Project "Family Hauler" 2001 xj

[1cleantj]

When I had my shop, I put an engine in a 2000 Cher for a girl I know, I was able to beat some kind of wrench on them to get them out. When I put the new engine in I went to the hardware store and found some hex cap flange bolts to replace them.

i hear you on that. no way in hell am i putting the e12's back in. plan to do what you did. go to hardware store , match them up and replace them with something else.

[1cleantj]

not to much progress made lately, alot of working, keeping up on house and garden and as of monday am I had my son so that stopped my progress for the last few days




as far as progress, mostly everything is bolted back to the engine going in. coil rail is on, brackets mocked up and waiting to be cut and painted. cam position sensor still needs to be swapped in then matter of fluids and mounting into the xj

[CntStpTheStnk06]

cleaned up and painted intake and exhaust (2,000 degree paint).
so many o2's on this thing. 4 o2 sensors on the manifold alone + 2 pre-cats. stupid emissions




Here is the reason the original XJ motor was swapped out. Surprisingly it still ran after this happened. i drove it onto the trailer when i bought it, and drove it 1/4mile uphill to my house when i dropped it off and a handful of times to move it around.





Ka-BOOM

wait was that the motor out of the 01 i sold you?!?!?!?!

[1cleantj]

wait was that the motor out of the 01 i sold you?!?!?!?!

yes, thats the motor that was in it. it still ran decent on 5 cylinders but thats what the damage was. that hole in the block was behind motor mount

[1cleantj]

so no real updates, motor is in, coil rail brackets made, coil pick up lined up and installed. get it all together and the starter decides it doesnt want to work Between the short days after work before darkness and the mosquitoes eating me alive I trailered it to the shop i work at. Will be fully running, new brakes, trans/transfer case + diff fluids changed and a new set of tires. time to decide what type to get

[1cleantj]

traced my starter problem down to a bad motor ground. with the motor not being grounded, power was running through the starter when it shouldnt. few cranks over and it fired up and purred like a kitten beside the belt sqealing like a pig due to a frozen up alternator... The fuel line also has hairline crack in it where it bolts to the intake manifold. an easy fix though.

This was the first distributor to coil rail swap 4.0 ive done and I think it was a great learning experience

called the scrap guys up today and they came to my house and winched what was left of the donor grand cherokee shell onto a trailer and off to the scrap yard. my house is finally looking less like a junkyard. my Girlfriend is pleased. at least until i find another project

[1cleantj]

The rain slowed things down enough at shop this week i was able to work on it. jeep is fully running. had some minor set back with the hood. it was a tad bent in the middle and would bind on the cowl plastic, had to take a piece of wood and bend the contour back. Then the drivers side latch is non-functional although passenger side and saftey latch still hold it down for now.

Drove it for its maiden voyage today. Works great
it's nice having a jeep again.

now to set future plans, tires, lift, armor

[clean4drxj]

Looks great, I wouldn't go with anything bigger than 33's and 4.5, keep it functional that way it'll still be useful and you wont have to sell it.

[CntStpTheStnk06]

when your done with her i want her back!!!

[1cleantj]

Looks great, I wouldn't go with anything bigger than 33's and 4.5, keep it functional that way it'll still be useful and you wont have to sell it.

i totally agree.

my plans at the moment are 3" lift undecided brand with 31's.

this jeep will not see hard trails like my wrangler did. this will see easy trails if any.

I plan on buying a TJ wrangler again and putting it the same way i had my last.

when your done with her i want her back!!!

I will let you know if i ever sell it

[1cleantj]

not alot of updates over the last year, jeep is being used more now that its winter time. otherwise it sits in driveway (maybe put 3000 miles on it this year)..

tried a 2.5" in dual 3" out muffler setup and the drone was nearly unbearable. ended up putting a stock replacement Stainless steel muffler from advance auto and new tailpipe on. took it through the mountain pass up in RI on a weekend camping trip with not a single issue.

Next thing to deal with it upgrading the suspension as the rear shock is leaking out and the rest are just old and beat. Plus the stock springs in the rear are really sagged. Any suggestions on a 2-3 " kit that comes with springs and shocks ? overall tire size 32" max.

Soon will be adding hidden strobes too ( im a firefigher )

[1cleantj]

today my water pump decided it would like to become a grinding wheel instead.











nothing like wrenching in 10 degree weather. fire made it pretty warm at least

[1cleantj]

so not much happen in the last year, been working alot and doing trainings. Jeep did good over the winter, amazing with the winterforce snows on it.

over the last few months I put in new shocks, sway bar end links, sway bar bushings and did headlight relay mod (what a difference!)

Last week I picked up a used A/C Compressor from jeeps unlimited in providence, installed it and charged it at work and happy to say have ice cold a/c now

Then I learned that the electric cooling fan was siezed up when the top jumped up high with a/c running sitting in a parking lot.... Went out and picked up a Imperial 12" Electric Fan to replace it with (800cfm) and it works great and very quiet.

This week I rewired my blue strobes in the grille so the controller was inside the ashtray, wires ran through center console. I also took a wirewheel to the axles and underside of the jeep and coated everything to keep any rust down.

[CntStpTheStnk06]

oh i miss my old girl but its good to see shes still on the road.

[1cleantj]

oh i miss my old girl but its good to see shes still on the road.

it's doing good, almost like a new XJ now , wishing i would of bought the hitch off you though, needed one now