1994 ZJ Expo Build

[getlost4x4]

SOME OF MY PICTURES HAVE MOVED AND BEEN CHANGED. SO I'LL REDO THIS INTRO AND PICTURES.

OWNER: Ross H
LOCATION: North Western Wyoming / Montana
YEAR: 1994
MAKE: Jeep
MODEL: Limited Grand Cherokee

ENGINE: 5.2lt. V8
TRANSMISSION: 4-Speed automatic
DRIVETRAIN: QT

SUSPENSION:

FRONT: Stock
REAR: Stock
TIRES: 235/75/15 Michelin car tires
WHEELS: Stock Luxury gold laced wheels
BRAKES: Stock for now

ELECTRICAL:
*Garmin GPS 60CSX
*Cobra 29 SX WXT CB radio
*Firestik CB antenna mounts and coax
(to be installed still)
*Silverstar Headlight bulbs

RECOVERY:
*48" Hi-Lift mounted to spare tire carrier
*20k lb tow line
*T-Max Winch Recovery Kit

OTHER:
*Industrial Fire Extinguisher
*automatic tranny rebuilt 2000 miles ago

FUTURE MODS:
*Snorkel
*Front Solid Axle Conversion (3 Link set-up, JK D44 front Axle)
*3 Link Rear conversion
*JK D44 Rear Axle
*4.10 Rear Axle Gears
*Defender Roof Rack
*33x10.5x17 Pizza Cutter tires
*Full length roof rack
*new transfer case
*roll cage
*9000 lbs winch
*ARB bumper
*IPod ready stereo with blue tooth
*Laptop mount


I just bought the ZJ about a month ago. so far i have just been repairing broken things on it. the transmission had been rebuilt to the tune of $2000. it had 132K miles on it, and had been sitting for about 2 years. I stick a battery in it, figured how to turn off the security system and had it running in about 3 minutes. I paid $600 for it. The poor kid didn't know anything about mechanics and i talked him down from $3500 he was asking. i know, i'm mean.

Fixed so far:
*New radiator
*A/C Recharged
*Oil Pan leak fixed
*Short in electric window wiring
*new spark plugs
*battery

Here it is after we got it!





playing around outside of town.

[getlost4x4]

just went out this weekend. spent about 20 miles on road, 200 off used about 12 gallons of gas. not bad!

[Kauzi Zj]

Nice looking start....cant wait to see how it turns out...

[SirFuego]

Out of curiosity, why are you planning to run 17" rims? Better for the higher speed stuff?

EDIT: nm. I missed the part about JK axles...

[getlost4x4]

i did a little more work to it today. i installed an Eclipse head-unit and wired it into the stock infinity amp. i'm also using 2 sets of alpine 6.5" speakers. the stereo sounds so much better its amazing. i was going to add a subwoofer, but i think i may hold off awhile.

i also wired in my Garmin GPS60CSX and mounted it to the driverside pillar. works great and is kind of hidden from view.

I need a way to devise a laptop mount so i can actually see the roads and trails with my GPS receiver. i'll take some pictures tomorrow.

[getlost4x4]

i need some ideas for mounting my Cobra CB. its one of those really large ones. i have no idea where i can stick that without cutting some major holes to accommodate it. i'd like to leave things as they are as much as possible.

anyone have some clean install pictures for their cbs?

[SuicideTireZJ]

I think a lot of guys build a mount off of one of the taillight bolt holes and have it come right out above the taillight.

[dp96zj]

I think a lot of guys build a mount off of one of the taillight bolt holes and have it come right out above the taillight.

My guess is he meant the actual CB radio, not the antenna

[Dustmuffins]

Awesome stuff. That looks like a lot of fun. I would love to do that here in Ohio, but alas, it's all flat and boring.

How many miles on your hog?

[getlost4x4]

just hit 134K miles yesterday.

[Cody]

I've seen full size CB's mounted on the tranny hump...just to the left of where the passenger's knee would be. That's where I'm putting my HAM.

[getlost4x4]

i'm in the middle of moving up to montana. my CB is packed in a box since i removed it from jeep #2. i may just look into one of those hidden CBs cobra makes.

i have no room in the jeep for hauling all my off-road and camping gear. thats why i can't decided where i want to stick the CB radio. i may just need to get a full length roof rack. i'm not sure about either.

there are too many options for this jeep. to many bumpers, wheels, axles, etc. i need to find the right combo for what i want to do with this jeep.

[Cody]

You're going to mount your CB on the roof rack? That sounds incredibly inconvenient.

Also, out of curiosity, why would you swap front axles if you only plan to go to 33 x 10.5's?

[getlost4x4]

sorry it was late when i posted that.

i'm trying to decide if i want to go with a roof rack.

i'm also not sure where i will be sticking the CB.

for expedition travel, i want to build it strong and reliable. that way i won't have to worry about blowing a c-clip rear axle or bending the front axle.

i'm just really leery of these axles. i've never broken one, but it seems like a lot of people blow them up.

[Cody]

A lot of people blow them up on 35's, or with very abusive driving style on smaller tires. Honestly, I think for an expedition build and the tire size you have in mind, I would keep it simple and leave the stock axles alone. If you find yourself stranded somewhere due to an axle issue, it will be probably easier to find parts for stock axles than something you adapted to fit in there.

If anything, swap the rear with an XJ 44 or something, but I would leave the front 30 alone. It will be fine

As for CB, it sounds like you have a decent budget so I would pick up the Cobra 75 WXST. You can flush mount the control box into the ash tray if you want, and then everything is built into the unit (you already mentioned this). I use this CB wired and grounded straight to the battery, and with a nice antenna I get really good range. The speaker leaves a lot to be desired though. Due to the clarity, range, and presence of other operators in my group, I'm putting in a HAM radio in a few weeks. You'll be in it about $250 + a little time to get licensed, but 40+ miles crystal clear is much better than 3-4 miles, always sounding like you swallowed the mic, and truckerese bouncing around in the background.

[getlost4x4]

don't know about my budget yet. just a Mercedes Benz car salesman right now. i've been out of work for a few years. starting to get the hang of the car sales thing though. hopefully it will start paying more as i get better at it.

i have a lot of parts laying around from my past two jeeps. so i'm recycling parts into this one. i have a lot of fabrication experience so i can build whatever i can design in autocad.

just kicking around ideas.

probably just going to get a superwinch with synthetic cable to keep the weight down on the front end.

[getlost4x4]

some pictures of the Eclipse CD player and the GPS installed

[Kauzi Zj]

A lot of people blow them up on 35's, or with very abusive driving style on smaller tires. Honestly, I think for an expedition build and the tire size you have in mind, I would keep it simple and leave the stock axles alone. If you find yourself stranded somewhere due to an axle issue, it will be probably easier to find parts for stock axles than something you adapted to fit in there.

If anything, swap the rear with an XJ 44 or something, but I would leave the front 30 alone. It will be fine

Just to start out with, Cody is a pretty damned good reference as to what you should consider for your build (was that enough sucking up Cody?)


I currently run 33X12.50's on my ZJ on bone stock axles, and even though I haven't gotten STUPID with them, I haven't been gentle either. Ive wheeled it in Moab quite a bit, and on occasion I have really laid into the skinny petal, even bound up, and they held up fine. So I agree that if your just doing expedition/trail wheeling then stock axles would be fine, maybe a locker for one just in case, plus as Cody mentioned, if something does happen getting parts is a lot easier.

[getlost4x4]

alright. i like cheap. so i'll stick with the front axle until it blows up or breaks.

how about the rear axle?

i guess i scared of these axles.

i've run toyota axles with a toyota supra straight six (280 HP) 33" tires, i had a Jeep commander with the full floater 8.25" (32" tires and 4.7 V8), and a Wagoneer with D44's (31" tires), and now this thing with 30 and 35C.

i never broke any of those. i was hard on the toyota and the rear axle was welded on it. it was back when i was into rockcrawling.

[Cody]

Switch the shafts in your front 30 to the ujointed shafts from an XJ or TJ. The ujointed shafts are going to be a little more durable and stronger than the factory CV shafts in the ZJ 30.

For the rear, you can pull a toyota 8" out of a 2wd toyota pickup and it should have the same bolt pattern, but it will need spacers to match the width of the front.

XJ or Rodeo 44's are usually fairly cheap, as are ford 8.8's. Any of those are pretty durable and usually common axles.

[PassRunnerZJ]

Me, I would pick up an XJ 44 and build it w/a locker to bracket uo to the Zj, do a front to rear spring swap, change gears and you are good to go. Until then, keep the 35 open and drive smart and you will be good. I put my CB just in front of the passinger's legs using the screw holes that existed. When I go HAM I will put more time into the mounting point.

You are off to a good start, keep it going.

[Kauzi Zj]

I would have to say again, I wouldnt change EITHER axle until you have too, you probably arent going to be getting into any full throttle, bouncing over rocks, kind of wheeling based on what youve said. So why not stay stock, its easier, cheaper, and when they do wear out or break then look into upgrading. I would consider changing out your front axle shafts as Cody mentioned, and look into a decent locker for the front axle, preferably a selectable locker not mechanical. Other than that I wouldnt mess with them until I had to.

As for the carrying capacity, judging from your camping pics you probably have that thing filled to capacity to go camping...I would look into a couple of different options...A roof rack is nice but you always have to watch how much weight you get up there...ZJ's can be a bit tippy with nothing up there at all...there are the rear hitch mounted carriers that can hold 500 pounds of gear...Big Dave has a great trailer build he did...I would highly recommend reading that...Dont forget you have to haul quite a bit of recovery equipment, especially if you are going to be out there by yourself.
At a minimum I would have a Hi Lift(with accessories), strap, shovel, pick, axe, preferably a winch but I would still have all the other stuff even with a winch.

I am very interested in watching your build, my ZJ was originally bought to be a good "go camping/hunting" rig and then I got the bug to build it for rock crawling, now I am working towards making it something I can DD, drive up in the mountains for camping and hunting, but still capable enough to follow Cody on Pritchet Canyon, or Moab Rim...

[Cody]

I had a M416 trailer that I was going to build, but for me it was going to be more novelty than anything so I decided to keep it simple. I'm lucky that I rarely have any passengers, and if I do it's just one, so I can lay my seats down and easily fit all of my gear (and I overpack).

The only thing I haven't figured out is how to carry fuel. I haven't invested in any of those good mil-spec Sceptor fuel cans, and even those may not seal 100% and keep fumes from stinking up the cabin. I've been toying with a receiver mount solution to carry 4 of them (2 fuel, 2 water), but I"m not sure how that will work out.

Luckily most of the trips I go on where fuel is needed I have at least 2 tacoma's in the group that are willing to carry my fuel. I shouldn't be dependent upon others though.

[getlost4x4]

i've been thinking about just using jerry cans on a roof rack to carry fuel.

i also have a hitch mounted tire carrier that weighs about 150 lbs. it can carry two jerry cans on it. and i can take it off when i'm not using it.

plus it would free up more room inside without a spare tire inside the jeep

[Cody]

If you have a tire carrier that incorporates two gerry cans, then go for it. That's the way to go. I carry my 35" spare inside, because for me to keep my departure angle the same, a rear mounted tire would have to be up so high that it would completely block my rear window. That's a deal breaker for me.

If you had a roof rack, you could do something like this laying flat

http://www.rotopax.com/4-Gallon-Gasoline.html