How do any of you decide it's time to quit?

I know the old adadge "JEEP----Just Empty Every Pocket" I have found that to be completely true, and with my borderline obsessive personality that can be EXPENSIVE! So here's where I'm going with this. I bought the XJ for 3K I have spent about 3 more on upgrades, to get it like I would like it, I need about 6K more(realistically). To get it like I have dreamt of it I would need another 10-15K. I only make around 35K a year so for that kind of price tag we are looking at around.... oh,,,I don't know.....15 years till completion! But by that time I have worn out the engine and blown the tranny and the t- case hase been replaced 3 times etc etc etc, when do you know it's time to quit doing mods and start saving for the next build up? Just thought to start some discussion I know it's all personal opinion of course! LOL

Congratulations. The first step is admitting you have a problem. You have now joined the ranks of fellow XJ owners that can do nothing but think about their jeeps, at a bare minimum, twice a day. The next steps to cure you of this disease are as follows:

• First, realize that switching out both axles to something twice as beefy isn't mandatory
• Second, understanding that staying within 3-5" of the stock suspension height isn't the end of the world
• Third, accepting that routine maintenance is actually more important than a totally redesigned suspension
• Fourth, learning to accept the fact that your modifications shouldn't necessarily cost 4 times as much as your jeep
• Fifth, realizing there are other things to spend your money on other than your jeep
• And lastly, reintroducing yourself to society as a "relatively" normal motor vehicle operator

Personally I can't even get past step one, and this whole thing isn't helping me out either...I just keep drawing suspensions and bumpers and roofracks in my notebook while I should be taking notes in class.

Just be glad that you paid cash for it. Try doing the math when you got to make a monthly payment on it. I keep thinking that a decent winch is only three paments, Gears only....

Truly, It Is A Sad Thing.

It's really hard, isn't it.

It's also easy to loose sight of the fact that four wheeling is fun no matter what level of trail and modification we are at. I don't think I have any more fun now than when I first started, with way fewer modifications. If "keeping up with the Joneses" is important, it's going to be both expensive and time consuming. If having fun on the trail, seeing the sights, and enjoying your friends is important, it doesn't have to be that expensive.

We can also decrease the fun factor in some of our favorite trails with the modifications we do, so there is a point of diminishing returns as far as having fun is concerned. If you like fabricating and building, that is almost a seperate hobby than wheeling, and is an end in itself. It's not necessary to have the biggest tires or the latest equipment to run the trails and have fun. None of us, no matter how much money we might have, will have the latest equipment. Because the sport is growing so fast, and because of the competitions, there are very cool and well designed products coming out all the time, and there's no way to keep up.

I think many times we need to ask ourselves...."Will this modification really allow me to have more fun, and will it give enough extra performance to be worth the cost?" A lot of times the answer is "No", but it's just something that we want. Life just doesn't give us everything.

What's great is that not only is there every kind of modification for every kind of XJ driver, from where to mount a CB to how much of a rockkrawler to end up with. there is so much information available that results in just keeping them running, then there is so many different ways to do a simple upgrade. I marvel at all of the individual websites that have been created by XJ owners and how many different approaches there are to customizing those wonderful rigs. IMO I'm glad that I can only afford a stock suspension because I've only begun to experience trails that reach it's potential and push the outer limits of it's factory born capabilities. At the same time I "can't" wait for skid plates and 3" of lift and 31" tires and traction aids and dual batteries and filling in those holes pre drilled in my aftermarket bumper with the goodies that will fit there. In the mean time I'll install my $7.00 worth of budget anti sway disco stuff and be quite happy to experience being disconnectied next time out on the trail. I would say go ahead and keep your wish list, once in a while go ahead and check something off of it, just be balanced in your priorities and be gratefull for what you already have!

I agree with what the wise Goatman says... trying to be on the cutting edge is nearly impossible...and attempting it is expensive as well as pretty frustrating or exciting...depending on ones tolerance for $pending/fabbing etc... I have tried to stay about 3 years behind the latest XJ 'trends' and score alot of my upgrade goodies cheap to free that way. I also agree that overbuilding can lead to serious boredom on many once-tricky trails. At least in my stompin grounds (Uwharrie NF), many of the spots I used to walk through with a locked/SOA MJ have gotten harder...but OTOH many others have gotten easier over time.

LOL @ Dirk Funk:
"Fifth, realizing there are other things to spend your money on other than your jeep..." SAY WHAT?

"And lastly, reintroducing yourself to society as a "relatively" normal motor vehicle operator"
does that mean I have to take the tow hook out of my receiver hitch and my "your little car is my crumple zone" sticker has to go?

For those of you who think keeping one Jeep on the road and/or trail...try doing it with a yard full of them. At least they all are 4.0 Renix, and eventually all will end up with AW4 trans. I think I need to negotiate fleet discount rates at the parts houses

Axles are variable, and I am of the opinion that a mildly upgraded D30 can live through some unholy abuse. (All equipment has limits...or when upgraded, passes the limiting factors upstream-which isn't too good on the wallet or harmonious spousal relations)

I think that most folks would be better off spending $$$$ on a reliable DD (another XJ/MJ?) and/or a tow-rig/trailer, then worrying about the 5+ trail beater-Jeep. Luckily we favor a Jeep model that can do both pretty well with a few upgrades, and by now, many parts for them are common and plentiful at scrapyards and through the aftermarket...Three or four years ago XJ/MJ folks were the 6-toed stepchildren in the Jeepin world. Still great #s of XJs exist out there putting along or resting in backyards in unmolested OEM config... gather these orphans and give them a happy home (or bring them to me, I have room for a bunch more. seriously)

I agree that figuring out a 'stopping point' on any one of our rigs is difficult. Ya got to be honest with yourself about what ya want out of it, and remind ones self that it's supposed to be 'fun'

I believe stopping points are temporary. It's like the commercial "life is a journey, enjoy the ride" Any jeep buildup is a progression. One will never be truly "done" just as one can never reach perfection or spiritual oneness. There will always be something lacking and a craving to correct that shortfall.
The only limits are the same ones imposed by the real world upon any dream: Time and Money. When you run out of one or the other, that is your stopping point.
mattk

Its funny when i bought my 89 limited i plan for just 3 in 32 and that was it. I also have a 88 MJ that was to be my rock toy but it hasn't moved in 2 years since i don't have a shop that i can build it in yet. Now my XJ sits on 35s and is well beaten i keep saying jst a few more things then its done but i just cant stop.

Why didn't anyone tell me this before?! So you mean I don't have to redo my XJ every winter?! I didn't need a 60?! I didn't need front leafs?! There is other things besides my JEEP?!
Man, I coulda saved a lot of money!

I don't think I'll ever stop. It's okay though, I don' thave a problem. I can quit anytime. Really. It's not like I wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, clutching my bed sheets to me, with the phrase "Dana 44" still echoing through my room.

The most important quetsion for any build-up is what you do with it. Mine is my daily driver, most of what it sees is traffic, so I am content with my 3" and eventually 31 x 10.5's (waiting for the others to die). Okay, I lied...my goals for Moab are this:

Rock Rails
Diff Protection
4.5" Lift
SUNROOF!

Okay..I'm not done..never will be...but like I said..it's not a problem!

Sequoia

Quit????? What does that mean? Honestly, the way some people think, I'll never understand.

As Goat stated, to some of us, it's the fabrication aspect. I enjoy sitting out in the barn, sketching up some part, going up to the shop to draw it up, and then firing up the mill/ lathe/ grinder/ welder to make it. It really pisses me off when I take it back out to the barn to install and it doesn't fit though

Thankfully, there are harder and harder trails popping up all over the place and I'm not getting bored with the trails that were once wild and now ho-hum to me. I still enjoy the less difficult trails cuz I can hop out and help everyone out and not have to worry about fixin' my junk all day.

I don't know if I should be ashamed to admit this or not, but I enjoy my type of "mall crawling". There are cruise-in's all over the place around here in the summers. I love parking next to some guy that's dumped $80K into his hotrod and everybody is checkin' out my junk cuz it's completely different than all the cars that are there. Yeah, I know I have ego problems, but I don't care


Sean

How do any of you decide it's time to quit?

Click to expand...

When I run out of money.



RR3

Hello my name is Grant. Can you help me? I have a problem.

I have been a gearhead since my first Formula One race, the South African Grand Prix in 1972. Don't know what started the addiction - the sounds, the smells, the hot babes in the pits?

Since moving to CO 9 years ago, my problem has become worse. I have worked in motorsports, and my hobby was mild offroading in a stock XJ. I have met a lot of people with the same problem (or should I call them enablers) and due to the peer pressure I succumbed to the worst of the addictions - rock crawling. My habit has only become worse. Initially it was visible only in the credit card receipts, small aftermarket parts mostly. Then it became increasingly noticeable when the Jeep started growing in height, 31's, 33's, 35's,

I was noticing a similar pattern amongst some fellow wheelers, the more we discussed it the worse it became.

My wife started to notice the problem when small time parts purchases started to become major machinery and tool purchases. I could no longer satisfy my urges with a quick trip to the Craftsman aisle in Sears, it was taking tool catalogues to get my fix.

I think I realized the extent of my problem in December, and immediately checked myself into an industrial park rental space. They were kind enough to give me a two Jeep garage and workspace. The addiction reached a peak with the arrival of the tube bender, which requires regular doses of DOM and chromoly. Instead of helping my problem, admitting to it has only made it worse, plans are underway to move to a larger shop, more space, more tools, more vehicles. Just yesterday a quick trip to the dyno room to test the 383 SBC had to be enhanced by a dry sump conversion. Is there an end to the madness?

Unfortunately my affliction is not limited to the dirt, it seems that any motor sufficiently powered by dead dinsoaurs will cause me to feel a sense of euphoria and deliriousness. Unfortunately my wife is starting to fall under the same spell, occasional drives in the XJ and Mini Cooper S are no longer sufficient to soothe her cravings, she has just upped the stakes to a WRX STi.

Where will it all end? Can someone help? Wait, Do I want help?

I would love to do the drive train thing- I want a Dana 300, Dana 44 front, 9-inch rear, T-18 manual and an over/under, PTO, but it's easy for me because I run into economic realities of raising a family and wanting to do other things. Here is what I do. I decide where I want to go- to deserted mountain trails, kayaking in the swamps of the Roanoke River, etc. Then the question is-Can I get there with this rig? More importantly, Do I trust this rig to bring me home? If the answer is no-correct the problem. If the answer is yes-leave it alone. Its hard for a gadget guy such as myself to accept sometimes but this rig is just a means to an end. It is not the end itself and it is not art.

HAVE
1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport XJ 4.0 auto
Personal tag 2OFFROAD
30X9.50-15 Dayton Timberline M/T
1” Daystar polyurethane enco-lift
Smittybult Outland grillguard with
Hella 500 driving lights and Hella 550 fog lights
KargoMaster Kilimanjaro 52X60 roof rack with
Hella 500 driving lights with 100-watt bulbs and
4 35-watt area lights
Optima Redtop battery
NAPA slotted rotors and brake pads
Jet stage 1 power control module
K&N FIPK
Flowmaster Delta 2 muffler
Performance distributors firepower kit
Autolite platinum plugs
Hella visionplus headlights with Sylvania silverstar bulbs
Lowrance globalmap 1600 GPS
Golite radio controlled spotlight
2 jobs 1 pays bills 1 for xj habit

WANT
2" ome lift
humm-9 portal axles
ox lockers
300+ hp
more time to wheel

never quit