Got Jeep, Now what?

[Teellandor]

Alright, frankenstang finally got me talked into this whole rock crawling biz, and I now have my own 93. (Well, for 500 bucks I wouldn't have gone wrong if I was just gonna leave it stock.) He's been giving me suggestions for how to set it up, but I lean more towards mob rule sometimes.

I'm asking here because Colorado/Rocky Mountains is where I plan on doing 98% of my offroading.

I've been asking around and narrowed down using a Rubicon Express lift kit, but which one? The 3.5" or 4.5"? With leaf pack or without? I don't plan on going any bigger than 33" tires, either. Also, what should I do about shocks and tires?

I have to spread this out across a coupla paychecks, too. frank set his up for cheap, so I'm kinda looking to keep the budget relatively low. Like $2k at most for right now.

So watchyall think?

 

[fireLt.]

You will never have spare cash again......

 

[Kittrell]

Rubicon Express 4.5" Super Flex, with a few tweaks. Trust me, you'll just be adding them later. Change the Control arms out for adjustables, and trade the Trac Bar out for the HD unit. Otherwise it's a pretty solid kit, will treat you well. Go with some 33" Maxxis Bighorns, can be had for around $116 a tire, and are a twin to the MTR. Get some good shocks, either OME, or Bilstein, don't get chincy there. I'm not sure if you'll stay under 2k, but you shouldn't be much over it. And you'll thank yourself later for getting these parts the first time around. Look at some Cragar Soft 8s for some wheels, can $30 a wheel IIRC?

Hope that helps, welcome to Colorado wheeling.

 

[GrayT]

Go with where you would like to be, lift-wise. Don't go with what you think will hold you over. A lot of people do that, and always end up just spending the money twice for two different lifts.

33's are a good point between starting and intermediate crawling. They offer enough ground clearance, normally stronger sidewalls, and are also cheaper than 35's (which require more lift, and a trim job to your fenders)

As mentioned, don't go cheap on shocks. Many people overlook them and end up either having a poorly handling rig, or one that handles so well it does not flex enough.

Have fun!

 

[Frank Z]

You're gonna need to re-gear too.

 

[GrayT]

You're gonna need to re-gear too.

http://jeephorizons.com/tech/rpmchart.html

 

[old_man]

It was nice to meet you the other night. Did you ever get the tcase apart? How did you get the pin out?

 

[Sting25]

Rubicon Express 4.5" Super Flex, with a few tweaks. Trust me, you'll just be adding them later. Change the Control arms out for adjustables, and trade the Trac Bar out for the HD unit. Otherwise it's a pretty solid kit, will treat you well. Go with some 33" Maxxis Bighorns, can be had for around $116 a tire, and are a twin to the MTR. Get some good shocks, either OME, or Bilstein, don't get chincy there. I'm not sure if you'll stay under 2k, but you shouldn't be much over it. And you'll thank yourself later for getting these parts the first time around. Look at some Cragar Soft 8s for some wheels, can $30 a wheel IIRC?

Hope that helps, welcome to Colorado wheeling.

X2

 

[Powerman]

Rubicon Express 4.5" Super Flex, with a few tweaks. Trust me, you'll just be adding them later. Change the Control arms out for adjustables, and trade the Trac Bar out for the HD unit. Otherwise it's a pretty solid kit, will treat you well. Go with some 33" Maxxis Bighorns, can be had for around $116 a tire, and are a twin to the MTR. Get some good shocks, either OME, or Bilstein, don't get chincy there. I'm not sure if you'll stay under 2k, but you shouldn't be much over it. And you'll thank yourself later for getting these parts the first time around. Look at some Cragar Soft 8s for some wheels, can $30 a wheel IIRC?

Hope that helps, welcome to Colorado wheeling.

That is solid advice. You can do a lot with 33s and 4.5" I am going to 6" and 35s and I don't have a lot of spare cash,or is it I have to many obsessions.... Anyway, I wanted to do everything just once, but it is very hard to do. I had to go to an intermediate point. If you go to 4.5" first, it will be very easy if you want to add a little later. Also just like 91 said, don't skimp on shocks. That is basically your ride comfort. I have had Pro Craps and DTs, ya they work, but they suck. I can't wait to put my final lift on with decent shocks. With 33s you can stick with your axles. At some point regear and lock one end and you will be very capable. Then you can do moderate to difficult trails while you build your trailer rock rig! Welcome to the dark side, resistance is futile.

 

[Cruzin Illusion]

Got Jeep, Now what? =

SPEND LOTS AND LOTS OF MONEY:bawl:

 

[frankenstang57]

It was nice to meet you the other night. Did you ever get the tcase apart? How did you get the pin out?

Hehehe, yeah we got it apart. I took the old busted case apart with a ball-peen hammer, and removed the "good" pin from the wreckage... I drilled the other pin out in my drill press. Took almost an hour and broke two bits. It just kinda sucked but worked. Installed the planetary out of the shelled case, threw it back together, and wha-la, one working Jeep! I can't believe how quiet the thing is despite running the planetary dry for so long. Thanx again for the case, we owe you one! Of course I lean toward the Rubicon because that is what I have so I'm a bit biased. I do think he should swap out the rear spring packs while he's at it. At 190k they are starting to sag. I know mine are bigtime.

 

[GottaBeJeep]

RE 3.5" superflex with leaf packs. Add a good adjustable trackbar, then spend the rest on a SYE/CV driveshaft. That kit is plenty for 33's. The RE 4.5" kit is too dang tall without some control arm drop brackets or long arms, and you will want to upgrade that piece of crap RE1600 trackbar that comes in the 4.5" kit anyways. The 3.5" SF leaf pack kit is a great kit, and by the time you spend the money for the 4.5" kit with low end parts, you can upgrade the 3.5" kit to the nice stuff, like an HD trackbar (JKS or RE 1660 HD unit), some OME shocks, and enjoy the ride. Trim and bumpstop properly, and you will have a tough looking XJ that will ride great and work awesome on the trails with a lower COG.

 

[Teellandor]

You will never have spare cash again......

Again? Can't go back to a place you've never been.

Yeah old_man, frank got the case apart. Thanks again for the 'new' one. This is how bad the old one was: (yall think it's been dry a while?)

 

[JJacobs]

ow.

 

[Teellandor]

yup, and this is before frank went medieval on it.

 

[frebius]

ouch. Welcome to wheeling I just got my Jeep and I havn't had a spare dollar since.. Well the beer hasn't helped either.