new member to naxja looking for some advice (lots of reading is involved)

hi, my name is jake from eastern oregon and im 16 years old and i own a 1988 wagoneer limited named "woody".i'll start from the beggining so you can understand my position. i have been into jeeps for as long as i can remember and i got my liscence in february and was tired of having a toy that couldnt be driven anywhere there were cops (2001 honda xr 100), so i decided to sell my bike to get a cheap 4x4 (was thinking a cj but around here those are hard to find and when you do they cost so much even in sad condition so i decided to look for an xj because they are generally cheaper and drive on road better so i was looking on craigslist one day and found an ad for an 88 wag limited, they were moving and needed to get rid of it so i called them and talked to them about it and it sounded pretty good. 4.0L auto,187k miles (low for an old jeep around here) but it just needed a water pump. anyways the next day dad had to go to that town to get a transmission (me and dad are chevy guys too) so i asked him if we could look at this and he said that was fine. so i went and looked at it and the nice lady who owned it let me drive it around the block (thats all i could before it was gettin hot) and it seemed pretty cool and i thought to myself "now i see why those jeep guys love em" and i knew i was hooked! so 800$ (not bad for an old jeep with fairly new 30" tires and 2" lift)later i had a neat little project. so when we picked it up later and brought it home me and dad sank our teeth in and found out that jeeps are a bit different to work on then old chevys. so once we got woody running and driving good i couldnt wipe the grin of my face or wait to get him liscenced and insured so monday the 31ist after school after it had been insured we got him liscenced. and ive been glad ever since. NOW TO THE IMPORTANT ADVICE PART. as an unexperienced wheeler what are some good first things to do to the jeep for trails (my welding teacher lets me do anything i want and she likes wheeling but sheand her husband just moaved here, im a pretty good fabricator and welder)what should i get for it and take with me when i go wheelin im not gonna do anything too serious cause im probably gonna be the only rig goin lots of the time (friends aint got wheelin rigs yet), and what are some good things to know about jeeps and what should i do to my jeep so people see im not "one of those kids that goes out in my fields and tears em up ".( im a 4th gen farmer living in a farm community where alot of people see four wheelers as crooks) i've seen my share of tire tracks out in fields. and thats pretty much it just any help or wisdom that any of you xj guys have would be greatly appreciated ty. jake. im trying to put a pic of it at the bottom of this but no guarentees

recovery equipment. winch, comealong, tow hooks, tow straps. Good Starting point. A hi-lift jack isn't a bad idea either.

Wow another eastern oregoner thats rare! LOL

As stated above recovery is just about #1 along with a CB. You cant even go to any events without these items.

After that, armor up. Skid plates all around.
This is what im doing right now, due to the advise here. Definetly seems the way to go. Ive been told a Stock XJ with armor and good recovery is just as fun as a lifted and locked one.

As long as you're staying stock, I really have to recommend a friend, especially with another rig. There's not much worse than being stuck, alone, and lost.....

Other than that, your XJ sounds to be in much the same situation as mine! 2" lift should do ya fine....I'm planning on new rear hitch, front hooks, and rock rails this summer, and will probably not go any taller than the 2" I've got. They can be a blast, even completely stock.....

Woody?

Welcome to Naxja! Bought my first Jeep when I was 16 too. First get it running well and reliably, then talk to fellow wheelers to see what kind of rig works on the trails you want to run. If you want a hardcore rockcrawler/ heavy trail rig the build will be very different from a light trail / daily driver.

If you want to start small, recovery equipment,(tow chains, tow points,come along,spare tire, basic tools) armor, (rock rails, sturdy bumpers, skid plates) 2"budget boost, a set of 30/9.50 mud tires maybe a lock right in the rear axle, and have a blast for not a lot of money.

If you want to start big, think about axle swaps, 5" to 6" of lift, long arms, slip yoke eliminator for the transfer case, low ring and pinion gears and lockers for the axles, heavy duty steering arms, winch, spare parts, 35"+ tires.

Any question you can ask has already been answered on this site, learn to use the search function, talk to others, go wheeling with members of your Naxja chapter, HAVE FUN! :clap:

thanks for your advice guys. ive got the jeep fixed and it runs good and drives good but idles high sometimes but when i put it in gear and start driving it it stops. well im having my mechanic friend look at the tow hooks on the xj hes trying to sell (240k miles) and i got a spare tire, ive got some tools and a hi lift already (from my other rig, i know it well enough to know it wont need them, hoping the jeep wont) probably gonna get a come along and a few more things. sry bout the pics i need to upload more recent ones

as already mentioned, make sure you have recovery points. and make sure they are TIED IT STRONG. the factory front recovery hooks are good as long as you have the tie in bracket to go with them. if you only use the 3 bumper bolts, don't be surprised if they pull out on you.

to get an understanding of how to make sure they're tied in nicely, do some searching on here for bumpers, recovery and other related items, or start using google to do research on cherokee bumpers and recovery hooks. once you start seeing pictures of how they are tied into the uni-body "frame" you'll understand.

as for the rear, you need a good recovery point there. you can either use a good class 3 hitch with a D-shackle, or build yourself a bumper with some good solid recovery points build in. again do some research on rear bumpers. when you build a good recovery bumper for the rear, you want to add a little more strenght than just the 8 bolts that hold the factory bumper. alot of bumpers also incorporate mounting points where a hitch would bolt up. that adds some good strenght.

for recovery straps, make sure you DO NOT get tow straps. and DO NOT get straps with hooks. (like the ones from walmart, etc..) you want good recovery straps (also called snatch straps). you can usually get them from most good 4x4 stores (google and internet are your friend). start with
www.4wd.com and www.quadratec.com until you start finding more websites.

make sure you have a FULLSIZE spare.

fire extinguishers are very important. hopefully you won't need them, but if you do need them you'll be happy you have them (ask me how i know).

and DO NOT go wheeling alone. if you absolutely can't resist, make sure you have a good CB and that you can reach somebody from where you are. a cell phone would be even better. and let people know where you are going before heading out. it's not cool to be in the middle of nowhere all by yourself and completely stuck (again ask me how i know).

and as you already mentioned. be responsible and don't do any illegal wheeling.

other than that...........smile from ear to ear and take pictures.

Based on your initial post it sounds like you want to fabricate something yourself for your XJ. I would recommend rock sliders/rails as the first thing to make. If you get anywhere close to rocks you will be happy starting out with these. After that then make your bumpers with recovery points build in and make sure to tie them in good (look around on this forum for ideas).

Congrats on your first Jeep.

First, you gotta read read read... and learn learn learn. You can't start ripping into your Jeep if you don't know what each part does.
You gotta learn how the suspension works, and what purpose each suspension part serves. Then you figure out what you can afford... it all revolves around the money you have to blow.

I was on a tight budget, so I made a lot of things at home. I made my steering at home, my Long arms, my rock sliders, my frame plating, my track bar frame bracket, I armored my Diff covers with 1/4 plate. All this work to save money. But you gotta have the right tools.

If you don't have the right tools, you're helpless.
Start slow, get the stuff you need.
Make sure you have a good work space.

The start with the basics... and build from there.

It's a big process, that must be done in a certain order.
You gotta figure it out, it's work, it's costs money.. but it's a learning experience and if if you really like it... it's a great hobby.

jaxes88 said:

thanks for your advice guys. ive got the jeep fixed and it runs good and drives good but idles high sometimes but when i put it in gear and start driving it it stops. well im having my mechanic friend look at the tow hooks on the xj hes trying to sell (240k miles) and i got a spare tire, ive got some tools and a hi lift already (from my other rig, i know it well enough to know it wont need them, hoping the jeep wont) probably gonna get a come along and a few more things. sry bout the pics i need to upload more recent ones

Click to expand...

That thing is clean don't molest it at all.