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An 00-01 XJ From Stock To Stud!

IronSmiles

NAXJA Forum User
Location
San Diego, CA
Hello all, First off let me introduce myself.. My name is Glenn, I live in San Diego, and I owned a beautifully modified 2003 Jeep Wrangler with 25000 + in mods. Friday March 30th it was stolen, and It probably wont be recovered.

I am going to put in it's place a 2000 or 2001 Jeep Cherokee XJ and will be starting with a bone stock vehicle (maybe the one with the towing package that has the rear dana 44 already) But either way I am still a big amatuer and am very much in the learning process for jeeps in general.

Here is a general idea of what I KNOW I want.. At LEAST 6 inches of suspension lift with NO body lift.. wanting to run heavy duty 33"s but also want to be able to fit 35"s with good flex if I ever wanted.. some tough axles with at least 4:56 gear equivalent, rear bumper with tire swing like the one WARN has, that would not hamper using the back hatch.. a full inner roll cage that would not hinder the use of anything on the inside.. you get the idea. Now I am on a budget and would like to get the best quality for my money that I can, but I still have some money to spend.


HERE's where you all come in.. Everything from the lift to the axle upgrades, the works.. what would you do? And with the good stuff, where could I get it for a good price? Any help here would be GREATLY appreciated.. thanks guys.

- A sad ex-jeep owner =(
 
you shouldnt have any problem avoiding body lifts:rof:
plan on swappin the front axle...that year has a Low pinion Dana 30 and you will run into problems lifting it that much...you will need a high pinion Dana 30 from a 99 or older XJ.

There is a lot of info floating around here...be sure to use the search!
 
well not to burst your bubble..but i would just look around here, and jeepforum.com before you start trying to do anything. sounds like youve got a lot of learning to do. dana 44s only came stock in 87-89 cherokees...so definately SOL on the 200-2001. good thing you werent planning on any body lift...because cherokees are unibody so you cant do body lifts

but other then that it sounds like youve got some good ideas....learn to do stuff yourself, and your jeep will have twice the upgrades it will if you take it somewhere to have it done, which usually costs the same if not more then the part itself

rustysoffroad In my opinion makes a lot of good lifts for cherokees, and theyre 6.5 inch kit seems pretty good priced.

with the plans you have though it doesn't sound like your on too much of a budget
 
I think you should put your eyes/ears on here for awhile(a long while),44's havent been available in an XJ for years.Sit back and get a feel for what your asking,these things are not bought they are built with $$$$ and sweat.
Damm.didnt type fast enough!
 
That big beefy looking axle in the back is probably a Chrysler 8.25. Not a bad axle , but it doesn't like lifts. You will have to think about SYE driveline. A must if you are lifting as high as you want to go. Also at 6 inchs and 35s you will need to do some trimming to stuff 35s.
The XJs have lots of kits and mods so you will have unlimited resourse to accomplish your goals, just plan on more money and lots of learning then you originally plan on and you should be fine. If you're on Naxja you took the first step.
Have fun !
 
Glenn, I see this is your first post. Welcome to NAXJA . These are typical newbie questions, but good ones just the same. You wanna build your rig right and there's nothing wrong with that. It's already been mentioned that the D44's only came in '87-'89's (I have one sitting on my garage floor from an '87) and that the XJ has a unibody not a frame. So to address some of your other questions, it really depends on the kind of wheeling the jeep will see. I know that's a canned response, but very true.

My '99 has a 6" lift, 33" MTR's, 4:56's, ARB's front and rear stuffed into stock axles (D30 front, chrysler 29spline 8.25 rear). I've wheeled most everything in Moab and haven't had any issues, it's a very capable setup. And with a little added bumpstop, I could run 35's if I wanted to. The stock axles on a '00-'01 could handle a similar setup depending on terrain and driving style. Lift kits are a dime-a-dozen these days but to name a few of the more popular ones take a look at TnT Customs, Rubicon Express, Clayton Offroad, Full Traction, for starters. Interior cage, check T&J Performance for a bolt in application. Bumpers, try RigidCo, AJ's Armor, JCR Offroad, C-Rok, to name a few.

Don't know what your budget is but alot of what I mentioned is pretty much bolt on. If you've got some tools you can install the lift yourself and save money there. With a welder and some fabrication skills you can build your own bumpers and rock rails and save money there. There are several threads here on the boards about custom work in these areas that you can research before starting your buildup. Again, welcome aboard and have fun dude!! :D
 
Hey Ironsmiles,

Welcome to the group! I am sorry to hear about your TJ.

I would recommend that you post over in the SOCAL section and find out who is near you. Also, come to a meet and greet so you can see what folks are doing. I am up in Orange Coutny and I have a 2000 with about 6" of lift on 33's.

I have built this thing over the past few years and I love it! I have axles out of an 1987 Cherokee - Dana 44 in the rear and a high-pinion Dana 30 in the front. I am running 4.88 gears, Full Detroit in the rear and a True-Trac in the front. I have after market bumpers, and lot's of armor.

As for buying an XJ, I would find one with any bells and whistles that you want - cruise control, leather, sun roof, tow package (does not mean a D44). The different trim available on the 2000-2001 is Sport, Classic, and Up-Country. Do you automatic or stick? 2 doors or 4?

As for lifts, I would start out with either a Rubicon Express 5.5" kit or a Long Arm kit. Either way, you will be at about 7" when the lift is finished, by adding ACOS, shackles, and maybe blocks. Of course, you can not forget to put some protection on it. rock rails, gas tank skid, and tow points front and rear. There's alot more.....

Do all of the work that you can yourself. If you don't know how, simply post up a working party, provide food and beverage, and let the guys come in. Folks will teach you everything and more about your Jeep.

The best thing to do is decide what you want your Jeep to look like, the kind of wheelin that you do, and your budget!

Hope to see you on the trail soon!
 
I owned a beautifully modified 2003 Jeep Wrangler with 25000 + in mods. Friday March 30th it was stolen, and It probably wont be recovered.


Definately learn how to do it yourself, sounds like you spent a lot of money and didnt learn a lot of just the basics of modifying any 4x4. That doesnt leave you with the knowledge to deal with broken parts on the trail. Plus youll lose your shirt having someone else build you a BA rig .:gee:

Guess i was typing that a little slow
 
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First off, of course I'm a newbie, my question was a dead giveaway, haha. And wow, I really appreciate all of the responses. I was not trying to make a newb mistake by asking questions that have been asked before, I have been reading through old posts I just didn't know what I was looking for, thus having to ask what I did.

All of you guys in these few posts have already imparted more knowledge and been more helpful than any of the shop guys Ive come across in the past entire year. And you're right, alot of the money was spent in someone else doing the work so I wasn't able to learn as much as I wanted to. I think the hardest thing was that I didnt have access to any of the tools I knew I would need, and didnt have a secure place to work on it. =( But again, any other tips, advice, etc you guys have is GREATLY appreciated. =)
 
IslanderOffRoad said:
I'm not sure how much you're looking to spend on a Jeep, but this one seems to have most of what you want done

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=909461


Good call John!

That is a very nice rig. That thing is ready to go, well built and tken care of.

I wish I had the dough to buy it, but 2 Jeeps are more than I can handle right now...


Hey - Ironsmiles, Where in SD are you located? There is a North County meet and greet tomorrow night. You can post over in the SOCAL Chapter (http://www.naxja.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=31) for more details.

As for tools and space, there are plenty of local guys that let you use garage or driveway space and even share their tools.... of course, the more you need/use, the more beer you need to provide...;)

I personally have hosted a couple of different work/lift parties. A working party is a great place to meat folks and learn how to work on your Jeep.

When are you looking to buy? I recommend finding a knowledgable XJ buddy to check it out for you. Once you get it, then start making the list.....

Good luck!
 
Welcome to NAXJA. I'm in San Diego as well and have a 2000 XJ. I have learned so much from this site and really did a lot of reading before I started buying any part for mine. Doing so allowed me to find the right parts for what I wanted to do. I pieced together my lift, not because I did not want to spend a lot of money up front but it allowed me to pick and choose the individual parts I wanted. A lot of companies put out lifts but not all the parts included are the best ones out there.

Something I am surprised no one has mentioned is the book, Jeep Cherokee High Performance Builders Guide ( http://www.amazon.com/High-Performa...1963023?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175609291&sr=8-1 ). It has a lot of good info about all the different aspects of the XJ. You do build XJ's different then CJ,YJ,KJ, etc. so the more info you can gather, the better.

Good luck on your build. :D
 
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