Fraz's Budget Build - '96 XJ Cherokee Sport

[Astron_Boy]

Looks good.
I prefer the plastic model after this, but that does look the part!

[Technikhaus]

Nice!
I'd love to build an awesome off-roading machine one day

[fraz91]

Nice!
I'd love to build an awesome off-roading machine one day

I say the same thing about the FTO's all the time.

[fraz91]

So I fixed the uneven stance issue. 30mm coil spacers in the front and 300kg of tools, toolbox and other sh*t in the boot.



Also built up new front shocks at work. They're about 40mm longer on close and 100mm longer on open. Needless to say, my control arms are now the limiting factor. Also fitted extended poly bump-stops to save the shocks on compression. They're too long now though, which means I can go to a longer front shock if need be.



Had a bit of an issue when fitting the front shocks though: The lower shock mount wasn't big enough.



Nothing a dremel and cut-off wheel can't fix though



AAAaaaaand it still hasn't been offroad.

[Technikhaus]

awesome, but take it off road already!!

[Astron_Boy]

awesome, but take it off road already!!

lawl.

[fraz91]

Some new bits and pieces have been added, and I've also taken it for a full-days off-roading now too! Still getting used to driving it off-road, as the body tends to follow what the rear wheels are doing, where I'm used to the body following the IFS setup in the triton.

First off, I fitted up some RE Swaybar Disconnects. Need to relocate the "disconnected" fob, as it scrubs against the tyre at full compression.

Anyway, I had to re-do the cooling system as the original radiator was leaking like a sieve. I would have to top the overflow bottle up every day, asd it was leaking from a couple of different places. I've since installed an ADRAD HD Copper/Brass 2-row radiator, and it's fixed the leaking issues. The original rad in mine was already a copper/brass by the looks of it, as it only ever overheated when stationary. Because of this, I've also replaced the viscous fan coupling with a Dayco unit. The fact that I can actually hear the fan now is a big improvement over the original, and it doesn't go over 105 in traffic either!

While I had everything apart, I fitted a 7-row auto cooler in front of the A/C auxiliary fan. Now there's no issues with the auto overheating in stop-start traffic, causing it to slip and carry on especially in reverse. I've also wired up the aux. fan to a separate switch so that I can turn it on whenever I want to keep the engine and auto cool.

Original auto cooler above the new 7-row unit:


All fitted up, sits nice and snug behind the grille:



Fancy wiring for A/C fan:


Next round for the cooling system is to replace the water pump, thermostat and housing with High-flow ones from Hesco. I'll also (hopefully) be fitting up a fiberglass cowl to the bonnet to help improve the engine bay temps. I'm currently halfway through installing the new audio system though, so that may take a while before I'm back on track.

Also, a few action shots from the Lithgow trip last month with the Sydney Jeep Club:

[fraz91]

Latest edition to the budget build is a set of Adjustable 2" Patrol rear shocks. Pulled them off a vehicle at work as the customer wanted gas-charged shocks instead of the foam-cell adjustables, and they'd only been on his vehicle 3-4 months. They're a little longer than the OE's on closed length at 415mm, however it's nothing a 2" bump-stop spacer can't fix. Open length is around 650mm, so have removed the brake-line from the mount for now and cable-tied the hard-line further back at the bend.

Down-Travel with old shocks-


Old vs. New


Down-travel with new shocks-


Brake line mod-


Also in the process of installing the new stereo set-up. 4x 6.5" 90W RMS component speakers and an 8" 300W sub in the back. Powered by 2 amps; door speakers run through a 4x100W amp and the sub has it's own 300W monoblock. Topped off with a Pioneer bluetooth and USB single din head-unit, it should be nice and clear at all volumes.

[Astron_Boy]

oh wow, those shocks will make a mad difference.

[fraz91]

oh wow, those shocks will make a mad difference.

They're red too, so should make it go faster.

Anyway, managed to get some more work done to this over the last couple of days. Have rego coming up shortly so needed to get rid of all the oil leaks. Replaced the sump gasket and rear-main seal, although I have a horrible suspicion that the front main seal is either on its way out or already gone. Lots of crud behind the harmonic balancer, along with coolant dripping from somewhere.

Anyway, back to the rear end to finish what I previously started:

Made up a couple of bump-stop spacers for the rear end at work. Had some spare 50x75mm RHS at work that was 2.5mm thick. Originally started making them from 50x65mmx1.5, but decided they wouldn't be strong enough. These should allow me to run a 4" patrol rear shock without bottoming out the shock, which allows me time to upgrade as more parts turn up. This should also hopefully stop the 31's from scrubbing, although I may be getting 32's or 33's soon, just have to wait and see.

Also ordered RE extended shackles from Wooders, and bought the 6" coils and shackle relocation brackets off Tuffeb on AJOR. Looking forward to it all turning up so I can test it on the trails.

Anyway, photo time!

Bump-stop spacer - 75mm spacing-


Bump-stops bolted to the bracket using M14x1.5 flange nuts and high tensile bolts-


Bolted together-


Comparison of old clearance to new clearance-




While I was at it, I also made up a Brake-line relocation bracket. This can be straightened out to further space the brake line down if need be, but should be fine for the time being.