Hack12
New member
After hijacking Eddie's PLAN C Thread for long enough, I've decided to start my own build thread for my recently acquired 2000 XJ. As many of you already know, and much to everyone's disappointment, I traded in my 2008 JK about 6 months ago. I had finally had enough of it's sluggish 3.8L engine, gratuitous oil consumption and dismal gas mileage. Rest assured, I will buy a newer Wrangler sometime within the next few years, but until then I needed something to get me through the harsh New England winters. Also, I'd be lying if I didn't admit to missing the WAYALIFE community much more than I could have imagined.
This brings me to the point of this thread. After what seemed like an endless amount of searching, I found a reasonably priced 4-door 2000 XJ in very good condition, inside and out. The only real cosmetic issue with it is a little bit of rust along the lower crease of the passenger side front door. The mileage is a bit higher than I wanted (160K), but that didn't scare me off considering the I6 4.0 workhorse it has under the hood. Here are a couple shots of it from the day I picked it up.
The first thing I did after purchasing it was bring it to my mechanic so he could give it a good once over. After replacing the Tie Rod, thermostat, oil filter seal, a couple belts, sway bar links & bushings and changing all the fluids, it runs beautifully.
Following the same line of thinking as Eddie in his Plan C build, I won't be using my XJ for any hardcore wheeling, merely exploration and snow survival. With that in mind, I chose to be a bit more frugal in my aftermarket choices. For starters, I decided to go with 265/70r15 General Grabber AT2's mounted on 15x8 American Racing AR23 Aluminum wheels. After installing this tire/wheel setup I quickly realized that I was going to need to raise the XJ up a few inches if I ever wanted to partake in such activities as turning or driving over speed bumps. To remedy my clearance issues I found a new SkyJacker 3 inch lift kit, with full leaf packs, on ebay for a little over $400. Here's my XJ with flat rear leaf springs and absolutely no clearance.
The next mods I purchased were two of my favorite things, lighting and music. As for the lighting, I only know two words...Truck-Lite. Done.
As for the music, I went with the Kenwood KDC-152. Simple, functional and most importantly, not a 15 year old cassette player.
The only other thing I have planned as of right now is tint for the rear windows, like many came with from the factory, which I'll be getting installed in a couple days.
I haven't put much thought into where I'd like to go from here with the build, but I certainly welcome any suggestions.
Here are a few pics of the XJ as she sits right now...
Thanks for reading guys! :thumb:
This brings me to the point of this thread. After what seemed like an endless amount of searching, I found a reasonably priced 4-door 2000 XJ in very good condition, inside and out. The only real cosmetic issue with it is a little bit of rust along the lower crease of the passenger side front door. The mileage is a bit higher than I wanted (160K), but that didn't scare me off considering the I6 4.0 workhorse it has under the hood. Here are a couple shots of it from the day I picked it up.
The first thing I did after purchasing it was bring it to my mechanic so he could give it a good once over. After replacing the Tie Rod, thermostat, oil filter seal, a couple belts, sway bar links & bushings and changing all the fluids, it runs beautifully.
Following the same line of thinking as Eddie in his Plan C build, I won't be using my XJ for any hardcore wheeling, merely exploration and snow survival. With that in mind, I chose to be a bit more frugal in my aftermarket choices. For starters, I decided to go with 265/70r15 General Grabber AT2's mounted on 15x8 American Racing AR23 Aluminum wheels. After installing this tire/wheel setup I quickly realized that I was going to need to raise the XJ up a few inches if I ever wanted to partake in such activities as turning or driving over speed bumps. To remedy my clearance issues I found a new SkyJacker 3 inch lift kit, with full leaf packs, on ebay for a little over $400. Here's my XJ with flat rear leaf springs and absolutely no clearance.
The next mods I purchased were two of my favorite things, lighting and music. As for the lighting, I only know two words...Truck-Lite. Done.
As for the music, I went with the Kenwood KDC-152. Simple, functional and most importantly, not a 15 year old cassette player.
The only other thing I have planned as of right now is tint for the rear windows, like many came with from the factory, which I'll be getting installed in a couple days.
I haven't put much thought into where I'd like to go from here with the build, but I certainly welcome any suggestions.
Here are a few pics of the XJ as she sits right now...
Thanks for reading guys! :thumb:
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