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New to me 94 Geo Tracker with a CHEAP Random parts lift, and some TLC

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Offline ShortAndStubby

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So I recently sold my 03 tdi Jetta with 281K for $2K and decided I wanted a cool little rig to make a daily driver/occasional offroad adventure. Came across this 94 maroon geo tracker 2 door hardtop and I was sold, plus it had 325's on it already. Drove it for over an hour on the freeway at 65 with no problems. I liked this body style the most and think I can make a cool little ride with it. Thought after scanning through this forum for about a week I came across some cheaper lifts and thought I'd give it a go. I registered to let everyone know what I was doing so maybe if it all comes together smooth others can do it. To start off the TLC part was to fix a few things like oil leak, door stripped out, mirror cracked, intake, and the rest I still need to buy like AC condenser, exhaust, rims and tires, etc. Goal of the lift is to fit 31" Mickey Thompson's ATZ or MTZ haven't decided yet, and some black wheels with holes in them, haven't decided on that yet either.

For the lift I spent $261 heres what I got and price:

91-94 MOOG explorer replacement springs CC868 w/463PPI, $75
93 cherokee rear springs, $37
Low Range O.R.- 2.5" Strut spacers, upper control drop down bracket, camber alignment bolts, $114
08-14 E150 Elite Suspension rear shocks, $35

So well see how it all fits up. I'm an engineer and build random stuff for Toyota production lines so I'm not too worried about making this stuff work, plus I've been around racing/fabrication/machining for a good part of my life so this should be a walk in the park kinda. I love the challenge.. Anyway heres a pic of SAS or Short And Stubby..


« Last Edit: March 27, 2018, 09:51:59 PM by ShortAndStubby »

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Offline BRD HNTR

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Re: New to me 94 Geo Tracker with a CHEAP Random parts lift, and some TLC
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2018, 04:25:23 PM »
Clean looking 94 Tin Top.  Did you mean that it is running on 235"s?  325's are kind rare.  Is it manual trans., or automatic?
Looking forward to you building.
93 Tracker,XL7 springs & 1" raised spring pads in front with YJ springs in back, home built bumpers rear & front (w/winch), 2" x 4" rock tubes,  ARB front & rear, converted Sami rear to IFS, 33x12.5x15  aluminum rims, roll cage, 2.7L w/5 speed auto.

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Offline JollyZuk

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Re: New to me 94 Geo Tracker with a CHEAP Random parts lift, and some TLC
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2018, 07:55:02 PM »
Nice looking rig, and a great place to start!  Also wondering about the power train.  I like the cheap lift route. That is what I am also trying to do.  I went with a junkyard pair of 2000 Tracker springs.  Same lift as the Exploder springs and no modifications.
Are you using Grand Cherokee rear springs?
1995 Sidekick JLX
16v 5 spd, milled head, LROR Stage 2 clutch
2" Spacer lift, XL7 rear springs,  2nd Gen front springs, W-Body GM Struts on front
OEM ROOF RACK!!!

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Offline ShortAndStubby

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Re: New to me 94 Geo Tracker with a CHEAP Random parts lift, and some TLC
« Reply #3 on: March 30, 2018, 10:59:56 PM »
Yeah 235's sorry ha I guess I'm dyslexic. It's a manual and yeah grand cherokee. I had to have something manual it was driving me crazy for a little. Plus it'll be fun driving to work now, and maybe some days take the shortcut to work (dirt roads). I just got all my stuff in just waiting on my in laws to return the pressure washer so I can clean the oil from the engine bay and suspension up front. Then I can see where the oil is coming from. Looks like the valve cover but we'll see after the new gasket goes on there.

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Online fordem

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Re: New to me 94 Geo Tracker with a CHEAP Random parts lift, and some TLC
« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2018, 06:36:50 PM »
I would suggest NOT using a pressure washer on the engine - the electronics are splash resistant and don't take kindly to a stream of water at a few thousand psi.  At the very least, be aware of where you're directing the stream of water.
'98 SQ420 Grand Vitara
'05 JB420 Grand Vitara
'16 APK416 Vitara
'21 A6G415 Jimny

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Offline ShortAndStubby

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Re: New to me 94 Geo Tracker with a CHEAP Random parts lift, and some TLC
« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2018, 09:09:16 PM »
Yeah I will, I pressure wash a lot of stuff like dirtbikes and stuff I'll stay away from the electronics I just wanna get rid of the majority of the oil on the front axle and front of the motor.

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Offline ShortAndStubby

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Re: New to me 94 Geo Tracker with a CHEAP Random parts lift, and some TLC
« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2018, 09:20:39 PM »
Got one side on it was a B!T|removethispart|@# The tie rod wouldn't come out of the knuckle so I couldn't put the new spring in, so I took the lower ball joint mount out of the lower arm and had to do it that way. Plus the axle wouldn't go back in once I got the spring in. finally got it all together with the camber bolts. I think I have the angle tilted backwards so the top of the tire sticks out further than the bottom so I'll have to fix it. So far with the stock old warn out springs to the new Moog ones I got 3" of lift. I'm sure thats gonna go down once they settle in spot. The part I dont like about it is that everything is so close together from the explorer spring diameter being larger so well just have to see how that works out. Here's some pics..

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Offline ShortAndStubby

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So got everything together ended up getting 2.75" lift in the front and 2" in the back after driving it around a bit. Getting some BFG KO2 32" tires on Friday and then I'll get some American racing rims AR172's 15x8 with -19 offset. Thinking I may have to get a body lift to fit them but the 235's I got have plenty of room so I may be ok. Gonna cut the fenders up anyway. My buddy also has some rear lift springs for a jeep that seem to be about the same spring rate as the ones I got just like 1.5 times the size so I may get those and cut them up to get 3" in the back.

The camber is still not right. I don't want to take everything apart again to cut up the springs to reduce the lift to correct it, so I got two more camber bolts. I want to see if that can give me what I need or I have read that I can slot the strut to achieve the angle I need. I will fix that before I waste my new tires..

Turns out the oil leak is not coming from the valve cover gasket so I got a oil pan gasket to see if that fixes it. If not I may just have to pull the motor to find out.. It needs a clutch too so I may have a project on my hands.

Heres some pics:

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Offline BRD HNTR

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The O ring on backside where the distributor mounts is a frequent leak spot. 
93 Tracker,XL7 springs & 1" raised spring pads in front with YJ springs in back, home built bumpers rear & front (w/winch), 2" x 4" rock tubes,  ARB front & rear, converted Sami rear to IFS, 33x12.5x15  aluminum rims, roll cage, 2.7L w/5 speed auto.

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Offline ShortAndStubby

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Thanks yeah I've been reading about that being a spot. I think I'm just going to buy a full gasket kit to change everything out that I can get to without pulling the motor.

Got the passenger side camber adjusted with two camber bolts and its just about perfect its really close. I think I'm going to leave it there for a little to see.

Got some new shoes today 32x11.5x15 BFGs KO2 for $420 they had 150 miles on them, still had the nipples. Looks like I'll need a little trimming but they're real close. They are actually 31.5". Going to look into a 2" body lift too just cause.

heres some pics  ;D

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Offline ShortAndStubby

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At what lift do you need a driveshaft spacer?

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Offline ShortAndStubby

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Got the rims in today  8)
Gonna go get them mounted and balanced for free and trade the manager of the tire shop my mountain bike for $580. Seems like a good deal.

Got 1" spacers for the rear springs and it raised it 0.5" because of how I cut the springs. Upon thinking about it I probably shouldn't have cut the pigtail off the cherokee springs. So i'm just gonna go with the Moog replacement springs CC721 and see how that goes. The stock springs I got may have been warn out and sagging so it may be better to buy new. Plus the front moog springs are pretty plush I like them.

With that $580 I'll have more to spend on the geo  >:D or maybe buy a tig welder cause its ahbout darn time I got one.