grainofsalt

Small upgrade this weekend: Put a diff cover on from a 2004-2009 Dodge Durango or Chrysler Aspen 8.25. Some came with the 9.5 axle so count the cover bolts; 12 bolt is the 9.5 the 10 bolt is a 8.25. To pull one of these you’ll need a 21mm for the Watts linkage bolt and a 13mm for the cover bolts. Take the mounting bolts, They are longer than the XJ 8.25 cover bolts. Pull the two alignment dowels out of the backside and you’re good to go. It’s a nice little budget upgrade. It also puts the fill hole about an inch higher.

Somebody made a YouTube short of the MJ. Kudos to guy who filmed this! https://m.youtube.com/shorts/Fva_k3SiP78?ra=m

One of these is not like the rest… It’s car show weather again.

Took the truck on a 1000 mile roadtrip. It did good, running 65-70 with cruse on it did 16 MPG.

Thanks @ThatJeepGuy, It looks even better in person, Pictures don't do it justice!

Yup, it sure is. Ready to move it to the next owner.

Thanks for the MJOTM and the complements, Its a real head turner for sure! Super fun to have the truck done!

Well, this is cool, My MJ is the MJ of the month: https://comancheclub.com/topic/74908-july-2025-a-2000-swapped-shortbed/

Small update, Pulled the extra spring rubber out to give the truck a little bit of rake to it.

Posting these out of order, but flexed the MJ a little to measure for bumpstops.

Found out why the rear was so noisy, Bearings were roached! Dropped to 4.88 gears, It's got room for 37s so wanted to leave the future option open.

These Rock Trix rims are about 8 Lbs. lighter than the icon rebound Rims. There was a noticeable difference in getup and go with them. Gears happening next, Muds and 3.55 gears equal about 12mpg. With the 31s and 32s it was getting 14.5mpg.

ghetdjc320, There are some changes coming to how it sits. No, Don't need that much wheel travel. Still doing shakedown on it, So far it's been doing real good.

Brought the MJ to a car show. Good collection of hot rods and bikes there. Funny story, Had a kid walk up to the front bumper and do some chin ups. Guess JCR was right, It's built for whatever.

Used the truck for truck things, Hauled off a bunch of the interior from the donor Jeep. Then tweaked how the doors fit, and replaced some dead bulbs up front. Sure thing A-man930, simple way to get it right the first try.

Borrowed from A-man930 with his wheelwell liner idea. Picked up a roll of .070" plastic from Summit Racing. Part number is AAF-ALL22400 for those who are wondering. Little bit of CAD drawing with some paper, some heat gun action to bend it similar to the stock liner and just like that, one clean looking wheelwell.

Well it's true, The bushings on the rough country track bar are good for about 500 miles. You can see how they have deformed. Changed them out for Moog 7252 bushings on both ends with 9/16" bolts. Do recommend doing this to the RC track bar, Did help tighten up the steering.

Put on a set of 17s to try them out, now to get some road miles to see how it drives!

Thanks boxyjeep, Thanks for the complement! I've been ok with the JK lights, But I'd love to model a pair of your lights! Now for a update pic, threw on some 31s to take it to get inspected. Boy do they look small with 7" of lift and notch flares.

How well do JK seat covers fit on Cherokee seats? Quite well actually. Only had to make one cut to fit the back adjust lever on the passenger seat. Drivers side just slipped on.

I gave the bedliner from RE paint supply a shot. turned out very nice! Also a thanks to my brother who plastic printed up a new set of tailgate alignment wedges, the tailgate closes nice and straight. Will note I'm not a total fan of the JK taillight adapters that came with the truck, Looks like a rushed print job. had to glue them back together several times. For what it is, if I were to do JK lights, I'd build a metal version.

Cleaned up the radio harness. Even though it would have hid behind the radio, I couldn't just leave a mess like that in there. New MJ carpet, I went with the version with the extra mass backing to keep the cab quiet. Tried on a set of Icon wheels with some 31s for kicks and giggles. Also picked up a JCR winch bumper off of marketplace. Next the rear bumper and bed will be bedlined.

Hit all the interior pieces with SEM trim black and a coat of clear. Interior is going together nicely, All that measuring and prep work is paying off!

Time to start putting the interior together! I took out the wires in the harness for the rear XJ doors. The way I figured it, The less wires, the less to go wrong down the line. Also undid a "repair" to the cluster wiring and added more ground locations to keep it all well grounded. Painted up the grill with some SEM trim paint for a nice pop of black.

Measured for shocks and started finalizing wire locations. The truck came with some JK taillights, so am wiring them in with the correct JK connectors to keep it a plug and play on down the road when they may need replacement. Backed the truck out to see the color in the sunshine.