Ross' XK Garage

[Ross]

Most recent pics:
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I recently installed a set of rear 4" SL rear springs and extended SL sway bar links. Also installed, were a set of JBA's extended bump stops. Oddly enough they appear to be shorter than the stock bump stops. The front end sits about an inch lower, but I'm not too bothered by it and could always do a little fender flare trimming. In the rear, the XK currently sits a hair over 39.5" passenger side and 39" driver's side. I installed one of Matt's 1/2" spacers on the driver's side to get this result, but will probably take it apart soon to add another to that side to achieve a level rear.
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2008 QT-1 3.7L Jeep Commander Mod List

-Defender Roof Rack w/ custom removable side ladder

-Airflow Snorkel w/ Safari Intake Head

-Hypertech Maxx programmer

-Thrush Welded Exhaust (Same as Flowmaster 40 series at half the price)

-Sal's Front Bumper Mod

Tires
-265/70/17 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs
-1.5" Spidertraxx spacers

Suspension
-OME HD Struts/Springs + RR 3/8" spacer ~ 3" front lift
-Rear 4" SL springs + F-150 Monroe Load Levelers ~ 4" rear lift
-SL extended swaybar links
-JBA extended bump stops for 4" lift
-JBA UCA's
-Rusty's trackbar

Armor
4xguard
-Front skid
-Belly guard
-Rock rails
-matrix w/ hoop and 2" receiver

Lights
-2 Matrix-mounted 130w 6" KC Daylighters


Parts for sale
-2" Daystar spacer lift -$40

-Dana 35 Solid-brand diff. cover (Says JEEP in middle) - $90

-Superlift 4" extended sway bar links - $40

-Powertrax No slip locker - $400

4xguard armor for sale
- Belly Guard (2-piece) - $175
- Front skid (silver) - $200
- Matrix brush guard w/ grill hoop + 2" receiver - $375


3.73 gear swap kit for V6 XK/WK - prices negotiable if all purchased together
-3.73 geared front diff, direct bolt in for V6 gear swap - $450
-3.73 rear ring and pinion out of donor WK - $250
-Rear Chrysler 8.25" differential rebuild kit from 4xguard - $85
-Hypertech Max Energy programmer for 3.7L - $275

[stites-xk]

Looks great man! Those springs look good yellow!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[H53Ecrewchief]

looks really good.

[Matt]

Looks great man! Definitely can use an additional spacer on the drivers side.

One of these days I really need to chop up my front bumper too

[07JeepXK]

That JBA bump stop is supposed to be used in conjunction with the OEM bump stop. The JBA mounts at the bottom spring perch

[Ross]

That JBA bump stop is supposed to be used in conjunction with the OEM bump stop. The JBA mounts at the bottom spring perch

Well that explains it. Funny enough, the supplied bold fit nicely in the upper perch. I guess I'll just have to run an additional spacer like y'all in conjunction with the JBA bump stops up top. Mainly because one of my OEM stops lost a sizeable chunk upon removal haha.

[Ross]

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Although its a time for celebration, I have a bit of bad news. Over the years, my Commander has had intermittent starting problems, leaving me stranded on multiple occasions. Because I had a warranty, I was able to get it "fixed" many times. First they fixed it by replacing the battery, 6 months later it happens again. So the dealership "diagnosed" the XK for a week, just to come up with a 100$ computer flash, fixing it for all of 1 day. By the time it gets back to the dealership, it starts right up and they couldn't replicate it, sending me on my way. Fast forward a few months and it happens again, but the dealership won't look at it for 6 days and will still charge 150$ just to look at it. So I took it to my buddy's mechanic and they had to replace a few front modules. This was a 1300$ fix, but the warranty kept me from losing my a**. Now around 8 months later, its happening again, while staying inconsistent enough to diagnose. Coming up on 60,000mi and needing 285's in the coming months, I had to decide whether to trade in now, or try and run it to 100,00mi+. I really love the XK, as it was my first vehicle, and got me out wrenching and upgrading like a shade-tree mechanic. The main issue, is I was unaware of the different 4wheel drive systems when it was purchased. Over the years I have realized that the QT-I system is great for "gun it and run it" mudding, but just can't keep up when the group starts crawling on some rocks. I had always intended to do a T-case swap, but with the intermittent electrical gremlins, I'm not too keen on dumping anymore money into it. This forum has been a great resource for parts, info, and a few good laughs, ever since the xk-forum days, it really gave me the confidence to dive in and start wrenchin'. I'll be sure to hang around the forums, and keep my garage updated with my next rig. I plan on parting out a lot, sadly, I had finally got everything together to swap to 3.73's, so hopefully another v6 can take advantage of this. I'll be starting a for sale thread soon, but I have also updated my first post in this thread with what's for sale as of now. I'm not sure as to what vehicle I'll be swapping for, but I'm leaning toward a smaller type 4x4 truck, like a Toyota Tacoma or Nissan Frontier.

[Matt]

I'd go with the Tacoma over the Frontier. Definitely nice little trucks!

[XKLover]

Although I wouldn't buy a foreign vehicle I've heard nothing good about the Nissan.

[Sal-XK]

If you plan on off roading get the Tacoma. The aftermarket support for it is their and Toyota's are pretty darn reliable.

[brendon]

I say Taco as well.

As for the not starting, sounds like a flat spot on the starter to me. I had the same problem no one could duplicate; one grease monkey at an oil change place told me I needed a battery (I didn't believe him). I just happened to be parked at the store nextdoor when it wouldn't start, I would never take a vehicle to one of those places!

Anywho, I replaced the starter in my driveway that night and never had a problem with that since. Now, the ignition switch failure is another story. When is that recall finally going to come through?!?

[Ross]

I was unable to access the site recently since the hack. Anywho, I traded in the XK on New Years Eve for a 2015 Lava Red Nissan Frontier Pro-4x. The Pro-4x has an upgraded 8.8"12 bolt rear axle (modified Dana 44) w/ electronic locker, 4.0L V6, and most importantly 4-low. Although the Frontier is better spec than my QT-1 XK, it was a bittersweet buy for a day or two. I really learned a lot wrenchin on the XK and had come to really dig it, hopefully I'll find my way back in one down the road some day.

I checked out the new Colorado and although it was nice, it seemed to be breaking already. The windows didn't want to roll up past half way and eventually the rubber molding around the glass just started pulling up when the window finally decided to roll up all the way. I also checked out the Tacomas, but they were quite a bit more for a 4x4 than the Nissans, and the tacos still come with rear drum brakes. I was also apprehensive because I have back problems when sitting for long periods and I saw many forum posts about the Tacos having uncomfortable seats over extended periods.

All in all, I'm happy with the Frontier, as there's a solid aftermarket and offroad following. Better yet, the Nissan Titan UCA's and LCA's are a direct bolt on to increase track width 3" on each side and greatly increase travel. All else that's needed is either extended axles for the stock diff, or a stronger, Titan diff.; which is a direct bolt in as well and allows usage of inexpensive OEM cv's.

I'll be sure to keep y'all updated, as I'm about to throw on an inexpensive 2.5" front/2" rear lift just to get a bit of height until I start diving into upgraded leaf packs/springs to hold up some steel bumpers.

Hope y'all are havin a good new year, best wishes.

-Ross