Princess the 97 XJ...

[Greg Galbo]

Well a lot has happened since graduating college! I am moving to Camp Hill PA in June so I have been working on things to make the Jeep ready for the move as well as city use. So far i have got accomplished:

1. Minor body work in the rear quarters.
2. An Optima Yellow Top battery in replacement of the Optima Red Top I had that FAILED after 4 years.
3. A new steering gear box out of a 1998 Chevy S10 V6 4x4
4. Steering box brace by JCR
5. My second warrantied re manufactured power steering pump which leaks worse than the other two..so the company is sending me a Brand New NON re manufactured pump which I am waiting on now.
6. A fresh set of brakes!
7. A new center console mount to stop the rattling!!!






You can see, the bottom seal of my stock box completely failed!

 

[jamdeeper]

.
2. An Optima Yellow Top battery in replacement of the Optima Red Top I had that FAILED after 4 years.
3. A new steering gear box out of a 1998 Chevy S10 V6 4x4

My yellow top failed after 3 years. Luckily I was still in the 3 year warranty window and got a brand new one [emoji1360]

I wish I would have done the S10 box when I did mine. I made the Durango mistake and now it leaks like a civ. Next on the list somewhere.



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[Greg Galbo]

My yellow top failed after 3 years. Luckily I was still in the 3 year warranty window and got a brand new one [emoji1360]

I wish I would have done the S10 box when I did mine. I made the Durango mistake and now it leaks like a civ. Next on the list somewhere.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh good to know on the battery... my next battery will be an odyssey for sure. Optima just does not seem to cut it. They emailed me saying the red top was not designed OR warriented for use in a vehicle with a winch. Which to me seems ridiculous when the red top is also an AGM.

As far the S10 box goes... so far It just feels identical to the XJ box. And I made sure to get one post 1995 because 1995 and older S10 boxes have the same PT# as a XJ box. I hope it stands the test of time.

 

[mjbateman01]

I have an 87 renix motor Jeep Cherokee, gotta say this is a great build project and adventure. Hoping to see more!!

 

[Greg Galbo]

I have an 87 renix motor Jeep Cherokee, gotta say this is a great build project and adventure. Hoping to see more!!

Thanks man! I am finally through college and have started my career so watch this thread as it will soon get a lot better! Starting with a new lift! Also, have you had many issues with your renix? I've heard many stories about renix jeeps haha

 

[mjbateman01]

Congrats on finishing up college, i just recently finished as well... im so glad its done!!!

Issues, when are there not any issues on Jeeps lol. I have had my jeep for over 8 years now so its been things that need to be replaced eventually. I had a major issue on why my jeep would not start that lasted me almost one year to figure out (only having an hour a day to diagnose the jeep due to life). I am not sure what fixed it but i got it to work now and the jeep has certain new parts (relays, cps, fuel pump assembly, ballast but ending up removing it, redoing wiring from front inner kick panel to driver rear side of lights, ECU, and lastly another fuel assembly that was warrantied).

 

[Greg Galbo]

It's been a very long time since I have done an update on this forum and it's time to get that done! I have been very busy with the Jeep and I have been the most productive with the build than ever before. To start off, I had the opportunity to finally get the Jeep in a friends shop of mine to fix all the remaining rust the pleagued the Jeep. This included the rockers both inner and outer, dog legs and the floors. We took every effort to do the job correctly using OEM and Key Parts replacement parts, weld through primer, seam sealer, chasis savor and by using the proper procedures. We began by removing the interior, header panel, fenders and doors. Once that was acomplished we drilled out all of the spot welds and removed the old metal.

 

[Greg Galbo]

Here is a great visualization of how we completed one of the dogleg replacement. We utilized a dogleg out of a totaled rusted free cherokee and grafted it on to my cherokee. Turned out great!

If you have any questions on the process let me know!

 

[13ADVXterra]

in for the updates. great build so far. the rack is great and i have a strange obsession with your engine bay. it looks good.

 

[Greg Galbo]

in for the updates. great build so far. the rack is great and i have a strange obsession with your engine bay. it looks good.

Appreciate that! There are plenty more updates on the way!

 

[Jeepmedic46]

Appreciate that! There are plenty more updates on the way!

I just found this thread, Great build. I just bought a 2000 XJ with a 4.5 Rough Country lift. You have done some great mods. What did you use for a rear tire carrier? Looking to put one on and having trouble figuring out one. Yours looks like a good one. Can you put a hi lift jack and gas cans on yours?

 

[Greg Galbo]

I just found this thread, Great build. I just bought a 2000 XJ with a 4.5 Rough Country lift. You have done some great mods. What did you use for a rear tire carrier? Looking to put one on and having trouble figuring out one. Yours looks like a good one. Can you put a hi lift jack and gas cans on yours?

Welcome! And thank you! There’s a lot more updates on the way... I’m just trying to catch up now haha mine is currently running a 5 inch Iron Rock Off-road long arm kit! But the tire carrier is just a good old smittybilt. It holds a hi lift jack and a gas can no problem. The license plate mount I have is a JKS too btw. It did not come with the bumper. Feel free to ask any more questions!

 

[Jeepmedic46]

Welcome! And thank you! There’s a lot more updates on the way... I’m just trying to catch up now haha mine is currently running a 5 inch Iron Rock Off-road long arm kit! But the tire carrier is just a good old smittybilt. It holds a hi lift jack and a gas can no problem. The license plate mount I have is a JKS too btw. It did not come with the bumper. Feel free to ask any more questions!

Thank you, I’m looking foreword to see your updates.

 

[Jeepmedic46]

Here is a picture of the para-cord grab handles
View attachment 13427

I was wondering where you got your headliner and can you get it in different plaids. Would like one in hunter plaid.

 

[Greg Galbo]

I was wondering where you got your headliner and can you get it in different plaids. Would like one in hunter plaid.

I actually just ordered the fabric on amazon haha and redid it myself! So you can absolutly have it in hunter plaid!

 

[Jeepmedic46]

I actually just ordered the fabric on amazon haha and redid it myself! So you can absolutly have it in hunter plaid!

Thank you, I can try that.

 

[Greg Galbo]

Once the rockers were completed it was finally time to fix the suspension and install a lift kit. I decided to go all out on the suspention as I wanted something that would be comfortable on the highway as well as capable on the trails! I ended up going with a long arm lift which was a difficult decision but as I was very concerned about geometry with putting a 4.5-5 inch lift on it made sense to instal to longer arms to maintain a flater angle like factory. I will list below the list of components that I used on the lift kit. A few things I still plan on installing are an Adams front driveshaft and Metal Cloak front dual rate coil springs to fight the springs coming off the body on full flex and maybe different shocks at somepoint as well. Feel free to ask any questions!

1. Iron Rock Offroad 4.5 inch "Rock Link" Long arm lift kit with full leaf packs
2. Doetsch Tech shocks
3. Crown Performance extended brake lines
4. JKS quick sway bar disconnects
5. Advanced Adaptors slip yoke elliminiator
6. Adams rear driveshaft
7. Azzy Design Works rear shock mounts
8. Rough Country shackle relocation brackets
9. Iron Rock Offroad extended leaf spring shackles

 

[Greg Galbo]

Here are a few pictures of it being flexed out on a Metal Cloak RTI trailer! It scored a 690 on the trailer and a 808 of the RTI ramp. Very impressive for a Cherokee!

 

[Jeepmedic46]

Here are a few pictures of it being flexed out on a Metal Cloak RTI trailer! It scored a 690 on the trailer and a 808 of the RTI ramp. Very impressive for a Cherokee!

View attachment 129745View attachment 129746

That Flex is very impressive for a Cherokee. What size tire are you running?

 

[Jeepmedic46]

Once the rockers were completed it was finally time to fix the suspension and install a lift kit. I decided to go all out on the suspention as I wanted something that would be comfortable on the highway as well as capable on the trails! I ended up going with a long arm lift which was a difficult decision but as I was very concerned about geometry with putting a 4.5-5 inch lift on it made sense to instal to longer arms to maintain a flater angle like factory. I will list below the list of components that I used on the lift kit. A few things I still plan on installing are an Adams front driveshaft and Metal Cloak front dual rate coil springs to fight the springs coming off the body on full flex and maybe different shocks at somepoint as well. Feel free to ask any questions!

1. Iron Rock Offroad 4.5 inch "Rock Link" Long arm lift kit with full leaf packs
2. Doetsch Tech shocks
3. Crown Performance extended brake lines
4. JKS quick sway bar disconnects
5. Advanced Adaptors slip yoke elliminiator
6. Adams rear driveshaft
7. Azzy Design Works rear shock mounts
8. Rough Country shackle relocation brackets
9. Iron Rock Offroad extended leaf spring shackles

View attachment 129738View attachment 129739View attachment 129740View attachment 129741View attachment 129742View attachment 129743View attachment 129744

Looks like a well put together lift.