New to me XJ

I bought a 90 XJ with the thought of saving gas vs. my Dodge V10. After driving it home we went out on the road (truckdrivers) and my wife decided to take over the XJ as a wheeler. So I haven't had a chance to look under it yet. With it being SOA will I need to build a traction bar. Here are the plans it has the 4.0 w/auto so what we're thinking is full width rear 60 4.56, torsen locker, 44HP front detroit, 4.56, Hummer beadlocks w/runflats, looking between 35" and 38" swampers, 8" Rusty's LA, exocage, bushwackers or rustys buldge fenders. Do you think we're heading in the right direction. your suggestions please.

Don't forget about the da*m yoke that haunts us all w/ driveline vibration once lifted. Especially w/ 8". Get rubicons slip yoke eliminator and cv driveshaft. I not sure but I'm guessing u have 3.55 or 3.73 now and w/ 38 u would lag w/ 4.56. Get 5.13 or 5.29 gears, that should but u back to stock ratio. And keep your wife safe, give her a roll cage. Women and 8 inches of lift can be dangerous.

Rockram said:

I bought a 90 XJ with the thought of saving gas vs. my Dodge V10. After driving it home we went out on the road (truckdrivers) and my wife decided to take over the XJ as a wheeler. So I haven't had a chance to look under it yet. With it being SOA will I need to build a traction bar. Here are the plans it has the 4.0 w/auto so what we're thinking is full width rear 60 4.56, torsen locker, 44HP front detroit, 4.56, Hummer beadlocks w/runflats, looking between 35" and 38" swampers, 8" Rusty's LA, exocage, bushwackers or rustys buldge fenders. Do you think we're heading in the right direction. your suggestions please.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a plan.

Have you considered wheeling it as is for awhile? This way you will have the experience of learning the ins and outs of your rig. Later, you will have a better idea of what you want it to be.

I'm not a fan of buying kits to get the job done. No kit out there can piece together what I think my XJ needs to perform the way I want it to. IMHO, you should start small and add what YOU think you need, not what Rusty says you need. In the end you'll have a much more capable trail beater, rather than just a cookie cutter Jeep.

I’d be careful about adding a lot of weight. A front bumper, winch, rear bumper, swing out tire carrier, full sized spare, and a cage are all good things – but they will add several hundred pounds. Four hundred pounds of extra weight makes the difference between a spunky little XJ and a dog. Back when mine was pretty much stripped and didn’t have armor on it yet it was a pretty impressive machine. Now that I’ve added front & rear bumpers, skid plates, nerf bars, etc. it just doesn’t have the get up and go like it used to. If I did it all over again I’d go as light as possible – aluminum for everything …skid plates, front and rear bumpers, sliders. If it’s a trail rig, strip the interior and bed line it. The only thing I’d keep is the dash, drivers and passengers seats and center console – pitch out every thing else. The carpet, rear seat and headliner weigh a lot more than most people realize. Instead of using Rusty’s long arm kit you might want to take a look at using Rubicon Express drop brackets and run a “mid arm” set up. Same performance and better ground clearance. I don’t own stock in either company, so it makes no difference to me what you use. Take a look and see what you think of it.

Thanks guys as too my offroad experience I'm only new to XJ's I've been running CJ's for several years. My wife wants something enclosed due to allergy's. However she wants to follow me in my CJ.
86 CJ7, 258, T18, scout300, SOA, SRS, 44's spool rear Detroit front,4.56,warn shafts,CTM's, 38" SX's, 6 point cage, 8274 warn winch 4wheel disc.
Goals: 35" tires, Full width axles, Flex, Durability, Minimal lift with very little rub. Sawzall and I are very good friends. Cost effective, And I want to build it once. As with the front axle in my 7 I'm not affraid to spend the $$ on quality parts as long as I don't have to do it twice. The Exocage I've drawn up looks like a Jungle Gym however I believe it will work.