Building an XJ

[hadAjeep]

I joined this board to help out a buddy with an MJ and now I've been converted to an XJ fan. Well that and I've beaten up my dodge ram quad cab long bed on the OHV trails now.(174" wheel base is just too long for jeep trails) The wife doesn't think dents in the sheet metal are cool.
I used to want a CJ5, now I think I'd be better off with an XJ. I don't know much about them, but I know what i'm looking for in a dd with off road ability. Which is run around on the trails here in the sierra's and still drive it to work. Hopefully you guys can answer some questions.
Are any year XJ's better than other's?
Are D44's uncommon in XJ's? Is the 8.25 any good?
Manual or automatic?
How long do 4.0L's last?
Limited slips or lockers?
How much lift for 33's or 35's?
This is my plan right now
4.0L, D30 3.73 or 4.10 gears D44, 5 spd, 231, 33" tires, 4 door, Klune V
Looking for any and all opinons. I don't know squat about XJ's so any thing will be helpful. Thanks

 

[jeepguy97]

Answers to questions in order:
'91 and newer have open cooling system and more horsepower (high output)

Dana 44s were only offered from 87-89 and are very uncommon. 8.25 after '97 (29 spline axles) is a great axle. Much better and stronger than the Dana 35.

Tranny is a preference, I prefer auto. and the AW-4 offered after 91 is industrictable.

Forever. (Seriously)

Lockers (again preference)

At least 4.5" for 33s more for 35s and your gonna have to trim the fenders for either.

 

[hadAjeep]

Is it cheaper to buy a 2wd jeep and convert it?
If I find a D44 would it be better than an 8.25?
An AW4 is an Automatic?
Triming fender wells is fine, I have a sawzall and I'm not afraid to use it.
thanks.

 

[jeepguy97]

It depends on how much the parts to convert cost. You will need the t-case, axle, driveshaft, control arms and all the related steering linkage from the SAME donor vehicle. 2wd is probably cheaper to start but with all this it may be more than a 4X4. Many folks here have converted and its not really that hard so if you go that route you will have help.

Dana 44 is probably a little stronger than an 8.25 in stock form and can be built to be better than a built 8.25, so yes it would probably be better.

AW4 is the auto. offered after 91 (I believe) It is much stronger than the previous Chrysler 3 speed.

Glad your not afraid to use that sawzall they come in mighty handy with XJ small wheelwells.

 

[Kejtar]

4.0 lasts forever (or damn near ). IN regards to manual or auto... what do you prefer? I personally hate Auto's so when I picked up another XJ to replace the one I rolled it quickly became a manual (yanked the aw4 and dropped my ax15 in).
Anyways, if you're planning to do 33's, go 4.56's at least. I have 33's and 4.88's with my ax15 and I can't imagine running 4.11's (that I Had with 31's). I also know a few people htat have 4.56's with 33's cause they held on to their 8.25 and later they're either complaing about it, or dumping it and getting a 44 or something else... or getting a 4:1 for their tcase.
Which year is best... if you run a search you should find at least 3 or 4 threads about it. In a nutshel most favour the latter models: 97 up until the LP d30 (2001?) but on the other hand quite a few favour mid to late 90s.

 

[hadAjeep]

The reason for the 3.73's or the 4.10's is they're easy to find in the junkyard. Last weekend I found 5 xj's, 4 with 4.10's and 1 with 3.73's. I figure I'd rather spend the money on a Klune V, than spend $1000 or more on new gears and lockers. Highway rpm wouldn't be to bad with 4.10s and 33's. That's just what I'm thinking. I don't know, am I wrong? I figured this out
5 speed, 231 t-case 3.73 = 39:1
5 speed, 231 t-case, klune V 4:1, 3.73=155:1
5 speed,Klune V, 3.73 = 57:1
Would these be alright crawl ratio's?
my friend got a D30, 231 t-case, front driveline at the junkyard for 200 dollars, granted it was 50% off day, but still even 400 bucks isn't expensive, is it?

 

[Rob Mayercik]

AW4 is the auto. offered after 91 (I believe) It is much stronger than the previous Chrysler 3 speed.

Actually, the AW4 made its debut in 87 when the 4.0 became the 6-cyl engine choice.

If you really want a D44, you're probably going to have to swap it in - as far as anyone can tell, that axle only went under the rear in non-NA models, save for a few 1987 models with what I think was called the "metric ton" package.

Anything from about 91 up would be a good starting point (start of "open" cooling system, OBD systems), but be aware that about sometime in the 96 model year there was a change to the output shaft design of the transfer cases, which makes driveline vibes a way of life for even some unmodified XJs. If you get something in the 96-01 range, you should plan on an SYE as well, since you intend to lift.

Speaking of OBD systems, anything from 91 with the H.O. engine up through 96 (H.O badge was dropped in 97, but engine remained the same) has OBD-1, which allows the retrieval of fault codes by doing the on-off-on-off-on thing with the ignition key and noting the blink codes. 97 and up are OBD-2 and do not have this feature, and pre-91 have no fault code storage capability.

One last note - if you do convert a 2wd, you'll either need to convert your existing transmission to the 4wd model (usually a tailshaft and/or output housing, IIRC), or replace the whole unit with one already set up for 4wd.

Welcome aboard, and happy shopping.

Rob

 

[hadAjeep]

are all the 4.0's after '91 H.O.?

 

[Rob Mayercik]

are all the 4.0's after '91 H.O.?

Yes. They just dropped the "H.O." part of the moniker in 97.

Rob