98' Sahara Complete Rebuild

MossGreen98!

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2020
Messages
54
Location
California
Backstory: My 98’ Sahara (Dana 30/35), after years of ‘deferred maintenance”... sitting at my parents house rotting while I lived in another state, looks to be at the point where anyone would typically just dump it and get a new Jeep. I started thinking this is going to cost me a lot more than I was thinking originally... Options:
  1. $15k Dump it and get another with similar mileage (135,000) for around $10k but with a better frame and Dana 44 rear. Keep Stock chassis + $ of mods
  2. $25k - Dump it and get a ‘lower’ mileage Rubicon. Keep stock chassis+ $ of mods
  3. $35k - Rebuild it from the ground up
I love the Jeep and I kept it for the past 13 years. I had to ask myself, would I be willing to spend $35k and have basically a new TJ and fulfill a childhood dream? Answer, yes. Plus I already dumped a few $$ shipping it from Vermont to California...

Use: Going up the Rubicon trail and other Lake Tahoe and Northern California trails.

The Build:
  1. Throttle Down Kustoms frame (galvanized because I am only doing this once....)
  2. 2” OME Lift + 1.25” Body lift
  3. 33” Tires (Undecided on brand/model)
  4. Currie 44 Front & Rear Axles w/ ARB Locker (4.56 with 33’s + AX15 Tranny?)
  5. Currie Antirock Sway Bar
  6. Slip Yoke Eliminator (ideas on make/model?)
  7. Transfer Case (keep stock, go to NVP 241, other options??)
  8. Outer Steering Knuckle & Brakes (not sure)
  9. Stock Gambler Rims (because they were on my 1st TJ and think they still look great!)
  10. Wheel spacers or adjust steering stops?
  11. Rebuilt 4.0 - Need some ideas on this one guys. Current 4.0 runs fine now, but there was a time ages ago when it has overheated a couple times because I was broke and then uneducated self thought I needed a new radiator when in reality it probably just needed a new t-stat....block has a bit of rust too. Rebuild it or get a rebuilt? Would love to keep it if I can, but haven’t ever done or seen a rebuild done.
  12. Banks Headers & Exhaust (headers already installed)
  13. ARB Front & Rear bumpers
  14. ARB Snorkel (needed? No. Want it because it looks cool? Yes)
  15. Warn winch
  16. Re-foam and reupholster seats. This will be tricky, I love my green and tan Sahara seats, need to find a place that can get the right materials to essentially remake them.
  17. Body - Repair the few rust spots and repaint. Keeping the Moss Green Pearl! PJN! What kind of undercoating?
  18. Interior Trim: Paint w/ SEM. Keeping factory colors
Are some of these overkill for only running 33’s? Absolutely, but I’m okay knowing that plus it will be a solid rig built to last.

Would love some thoughts and ideas, especially on the other misc. parts and pieces needed to make a complete chassis.
 
First off, welcome fellow NorCal jeeper! Sounds like a big undertaking. Sounds like the jeep has some sentimental value, which I get. I've contemplated selling mine several times for a nice, stock Rubi, but usually talk myself back off the ledge.
1. Sounds like a solid choice for a new frame.
2. Also a solid choice.
3. A skinny 33x1050x15 will give added clearance and perform great on the street. I choose a KO2. They got me thru the Rubicon Trail, in the rain I might add, just fine.
4. Sounds expensive, but a strong choice. Nothing wrong with a stock Dana 44 rear (disc brakes) with Chromo shafts and a HP30 with chromos up front. Plenty strong for 33's. What trany is in the jeep currently?
5. Yes.
6. JB Conversions Super Short SYE will give you a longer drive shaft. And that will be important for vibes. Advanced Adapters is also a solid choice. Get the drive shafts from Tom Woods.
7. People want too much for a 241 for what it is. Keep the 231 and gear the axles properly. If you want overkill, JB Conversions makes 231 on steroids with wider chain, beefed up planetaries, and a SS SYE installed for about $1500. The 4:1 in the 241 case is too low for snow or sand runs for wheel speed, and the case is larger, which becomes important when or if you do a tummy tuck.
8. Black Magic Brake FTW. Their 15" BBK has no problem stopping 35's if you one day decide to go bigger.
9. Get spacers. You want at least 4" of back spacing. Find some Rubi or Sahara flares. They are 1" wider than stock.
10. Spacers
11. Get a rebuilt long block and transfer over the externals. Fresh start. Keep it stock for reliability.
12. I prefer stock exhaust myself.
13. They are pretty heavy, but beefy. I prefer minimalist bumpers. Aluminum, such as Savvy's bumpers, saves weight.
14. Snorkles look stupid and are useless, 98% of time, unless you are running Fordyce every weekend.
15. Yes. M8000 or better with synthetic rope. Go TRE with his thimble and fairlead.
16. Find a good auto upholstery shop and have them go to town.
17. I hear good things with the Eastwood coatings.
18. Yes.
 
As for the engine rebuild, it’s absolutely doable. I just rebuilt mine due to a broken piston skirt. I fix computers for a living, so if I can do it, anyone can.
I watched Jeepsolid’s YouTube series where he rebuild a 4.0 from a YJ. It’s very similar to your 98. I also purchased and read through Larry Shepard’s book Jeep 4.0 Engines.
I had a local machine shop clean the block and head, machine the mating surfaces, polish the crank, and bore the block (cylinder walls were not all perfectly round). I put $1350 into the machine work and rebuild kit, and did all the other labor myself.
 
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I have the Arb front and rear bumpers, I put them on over a decade ago,they are heavu but well built, if I were to do it again I’d probably go lighter, quadratec had a bumper Arb made for them that was a bit lighter that was pretty slick
 
I did a frame swap on my '98 Sahara recently. I didn't go with the TDK frame because they also force you to use their trans skid plate, while I prefer a stock approach. Also, I am desperate to have my seats redone in the appropriate material, and so far no luck. I can't find it anywhere, and none of the shops I called have been able to locate it either. I have been searching for about a year now with no luck, so please update us if you do happen to locate some!