few newbie questions

1)ive noticed a few jeeps have the sound bar mine does not have it. i have a 1994 cherokee sport 4door. what years should i look for to get so it will fit properly?

2)looking to put on some roof mounted lights, how is everyone running the wires?

3)is it legal to drive XJ's on the road with no doors just like the wrangler? if so is it just as simple as taking out the pin in the hinge and adding more of a quick release type, like a nut and bolt?

4)any other way to keep the rear hatch open with out using a bar? yes i can replace the hinges but those fail quickly also.

5)although i dont know what differentials i have, what is the max size on tire i can go?

6)wheel size is 5x114 correct?

7)whats the backspace i should look for?

8)will the new xj wheels (dark grey 5 stars) be a direct fit to a 94?

9) whats the biggest tire to fit on above rims?


ok im done.

rdltmc3 said:

6)wheel size is 5x114 correct?

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Wheel size is 15" (dia) x 7" (width)

rdltmc3 said:

8)will the new xj wheels (dark grey 5 stars) be a direct fit to a 94?

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I think these are from a 99-2K, lug bolt pattern is 5x4.5, weels will fit your jeep.

rdltmc3 said:

9) whats the biggest tire to fit on above rims?

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I've read 33x10.50 R15 should fit, that's what I'm going with on my next set of tires (with these rims).

wow im a moran.

i meant bolt pattern not rim size

rdltmc3 said:

1)ive noticed a few jeeps have the sound bar mine does not have it. i have a 1994 cherokee sport 4door. what years should i look for to get so it will fit properly?

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1996 and earlier were configured to support rear speakers in the hatch, 1994-1996 (I think) had an optional soundbar and still had the old-style fiberglass hatch. 1997 and later had a different metal hatch and could only use the soundbar. I think the 1997 and later were integrated into the headboard but it may have been some other year. Somebody else will get you more specific data or tell you to search

2)looking to put on some roof mounted lights, how is everyone running the wires?

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safest place I have seen is to come out under the gutter at the top of the driver A-pillar

3)is it legal to drive XJ's on the road with no doors just like the wrangler? if so is it just as simple as taking out the pin in the hinge and adding more of a quick release type, like a nut and bolt?

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legality depends on state vehicle code, typically you just need mirrors but it's altogether illegal in some places, and besides a cop can write you a ticket for anything you still have to go to court to beat it. as to the mechanics, it depends on year but in your case you would cut the bottom ears off all the door-side hinges. there are lots of writeups about this, search for +dremel +door

4)any other way to keep the rear hatch open with out using a bar? yes i can replace the hinges but those fail quickly also.

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replace the struts

5)although i dont know what differentials i have, what is the max size on tire i can go?

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largest physical tire size depends on how much you lift and how much you cut. most people seem to say the D35 is too fragile to go beyond 31-inch tires. search for more info

6)wheel size is 5x114 correct?

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lug pattern is 5x4.5

7)whats the backspace i should look for?

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depends on factors such as tire width, how much you cut your fenders, etc

8)will the new xj wheels (dark grey 5 stars) be a direct fit to a 94?

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all XJs use the same lug pattern, most (not all) of the Jeeps models from that era are the same. also some of them had 16" rims instead of 15" rims although lugs were the same

9) whats the biggest tire to fit on above rims?

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I dunno, somewhere in the 40 inch range I guess but you'd never fit them on the jeep

1) I just recently picked up a rear soundbar from a '96 Cherokee ($20 with speakers) and it fits in my '89 where the center interior light is. It is held up by the trim above the doors and was super easy to mount and wire. I'll have to cut into the headliner when I put some decent aftermarket speakers for proper clearance, but the console will hide it completely. I also took the interior light with adjustable map lights from an early '90's Aerostar and mounted in place of the original light in the overhead console. These are able to point either to the front or rear seat areas and are pretty handy to have in the dark. Only took some trimming with a dremel to get it to fit and it looks like its meant to be there.
4) Replace the struts. I went to the local JY and got a pair that was pretty much new for $10.
6) bolt pattern is 5 on 4.5 (114.3mm). I use a Ford explorer wheel similiar to the old alloy centelines 12 hole and only had to bore out the center hole with a sanding drum on a drill 1mm to get it to fit flush. Backspacing is 4.25 inch.
Hope that helped

so a 31x10.5x15 tire would need how much of a lift?

since it will be daily didnt want to go over 4

going with these rims 15x8 (after i fix the floor boards that is)

It depends how much (if any) you want to trim.

rdltmc3 said:

so a 31x10.5x15 tire would need how much of a lift?

since it will be daily didnt want to go over 4

going with these rims 15x8 (after i fix the floor boards that is)

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Ahhh yes, Soft8s. The staple of modified Jeeps. I love mine...

Quick note: 5 x 4.5 and 5 x 114mm will physically interchange(you can mount one on the other) but can not SAFELY interchange. The lugs don't seat properly.

tbburg said:

Quick note: 5 x 4.5 and 5 x 114mm will physically interchange(you can mount one on the other) but can not SAFELY interchange. The lugs don't seat properly.

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so which one is it?

what were you told it was?

I only mentioned the incompatibility because both sizes were mentioned in the thread. the Jeeps are American sized; 5 x 4.5"

thanks for the clearification.

4.5" is 114.3mm. I'm running Magnum alloys as my summer wheels. The lug nuts seat fine.

I believe 97 is the last year to use the separate soundbar.

yup...hub97 has it right. Both of my XJ's were built in the US of A and I can use either the metric or inch style because they are the same. A 114.3 seats perfectly on the Jeeps because 114.3mm "IS" 4.5 inches. The big mistake some people make is trying to use a 114mm pattern which will not fit right...too small

I know we Canucks use the metric (AAARGG!) system, but I grew up with the Imperial which is pretty much the same as the US with the exception of liquids. Didn't change over to the metric (also referred to as the French system out here in the West hahaha) until around 30 years ago and I'm still not used to the crap. Makes it hell to do all the conversions. Little help for you guys down South...one mile= 1.6kms 1 US gallon= 3.78 liters (I'm pretty sure) Our gallon is bigger and is 4.55 liters. 1 foot= 30.5cm 1 inch= just a hair over 25mm or 2.5cm.

The thing tha really drives you nuts is some of the early 80's GM vehicles made in Canuckland had both US "AND" metric sized bolts. Drive ya straight to the looney bin working on those! And of course, you needed to buy a whole other set of tools grrrrrr!
Okay...done my little rant. Sorry 'bout that guys

gorkoxj said:

yup...hub97 has it right. Both of my XJ's were built in the US of A and I can use either the metric or inch style because they are the same. A 114.3 seats perfectly on the Jeeps because 114.3mm "IS" 4.5 inches. The big mistake some people make is trying to use a 114mm pattern which will not fit right...too small

I know we Canucks use the metric (AAARGG!) system, but I grew up with the Imperial which is pretty much the same as the US with the exception of liquids. Didn't change over to the metric (also referred to as the French system out here in the West hahaha) until around 30 years ago and I'm still not used to the crap. Makes it hell to do all the conversions. Little help for you guys down South...one mile= 1.6kms 1 US gallon= 3.78 liters (I'm pretty sure) Our gallon is bigger and is 4.55 liters. 1 foot= 30.5cm 1 inch= just a hair over 25mm or 2.5cm.

The thing tha really drives you nuts is some of the early 80's GM vehicles made in Canuckland had both US "AND" metric sized bolts. Drive ya straight to the looney bin working on those! And of course, you needed to buy a whole other set of tools grrrrrr!
Okay...done my little rant. Sorry 'bout that guys

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My jeep is a 97 and it has metric bolts right next to standard bolts! Its not GM exclusive!

My bad. I thought those dips**ts dropped that idea. I guess insanity really is contagious. I'll be doing a lot of work on my '89 2 door this winter, so I'm sure I'll find them all. At least I have both sets of tools and a beer fridge hahaha

Had the same "dual measurement systems" problem on an '80 Monza I owned. I figured out that the problem lies in the tooling design from when the original parts were designed. If say, you had a new design car, all the body bolts are metric. then if they stuck a 20 year old engine in there, all the engine bolts are American. Further, if they re-designed say, the accessory drive to handle a serpentine belt, all the accessory drive bolts are metric, except the actual mount bolts which screw into the (American) block; they will be American, of course. Unless(again!) say an older (American) part like the alternator was used, in which case the mount bolts for that will also be American. And so on.

It's easier and cheaper to use multiple dimension systems then it is to re-design all the tooling for (as an example) and engine block. Still a pain in the a**.