88 XJ Buildup thread
 

Building a 1988 XJ up for my sister's boyfriend.

Radius arm 8-lug D44 front.
BB 31 spline 9" rear.
4-5" lift with 4.88's.
Lockers f/r not sure yet.
~35" maybe 37's if I can talk him into it.
Whenever we get the $$$ to start building I'll start taking pics and posting the progress.

Update:

High pinion d44 8-lug. 31 spline FF d60.
Full spool front w/4.88's. Detroit rear 4.88's (sound similar? lol I may have been some influence).
Running factory ford radius arms, extended with JJ's on the frame side.
4.5" RE "extreme duty" leafs.
4.5" RR coils (maybe shorter depending on coil-bucket placement).
Cross-over steering, no high steer.
36x12.50 radial TSL, 16x8 rock-crawlers.

Picking up the axles this weekend hopefully, ordering all the gears/lockers/install kits the following week.

to save yourself some time, convert the closed cooling system to open.

cool man, i was thinkin of gettin an XJ (if you couldnt tell from the PM i sent ya). but i think im just going to get a 4x4 ranger insted. (i cant stand not having the bed when i need it). cant wait to see it get started. you do good work from what ive seen. should be fun. you leaving the rear leafs or converting to coils? that would be pretty sick.

Leaving the rear leaves for simplicity.

Using extended ford radius arms with JJ's on the end for the front. I'll take some pics of the jeep tomorrow for a "before" shot.

Should be pretty gnar jey. Good luck man

Chris

sounds awsome Jey..cant wait to see the pics..looks like you got this down pat...

I'm building up a customer base ;) lol. If I keep doing this by the time I get to redo my truck I'll have alot more experience.

Before:

Attachment 212753

Attachment 212754

Attachment 212755

Attachment 212756

Attachment 212757

I agree, my friend has a couple XJs and he says the most common problem with them is the engine overheating.

Oh yeah, forgot... check out Rustysoffroad.com some of their stuff is really awesome, just as good or better than RE and it's in AL... cheaper shipping, etc.

the xj is fun to use. i am looking for a cj-7 project

Ya I used to DD a '92 when my truck wasn't finished.

This one has no heating problems. It sat and idled in my backyard for about 45 minutes and didn't go above 200, even with the a/c on.

Rusty's is a little bling and their leafs are STIFF as hell.

I'm using RE springs because I know they are nice and soft.

Jey you should add me to AIM akrangerguy18 I have a few questions for ya on SAS stuff I don't understand. I might have some axles finally :-D Comes with a truck too! 76 F-150.

Had some fun, only took about 3.5-4 hours of leisurely work in the hot ass sun.

Attachment 212729
My 'new' axles are under the tarps, haha sorry still no pics ;).

Attachment 212730

Attachment 212731

For sale: HP30 and d35. Package deal 100$ takes both.

Attachment 212732

Attachment 212733

this is gonna be cool! so what's worse, Trying to build up a truck in freezing cold weather or a jeep in the hot ass sun?

Ya know, if its cold, I can work faster and get warm, but can't really cool down in the heat, but I can still feel my fingers, so I'm not sure lol.

Picking up radius arms, bushings and frame mounts tomorrow

Attachment 212684

Attachment 212685

Attachment 212686

Are the axles getting any goodies like your D44 got?

Goodies as in gears/lockers yes. Goodies as in chromo's/u-joints no. Too tight of a budget.

Are you gonna do hydro assist on his too?

Maybe, if it can't turn it good enough then yeah.

Looks good Jey.

man thats thing is movin along nicley. cant wait to see more pics later

whats the genreal budget you are working with, if I may ask?

5 g's. The majority of that will be the internal axle parts (~1200) and wheels and tires (another ~1200).