Welp i Replaced the Bronco...

[Becks_Bronco]

My radiator started leaking like crazy, so i ordered an all aluminum replacement and threw it in.
No pictures of that, nothing fancy, just a bunch of aluminum.

My exhaust has always had an annoying leak in it, but because it didn't hurt anything, i never really bothered to fix it. I had ordered a new manifold right after i bought the jeep, and being bored today, decided to pull out the old one and install the new one.

reference picture for vac lines.


Bare block.


I'd say that's a crack haha


184k miles worth of crud built up. I cleaned it all out, but there was some carbon buildup on the valves. ANyone have reccomendations for cleaning that without pulling the head? i.e. seafoam, etc.


New 3-2-1 manifold.


Annoying exhaust leak is now gone, but it has a high idle. I can't find any vacuum leaks, so i'm going to continue hunting and see what's going on. Drives fine, just runs at about 1000-1250 rpm at idle in neutral.

[Silverslk]

Should have replaced that motor mount while you were in there!! haha

Save yourself the hassle of future cracked headers and get a set of MORE or Brown Dog motor mounts now. Otherwise, looks like a good job.

[Becks_Bronco]

yeah, i planned on the brown dog ones. Gonna get the set that replaces the block side mount too. They looked shot to me, but they still hold the engine very firmly

[Becks_Bronco]

Made some progress on the jeep.

Didn't care much for the stock speaks. Which there were only two, and looked like they were made of brown paper bags. Nabbed a rear sound bar off ebay, and ordered 4 new component speakers + sub and amp. Found a sub box that could be recessed into the side of the rear passenger side cubby in the cargo area.

Ordered Brown Dog motor mounts. The beefy ones that bolt to the block in 7 places on one side.

Also got a pair of Dually D2's from a friend at Rigid Industries, with amber lenses that snap on and off. Mounted them just inside the rear hatch. Now i have amber markers, and insanely bright camp lights.

Going to be ordering the full traction 6" kit after the holidays minus the springs. Going the get deaver leaf packs and front coils. I really wanted to go 3.5" but i've seen pictures of XJ's on the 5.5 coils and 4" leaves, and i like how they sit. With 33's and a set of outlawII's i should be pretty much done suspension wise.

I should have pictures soon. I'm still around and kicking!

[crazyjim]

Awesome! Not sure how I missed this build thread. The Jeep Tony posted was mine, and yea she did well stock. Here's an idea of what they can do!

[Becks_Bronco]

I read a lot of your posts on NAXJA. Love your jeep CrazyJim.

Still learning tons. Trying to do things only once haha.

[Becks_Bronco]

Got my sye kit and Brown Dog motor mounts. Opted for the beefier engine brackets, and the rubber bushings to keep vibrations to a minimum. Also picked up a spare tcase off CL to instal the sye in to eliminate downtime.

The brown dog kit is super high quality, plus made in the US of A.

[Becks_Bronco]

Some quick pictures of things I've done with the jeep so far

[Becks_Bronco]

I installed the brown dogs. Goodness what a difference. The old mount just crumbled in my hand when I pulled them out. It starts more quickly, and I can feel a definite increase in throttle response. It does have a bit more vibes I can feel throughout the body, but I'm happy knowing my engine isn't flopping about.

Looking for a little input. This jeep is a dd, with mild trail wheeling and some sprints on dirt roads in mind. I.e. bilstein 5160's and 33's will be all the crazier it will get.

I ordered 4 7" hid's for the front end. And have been trying to brainstorm mounting ideas. Thinking the best bet is just adding a light bar to the stock bumper. I'm not a fan of the plate bumpers every jeep guy seems so fond of, and there aren't any tube bumpers I'd be willing to spend money on.

Am I better off finding a local fab guy and talking through my options?

Any input or feedback is wholly welcome.

[robertcrav]

How about something simple like this ...

http://www.zoneworx.net/images/XJ1003_01.jpg

[Becks_Bronco]

Those guys are actually where i got the idea to just add a light bar, but with 7" lights theirs can only hold 3 according to the website.

[tcm glx]

That simple bar looks pretty cool. I did something like that originally on my XJ. I'd try running 4 lights, 4". Little lighter than the 7". The bigger the light, the more stout the bar has to be to keep the lights from vibrating.

[Rmc]

What's your plans for that pretty little booger lol I had a bad ass jeep speed once upon a time, end over end twice and 6 sideways rolls down a hillside later, I got me a bronk. Any questions I'd be glad to help. You can junkyard special a lot of parts to save big money. Double cardian drive shafts get expensive. 2 solid pieces of advice I can give if u plan to offroad is steering box brace from tandjperformance, otherwise you'll rip the unibody. Also Ajax auto wrecking in Indio California has upward of 50 complete Cherokees turned in for cash for clunkers. The guy will sell u anything but the cats and roofs, they had to be cut to deem them scrapped for government rebates. U can use front driveshafts as rears with 1 3/4 .120 wall tubingto cut and extend then get it rebalanced. And you'll need od circlip pliers to install the sye. Cool thing about Cherokees is there lite and don't need a lot of mods to become very capable in the dirt n rocks. If your going standard lift kit stuff I recommend rubicon express springs they don't sag, not shure who's making them for them. Just check out the t&j performance in Anaheim u can buy a complete cage prebent cheaper than the tubing alone and all there stuff is score legal. Good luck let me know if I can help.

[Becks_Bronco]

Tony, any better pics of this bumper?



Thanks for the tips RMC! I may have to make a trip out to Ajax soon. There's a few trim panels on the interior i need to replace, and it wouldn't hurt to pick up some spares.

[Becks_Bronco]

Some lights for the jeep courtesy of Robert. Thanks man!

[robertcrav]

Some lights for the jeep courtesy of Robert. Thanks man!

Welcome, can't wait to see the XJ progress

[Becks_Bronco]

I've been looking at long arm kits, even though tony told me from the beginning to stick with short arms (if he had the choice). Talking to Jim this weekend (thanks for the tips!) about drop brackets and keeping the geometry correct, I'm thinking of just sticking to short arms with drop brackets.

http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_con ... m_drop.php these seem to be beefy, with multiple points of attachment.

Would you guys recommend currie adjustable uppers and lowers as well? I think going this route will save me a lot of money as well vs. short arms.

[robertcrav]

For going slow, I suppose the stickers would be ok, but anything more and I would think you want something with a rebuild able joint and beefier than the stock stamped arms with rubber bushings

[Becks_Bronco]

For going slow, I suppose the stickers would be ok, but anything more and I would think you want something with a rebuild able joint and beefier than the stock stamped arms with rubber bushings

Well, I already have some aftermarket lowers, and I figure if I'm gonna replace them anyways, I might as well get uppers too. I think currie has a package deal.

Also found out I need more rear spring badly. Right now I'm rocking very tired 192k mile stock leaves with an AAL of unknown origin. Also need better rear bump stops. I think I bottomed out on my shocks a couple times this weekend and I would rather not destroy my shocks.

[robertcrav]

...stockers not stickers