Princess the 97 XJ...

[Greg Galbo]

Just stumbled onto your build and I have to say Im loving it. Im also a 22 year old college student and trying to build a 99 XJ (daily driver too) on a budget, by the looks of it maybe even tighter than yours lol. But the thread is great and Im getting tons of ideas for my build and future thread/youtube channel

Thanks a lot for the kind words! I am looking forward to following your future thread and YouTube channel! And believe me my budget is tight now too haha that's why there has been very few updates recently lol Also, take a moment and check out my Instagram to see everywhere I have been in the XJ to help with future trip planning! @overlndxj97 So far I have been to about 12 or 13 states in it with really no problems at all!

 

[Joey83]

XJ's are cool!

Not for me though as I really want a stock WJ to modify.

 

[Greg Galbo]

XJ's are cool!

Not for me though as I really want a stock WJ to modify.

Thanks! There should be plenty of stock WJ's out there!

 

[Joey83]

I'm sure there are, as soon as my current little crossover is paid off I'll begin saving up for either a WJ or a small and faster car.

 

[Greg Galbo]

Haven't been able to do a whole lot to the XJ due to college but i have been able to get the entire interior steam cleaned (carpet, seats, factory floor mats). That was well worth as you'll see by the pictures! It looks and smells brand new. I also fixed a knock I have been hearing by replacing my sway bar bushings and links.

 

[bambamthexj]

I also fixed a knock I have been hearing by replacing my sway bar bushings and links.


Was this knock by chance when you cornered, usually within the first 1/2-3/4 of steering wheel turn?

 

[Greg Galbo]

yup that was pretty much it. I noticed it more at low speeds actually. The way I found out it was my sway bar link bushings (particularly the lower ones) is when my friend grabbed my roof rack and shook the car from side to side and i heard them banging against the studs!

 

[Overland-Indiana]

yup that was pretty much it. I noticed it more at low speeds actually. The way I found out it was my sway bar link bushings (particularly the lower ones) is when my friend grabbed my roof rack and shook the car from side to side and i heard them banging against the studs!

Mine wore out too..I ditched front and rear sway bars completely. lol

 

[Greg Galbo]

Mine wore out too..I ditched front and rear sway bars completely. lol

I drive wayyyy to much highway to ditch the front but ya my rear is gone lol


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[Overland-Indiana]

I drive wayyyy to much highway to ditch the front but ya my rear is gone lol


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No excuse! I ditched mine then drove a 1200+ mile round trip to Asheville, NC for Expo East and back without it..lol all highway. But, I do have very heavy spring weight coils and stiff shocks so that helps.

 

[Greg Galbo]

No excuse! I ditched mine then drove a 1200+ mile round trip to Asheville, NC for Expo East and back without it..lol all highway. But, I do have very heavy spring weight coils and stiff shocks so that helps.

See I like to drive like a 21 year old kid and take corners as hard as the old Cherokee can... So I leave it on haha I just wouldn't trust myself without at least a front lol especially with my old worn out springs and shocks.

 

[NightCrawler]

Well there is a lot going on in my life right now so therefor not a lot going on with the Jeep! It has been perfectly reliable since the trip including a 3 day weekend at the Bantam Heritage Jeep Festival! My question is, if anybody takes the time to read this, what do you look for in a quality build thread? Is it better descriptions? More photos? Just a clean build? If you read this please let me know what you look for! Here is the Jeep in White Mountain National Forest on the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire!

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My 2 cents...you do what comes naturally to ya...I have thought about putting a build thread together for my XJ project but when I get done working on it for hours at a time I remember that I didn't take photos along the way. I scour the threads for ideas more so and add them to the build workflow list. It really never ending but it nice to see what you are and are not doing with your rig along the way. Keep up the fine work brother!

 

[NightCrawler]

XJ's are cool!

Not for me though as I really want a stock WJ to modify.

Why can't you have both...I am looking for that perfect WJ project now!

 

[Joey83]

Mostly because I only have 1 parkingspot outside my apartment and that's where my daily driver sits and right now and for the forseable future I can only afford to own 1 vehicle.

 

[Greg Galbo]

With the holiday season out of the way I decided it was time to make some serious upgrades to the XJ. I mean you can only go so long without working on your rig right? So beginning with lighting, I decided to upgrade every interior light to LED as well as my reverse lights so during trips it should be easier to find what I'm looking for!

 

[Greg Galbo]

Keeping up with the updates, the biggest upgrade I accomplished over my short winter break was installing a rear swing out tire carrier bumper. The install was a complete pain... it took a full day just to remove the old bumper and hitch due to rusty bolts and another full day to do the install and get everything lined up and level. The hardest part was removing the factory nut cert that is on the passenger side holding on the exhaust hanger and heat shield for the gas tank. I used a bottle jack to help level the bumper while installing it and that really seemed to help. I was happy to find nothing worse than surface rust and a mouse nest behind the stock bumper! Feel free to ask any questions about the bumper or the install!

 

[Greg Galbo]

Well as more time has gone by I have been able to make a few more improvements to the Cherokee. The first is adding a set of JKS sway bar quick disconnects to the front end. I finally had enough of being the only guy at a trail head who has to disconnect using a pair of 17 and 18mm wrenches haha the second upgrade was purchasing a set 5 of 2005 wrangler LJ Rubicon rims and tires so I have a matching set of rims and a full size spare for the rear bumper. The LJ I purchased them off of only had 47,000 original miles so the rims are in perfect shape.

 

[Greg Galbo]

Decided to attempt to solve the very common issue for XJ's of fuel boiling or vapor locking. I used to have a titanium wrapped manifold which worked very well but has since cracked. Now i decided to turn my attention to the fuel rail and injectors. I decided to wrap the rail and #3 and 4 injectors in heat tape that has a reflective gold coating to see if I can reflect any heat that comes to the rail.



I also finally took the XJ to an exhaust shop to have my rotting tailpipe replaced with full stainless!

 

[Derek50]

Looks great! You might have mentioned it but I missed it if you did. What lift are you using, if you have one at all?

 

[Greg Galbo]

Looks great! You might have mentioned it but I missed it if you did. What lift are you using, if you have one at all?

I actually only have front spacers in the front coils and that's it. (Previous owner installed) Planning on a 3.5 inch in the very near future!