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2001 XJ W/ $3,500 to spend on stage 1

B

bananaclip

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Elkins wv
Guy's and Gals, I just picked up a very nice 2001 xj and am ready to begin my offroad build. My intention is to keep this street legal. I have $3,500 left for stage one of this process. I am very aware that $3,500 will not touch my final build cost but it will be enough to get me started. I am a rookie to the XJ and need some advise from you good people. I would like to run 35's unless you advise against it. My xj has the 8.25 in the rear and a 30 up front they are both equiped with 3.73 gears. Can I get some advise where to start and recommended vendors?
 
wow you got really lucky with the gears, guessing you have the tow package. Do you have stock skids?

That is ALOT of money you have to spend. I say 6.5" long arm kit and some 33" M/T's until you can re gear for 35"s. 4.88's would suit you nicely.

Is it a clean 01? running 33's for a while will alos give you the chance to keep stock flares for a while. Then when you get some body damage you'll feel more comfortable cutting it up!
 
oh and welcome to the addiction :cheers:
 
What are your planned intentions for wheeling? Rock, Sand, Mud, Painted lines @ the mall?
$3500 can go a long way to nowhere if you spend it in the wrong place.
 
$3500 can get you a locked up rig with 33s and 6.5" long arms.. with sliders and a winch bumper.. possibly even a winch..

Or.. It can buy you a nifty ass stereo'


Just sayin'
 
even if the axles do have 3.73s in them, it really only affects the resale value as far as you are concerned (slightly higher.) Running 35s on stock axles is probably a bad idea, you should upgrade them at the very least or run larger axles. And 3.73s are real high for anything over about a 30 or 31 inch tire, so you'll want to regear anyways, at which point you may as well get better axles before the expense of regearing instead of dumping that kind of money into them.
 
Sorry, live in Wv so I have a good mix of terrain (mud,rock,hills,lots of tree's etc). I purchased this to offroad but I need to drive it to and from the trails. The vehicle is very clean but I am not afraid to cut for clearance. I do have axle options (8.8, 44's) but I have read the the 8.25 and the 30 should hold up fine with shafts. I am not a offroad rookie just an xj rookie. There are guy's running 35's on their dana 35's in my area with no break issues yet. I would never run a d35 but i hear the 8.25 is a better option. What lift company do you sugest in the 4.5 area?
 
id overhaul fluids all the way around to baseline the cherokee for longevities sake. also compression test it to get a general idea of the condition of your motor. maybe look into a new header and free flowing exhaust to let the engine breath.



as for mods.
i say ditch the low pinion 30, get a high pinion. (or if your interested ive got 4.56 gears for a LP30 and 8.25 for sale. should be good in the ball park of 33-35s. PM me) TJ guys do wheel LP30s quite often, so other than that id hold out for built axels otherwise save yourself some dinero.

the rest should be catered to what kind of wheeling you want to do. suggest a SYE right away though even if you dont go extremely high so there are no worries down the road.
 
What are your fab skills and shop access? Do you plan to do all the work yourself of have a shop bolt in a lift kit for you. Labor is expensive and can eat up alot of that $3500. If you plan on going 35's I wouldn't put any money into a LP D30. First step would be to get a new front axle and steering figured out. Then lift 4.5-6 inches and put your new tires on. That all can be done correctly on your budget.
 
agreed, though I would say 3-5 inches lift but hey, it's entirely up to you.

You've got the later model 8.25, I forgot about that, so your axles are a fairly decent strength... 35s are getting *close* to the limit (how close, or how far over depends on who you ask and how heavy a right foot they have) but shouldn't explode like a 35.

X2 on the hp d30, also means you can gear it or have it geared while driving on the stock axle still. I'm a big fan of that.

Sounds like some good terrain you got there, we have mostly the same in the northeast, along with rausch creek down in PA :thumbup:
 
Id do a 4.5"-5.5" lift, long arms or drop brackets, sye, hp30/8.25/xj44 with 4.56s open (lunchbox in the rear depending on $) and 33's/35's, sliders, and skids. Should be able to do that within budget depending on the companies you buy from and whether or not you do the work yourself. The gearing might be a stretch but if you search locally you might be able to find axles already geared and/or locked for a good price. I think this should give you a solid baseline to start with with most of the major modifications covered. I would say you dont need bumpers right away as long as you have recovery points f/r.

From there you can tweak it to suit your specific needs.

Check out Clayton, RockKrawler, Rubicon Express, TnT, JCR and Rough Country
 
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Myself and friends will be doing all of the work. So install cost should be very little. If I do the axle swap I will pay for professional welding. I am thinking 4.5 rough country longarm ,cutting, 35's, waggy 44 in the front and 8.25 in the rear or an 8.8, ausie in the rear for now. Whats your thoughts on the rc lift? It looks pretty beefy.
 
RC has definitely stepped up their game. Used to be known for poor quality, cheap lifts but I think due to that poor reputation, they have listened to reviews/suggestions and stepped it up quite a bit.

That opinion is purely based off reading forums and websites, no personal experience.

If you use a waggy front 44 you will have a different bolt pattern on the wheels front and back, something to consider. If you're doing axle swaps, might as well throw the rear waggy 44 in for f/r 44s with matching bolt patterns but that might put you over your budget.

Many wagoneer axles have much higher gear ratios (numerically lower) so a regear would be a must if you went that direction.

I would go hp30 and xj44 if I were you, put spicer 760 u joints in the 30 and call it good until further funds become available. I have this setup in my garage awaiting funds and 35s on completely stock axles right now and I have no problems with it. I have no problems with it due to how I wheel though. Your setup will depend on your style. Are you a delicate wheeler who uses finesse or do you point and shoot with the throttle mashed?
 
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check to see if you have the 0331 head. search that. if you do it might be a good idea to swap heads or have a new one ready.
 
You might think about a rear disc conversion on the 8.25 if you keep it. That way just in case you break an axle, your wheel doesn't come shooting out, and you can get back to camp.
 
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