Princess the 97 XJ...

[Greg Galbo]

Did everyone's favorite job the other day and rebuilt my drum brakes in the back due to my right rear wheel locking up randomly all the time and I'm far too lazy to do the disk brake conversion at the moment....maybe when its warmer...

 

[Greg Galbo]

If you do replace the box, look into the Durango box mod. I don't remember the details but supposedly there is a set of years that the durango steering boxes were almost a direct swap for the XJ boxes and they are heavier duty. There was something different about the pitman arms from the XJ to durango boxes tho. I think you have to put an XJ pitman arm on the Durango box for it to work but it bolts right up.

Well my steering box has started clicking slightly. So looks like ill be doing a Durango box swap and new brace sooner than later... Do you or anyone have a possible part number for the correct Durango box? I believe I need the V8 (5.9L) 1999 NON snow plow package box. And yes I must use my factory XJ pitman arm on the new box because from what I've read the Durango's pitman arm is not set up for a drag link... I think..But I was wondering if anyone had any more info on the subject. As far as steering box braces I think I'm going to go with Iron Rock Off road's brace. I think it'll pair nicely with my uni-body tie-ins for my bumper so my steering box will be braced on both sides of the uni-body which should be more than enough for the 30's I'm running now and the 31 10.50s I plan on running in the future (further away thanks to this steering box ) Thanks for the help!

 

[Overland-Indiana]

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/durango-steering-box-upgrade-3805/

Here is a link to a how to thread on the Durango box swap. Also, go with the JCR box spacer. Call them, ask for Corey- tell him Jordan Brooks sent you. I run all JCR gear, American made and GREAT people to work with.

 

[Greg Galbo]

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/durango-steering-box-upgrade-3805/

Here is a link to a how to thread on the Durango box swap. Also, go with the JCR box spacer. Call them, ask for Corey- tell him Jordan Brooks sent you. I run all JCR gear, American made and GREAT people to work with.

Will do! I'll ask him about the spacer and how it works with a Durango box! Thanks again man


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[Overland-Indiana]

Will do! I'll ask him about the spacer and how it works with a Durango box! Thanks again man


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Also, Corey sold me his old XJ (it was green, not my current one) and he did the Durango box swap on that one along with the JCR steering box spacer. He may be able to answer any questions about that too, since he's done it.

 

[Greg Galbo]

Also, Corey sold me his old XJ (it was green, not my current one) and he did the Durango box swap on that one along with the JCR steering box spacer. He may be able to answer any questions about that too, since he's done it.

Ok! I will give him a call when I'm ready for the swap. I need to replace my muffler and my oil pressure sending unit first (Tired of driving around with a gauge that reads whatever it wants lol sometimes nothing other times 20 and sometimes perfect!) . Then I'll have to carve out a weekend in my schedule to change my steering box!

 

[Overland-Indiana]

Ok! I will give him a call when I'm ready for the swap. I need to replace my muffler and my oil pressure sending unit first (Tired of driving around with a gauge that reads whatever it wants lol sometimes nothing other times 20 and sometimes perfect!) . Then I'll have to carve out a weekend in my schedule to change my steering box!

Steering box is pie, man! Should only take an hour or two.. Let me know if ya got questions!

 

[Greg Galbo]

Steering box is pie, man! Should only take an hour or two.. Let me know if ya got questions!

Thanks man! Parts for other projects are starting to come in now. Once I get a few small things taken care of, I will be tackling the new steering box!! Ill call that guy from JCR when I go to order the brace!

 

[Greg Galbo]

Finally have some parts coming in preparing for a possible trip in late may around New England. First thing I needed to do was get a new muffler that not only flows better to go along with my 4-hole injectors and K&N air filter to get better gas mileage but also doesn't have holes in it like my current one haha I ended up with a Dynomax Super Turbo pt#17747 I chose this hoping it flows better but is not too loud and does not drone on the highway. I will let you guys know how I like it after it gets welded in Friday!

 

[Overland-Indiana]

Finally have some parts coming in preparing for a possible trip in late may around New England. First thing I needed to do was get a new muffler that not only flows better to go along with my 4-hole injectors and K&N air filter to get better gas mileage but also doesn't have holes in it like my current one haha I ended up with a Dynomax Super Turbo pt#17747 I chose this hoping it flows better but is not too loud and does not drone on the highway. I will let you guys know how I like it after it gets welded in Friday!
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Yeah, let us know! Also, did you swap in your 4-hole injectors yet? If so, what brand did you use and did you notice a big difference?

 

[Greg Galbo]

Yeah, let us know! Also, did you swap in your 4-hole injectors yet? If so, what brand did you use and did you notice a big difference?

Yes I have had them in for around 5 months or so. Biggest difference is how smooth it makes it start and run. I heard that they only make a difference if you help the engine breath alittle more (intake and exhaust) but I love them. As far as what brand they are, they are Bosch. Out of a Volvo actually. Now depending on what year (97-01) yours is changes which exact injector you get due to changing flow rates through the years


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[Overland-Indiana]

I noticed a better, more aggressive sound and better performance when I installed my Snorkel and deleted the factory air box and went to an inline air filter

 

[Greg Galbo]

I noticed a better, more aggressive sound and better performance when I installed my Snorkel and deleted the factory air box and went to an inline air filter

I will post pics of the new muffler when it gets warmer! Sounds pretty stock but a little more free flowing and deeper sounding. No drone at all on the highway. Now, can you fit dual batteries in the engine bay with that set up?

 

[Overland-Indiana]

I will post pics of the new muffler when it gets warmer! Sounds pretty stock but a little more free flowing and deeper sounding. No drone at all on the highway. Now, can you fit dual batteries in the engine bay with that set up?

No due to the inline filter and relocated washer fluid reservoir being there. Since mine has ABS and all the crap I don't have much room under the hood.

 

[Greg Galbo]

No due to the inline filter and relocated washer fluid reservoir being there. Since mine has ABS and all the crap I don't have much room under the hood.

Ohh I see. I don't have ABS luckily, but I am adding a second fuse/relay box for all of my auxiliary components such as lights and everything so I will not have much room either..


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[Greg Galbo]

Always hate taking the rig to a shop but as I don't have a welder of my own or the ability to weld I had to take it to a shop to get it welded. Notice my antenna putting a hole in their insulation after I told them I need to take it off and their reply was "It'll be fine". Also notice the amount of standing water under the lift! :/ All i can say is I was in and out in about five minutes flat and the welds look great. Dynomax is just the right amount of loud for me. No drone at all but has a good idle and sounds even better at around 1,100 rpm under load.

 

[Jason Galbo]

Always hate taking the rig to a shop but as I don't have a welder of my own or the ability to weld I had to take it to a shop to get it welded. Notice my antenna putting a hole in their insulation after I told them I need to take it off and their reply was "It'll be fine". Also notice the amount of standing water under the lift! :/ All i can say is I was in and out in about five minutes flat and the welds look great. Dynomax is just the right amount of loud for me. No drone at all but has a good idle and sounds even better at around 1,100 rpm under load.
View attachment 16888

I told you to just clamp it! The only time I took my jeep to E&E they never put my e-fan back in!

 

[Greg Galbo]

Started my next project on the jeep over the weekend. It is a factory fuse/ relay box that I will use for all of my auxiliary attachments such as various lights, fans, inverters, etc. My brother Jason Galbo did most of the rewiring of the Fuse box completely restarting from scratch. It now has 12 relays and fuses with an outer quick connect for the power off of the attachment. Everything is already grounded out and I used a CAT-5 cable to power my switches which will be mounted in my overhead console. If you want to know more about the wiring let me know I can help. What I got accomplished this weekend was making the power cable out of an old jumper cable and fabricating a new mount for the fuse box to sit beside my brake booster. Ill post pictures of what I did. The relay box was already completed months ago but the project was left buy the wayside when I became busy with other things. I'm glad to begin work on it again and I know this will be one of my favorite upgrades to the jeep.

 

[Greg Galbo]

So here is the power cable for the box.Took an old pair of jumper cables and cut them to the right size and crimped the ends on then used red heat shrink to bring it all together. One end has to be bent at 90 degrees to go onto the fuse box.

 

[Greg Galbo]

Next we took a factory fuse box bracket out of our parts Cherokee and drilled out the rivets holding the two pieces together because we only need to part that latches onto the box.