wi_taco's 2001 Jeep Cherokee (XJ) lack of build thread

Resurrecting my 2001 Jeep XJ build because I need a 2nd vehicle again so I can start installing a lift on my Taco. It has been sitting in my garage dead for a few years due to emissions and electrical gremlins while I played with other vehicles. I'd sell it tomorrow and buy a Honda Civic but used vehicles in 2022 are looney tunes. "Throw loads of money at a Heep, what could go wrong?"

Original thread started at NAXJA but that forum is ancient and their platform/forum software is not very friendly to work with. Moving over to TacomaWorld because this forum is cool and all others kinda suck. If you are here reading this I apologize and suggest you find better things to read because for now this is likely going to be a snoozefest.

If you are still reading, then come along on my turd polishing journey and observe as I descend further into madness.

Last Known Photo Where It Legally Operated (2017)



Mods List (This is a major work in progress and needs LOTS of cleaning up):

Jeep "Ravine" 15x8 wheels from a TJ Limited (aka LJ, aka 2004-06 TJ)
Michelin Defender tires with almost zero miles 235/75/15
Headliner re-do with black fabric
Walmart EverStart MAXX 34N battery - three of them over the years, cheap ass junk!
Sony XS-R1645 6.5" speakers to replace blown stockers
DirtBound Offroad battery tray
DirtBound Offroad Mojave front bumper (pending paint and installation)
Jeep Liberty (KJ) rear disc brake swap (pending installation)
JK 17" take-off wheels (pending installation)

 

Porting over old NAXJA posts so I can edit them properly again:

5/13/17: Recently purchased a 2001 Sport 4x4 with 156k for $2k that I intend to build into something less boring than stock trim, but not too crazy because it will live mostly on the roads (more "overland", less "Moab"). This is one of many projects and money is somewhat limited so I expect progress to be slow. In the end my goal is to give back to the community where possible and show what a little reading on this forum can teach someone about our beloved XJs. I'm also pretty handy with computers and photos, and maybe I can add some writeups as time goes along. Here are photos the day I brought her home. Driver rear fender flare fell off, ugly gray door bump strips, sad steel wheels.



5/13/17: Headliner falling down badly.



5/13/17: 156k miles and spent the first 10 years in North Carolina. Not much rust, but also hasn't been taken care of 100% by the PO. Needs basic maintenance on everything.



5/13/17: Roof rust is about the worst of it, looks like it lived under trees. Otherwise for a Jeep in Wisconsin it has the cleanest floors & undercarriage I have seen.



5/13/17: Came with the OG window sticker so thats pretty cool!



6/24/17: Because this isn't my daily driver, I took a few weeks just to joyride on weekends and shake down what needs fixing. The answer? Lots, but no cause for emergency. I knew what I was getting into, and this will be a long-term build. First thing is the low-hanging fruit. And by low-hanging, I mean the headliner. I'm only 5'6" but this was driving me bananas. Pulled out the assembly, went to my local Jo-Ann Fabrics for material, and applied new fabric using Permatex 27828 Heavy Duty Headliner and Carpet Adhesive. CAUTION: If you have never done this before, go slow and DO NOT try to pick up & fold over large lengths of material - you will get wrinkles and possibly have to do this twice like I did! Old saggy mess.



6/24/17: Getting cleaned up. Used a plastic scraper to remove bulk of material, then scrubbed with a nylon parts brush. Wiped down when complete with some acetone on clean Scott towels but that may be overkill.



6/24/17: All cleaned up for dinner.



6/24/17: Folded material halfway back on itself and sprayed adhesive. 3-4 minutes between coats. You will use a full 2 cans on this. I found it helped to put a plastic dropcloth between the folded fabric to help it slide when massaging into place.



6/24/17: Results before installation. Only one noticeable wrinkle near the rear speaker opening, but unless you look it's invisible.



6/24/17: After installation. Originally had grey material that matched perfect but botched it up. Went with black the 2nd try because thats all they had. I don't mind the two-tone look as much as I thought. Hey its a Jeep anyways, right?



7/1/17: Removed most of the door trim for a cleaner look, cleaning off the adhesive backing is a nightmare! A few weeks ago I was able to pick up a set of super clean Ravines and nearly new 235/75/15s off Craigslist (thanks Mandy). Finally got them mounted up, huge improvement for the appearance and gain a net 1" of lift! My rear leafs are flattened out all the way and now thinking about lift kits. Needs a full front suspension/steering rebuild too.



71/17: Removed most of the door trim for a cleaner look, cleaning off the adhesive backing is a nightmare! A few weeks ago I was able to pick up a set of super clean Ravines and nearly new 235/75/15s off Craigslist (thanks Mandy). Finally got them mounted up, huge improvement for the appearance and gain a net 1" of lift! My rear leafs are flattened out all the way and now thinking about lift kits. Needs a full front suspension/steering rebuild too.



7/16/17: Audio system is in sad shape - bad speakers in the rear, broken wires for the fronts, and aftermarket radio was connected using the twist/tape/pray method. Soldered up the radio harness, swapped in Sony XS-R1645 6.5" speakers (Walmart special but they do the job), and spliced in new wires for the front doors.



7/16/17: Front speakers and wiring fix. Waiting on a large RockAuto shipment to arrive for the next phase of maintenance & upgrades.





7/8/17: Went to the junkyard and pulled parts for cruise control and installed in my XJ in about 1 hour. Pretty simple and probably the best $25 I ever spent!





7/22/17: Still tackling basic repairs. Existing muffler was rusted out and loud. Cut the OEM tailpipe from the muffler using a reciprocating saw. Cut one of the muffler studs with the saw, the other one had to get creative with a cut-off wheel on an angle grinder (NOTE: If you try this, be careful not to shoot sparks by the fuel tank!). Replaced with new Walker SoundFX muffler and tailpipe ordered from RockAuto. Initially had some confusion thanks to beer/heat/stupidity but was cleared up in this thread Parts list: Walker 18959 muffler Walker 55188 tail pipe (you will need to cut off the rear exhaust hanger if using the OE rubber mount) Walker 35336 2.25" clamps (x2) Walker 35750 rubber isolator Needed 2 nuts for the muffler's pressed-in studs but I had spares laying around. You may need a trip to the auto parts/hardware store or a local exhaust shop. Sorry I don't have part numbers or thread info on this - if anyone does, let me know and I can add for people in the future. Or just buy an additional 2.25" clamp kit and use those nuts, they should be the same size.

 

Sub'd. First rig was a 2000 XJ. Definitely did not appreciate it for what it was when I had it, best of luck on the build!

 

Thanks appreciate the sub! Don't get too excited, this thing has been sitting in my shop since 2018 because I have a problem of buying vehicles and one of them always sits dead with no progress for years. I'm a recovering car addict though, and now that necessity requires me to have a 2nd vehicle so I can feed my Tacoma addiction well of course it's time to resume the repairs!

 

Starting here, these are some newer updates that I never got around to posting at NAXJA but are definitely old. Last time it operated was in 2018 as explained below.

07/15/17: Visited local junkyards in search of a wrecked 2003-06 Liberty to steal the rear disc brake parts. These are apparently a direct swap onto my XJ's Chrysler 8.25 rear axle and should improve braking (and also get rid of the drums). Also nice is this requires no upgrades to the master, booster, or proportioning valve if you believe everything you read on the internet.



It was hot as frigg that day but I won the battle and got my brake parts. I don't recall what it cost but was pretty dang cheap, under $100 if I remember right. Comparing to brand new dealer-only parts costing over $500 and it's a no-brainer.



09/06/17: Battery was dying on me and still under Walmart's warranty (5 year at the time, now I think these are 3 years but don't quote me on that). Got a replacement with pro-rated charge which didn't cost much.



09/16/17: Front brakes are not looking happy. Continuing the basic maintenance upgrades.



Yeah those rotors are not good, I don't want to see grooves like that except on a turntable. The rest of it looks like it's been under the sea for a decade. I need a tetanus shot.



PowerStop calipers and pads + Wagner rotors with e-coating, and other misc brand hardware pieces. Pretty basic stuff but kinda neat that you can get those calipers pre-painted red. In retrospect I wouldn't do that again but I don't hate it for this project. It's a Jeep thing, my Taco wouldn't understand.



09/18/17: Got around to lightly sandblasting the Liberty (KJ) rear disc brake parts in preparation for a swap. That was the idea at least, never happened yet though.



09/20/17: Radiator fan shroud broke due to plastic getting brittle. Back to the junkyard for spare parts. That is one nice thing about the XJ platform - millions of these shitboxes exist after 15+ years of manufacturing so parts are relatively plentiful.



09/25/17: DirtBound Offroad battery tray because my factory one doesn't even have a tie down and is sketchy. DBO makes some nice stuff and is relatively local to me and I like supporting local when possible. Not pictured is a set of "Big 3" battery cables that I got from a NAXJA forum member (possibly the guy who went on to create JeepCables but not sure on that).

 

09/29/17: First real trip after the maintenance tasks. Just a quick little drive out to the county for some late September deer hunting. It was hotter than heck but I did actually see some deer so it wasn't a total loss. This is also the last time my poor little XJ moved under it's own power since 2017 as it turned out the rear brakes were much worse than I originally thought. On the drive back home I was stopping on the fronts only in what I would best describe as a "pucker fest".



Second problem is the CEL now throwing code P0456 for a very small EVAP leak. Same code was there when I first bought it but replaced gas cap and it went away. Now it's back and it's not the gas cap. Did some basic troubleshooting but turns out this one is very, very, very small and extremely frustrating to find.



I ended up building a DIY smoke tester from an empty paint can, a propane regulator that should have output about 1 PSI, and I was using incense as the smoke source (some said not to use the baby oil method as it could kill sensors; in retrospect the incense was terrible and I should have done the oil). Waste of time but didn't cost much to fiddle around.



02/25/18: It's winter and it's freezing balls which means time to buy parts and dream about spring coming so I can fix things up. New front bumper from DirtBound Offroad so I can ditch the ugly plastic and rusted to hell receiver hitch and also gain departure clearance. Dorman OE replacement leaf springs because originals are roached. And some nice yellow Bilstein shocks.



Fast forward about 5 years to present day where I drag my lazy ass into action...sorta....

03/07/22: Battery is dead again which is no surprise. Going with another el-cheapo Walmart MAXX battery until I get the electro gremlins worked out. 99% sure I have a door switch not working properly causing the dome light to intermittently come on after I park it for the night. Have already seen this in action once but no luck finding the source yet.



Next steps are to install the battery, "big 3" cables, and chase that electrical issue to get it running. Need to drain the old gasoline and flush that out, maybe drain the oil for good measure, get it running, and then find the emissions problem so I can get legal plates. Then it's on to the rear disc brake swap so I can safely drive it and stop.

More to come soon. Maybe. I'm lazy.

 

05/17/22: Here's how the ol' XJ sits today in full neglect. Covered in boxes full of Tacoma parts, and other miscellaneous junk on top, down below, and front & back. And this is after I cleaned up the garage tonight. It's a sad state of affairs but that should change soon.

 

Following, Nice Jeep

 

Thanks! Now all I need is a time machine and a money machine and maybe I'll have a slim chance at actually making progress on my builds lol.

 

I no longer have all my fingers and alot of child support life could be alot worse

 

05/28/22: Been slammed with upgrading my Tacoma's suspension and the unexpected issues surrounding that project. Took a few minutes away to see if I can siphon out the gas from the XJ. No dice, I thought there was no anti-siphon shield in these but apparently I was wrong. Probably the most modern part of the thing. Now I have to drop the tank, hooray! Briefly connected the new battery and gauge is showing 1/2 full so it shouldn't be too bad I hope.



Month of June is getting busy with plans - family coming to town, possibly some outdoors/offroading in the works, holidays, etc. I absolutely need the Taco lift finished ASAP so once again this stays on the back burner...

 

03/24/23: Well as you can see by evidence of this build thread I haven't done jack squat since last year. How does that saying go...the road to hell is paved with good intentions? Oh well, got busy in 2022 doing other projects and other adult projects that aren't quite so much fun. 2023 is the year though and I need to get this rolling again. Happened to be crusing along on Craigslist bored one day and found a FREE set of 17" wheels off a JK which are a common cheap swap with some spacers on an XJ. Score! I have some 33's planning to go on the Taco, and then my 265/70/17's will go on these wheels. Lots of boring mainteinance to come first and I'm just waiting for the weather to stop sucking any day now...

 

05/04/23: No real progress, the weather has sucked every time I have had free time to turn wrenches. In any case, I did pick up an additional JK wheel for only $45 from a guy that took them off with less than 100 miles. That means I now have a full set of JK wheels for...$45. Not bad.



A couple logistical problems have put me at a fork in the road. I'm starting back up with community college courses (welding for fun and continuing IT career stuff), and after taking inventory of work that needs to be done I've realized the Jeep won't be a quick ressurection. My Tacoma needs some work and I have no spare vehicles. I will likely be buying a 3rd vehicle as a commuting beater so I can tear both of these apart without risking missing work. Cost of spare vehicle was intended as the Jeep's lift kit. So this is a bit of a setback, but ultimately will let me build both 4x4s and keep my job. More to come later. Slowly, very slowly. Blah.

 

If Jeep started making the small 2000/01 Cherokee again I would buy one in a heartbeat. I've owned two, putting well over a hundred K on both, and loved them. I'd keep my Taco... but the Corolla would be gone.

 

You'll never get it done this way...










...and I ain't gettin' shit done in this chair...

 

Almost forgot I still own the Jeep. I think I've just gotten so used to it parked stationary in my garage I forget it's there. Long story short I ended up buying a 2010 Honda CRV as the backup (and then making a build thread because F me I need more things to take up my time lol). Also now I'm spending lots more on my Taco because I know the Jeep will be a longer project. Later this fall or next year will begin on the Jeep but it's going to get expensive quickly and I can't do that with 3 vehicles simultaneously.

That was the original plan - Taco as my reliable daily, Jeep as the fun toy. It's still going to happen but so much changes along the way. Good intentions and all that lol.

Spending all my money on offroad builds makes Jack a dull boy. Which is why we crash weddings LOL! And I'm getting lots of work done just on the Taco right now. I've learned the secret of how to make a small fortune (answer: start with a large one and buy truck parts).

Edit: Found a photo that better encapsulates what I've been doing instead of building the Jeep.