1 of a KIND!!!!

Hey all... I am a tuner turned Jeeper after very lucky insurance settlement on my SRT-4....

I knew i wanted a 4.0 cherokee when this deal fell into my lap
1999 2dr with yes thats right 33000 miles, one owner, all service records!

I am a 4wd newb so i was looking for advice on what to mod on this jeep and order of operation, what i should do first to lift and make this a solid rig

I know i want to start with a 3.5 in lift with 31's i found this whole kit from rustys:
http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/mercha...ct_Code=RK-300SPC-XJ&Category_Code=sus_xj_kit
.... but i heard rustys is not good quality. any advice is good guys i figure all of you know what to do and what works so im all ears from here

I had the 3" Rusty's kit with the HD front coils, it was a smooth riding lift. The leaf bushings did wear out within 6 months though. I heard they changed their leaf bushings to accomodate larger bushings now though, probably as big as the OEM factory leaf bushings which should make them last longer. I have not seen any of Rusty's new stuff yet, however.

I didn't buy the kit with wheels and tires. I bought the suspension kit. I got their standard shocks, steering stabilizer, coil springs, and full leaf packs (not add-a-leaf)

I was happy with it! I wheeled it more like that than I ever did, even after I went taller. I ran the 3" lift with 30x9.50 All Terrains and 32x11.50 mud rovers.

I am in the process of replacing everything rustys on my 6.5" kit. I bought the jeep with 3k miles on the lift, and the shocks were shit already. Track bar mount sheered in half. I would look at Iron Rock Off road. Great parts and customer service!

Search, there's a lot of great info in this club about order of mods, what mods to do. Search for things like biggest waste of money, what would you change, lift, etc.

You got a great jeep there. Spray paint the trim black and fix the dent in the door and it'll be schweet

Welcome to the world of Jeep building :thumbup:

Yeah spend a few days searching and reading here... This site is a huge resource of great info - This is the only
XJ site you need to look at IMO.

Absolutely avoid Rusty's whatever you do - JUNK - I had problems with all the products I got from him when
I did my build, and his customer service is very poor, and that's being polite.

You scored finding a nice 2 door! If I could do my build over I'd find a 2 door.

My advice to you is to not get carried away with lift - Don't be afraid to research fender trimming and then do it.
XJ's have very small factory wheel well openings. Fitting larger tires is best done by trimming fenders combined with
a small / medium lift. That helps you keep it much more stable and gives you better on road drive-ability.

If 31's were the size I wanted to run, this is what I'd do. I'd get some Bushwacker flares and trim the fenders
accordingly. 31's will then fit with no suspension modifications. I would mount the 31's on a 3.75" to 4" backspaced
wheel, that will fill out the extra width of the flares over stock.

That set up will give you a nice low center of gravity on a wide stance. If you are new to wheeling this will
be fine to get you out on the trail and start learning. It will be more than adequate. As you gain more
knowledge of suspensions and wheeling technique you can build on that setup very easily by adding components.
Although Bushwackers aren't cheap, you will still probably save some money by not having to buy a lift kit,
this is money you could use to buy some of the gear that you should have with you on the trail or maybe
pick up a nice aftermarket steel bumper...

Just my .02 - If I was starting as a newbie but still knew what I know now that's what I'd do.

Good Luck and have fun !

Jeeppilot said:

Welcome to the world of Jeep building :thumbup:

Yeah spend a few days searching and reading here... This site is a huge resource of great info - This is the only
XJ site you need to look at IMO.

Absolutely avoid Rusty's whatever you do - JUNK - I had problems with all the products I got from him when
I did my build, and his customer service is very poor, and that's being polite.

You scored finding a nice 2 door! If I could do my build over I'd find a 2 door.

My advice to you is to not get carried away with lift - Don't be afraid to research fender trimming and then do it.
XJ's have very small factory wheel well openings. Fitting larger tires is best done by trimming fenders combined with
a small / medium lift. That helps you keep it much more stable and gives you better on road drive-ability.

Click to expand...

x2 avoid rusty's and trimming works well but if you don't want to trim and want lift definitely look in to rubicon express great products i have there 3.5 superflex kit on 31's and it works great. and get armor wheel it stock for a bit get to know the truck you would be surprised to see where a stock xj can go and it will teach you how to wheel to many people just go big from the start and don't know what there doing. good luck with the project

hey man welcome to the world of offroading. im also from the tuner world. but like in the tuner world you always want to go bigger turbo/ fuel set up, and more hp.

so my advice is dont start off small and work your way through lifts. i would say go to a trail ride and see if you can hop in someones rig (passenger) and see what you like about different XJ's. starting off small and working your way up is a waste of money, just do it right the first time and dont look back.

and a few company's i would recommend are rubicon express, bds, OME, and tnt.

They will go really well in stock form... I wheeled mine Stock for a couple years before lifting (too much) on some 30'' Mud tires that fit a stock suspension with just minimal rubbing... Stock/Street/All Season tires are pretty worthless offroad.

Simply putting some Mud or AT Tires on turns them into a pretty confident Off Roader.

vincepru said:

so my advice is dont start off small and work your way through lifts. i would say go to a trail ride and see if you can hop in someones rig (passenger) and see what you like about different XJ's. starting off small and working your way up is a waste of money, just do it right the first time and dont look back.

Click to expand...

Starting off with 3" is a waste if you go to 4.5" the following year, and then 6'' six months later... what I
suggested though can always be built on without wasting a dime, notice above I wrote it can be built on
by adding components, not swapping out parts that were already bought. It's definitely just my opinion,
but if someone is brand new to wheeling, 31's are plenty for the first couple years... and if it's your DD,
don't get in over your head too quick... Right now it's all about learning and researching the threads on here...

I went from a stock suspension with 30's, to 8" with 35's, Granted I was still a somewhat experienced wheeler
when I did it, but looking back... the learning curve was prob a bit steeper than it should have been.

I agree with going to some trail runs and learning about Jeep suspensions and whats required to make each
setup work properly... Nothing wrong with wheeling yours stock a little bit before making a decision -
you most likely wont be the only stock rig showing up to a trail ride...

Start out with the RE 4.5 Super Flex, then when you go higher just add ACOS in the front and shackle relocation brackets in the rear to get 5.5-6" out of it. Drop Brackets will help the ride/flex on this kit after you hit the 5-6" mark. I would also start out with a Advance Adapters HD SYE and a XJ front shaft. You can build about whatever you want to from this plate form. And do not hesitate to trim if you plan on going bigger than 32" tires.

Frame stiffeners, sliders and skid plates need to be at the top of the list before you run rock.

If you go bigger than 32" then re-gear and lock it. Might as well buy some good alloy shafts when you go bigger than 33"

I am please with my RE super flex lift and recommend them. The only thing I would have changed is I should have went with the 4.5 inch lift instead of the 3.5 inch lift. I was too cheap back then.

I have about 35,000 miles on the lift and the only thing I did was replace the lca bushings. Being in Michigan they use a ton of salt and it ate them up.

Thanks all.... i def know i dont wanna go bigger than 31's so i dont re-gear it

I know that feeling lol. Drove a year and a few months w/o gears on 32s and 3.07s, jumped to 4.56s and was in heaven, then bumped up to 35s and now I can do 85-90 pretty easily... So your gonna want gears.

Welcome! This is hands-down the best XJ forum.

As far as building your XJ, you have to ask yourself what do you want to do with it? IMO, a 3" lift & 31" tires is one of the best DD/offroad combos.

Personally I'm a Rubicon Express fan, but there are lot of other great options.

Check out the website, figure out what you want, and then ask these guys - they can help with anything!

Wow, nice find! I thought the 85K on my '99 was low mileage...

Very nice score! Not many XJs out there with that low of miles. IMO I would try and avoid Rustys and Rough Country, how ever both are cheap and do the trick. I personally like Rubicon Express lifts for them money and quality they are a great lift.

Looks like you got a good deal on that OP. I would start with armor, tow points, and a 3 inch OME or 3.5 RE which usually nets about an inch more than advertised so add a SYE to that and of course a track bar.. Then add disconnects, Longer brake lines, control arms, etc as you get more skilled. Wheel it stock with a more aggresive tire before you lift though. I can get my basically stock height XJ into a lot of places you wouldn't think I could go. I'm going Low COG around 2.5 inches on 31's which will suit me just fine as it is also my DD.

iron rock Offroad is a great, awsome customer service. Just rember Adjustable lower controle arms with 3plus inches are a great idea if you think you may go bigger. Just my thoughts as it sucks buyin lowers then decideing to go higher and needing longer ones.
Rocksliders havent been mentioned but grab a set and get them on there so you dont mess up that pretty 2 door.
Im verry happy at 4inches of lift and 30s.....no im not... I need bigger tires Trimming can help alot reserch it and cut away I Like my wrangler fenders

sworks87 said:

Hey all... I am a tuner turned Jeeper after very lucky insurance settlement on my SRT-4....

I knew i wanted a 4.0 cherokee when this deal fell into my lap
1999 2dr with yes thats right 33000 miles, one owner, all service records!

I am a 4wd newb so i was looking for advice on what to mod on this jeep and order of operation, what i should do first to lift and make this a solid rig

I know i want to start with a 3.5 in lift with 31's i found this whole kit from rustys:
http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/mercha...ct_Code=RK-300SPC-XJ&Category_Code=sus_xj_kit
.... but i heard rustys is not good quality. any advice is good guys i figure all of you know what to do and what works so im all ears from here

Click to expand...

If thats 33261 ORIGINAL miles i'd like to have it for my DD. You want to sell it as it sits then buy a highly modified cherokee already done with the cash?

Check your PM