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Jp's XJ is 4.0L again

JR Coming Back
Posted July 19 2008 06:49 AM by Jp Tech Editor 
Filed under: Custom Jeep Projects, Jeep Enthusiast Culture, Christian Hazel

Project JR

For the first time in a year Jp's '99 XJ is on the road. So what's next for this Jeep?


Is it getting 1-tons? Rockwells? A supercharged LS-1? Nah, Cappa would never allow that. At least, I haven't asked him. Regardless, it's back on the road after sitting outside the Petersen building for a year.

For now I'll focus on getting the Unichip with the 4.6L stroker tune removed and swapping out the bigger injectors so the check engine light will go off. Then I can have it smogged. Once that's done I can focus on determining if that knocking I hear is just the normal 4.0L piston slap, a rod knock, or an exhaust leak. As I remember, there was a reason I pulled the stock 4.0L in the first place. Jeeps-R-Us in Laguna Niguel, CA was nice enough to plant the stock engine back in for me when the stroker went boom. Search the blogs - the whole story is on here.

The other bummer is that letting a vehicle sit for a long period of time is the absolute worst thing you can do to it. What used to be a perfectly good XJ now has the following problems. At least, these are just what I could notice in my 126-mile drive home from the office the other night:

  • Power Door Locks Not Working
  • Rollbar rubbing on dash causing insane squeaking
  • Top of dash cracked from sun/heat (probably why it's squeaking)
  • Speaker grilles fall out of headliner in the rear
  • Tires dry-rotted
  • Somehow developed death wobble at around 40-50mph
  • Tranny whines
  • Somebody hit the tailgate in the office parking lot and dented it
  • PIAA off road lights don't work
  • Optima Blue Top doesn't hold a charge
  • There's a new crack in the windshield that's spidered and traveled about 18-inches across.

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