opinions of new 99 xj buildup

i'm tired of putting money into my 83 cj-7 and i have a 99 xj that i am planning on building up. navy bonus coming soon and i'm laying out everything on paper so far. i want to build my cherokee up to handle pretty much anything i throw at it, trailriding, mud, rocks, hillclimbing, snow and ice, and dd. i spend most of my time on pavement, but i want this cherokee to just be a really good all around rig. i'm looking for input to see if you all out there see any flaws in my thinking. and also i'm not really interested in axle swapping.

1999 xj, 4.0, aw4, np231, 4dr, d30 front, 8.25 rear

lift - RE 5.5 long arm, i've heard good things about the long arm lifts and want to try it out, hopefully excellent street driveability

sye - probably advanced adaptors

gears - 456, no doubt

lockers - thinking about arb's front and rear, i have no experience other than the detroit in my cj-7, any input with wether i should do the lockers or limited slips is greatly appreciated

tires - 33" all terrain, or mud terrain if they are quiet, i had x-terrains on the cj and they were a bit noisy for what i'm looking for the xj

other than that is the first stop and grab of modifications the only other things i'm planning on is a RE ext. duty track bar (love em), and some armor. bumpers and all the happy h.s. will come later after i finish with all the above. also the X-case linkage in the lifted tj i had was a P.I.A.. is there any aftermarket linkages out there for cherokees, i ended up getting a replacement unit from skyjacker for my tj and it made all the troubles go away.

thanks for your time and all input is appreciated

Sounds good. :thumbup:

12GaugeXJ said:

Sounds good. :thumbup:

Click to expand...

Agreed.

Check out Novak Adapters for a slick tcase shifter.

http://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/kit_sk2x.htm

awesome, that shifter just went on the list. thanks buddy

Armour and tow points come first, gas tank skid, TC skid, rock sliders, front and rear bumpers with tow points. At that point I would start on the lift.
Going to 4.xx will require new carrier in the front, 8.25's have no different sized ones. I have an auburn pro in my 98, well behaved and pretty transparent until you try to power around a slippery turn, then it pushes you straight in 2wd.

sounds like you've got a good list so far, but some attention should definatly be turned to the bottom of that cherokee if you're going to be doing rocks/hill climbs/trail riding. The more skid plates you can put on the better. Also a good set of rockers to help stiffen up the unibody and protect it some would also be a good idea. Other than that I can assure you you won't be dissappointed with the 5.5" LA kit from RE. You won't be dissappointed with the arb's, they are a great locker. But if you did want something different an OX might be one to consider as well. I remember them being about $100 or so more than the arb's, but you don't have to buy a compressor kit, and you get a beefy diff cover, which if I were putting $1000 worth of parts/labor in my axles, I'd definatly want to protect them as much as possible, so a cover would come anyways.

If you do have an SYE you should not have to have a T-case drop. With no T-case drop you should have zero t-case linkage problems. Your TJ probably had a body lift or t-case drop..or both causing you linkage hell.

If you're looking at the RE 5.5" LA kit, also check out TNT Customs full 5.5" system. It's basically an RE system, supplemented with TNT longarms, t-case skid, and a few other heavy duty bits and pieces, like TNT trackbar and mount. It's expensive, but it's a complete kit the first time around. Could save you money down the road.

www.tntcustoms.com

Chris

only thing I would add is a tranny cooler and a tranny temp gauge .

BlueCuda said:

If you do have an SYE you should not have to have a T-case drop. With no T-case drop you should have zero t-case linkage problems. Your TJ probably had a body lift or t-case drop..or both causing you linkage hell.

Click to expand...

nail on the head, i had a crappy 4" trailmaster and t-case drop kit.

ckh550 said:

If you're looking at the RE 5.5" LA kit, also check out TNT Customs full 5.5" system. It's basically an RE system, supplemented with TNT longarms, t-case skid, and a few other heavy duty bits and pieces, like TNT trackbar and mount. It's expensive, but it's a complete kit the first time around. Could save you money down the road.

www.tntcustoms.com

Chris

Click to expand...

wow, that is a very strong looking system, maybe changing my mind now. form the pics it looks like the control arm brackets are part of the belly skid, pretty cool. looks like a hot ticket

Yeah it is a complete system first time through. Pretty much all RE parts, so you know it's quality, but just upgraded shackles, TNT LA's, and the TNT trackbar and mount. If I had to do it all over again, that's what I'd go with the first time around.

Chris