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which xj to buy is the best to wheel with a tj

J

jkenosh

NAXJA Forum User
Location
kenosha
my 19 year old son was driving thru my friends field the other night and hit a ditch we had dug for drainage doing 20 mph plus, he says 20 but i dont think so, its a 4 ft deep ditch almost straight up and set off the airbags and bent both upper front axle rods and the axle housing, so i decided im going to build a 4 wheel drive and teach him how to wheel responsibly. running thru fields at midnight with your girlfriend is dumb, but something i might of did. i was thinking of building a cherokee, and was wondering what year is the best? i was thinking of a 98 or 99 so i can get a hi pinion front end (i got a 99 axle from the junkyard to put in the sons tj) im thinking 5 speed but am kinda lazy so maybe a automatic. I have a 2007 4wd sierra (which pulled out the tj) but thats a work truck and cant afford to break it, and its a standard cab with a 8 ft box not real comfy. i would appreciate any opinions on what years work the best?
 
if you get the5 speed (3.07 gears), you could easily find stock auto axles (3.55 gears) which would be cake to go with some 31s and a nice mild lift. That is unless you plan to get the wallet out and slap down some coin.

You could likely find a half decent built xj for a fair price and build / rebuild it your way.
 
I'd teach him how to wrench on it himself. If he knew how much work it was to fix stuff he tore up he might be a better candidate to become a more responsible wheeler. One thing I learned when I was younger was that a 4wd just made for tougher recoveries...
 
Thats one of the problems, he bought a tj that got a 4 inch lift and 33s on it, his idea of wheeling is corn fields that just got harvested and big puddles when he can find em, just looking to build one so we can go together and have some fun like we do snowmobiling after what this last incident cost him he says he will never leave the road again, but i dont believe it. made him go to pick a part and get the hi pinion axle to replace the bent one, he is gonna pull the old one and transfer the brakes and axles onto the new one gonna bring it in to the shop for the new gear though, he has 3.73 in his and could only find 3.55s
 
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Best year all depends on priorities. Search around, this type of topic comes up constantly. 91+ best for budget (older, cheaper, still HO, with non disconnect front axle). 98-99 best for comfort, all the niceties of 91+ plus better interior and real cupholders. As far as which is best to wheel with a TJ? Wheeling companions don't really affect what vehicle you need unless they're all in big huge full sizes running mud holes of small nimble Jeeps running tight trails...;)
 
Wow, you make for an unusual parent.

If I was acting stupid in the middle of a field and wrecked my Jeep I wouldn't have had a Jeep. Unless, of course, I fixed it myself. Which you said he's doing. The LAST thing my parents would have done was buy a rig to wheel with me.

To answer your question. Find ANY good running 4.0 4x4 high pinion Jeep with no rust and go for it. It's your preference beyond that.

Is it just me or do you talk/type like your 19 year old son? I haven't met many people that are old enough to have a 19 year old son that used the same lingo as their 19 year old son. Maybe I'm just not reading it right.
 
if he is willing to buy this kid a Good running 4.0 4x4 with NO RUST, after thrashing his TJ, Iwant to be adopted
I swear Ill keep my room clean and take out the trash :roll:
 
Yeah, I think he is wanting the XJ for himself to go wheeling with his immature son so he'll grow up. The way I read it, his son bought the TJ and is fixing it...
 
I wouldnt buy him a jeep because he wrecked his, but when i was his age i used to wheel alot with my 72 bronco and never knew i missed it till i started working on his, I also hurt my back 2 years ago and got it fused, so riding the 4 wheeler hurts so maybe i will try this. I only have 1 child and if going wheeling with him means i get to spend more time with him i will give it a try,
 
Spend some time on Craigslist and hit up your local 4x4 clubs and local NAXJA Chapter to see what's for sale in or near your area. Times are tough and building from scratch is $$$. You can get good built Cherokee's pretty reasonable these days.

You didn't say what kind of price range/budget you're working with so your question is kinda hard to answer..... you can spend $1000 or $16,500 on rigs available here on NAXJA....

Personally, I'd stay away from anything older than '91. '93-'96 is a great era of XJ's and can be found very cheap. '97-'01 XJ's hold their value much better so good running stockers don't often get below $2500.
 
been shopping at cars.com i think i want a stick shift and dont see too many, and around here in wisconsin they really rot, but they just seem to rot out the door post and the floors, its hard to find them in wisconsin that aint starting to rot. i cant believe the price difference with the tj to the xj when the xj seems to be a better built truck, maybe im old but i dont want to take the top off. and the pick a part has alot of xj and no tj. dont know what i want to spend yet, depends on what it is i suppose, its almost snowmobile season though so maybe i will wait till spring, or look all winter and put it in the garage and start putzing around, im kinda crazy about reliability, if it even looks like it might be bad or cause a failure i will replace it. getting excited
 
I would seriously consider a road trip down south/out west to pick up a rust-free example. Anything showing exterior rust also probably has rotten floors and uni-frame rails. Add to the fun, If you're buying a build project, every bolt on it will be rusted in place.

The '98-'99 seems to be the crowd pleaser around here. The '97 is good too, but has some one-off mod.year stuff, mainly electronics, that don't interchange with other years.

There's another school that likes the first gen 4.0s, with the Renix fuel injection. It's pretty good, and there is something to be said for simplicity(I think a total of 7 sensors?).
 
At least your son has interest in something other than a controller and sitting in front of a computer. I sure hope my boys have the desire to go outside and cause a mess rather than playing video games.
Good on you for getting involved and seeing this as a situation to be teachable. I think going wheeling, sledding, exploring with your son will be a good experience.
Also young men need to learn to fix what they break. There are so many young guys that couldnt tell you the difference between a socket wrench and a toothbrush. The ability to fix things isnt tought as much as it once was. Buying the biggest television and watching blu-ray movies seems to be the priority anymore. nothing wrong with that but when the power goes out whats left?
 
i couldnt agree more, it drives me nuts when i get home from work and my son is playing games on the tv, my son isnt the best wrench but he is learning and now he will attempt things on his own and if he gets in over his head i help him sort it out. now i just need him to find a job
 
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