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$3800

A

aaronsxj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
n.idaho
my friend recently purcesed a 98xj and came to me today and said, "i have $3800 to lift and mod my xj, what do i do." so help me help him. heres what i was thinking based off of what he told me. all my prices include shipping.

5.5 TnT y-link system $2100
sye $220
driveline $215
package deal from jcroffroad.com (Front and Rear bumper, Rockrails, 1-ton steer.) $1230.

he just ordered some 31-10.5 tires which i told him to switch to atleast 32's since theres no trimming going on yet, maybe 33's. tires not included in the 3800. if it were me i'd trim and go 35's.
 
Id do something else besides the TnT setup. PITA to install, if you ever need to yank the TC or tranny, you'd have to drop the belly pan, and in turn, the whole front axle would be hanging. Plus, ive seen 2 belly pans bend. Not saying its a bad kit, just could use some improvements, which may be taken care of by now. Check out the Claytons kit. Much easier to install, beefy, and priced good. Other than that, if he trims a little, he can easily clear a 33" tire. Make sure to include other small parts in the price.

He plan on doing any gears?
 
I would add gears/lockers to that list. stock gears suck with 32s and 33s
 
aaronsxj said:
[/He plan on doing any gears?QUOTE]

i told him that options were endless and that he was going to need to expect little things and more mods. in the future.
Click to expand...


do gears and lockers before long arms.

jeepin outfitters has a good deal on front/rear gears plus install kits for around 500.
Click to expand...
 
aaronsxj said:
my friend recently purcesed a 98xj and came to me today and said, "i have $3800 to lift and mod my xj, what do i do." so help me help him. heres what i was thinking based off of what he told me. all my prices include shipping.

5.5 TnT y-link system $2100
sye $220
driveline $215
package deal from jcroffroad.com (Front and Rear bumper, Rockrails, 1-ton steer.) $1230.

he just ordered some 31-10.5 tires which i told him to switch to atleast 32's since theres no trimming going on yet, maybe 33's. tires not included in the 3800. if it were me i'd trim and go 35's.
Click to expand...


What is the purpose of this rig?
DD? Trailered?
How much time off road? on road?
How much wheeling has he done in it or other rigs?
You get my drift.

You can do anything from a 3" lift with 35's locked and geared....... to .......8" LA's and 35's on stock gears. What does he want?

Michael
 
2xtreme said:
8" LA's and 35's on stock gears. What does he want?

Michael
Click to expand...

no matter what he says he doesn't want that.
 
WaXJ_Skier said:
no matter what he says he doesn't want that.
Click to expand...

You might be surprised at how many people do exactly that or other "just as silly" variation.
You get my point though, right?
Michael
 
2xtreme said:
You might be surprised at how many people do exactly that or other "just as silly" variation.
You get my point though, right?
Michael
Click to expand...

of course I get the point, theres too many variations to count. I'm guessing thats why the question was asked. What it really comes down to is advice on what is more desireable to meet short term and long term goals.
 
WaXJ_Skier said:
What it really comes down to is advice on what is more desireable to meet short term and long term goals.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And since we have NO idea what the goals are yet, it is difficult to provide advice.

We are also assuming that the vehicle is bone stock currently?

Michael
 
IMHO doing a long arm kit without lockers is impractical.

sure you can flex more but your open diffs wont support the extra articulation.

how much fender trimming is he going to do? if he doesnt want to trim a ton i would say go with a 6.5 with 33's

either 4.10's or 4.56's depending on the road/offroad ratio.

SYE is good advice which would require a driveline although with my 5.5 i experience no issues whatsoever without an SYE.

so now we have a rig with gears thats locked with a 5.5-6.5 and an SYE.

since tires arent included in that 3800 i'd say he's got a lot of money left.

i wouldnt jump on a rear bumper yet but a front with a winch is a must. and some sort of OBA setup. whether you do it yourself or buy it. very important.

maybe a roof rack depending on if he likes that.

if everything listed above was already done

my next step would be armor.

i wouldnt go one step further with anything untill i had rock sliders and a full set of skids.

but skids aside; with a rig like the one listed above you could still have fun for a lifetime without putting your undercarriage in jeapordy.


EDIT:

depending of if he's going to be hitting the rocks or not axle upgrades would obviously take presidence over some of the other mods listed.
 
I think the armor is more important then the lift, a jeep that is lifted with no tow points is basically a mall cruiser.

The sye and shaft are critical on a late model especially with that much lift.

OBA and a winch are not necessary, get your trail essentials done first, and have a well balanced jeep before you start spending like that.

I use the T&T kit and it drastically improved my ride, only thing is that install is a pita and getting at the front shaft is near impossible without dropping the pan.

So I would say convince him to trim, run 33's, get gears and a locker and maybe a long arm kit if its in the budget, otherwise just a 4.5 inch short arm kit for the short term.

-Alex
 
CanMan said:
Id do something else besides the TnT setup. PITA to install, if you ever need to yank the TC or tranny, you'd have to drop the belly pan, and in turn, the whole front axle would be hanging. Plus, ive seen 2 belly pans bend. Not saying its a bad kit, just could use some improvements, which may be taken care of by now. Check out the Claytons kit. Much easier to install, beefy, and priced good. Other than that, if he trims a little, he can easily clear a 33" tire. Make sure to include other small parts in the price.

He plan on doing any gears?
Click to expand...

Also not a TnT LA fan. I don't think it's a bad kit, but I think there are plenty of good reasons not to use it.

Look into the RK or BDS kits (not y-links)...or possibly Claytons. Also...5.5" of lift is 33" tire land for sure, I run 33's on 4.5". Any height 4.5" or more I prefer longarms, it just rides nicer...especially if you're daily driving it. And make sure he uses a full leaf pack, none of that add a leaf crap.

One thing I will say, is I always wished I would have armored up my body before I wheeled at all. So sidebars and bumpers first for sure!

Gearing and lockers should be pretty high on the list too.
 
the purpose for this xj is to be a DD/weekend warrior. he has already uped his money stack $2000 more, and last night i found a running and driving 76 ford with HP D44 front and 9inch rear for $400. great donor axles for $400. we will be trussing it with TnT truss.
 
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