Starting the build (insert poverty here)

Gearing up to order parts to start my build and I would love to tap some of everyone's experience.
I need to stay in the 3-3.5" lift range.(wife has back issues and wouldnt be able to get in and out if I went any taller).
I am going for an expedition style build (think Camel Trophy truck). I would love recommendations for lift manufacturers, bumpers, recovery, and onboard air. This is going to be an evolution due to budget, but I want the most for my money. Im not one who wants to "look cool" I want good functional advice please.
I do need the jeep to retain decent road manners. It is going to be a daily driver during the build. I dont necessarily need to run the Rubicon Trail in the thing but I want it to be able to handle what I may encounter in the midwest.
Finally, thanks in advance for the advice. I have been doing quite a bit of research, but I value practical experience over a sales pitch.

Expedition is about maximizing your storage space, reliability and range. How many people will be traveling with you? What I'm getting at is moving the spare outside, and utilizing the little nooks and crannies in the jeep.

There are lots of good bumpers out there. Some of my favorites (front or rear) for the money are JCR, DPG offroad, and rigid fabrication. I have rigid with the dpf offroad hoop welded on in front, with a winch. I have rigid rear tire carrier because I liked their mounting system the best and their approach to the cut and fold mod.

I'd look into building a relay box to handle accessories like lights, compressors, fans, maybe a fridge, etc. one of the best things I did, really cleaned up my hack wiring, and made it much easier to add accessories since everything is pre-wired. Search "fitchbox"

For lifts at 3-3.5", I don't think you need long arms, but some drop brackets from RE will make the ride and flex much nicer. RE makes a good lift, and for your purposes look at OME. If I had to do it over again I'd consider prigressive rate springs from Deaver or MetalCloak, and Deaver/Alcan/national springs. Definitely look at the shackle relocators, I think HDOffroad has the most popular/commonly used ones. This will really open up the leaf spring flex and smooth the ride out. For expo stuff if spend some money on shocks like Bilsteins, at least a quality monotube like RE.

If you are going selectable lockers ARB is probably the choice with and ARB or Viar (sp) compressor. If you simply want OBA, it might be easier to convert a tank for CO2. You can fit a compressor in the cubby in the trunk, but that's where I put my relay box.

33" tires are probably your max for your lift and expo. I'd still cut the fenders, and get some Napier flares for tire coverage and mud/dirt control. Maybe bushwacker flat flares if you aren't going to hit them on everything

I'd armor up, definitely put frame rail plating near the top of the mod list. TNT, ruff stuff, HD offroad all make some. Go bumper to bumper.

At least rock sliders but consider rocker replacement. TC skid, or make your own. Maybe some rear quarter panel/taillight protection like JCR or orfab.

Steering box reinforcement/brace.

Regear if in the budget, especially above 31" tires.

Try to keep weight off the roof if you can. For expo I'd love to be able to afford a roof top tent. That'd be sexy.

Led light bar to go on your new bumper hoop.

Upgraded headlight harness and H4 headlights.


If you are looking at gnarly trails on your travels, consider at least a simple 6point cage for safety.

Lastly, recovery gear, first aid kit, water/food/blankets (should be on every trip), fire extinguisher, etc. lots of people build storage boxes/drawer systems. Look at the "pics of your cargo area" thread for some AWESOME cargo storage solutions particularly for expo builds.

HTH

Oh and if you have the AW4, I'd add an auxiliary transmission cooler early on. Cheap and easy.

Thanks NCCherokee, I appreciate the input. I was thinking of a power block already. I like the thought of having all aux. services on breakers. I was also looking at the RE kits, I think the versitility would suit my needs. As far as storage, I plan on building a trailer when I get the rig where I want. But I also like the versitility of a roof rack if needed. I am thinking of an aussie locker type set-up on the front with locking hubs. Not sure what direction I am going to go in the rear. I know that air/ e- lockers are pretty reliable but that just adds another link in the system that could fail. At this point I am trying to make the dollars as far as I can with the expectation of upgrading in the future as needs present themselves. The trans cooler was already in the plans.
I do however have another question, given the fact I have an offroad trailer in the future plans. How practical, or even necessary, is the possibility of swaybar disconnects for the rear.

If you are on a budget I would look at http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/, Good quality and price

madco-xj said:

I do however have another question, given the fact I have an offroad trailer in the future plans. How practical, or even necessary, is the possibility of swaybar disconnects for the rear.

Click to expand...

Just remove it altogether. I recently finished a 3-1/2 to 4-inch lift and have no issues towing a dirt bike trailer with my lifted XJ and no rear swaybar.

If you're going to push the limits of the GVWR, then maybe reconsider, but I don't think it's needed.

Thanks murderer!

Uh... mudder ... spellcheck

Oh snap. I hope that's not a premonition. On second thought, leave that rear swaybar on, OK? Lol

Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express

Re: Re: Starting the build (insert poverty here)

madco-xj said:

Uh... mudder ... spellcheck

Click to expand...

madco-xj said:

Thanks murderer!

Click to expand...

yzmuddereffer said:

Oh snap. I hope that's not a premonition. On second thought, leave that rear swaybar on, OK? Lol

Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express

Click to expand...

Laugh for the day!

I would like to suggest a limited slip in the rear over a locker since its going to see a lot of road use and probably snow/ice as well. Not sure what rear axle you have but I believe you can get an Eaton True Trac for most of the factory rear ends and its doesn't have clutches so nothing to wear out and no special friction modifiers to add. Best part is up to 90% lockup but still able to drive it safely on the road and ice/snow.

I currently have a Ford 8.8 with factory lsd and disk brakes on mine, but thats a bit more involved than swapping the guts of your current rear end. This may be the way to go though if you plan on re-gearing anyways as you can find them with 4.10s and they are plentiful.

Thanks junkhead, I was either thinking of a true track set up or something similar for the rear. Like I said before I want to avoid a locker on the rear. The Aussie locker idea for the front will be when I can do a locking hub conversion. That way I can have a disconnect for the locker. Living in Ohio the weather is a crap shoot from day to day. The trail you take in may not be the same conditions on the way out.
Since it will be an all purpose set up I want to avoid the possibility of a locker failure due to pressure loss or electric issues.

What transfer case do you have? If you have the NP242 I would suggest LSD in the front and rear so you can still safely use your full time on the road in all conditions. If you have the NP231 a locker is fine up front since you realistically will only be using your 4wd when you really need it, and when its in 2wd you'll just get a faint ratcheting sound and nothing else, so no locking hub conversion is needed.

FWIW I have an Aussie in my D30 and the NP242 and I can't even tell its there until I get myself stuck in 2wd when I'm wheeling and throw it into 4 low and crawl myself out of the holes I've dug.

Also suggested is to get an Iron Rock Offroad Tie rod, they're solid bar stock instead of DOM tubing and only $67. You could also upgrade to "1-ton" steering from JCR but then you need to have your knuckles and drag link reamed to fit the larger tie rod ends. My rig came with the JCR setup installed but my tie rod is also slightly bent, so I'll be looking for a heavy duty solid bar that will accept the larger ends once it starts to get worse.

I did make sure I had the 241 t/c. Hind sight being 20/20 I think I would have tried to find one with a hp30 up front and a factory Lsd in the rear. But I couldn't pass up the deal I got on the jeep so I went for it. One other question... is there anyone selling the tail light antenna mount for a Cb. I could fab one up I'm sure.. but I have no welding experience or equipment. There is a metal fab shop in town but I'm sure they will want a stupid price just to apply a few beads on a part I have fabbed.

Everyone is on a budget. Its just some are smaller than others. if you are on a tight budget then it would be wise to buy control arms, coils, leaves and monotube shocks used , as well as trackbar . Go to rockatuo and get ZJ v8 tie rod parts shipped new so you are upgrading steering and replacing worn TREs at the same time.
buy a used lunchbox for the front.
get a 8.25, 44, or 8.8 for the rear that already has 4.10+ gears with either a locker or posi already in it for under 350$.
grab a used lunch box for the front and look for a cheap already geared used front end.
grabd some used tires already on rims for under 500$ and save a ton of money there.
build yourself some sliders or 2x6 rocker replacement is actually. Get skids from the junkyard for now and same for front tow hooks. Eventually youll find a used winch bumper for cheap and throw that on with D rings.

Buy new cap/rotor/plugs/wires/ air filter, fuel filter/sea foam/ o2 sensor/tps/cps/gas cleaner/ brakes all new and get that basic running stuff squared away

Blondejon thanks for the advice... Budget isn't quite that tight, thankfully. I am figuring a grand on suspension, and the associated bits. I plan on stretching the build out over the next year or so in stages. That way it can remain a daily driver.(I am a firefighter and have quite a bit of time to work on it) I have a pretty good idea of the direction I want to go. I am just getting some practical advice from people with more experience than me.

Jon is giving great advice! He is basically describing my own build. Took time gathered parts and did a lot of fabricating. $1000 can go a long way on an xj!

1000$ can do alot more than suspension very easily. you should consider reading a bunch of build threads that dont just swap on brand new out of the box parts. the money you save on suspension and tires will pay for a beefy rear end, front locker, and some cheap used sliders on your local classifieds, as well as junkyard gas skid. start an excel file, and run the numbers yourself, really undertstand the different scenarios, all new, all used, partially used, partially new, etc etc. there is an oppurtunity cost when you buy one thing for full price, you forego another. When you buy 10 things full price, you forego almost an entire build.

the other reason is, that you will end up ditching your first lift pretty quick . people are always upgrading. just get it up in the air and start wheeling, and then upgrade certain parts as you see fit.

While am not sure about the need to ditch your first lift quick, between Craigslist the local wrecking yard and the for sale column in the local naxja chapter you can build a very solid rig for reasonable money.

I just meant people upgrade alot through the first five years usually. Not everyone, not always, theres a good chance if he spent 1000$ on a lift he would be going long arms and monotube shocks pretty soon and just wasting money...