What's the right way to get trail ready?

Hey all! Noobie here. Never really had a trail rig. Had a Tacoma that I liked to pretend to offroad in, but it wasn't 4x4.

Anyways, my '90 XJ is going to soon be my new daily driver. If things go as planned, I may have another car as my daily driver and this be my trail rig. But we shall see. Let's just assume this is my DD.

Alright, so, I just want to be able to go hunting, camping, and amateur offroading without bottoming out or snapping a leaf or what-have-you.

So here's my current plan:
3" Rough Country w/ AAL's (not totally sure what AAL's are or do, but I know it's better than running stock, 20 year old leaves)
31" on/off-road tires (probably BFG A/T's, or whatever is the best rating for best price at tirerack.com at time of purchase)

With such a small setup, would I have to worry about regearing, new brakes, etc?

Also, underside armour would follow in suit. Then lights. Then body armour. Then winch. Probably won't take it much further than that.

I'm here to learn. Let me know your opinions/experiences, guys. I'm young when it comes to Jeeps and offroading, as well as in my years (22). So wisen me up some! Or point me in the right direction; searches fail for me apparently. >.<

an aal is the same as running a 20 year old leafs, with an extra one thrown in for good measure... try to avoid it if possible, full leafs would be GREAT,
ive ran that exact combo, its a great starter setup, i would avoid the AAl, i ran it, it caused axle wrap and worn driveshaft ujoints within a year. the shocks also sucked for me, but i do enjoy going fast. it is dirt cheap though, theyre a naxja sponsor

and no, you dont need to regear, if you have a manual, you may notice slight to moderate lack of power (they come with 3.07 stock, auto comes with 3.55, 4.10 would be IDEAL for 31's in a perfect world, but its not worth regearing untill you get to 33's. brakes will be fine..... for a 20 year old jeep....

xcm said:

an aal is the same as running a 20 year old leafs, with an extra one thrown in for good measure... try to avoid it if possible, full leafs would be GREAT,
ive ran that exact combo, its a great starter setup, i would avoid the AAl, i ran it, it caused axle wrap and worn driveshaft ujoints within a year. the shocks also sucked for me, but i do enjoy going fast. it is dirt cheap though, theyre a naxja sponsor

and no, you dont need to regear, if you have a manual, you may notice slight to moderate lack of power (they come with 3.07 stock, auto comes with 3.55, 4.10 would be IDEAL for 31's in a perfect world, but its not worth regearing untill you get to 33's. brakes will be fine..... for a 20 year old jeep....

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Ah, I get it. AAL sounds crazy now, then. Haha. Except for newer vehicles.

Where would I find full leafs? Or just go with rear springs?
edit: Looks like Rusty's has full leafs...?

All the manufactures will have an option to upgrade to full leafs.

I didn't think 31s was that bad on stock gears, but you may not like the power/gas milage loss. You could regear to 4.10s but its pricey. If you have any decent junk yards you might be able to find 4.10 axles out of a cherokee. Some one else will have to tell you what cherokess, I believe manuals with 4 cylinders???

^^ yeah maybe if you can find em.

If you have a manual transmission you're lucky, you can get axles with 3.55 gears in them for 200 bucks all-in at any junkyard with some Cherokees. Just find any 97 or later Cherokee with an 8.25 and an automatic transmission and yank the front and rear axles, bolt them into yours and you get the same over-stock gearing upgrade as automatic XJ owners get by installing 4.10 gears. If you have an automatic, you're in the same boat as the rest of us...

you MUST have proper tow points front and rear.

first aid kit
fire extinguisher
recovery gear

You can wheel the snot out of a stock XJ if you have those items.
SPend your money on safety and recovery gear before you modify the Jeep.

Little bit of lift until you get used to driving your rig and know what it can do. Then Go with armor and recovery and a GOOD set of tires. You can usually find a good set used or go with a new set. First aid, a tow strap and a flashlight are good to have as well as some basic tools.

87manche said:

you MUST have proper tow points front and rear.

first aid kit
fire extinguisher
recovery gear

You can wheel the snot out of a stock XJ if you have those items.
SPend your money on safety and recovery gear before you modify the Jeep.

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Yep! I've budgeted for $1000 in non-Jeep-specific gear, like what you've mentioned.

With the '90, I assume it's the Renix system. Mine's an '88, so I've been reading a fair amount on these. Get the thing reliable- no overheating, replace cracked exhaust manifold, etc. Then your lift plans are probably fine, although you may consider a "bastard pack" (combining your leafs with others from another XJ, S-10, Dakota, etc). The longer the AAL the better.

Then, you should probably try to waterproof stuff- the diffs, and I think the tranny/t-case have vents- you extend these vents with hose up into a dry spot (gas cap area/inside cab). You may want to raise the point of air intake. Mine (and likely yours) is right behind the driver's headlight. There is a write-up on madxj.com showing how to put it up just underneath the driver's wiper.

You should also go through the sensor and wire connectors and fill those with dialectric grease to avoid water getting in there. (O2, CPS, and one more are low under the manifolds- hit those for sure)

Then, you may consider moving the alternator up into the position of the A/C compressor. There are a few write-ups around for that too, but it looks like you just shave some of the compressor's bracket to fit the alt, use the alt bracket on the rear, and some washers to space things out right so it's lined up with the rest of the pulleys. You will need a shorter belt too.
Those things can be done pretty cheap and will help a lot.

Oh yeah, you probably have a single diaphragm brake booster and they suck (literally). They have decreased braking power, rob the engine of vacuum under load, and like to leak/fail. If you can, replace that with a new 94-96 XJ booster/master cylinder combo without ABS. There are also write-ups on that. That should cost you about $160 plus time and will help a lot. (I'll be doing it in a week or so and will try to get some photos up, but madxj has a bunch already.)

You should also extend your brake hoses to avoid problems when you lift it. You can get new hoses meant for a 94 YJ that should be at least 4" longer and bolt right in (about $35 - one for each front wheel and one for the rear axle).

I plan to do the above, add a 3" lift (already on 31's), jerry can mounts, and eventually some good rocker rails to jack with a high-lift.

That may seem like a lot, but it can be done cheap and has been done by others many times before.

Good luck with your build...

X2 on the bastard pack, i used bronco II full pack under xj main and it rides really well, 3" lift and cost me about 65.00, it's alot tougher than the puny xj leafs. look into getting rid of the d35 if you've got one, 8.25 is more durable. now begin the hours of searching and dreaming we all like to do on a daily basis

Wow. He said he wanted to be able to go camping, hunting, and do some light wheeling. Four posts in and someone is mentioning an axle swap for 31s?

bosco01xj said:

Wow. He said he wanted to be able to go camping, hunting, and do some light wheeling. Four posts in and someone is mentioning an axle swap for 31s?

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not only an axle swap, a weaksauce one... thats a lot of effort for a few mpg on a camping rig.

and then someone says he needs to waterproof it! hah! someones been in the swamp too long.

bosco01xj said:

Wow. He said he wanted to be able to go camping, hunting, and do some light wheeling. Four posts in and someone is mentioning an axle swap for 31s?

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mostly was just replying to the guy before me, and it will help a hell of a lot with gas mileage, but yeah, you got me silly I guess

bosco01xj said:

Wow. He said he wanted to be able to go camping, hunting, and do some light wheeling. Four posts in and someone is mentioning an axle swap for 31s?

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Yep, giving him ideas and opinoions unlike yoour worthless post.

Sooo. 3" lift with full leafs or springs and 31's. Recovery gear and body armour.

Looking at around... $2,500?

Still gotta get the thing 100% reliable. But at least I've got some idea.

uRabbit said:

Sooo. 3" lift with full leafs or springs and 31's. Recovery gear and body armour.

Looking at around... $2,500?

Still gotta get the thing 100% reliable. But at least I've got some idea.

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Depends on which way you want to go. I have about $1300 in just armor and still have more on the list. I got a tire carrier rear bumper thats why it was so much.

A 3" kit with full packs is your best bet. As for tires I would go with BFG KM2's(I live in Indiana there's plenty of Mud here) but you could also get by with a good AT tire. Also, A lot of runs require you have a first aid kit. You can pick a basic one up at Walmart for around 8 bucks.

100% reliable is never possible, hate to brake it to you.

You know what I mean... Urgh. Nit-picker!

Well I have a 91 and 3 1/2" lift from Rubicon Express with an AAL and it started to sag so I put a Chevy S-10 Over Ride Leaf under it and that took out the slight sag. I am running 31" tires with 3.55's and it has plenty of power for me. If I was to do it over again I would have gone with 32's or maybe (33's with lots of trimming with stock wheels.)

If I really had to narrow down the best upgrade I have done so far.

1. Chrysler 8.25 rear axle with a locker!!!
2. Bilstein 5100's Shocks
3. Extended Steel Brake Lines.
4. Electric Fan conversion

Things I had to replace that were worth every penny!
1. Tires
2. Windshield
3. Working Seats
4. Rebuilt front end including brakes and bushings.
5. Radiator and all cooling esstionals

If you can afford it go with full leaf packs!!

Also honestly for most wheeling all you need is Recovery Points and Rock Rails. For the amount of rock crawling "I" do rock rails, gas tank skid, and Trans Skid are enough.