New XJ, no $$$, any Ideas?

I'm new to , just signed up as a member a couple of days ago and I'm looking for some help.

I've never had an XJ but was attracted to them through a friend of mine, and now that I have one I'd like to start building it, but I'm on a tight budget. So what I need from ya'll is some basic advice on the "Have To's" of what I need to do first to get on the trail.

I have a 1996 Country XJ with a basic 3in lift, spring spacers in the front and I think and add-a-leaf in the rear, nothing crazy. The lift won't stick around forever, I'd like to do a 4.5in. or 5in lift, cut off some sheet metal and throw nothing bigger than 35's on, but that will come later once the funds are available.

Right now my idea is to make some quick disconnects for the sway bar, start building the stock front end to be strong enough, and just get some sort of cheap locker in the rear until I figure out how to break it so I can convince my wife I need to get a D44 or better so it doesn't happen again. Also throw on some sliders so I can at least crawl over some rocks without too much hassle. After that what do you all suggest for neccessary upgrades to be able to hit the trail without a major headache?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

And also can anyone tell me why I'd be getting 11mpg? I know i need to re-do the exhaust, it has one of those lame cherry-bomb glass packs on it, but I'd figure I ought to be getting 14mpg minimally?

Is it your daily driver? If not, do what I did and weld the rear end. If you don't have a welder it isn't hard to pull the carrier and take it to someone. You don't have to set up gears to just pull the carrier. This has instantly made my jeep much more capable and fun. I wasn't going to put money into my Dana 35 so this was the most logical step.

Most the rock crawlers suggest putting your locker in the front for best results. The most important consensus is tow recovery points.

Yes unfortunately it is my daily driver, but thanks for the suggestion.

Ok ok, build for what you want to do. If you are talking about rock crawling, thats one kind of build. If you are talking about truck haven or mojave road that another. Dont put any money into the turdy five, its a complete waste. A 44 is cheap in a yard. Just wait for a half price friday and go get you one. It will bolt right up and probably have the right gears. If you want to roll on 33's and 4.5 (what i have now) you can stay away from alloys and just worry about armor. Sliders, tank skid and front recovery points and lockers. You'll be ok for LBJ, Tack hammer and with a really good spotter (mike dash G for example) you could probably get thru claw. Come to a meet n greet and we can blue print a build. I will be around my shop for the better part of the day on saturday if you want to chat it over. buenos suerte,
Mike

willy51 said:

Ok ok, build for what you want to do. If you are talking about rock crawling, thats one kind of build. If you are talking about truck haven or mojave road that another. Dont put any money into the turdy five, its a complete waste. A 44 is cheap in a yard. Just wait for a half price friday and go get you one. It will bolt right up and probably have the right gears. If you want to roll on 33's and 4.5 (what i have now) you can stay away from alloys and just worry about armor. Sliders, tank skid and front recovery points and lockers. You'll be ok for LBJ, Tack hammer and with a really good spotter (mike dash G for example) you could probably get thru claw. Come to a meet n greet and we can blue print a build. I will be around my shop for the better part of the day on saturday if you want to chat it over. buenos suerte,
Mike

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Mike,

I will do my best to be at the next meet and greet. As for the D44, I'm looking, but the best I can do right now is CL being as busy as I am. I'm hoping to make it to yard soon to grab one and a few other things, we shall see, I'll keep ya'll posted on the progress.

Another good option beyond the 44, is the Ford 8.8.

If you haven't invested in anything yet, it will cost less than buying a 44 and converting it to rear discs. It's a little stronger than the 44, and the upgrades cost about the same.

How tight is tight? You could always save for a bit.

Red_daggsXJ said:

I have a 1996 Country XJ . . .

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Before you start looking for a D44 check and see what you have. You might have either a 27 or 29 spline Chrysler 8.25 axle depending on the build date and the whims of the mfg. on your '96. Nothing wrong with the 29 spline 8.25 and Aussie makes a locker for under $300- that you can install yourself.
You can add full factory skids, rear hitch and front tow hooks from the junk yard or So. Cal. people who have upgraded. Get to know your Jeep. Crawl around underneath, tighten things, fix leaks, change fluids, remove the rear sway bar. There's plenty you can do free or cheep.

Good luck, thanks for spending the $$ and joining. You will save many times the amount with the info found on , I know I did.
Mike

I have to say thanks to you all so far. My first post went up yesterday and there's already a lot of great response.

IslanderOffRoad said:

How tight is tight? You could always save for a bit.

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Tight is relative to how many different projects I have at once. Right now I have about 8-10 more hours on my tattoo, I'm building an AR-15 and custom 1911, plus the Jeep. Not to mention I have a 4 month old with an at home wife. So again I say that tight is relative, things will loosen up as the projects fall off.

I think a good route is the Ford 8.8 due to the fact that I can get one for around $100-$200 and already come with disc brakes. I was going to do some quick connects for the sway bar, but Mike mentioned getting rid of the rear all together, is anyone running that on their daily driver without any issues? That seems like the easiest fix right off the bat. I'm putting together a list of all the junkyard items I'll need along with my buddy who's building a 88 Land Cruiser, so we're gonna hit that up soon enough.

Bumpers are going to be the first things I'm gonna fab up, but I lack a welder as I left mine in Colorado with a friend in need. If anyone needs a case of beer and has a welder do let me know, I think a trade could be on the horizon?

You guys rock!

A lot of people on here run without the rear sway bar. Saves time/effort/energy, because you do not have to remove it when you go wheeling for more flex.
It is the front that you want to keep on (possibly add disconnects)

I dropped my rear sway a long time ago and never looked back. I tow with my jeep and it has never caused me a problem. dont go with out the front though or it will be like riding a slinky.

I agree that the 8.8 is a pretty good option. There are two things that i do not like about it. 1 its lower than the 44 and on short tires, 33's that can be an issue when wheeling the rocks. 2 C clip. Not because they break or are a design flaw, just that if i want to remove an axle shaft for any reason you have to pull the cover and the center pin out. I dont know about you but I hate the smell of 90 weight.

Lastly,
If you want to build bumpers or do any other fabrication you can come up and work in my shop as long as i am here. You cover the cost of the wire and the gas and there is a mig you can use along with other equiptment. I even know a shop that has pretty decent rates on steele.

willy51 said:

I dropped my rear sway a long time ago and never looked back. I tow with my jeep and it has never caused me a problem. dont go with out the front though or it will be like riding a slinky.

I agree that the 8.8 is a pretty good option. There are two things that i do not like about it. 1 its lower than the 44 and on short tires, 33's that can be an issue when wheeling the rocks. 2 C clip. Not because they break or are a design flaw, just that if i want to remove an axle shaft for any reason you have to pull the cover and the center pin out. I dont know about you but I hate the smell of 90 weight.

Lastly,
If you want to build bumpers or do any other fabrication you can come up and work in my shop as long as i am here. You cover the cost of the wire and the gas and there is a mig you can use along with other equiptment. I even know a shop that has pretty decent rates on steele.

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I recently got lucky and pulled a 44 at ecology so if you look around im sure you can find one. Where are you located???The junk is 50% off this weekend ( pick a part ) so if you have time i would check em out. I would go tomorrow and pull one but i have to work on my XJ. if i find one on a regular day i could always pay for it and sell it for about 287 since ecology likes to charge a chit for their parts.

Hey willy, can you point me in the direction on making a rear bumper for my XJ?

Julio

Red_daggsXJ said:

I have to say thanks to you all so far. My first post went up yesterday and there's already a lot of great response.




Tight is relative to how many different projects I have at once. Right now I have about 8-10 more hours on my tattoo, I'm building an AR-15 and custom 1911, plus the Jeep. Not to mention I have a 4 month old with an at home wife. So again I say that tight is relative, things will loosen up as the projects fall off.

I think a good route is the Ford 8.8 due to the fact that I can get one for around $100-$200 and already come with disc brakes. I was going to do some quick connects for the sway bar, but Mike mentioned getting rid of the rear all together, is anyone running that on their daily driver without any issues? That seems like the easiest fix right off the bat. I'm putting together a list of all the junkyard items I'll need along with my buddy who's building a 88 Land Cruiser, so we're gonna hit that up soon enough.

Bumpers are going to be the first things I'm gonna fab up, but I lack a welder as I left mine in Colorado with a friend in need. If anyone needs a case of beer and has a welder do let me know, I think a trade could be on the horizon?

You guys rock!

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I run anround every day with no sway bars...who needs em :cheers:

Skids and dumping those sway bars are definently a cheap and very smart move...I never realized how much those sway bars held my Jeep back till I took em off...lol:cheers:

boostamante said:

I recently got lucky and pulled a 44 at ecology so if you look around im sure you can find one. Where are you located???The junk is 50% off this weekend ( pick a part ) so if you have time i would check em out. I would go tomorrow and pull one but i have to work on my XJ. if i find one on a regular day i could always pay for it and sell it for about 287 since ecology likes to charge a chit for their parts.

Hey willy, can you point me in the direction on making a rear bumper for my XJ?

Julio

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I wish I had got this message sooner, that would have been awesome! I've been trying to find time to get to a yard and start pulling things apart. Thanks for being willing though, much appreciated.

Anyone know when the next 50% off day is?

Take off the rear sway bar, make disconnects for the front. I ran without any sway bars for close to a year, decided I liked my front sway bar and put it back on with disconnects. You will have to cut some room out of your front fenders without the sway bar, I bent mine all up on the first run without the sway bar on. At 3" of lift, with cutting, you can fit 32s fairly well, some people have run 35s at that height.

I am up in San Gabriel, near the 10 and the 605. Lots of good metal shops around and lots of parts and tools.

Rear bumpers are easy to build. Just depends on how beefy you want to go. I folded my quarters and bodged one together in about 2 hours for the whole thing. Not quite done yet but i would put it against a drunk in a honda any day. Im going to be putting a couple of bumpers together soon just need to finalize my next design.

Last thing on the 44 is that the aftermarket support is huge. Not saying that the support for the 8.8 isnt good. Just that everybody knows about the 44.

willy51 said:

Last thing on the 44 is that the aftermarket support is huge. Not saying that the support for the 8.8 isnt good. Just that everybody knows about the 44.

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For sure, I'm going to go with the 44, or even a 60 at this point. I talked with a guy who's got a set, but the front 44 is a passenger side drop, so I'd either cut and weld or have a shop disassemble the knuckles and tubes and press them back in on the other side. We shall see, but tonight is removing the sway bar and making disconnects in the front.