XJ gets a lift
A customer has brought in his XJ for some remedial work, namely attention to a tell tale clonking that can be heard on power take up. This was traced to the front offside, and on disassembly the universal joint proved to have a little too much slack in it for Phil's liking. The issue was compounded by the wheel bearing which had also seen better days.
Fortunately Phil has a small stock of spares including a refurbished drive shaft, see photo of driveshaft propped up against the MIG welder.
Whilst the vehicle was in the garage the owner was keen to add some improvements that would enhance the off road performance.
The suspension was lifted by 2 to 2.5", (OK I didnt measure it exactly), by the addition of Old Man Emu Nitro Shocks and accompanying medium load rear springs (see Photo above). This offers probably the best compromise between on road and off road performance.
The exhaust has been replaced with a stainless steel mid section and back box, in this case it's made by JanSpeed.
With the "new"car the owner has the intention to do some fording of rivers, and is considering fitting a snorkel, which is no problem; ARB already make a Safari snorkel specifically for this model of Jeep. So when the decision is taken to "take the plunge" a snorkel can easily be obtained and fitted.
Overall this is a nice car, it's a Jeep 60th anniversary model in champagne, which turns out to be a shade of metallic silver, with a full leather interior. The body work looks great; I'm jealous.
In the video it's just about possible to hear the difference that the new exhaust section makes; of note is the fact that the microphone is overloaded when revving the engine with the new exhaust. Generally the impression is deeper and throatier than a standard exhaust, it is louder, but as the engine comes off choke and the tick over settles down, its bearly audible above background. So if you are sat in the back on a long journey it will be a more tiring experience. However if you use the vehicle for off roading or for periods of say less than 2 hours then I dont think the additional volume makes a noticeable difference on personal fatigue and of course you benefit from the impressive soundtrack.
