Rymanrph Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I've enjoyed reading JeepcoMJ's thread on his '99 2dr XJ, so I figured I'd start one for mine. I traded my '88 pioneer for this one. Its a sport model with 218k miles and about 10k miles on a recent engine rebuild. AW4, 231, power windows, locks and mirrors, cruise control, rear defrost and an Alpine stereo. Here's how I got it: The bad: Rear collision damage on the passenger side (you'll see in a picture if you scroll down) and the hood flew up and slammed against the windshield frame. No damage to the windshield or frame, but the hood and cowl are pretty banged up. The headliner is drooping all around and I have a couple little interior pieces that need addressing, but nothing major. I painted up all the gray plastic pieces: There you can see the damage. It looks as though someone try to "roughly" bang it back out. The only thing this truck doesn't have (other than fog lights) that I wish it had is keyless entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 very nice! I'll see if I can dig up the wiring and other necessities for it, but I do have a factory '99 and up keyless reciever and a matching remote to that reciever, which I could send you. I'll try and find you an overhead console or at least the light housing that mount up on the ceiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 I picked up a set of '05 Wrangler Ravine rims for $100. I paid probably three times that much for the ones on my Comanche, but these aren't in as good of shape. Some curb rash here and there and the clear and paint had begun to peel on two of them. Here is one of the rims after I used some aircraft stripper on it: I knew the paint was bad by the valve and the other rim, but couldn't tell that it was beginning to bubble in the other places. I sanded down the rock rash where I could. Two of the wheels I stripped completely, the other two I just sanded down with some 320 grit (the two on the right I sanded). Here they are primed and ready for paint: I decided to try Duplicolor's graphite wheel paint. It seemed to lay down OK, but I almost got a blister for the old style nozzle, plus plenty of finger fatigue. I tried to use one of those snap on triggers, but it would catch the very outer portion of the spray, pool and then drip. The finish is far from perfect, but I wasn't going for an OEM quality finish either. This is my first time painting wheels and I'm happy with how they came out. I'm going to try and get them mounted tomorrow. One of my tires isn't holding air, so I have to take it to the tire shop anyway. My only question is the center caps. Since they are plastic, can they be primed and painted the same way, or will it chip off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Maintenance items I've already addressed: -New steering box. The old one leaked like crazy. -New rear brakes. -Just picked up a new tie rod end for the drag link (to be installed). -All new lug nuts. very nice! I'll see if I can dig up the wiring and other necessities for it, but I do have a factory '99 and up keyless reciever and a matching remote to that reciever, which I could send you. I'll try and find you an overhead console or at least the light housing that mount up on the ceiling. Fantastic! Thanks. I added the overhead console to my Comanche and its nice, but I use the keyless entry a whole lot more, so even if I could just have that, it would be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakjeep93 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 i used the same paint on my 01 hyundai elantra aluminum rims except i didnt go as indepth with sanding as you did lol. i also painted the centercaps with the same paint and aslong as you prime them good it seems to stick half decent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knever3 Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Love it looks like you have a great number of cars to drive now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knever3 Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Love it looks like you have a great number of cars to drive now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sam Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Fantastic! Thanks. I added the overhead console to my Comanche and its nice, but I use the keyless entry a whole lot more, so even if I could just have that, it would be great. Your Jeep just needs a new remote unless someone removed the RKE for some reason...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share Posted December 23, 2011 I have keyless entry and the overhead console for the Comanche, but neither for the Cherokee. There is just an empty spot between the visors and no remote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 It should be pretty easy to retrofit the RKE module assuming everything else stayed the same. Best bet would be to find a '99 or newer XJ in the JY, steal the overhead console and the wiring that goes to the passenger side fuse panel. Remotes can be found on e-bay for $15-20 a piece and any ChryCo dealership can reprogram the remotes for you - for a fee, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 I had the wheels mounted and it didn't go that smoothly. Apparently the paint hadn't cured enough yet. All the edges have nicks on them now, but the worst one they used a rubber suction cup thing to balance it and it messed up the face of the rim. Not very happy about that, but it is what it is. I still have to paint the center caps, but here's what they look like on the truck: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I love the look of the Ravine rim (have them on my '92 MJ), but they don't look quite right on a 2-door XJ. I'm thinking if there was a bigger tire and a little bit of a lift (2" or so), they'd look perfect, but given the intent of this XJ, that would defeat the purpose. Love the color choice, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 Made a little progress. Yesterday I went to the pull a part and picked up a new hood catch, hood and a pair of black head light buckets (still need a black grill for the set). This hood is in much better shape, but its the wrong color. Its not hideous, but I'll want it painted. Since I have a new hood, I was able to put the cowl piece back on. I kept the one from the '88 MJ because this was all that was left of the one from the XJ: I also put on a new tie rod end on the drag link and replaced a messed up wheel stud which involved removing the unit bearing (ugh). I still need to address the banged up quarter panel. I know that JCR makes crusher corners. These: http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=XJRUPGRD97Lights&Category_Code=XJArmor The problem is that they're almost $400 with lights and I don't really need that for a daily driver. I'm hoping I can get the quarter fixed and painted and then also paint the new hood and repaint the beat up bumpers all at the same time. We'll have to see how much that costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 That rim scratch should be the tire shops fix. Most places put even a piece of paper in front of the cone to prevent that from happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 That rim scratch should be the tire shops fix. Most places put even a piece of paper in front of the cone to prevent that from happening. Or you can mount it up differently. Rather that putting the spring and cone behind the wheel and using the clamp and plastic hub spacer, you can ditch the spring on the back take off the spacer, and put the cone in from the front, and drive it tight with the clamp. I do this all the time. My coworker, however, doesn't. I would have had them pay for it. New paint or not, they shouldn't be damaging wheels. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 I'm willing to let it slide this time since the paint probably hadn't cured 100% yet, but when these tires wear out, they're fixing it if anything happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 I got the damage on the rear quarter repaired. The bumpers, hood, cowl and a couple of the fender flares were repainted. I repainted the wheels too after they were nicked up mounting the tires. Not much left to do and it will be up for sale most likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sam Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 god I hate black wheels. Looks good otherwise! :clapping: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 god I hate black wheels. Looks good otherwise! :clapping: Technically, they're graphite lol. They are a little darker than I would have liked, but oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now