Yep that's me, get to the off road park (also usually by myself), and hit the trail, do all kinds of technical stuff, then only get to take a pic when you stop for a restroom break or to grab a water out of the cooler. The XD has no sway bars front or rear (original mounts on the frame F/R are beat all to hell from a previous hard life and when connected the truck sat all kinds of funky lol) so yes I have to be aware of my surroundings at all times on the highway, but it handles better than either of my 05 Wranglers with sway bars on em. I went down this one trail where the axles were constantly going in/out of deep trenches made by those crazy 4ft lifted side by sides, and I never lost traction. Springs were dropping in/out of the rear perches but the spring retainers kept em in place. Darn XD just acts like a mountain goat. I also didn't air down the 235/85R16's and everyone else in our group had big old fat tires. I was the only tall/skinny tire person there and I was VERY impressed once again with those 500.00 for 4 Thunderer MT's. Tons of traction aired up and I never bottomed out or got close to dragging anything all weekend. I am very happy with the XD's setup now and I don't have any plans to tweak it anymore.

 

That 3 inch lift has got me drooling. It's also very nice to hear its not a bear on the road. Nice rover

 

Yeah I don't have any more lift plans for the XD as it's the perfect setup for the kind of wheeling I do. I don't have F/R sway bars either, but it still handles well on the road. I wish she was rust free like my 95 D1, but I'm just happy I got my hands on an XD in the first place!

 

Finally had time to investigate the tick I had on/off and it was exactly what I thought it was. The Passenger side rocker arm assembly = every single rocker was loose/worn out except for 1. Replaced the entire rocker arm assembly with a good spare I had and no more tick!

 

I don't think you're suppose to tow a 4wd vehicle like that...

 

Are you talking about this picture of my XD? You can tow em on car dolly if you remove the rear drive shaft. Towed it home 3.5hr with no issues.

 

Took the XD off roading last weekend. Nothing major, but fun non the less. I even went thru some water that ended up being a bit deeper than I expected but she did excellent. Drove it home with zero issues and parked it. She sat a week as I was at work so I cranked it up today to assist in removing an 03 D2 from a trailer (side job I'm going to be doing for a good good friend). She was ROUGH running and I thought 3 cylinders had left the engine. I did a few checks with it running and everything looked good and no CEL's. Shut it off and the entire XD shook. I was like wth, then I found the fan blade missing an entire blade! That'll do it for sure, lucky for me it didn't shoot into the new radiator, or blow up the fan shroud. It either fell off in the deep water, or it flew off driving down the road (I think driving as I never really felt it). So once I replace that with a new one she'll be good to go again.

Like Jeremy Clarkson once said the most unreliable 4x4 is actually the most reliable 4x4 haha. I must have found the same bamboo he did!

 

Deep water will cause issue for sure, might have been a saving grace as the blade might have been failing anyway

 

Yep I agree totally. Original fan blade lasted long enough and a new one has already been ordered. A friend dropped off a used spare, but the allen bolts securing the fan clutch are fighting me. Gonna get a good drill bit and drill off the heads, then use it until the new one comes in. XD has it's little glitches every once in a while, but overall she always gets me home and never disappoints me on or off road.

 

The old gal has come a long way since I towed it home in 2019. I had a few things to do to it before the 2021 HCRR Event at Hidden Falls Adventure Park which was on Oct 15-17th. I installed a new 45 degree rear upper ball joint assembly (rust was a major PITA on that job), new 35MM thick BMW rotoflex coupling, Auxbeam Headlight Bulbs, Auxbeam 6.5inch Driving Lights, new bumpstops at all 4 corners, then I installed a new MC, replaced both front calipers, new front brake pads, replaced LR caliper, adjusted and repacked the front wheel bearings, installed the hood louvers, got it inspected and registered, and then headed for the event.

The weather was perfect, the trails were great with some mud, loose rock, plenty of ledges, and nice axle articulating bits. XD did flawless out on the trails and I walked away with zero trail damage or issues. Then I drove it 70-80MPH 6.5hr home.