New Rubicon express trac bar
New Gas shock steering stabilizer
New 6" extended steel braided brake lines
New HKS quicker disconnects for the sway bar end links
and
The Bushwacker, flat style, fender flares.


eventually, I will get pics of these parts loaded, but the installs have been put on hold due to changing jobs and running into issues.

Last thursday night, on my way home from work, my right front brake caliper siezed up on me. Boy did this thing pull hard to the right while driving, and yanked like a ***** to the left when braking! It took me almost an hour to travel the 7.1 miles home safely. Once I arrived, my right front brake rotor was red hot, (it was dark outside and easy to see) and smoking. I hate that smell too, don't you?

So this needed my attention.

It cooled off over night and alloowed me to drive it to work the next day. I brought it into the shop at the dealership to, if nothing else, free up the right front caliper. Once they dug into it, OMG what a mess. I am nto sure if it was the tires, or the 20,000 miles I have put on them, but my previously NEW brake pads in September of last year, were worn down beyond the metal. BOTH of my front rotors were scorred and toasted! My left front brake line was cracked and leaking due to over extension, and YES, my right front caliper was not only siezed, but cracked accross the top. (probably from the excessive heat, then rapid cool down.)

Soooooo.... needless to say, what little I had left HAD to go into a minor rebuild. But I am happy to say that 2 new rotors, 2 new calipers, 4 new brake pads and the installation of my 6" extended brake lines later, she stopped in a straight line again.

BUT

While running the motor to turn the wheel, to bleed the lines after a test drive, it simply stalled out. THEN, would NOT start! Friggin 4.0's and their quirks! A time of diagnostics later, it was discovered that my crank sensor just decided to DIE. I guess that was better off happening while IN the shop, but still racking up a bill I am not happy abut paying.

OH, and then after ordering three of them before finding the right one, it was discovered that 1996 Cherokee is a mid model year change that Chrysler is known for and the motor is a 1997. AND in 1997 those crank sensors changed. BUT, you would think that the 1997 sensor would work? Of course not! Infact, for only this, (and one other part) my motor is considered a 1996 and 1/2! And NO ONE had this part in stock at 5:00 on a friday afternoon. So needless to say, she sat, DEAD all weekend.

But Se Lavi, live and learn she is all better now. Stops perfect, runs perfect again and ready for the next adventure. I did manage to get some pics of the new components....










Okay, So i guess the other parts are simply going to have to wait... UNTIL something else breaks! AHHHH! LMAO

see that.. if you would have trailered it to my shop friday night by monday morning you would have had a 5.9 in there.. lol and for some reason i thought your truck was older.. wiring that thing is cake if you use an obd1 motor.

That is not out of the question.... yet.... still have to work on other things... Though I know the motor shuld never be "put off until it breaks", but right now, I have no issues with the 4.0, just suspension, steering, brake and rust issues....LMAO...

**UPDATE TIME**

Okay, so I am heading up to Rausch Creek this weekend to finally use my Jeep. However, i have left a few things undone until now, that are pretty important for this trip. SO, I worked out a deal with a guy in the shop at work, and I got my parts installed.

New Rubicon Express, 4.5" extended adjustable track bar:





A new tuff country steering stabilizer:



AND, JKS Adjustable, Quicker Disconnects for the front stabilizer bar:





Now these pictures were taken with my phone, so sorry they are a little fuzzy. What I did not get a picture of was when we removed the endlinks for the sway bar, it was beyond apparent that my frame bushings were TOAST! They looked like a splattered egg on pavement. So I have to rush order a set of MOOG urathane bushings to repair that issue.

She drives a ton better now. A lot more stable on the road, and the steering response is back. Which is nice. But now with this, my extended brake lines and other parts, I am pretty sure I will be okay this weekend. The only thing left to actually "fix" before I move on to other parts is rear brake shoes, (eventually), and the holes in my floor boards! ( that is a story for another day....LOL)

Meanwhile, look for pictures come next week! and a new video, or two, come the following weeks!

Now the underside is starting to look like new.
i'm looking forward to your post next week

SO AM I!!!

Dude I am like crawling out of my skin excited to get up there for a day! Just keep your fingers crossed with me that I do not totally destroy something on this Jeep! LMAO

sorry i cant make it.. ill be on my way to delaware at 5am tomorrow morning for work.. its gonna be a long day.. the crane truck im driving has a top speed of 50mph and its a 4 hour drive in a car to where im going.. lol

Well, after our adventure up at the park last weekend, this "build" thread may become my "RE-Build" thread!

HAHAHAHAHA

Okay, as promised, here are some pictures and more information on the "rebuild" of my XJ.



Up at the ORV park, I snapped my front u-joint on my driveshaft....



We got her back to the main gate, and after about an hour of cussing, and working with the guys in the group, we got it back together, just to have it snap off again about twenty minutes later.

Meanwhile, while in 4Lo, when I spun it off, it seems I bent the crap out of, (and cracked), my drivers side upper control arm.... (forgive the pictures, the camera on my phone sucks)....lol....




Well, appearently, the stress was too great with minor flexing and the fact that these parts are over 15 years old, and when I got her in the air, I saw that I bent up my passanger side control arm pretty good as well....




Okay, well this is a little scary to drive around like this, so it needed to be fixed. I considered buying factory replacement control arms, but truth is, it will simply happen again! So, in the interest of only doing things ONCE, I felt it was time for another upgrade.

BDS, adjustable, upper control arms. They were not as expensive as I thought they would be, and sorta judge myself for not doing it in the first place.



And now, this things once again feels solid!








Now, she is ready to wheel once again.... but.....whats next? LOL

darn man.. you definitly did a number on them uppers.. lol.. more then likely its from flexing side to side.. sometimes that torsion bar is more important then you think

Well, what is done is done, and the problems should be averted.

Now the real questions is, will it hold up to doing it again? LMAO

they should hold up well.. atleast till you get a long arm kit with some heim joints.. lol

Well, I considered the flex joints for them now.... but without flex joints on the lowers, it did not make sense. However, truth be told, this kit behaves like a long arm kit already due to the dropped components, so I will probably not upgrade that from here, at least not for a while. After a set of Dana 44's, a V8 conversion, (or 5.9 TD) .... then I may go all out with not only a long arm kit, but coil overs front and rear.... but that is just a dream... (sigh) .

I think I am going to head back up to Rausch Creek for round two in a few weeks. In the meantime, I need to replace a few more parts before I go. So keep an eye out, this thread will have more pictures again before too long....LOL

Okay, so update time again. This post will probably make merlin happy...LMAO

I was having some temp issues with the motor. As the outside temp continued to rise, so did my motor temp. Before I started diggin in, I checked my coolant fluid, and lo and behold! It was full of mud and river water! EEWWWWW.

Okay, so brought it straight to my mechanic for a full system flush. Nothing major, just figured clean fluid is a good place to start. Left his place at about 10:00 a.m. and headed to wally world. On the way, she overheated.

Popped the hood to check the fluid again to see if perhaps there was just not enough in there, or it had worked its way through and the level was lo. Pleanty of fluid, BUT, overflow showed mud and gunk bad! My green fluid was BLACK.

It was too hot to pop the rad cap, but all I could assume is I have some serious internal motor issues now. And I was not happy.

Made it back to my mechanic let it sit. Cooled off enough, (after two hours) to pop the rad cap, and fluid was clean as a wistle. So, good news, the probalem was in my overflow. Pulled it out to empty it and see what we could see and would you believe there was four and a half inches of mud and sh!t at the bottom!

I know I "use" this jeep, but I have no idea how that got there! As you will see from the pictures below, my engine is relativeley clean, and the bay is as well. I swear, I have never washed it, it just was never gotten full of mud. So where did this crap come from? I have no idea. However, it is clean now.

So we also figured it was a good idea to put a thermostat in since the fluid was clean and she overheated. Pulled the old one out, and it was RUSTED shut. arrggg... also not sool. Somebody, at some point, was running straight water in there, and I am not happy. Then in the process of removing that little thing, we broke the control valve for the heater core, ... and... dumped all the fluid out, again. LMAO....

Not, one new thermostat, new control valve, clean overflow and two times fresh fluid.... it finally stays cool! LMAO.

Here are some pics of the new parts....


New thermostat:



Evidence of clean fluid: LOL



Broken control valve:







New control valve: