SurplusFan98
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- LA
After wanting an XJ for years, I ended up buying one for my son’s first car. Having helped him fix his up over the past year, my desire to finally build MY perfect XJ overlander finally got the better of me. I bit the bullet and bought a 1997 4 door XJ Sport. I’m in love, but I need help! My goals for this vehicle are long distance trips across country and potentially over some rugged terrain. I don’t want to build a rock crawler, but I do want to build something that’s moderately capable off-road. Think more traveling and back-roading than off-roading. I’d like to drive from Louisiana to Alaska and back one day, so I figure I need to balance fuel consumption, storage capacity, and easy/cheap/available replacement parts with off-road performance. I’m looking for some Jeepers with overloading experience to guide me.
Here’s what I’ve got to start with:
In addition to factory/stock equipment, the previous owner made some mods:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ryHsT1zQUvqwCDbp9
So obviously I have lots of questions:
Thanks to all that post in these forums. We new guys are standing on the shoulders of giants!
Here’s what I’ve got to start with:
- 4.0L engine, about 140k miles
- 5-speed manual (I believe its the AX15 but have not visually confirmed)
- Command-Trac transfer case (NP231)
- Dana 30 front/8.25 rear axles, 3.07 gearing
- Trac-Lok LSD in the 8.25
- Factory skid plates front and rear
- 4x P235/75/R15 ATs
In addition to factory/stock equipment, the previous owner made some mods:
- Full width Hooke Road steel front bumper (not tied into the unibody yet though)
- 9500# Rough Country winch with synthetic cable
- Aftermarket MB wheels (need some help identifying these as I’d like to get a matching spare if I end up keeping them)
- Curt trailer hitch
- LED light bar
- LED head lights
- LED tail lights
- LED fog lights
- Simple bluetooth aftermarket single DIN stereo
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ryHsT1zQUvqwCDbp9
So obviously I have lots of questions:
- How much do I really need to worry about frame stiffeners? If I want this thing to last long and go far, but if I’m not really going to be wheeling it super hard, should I worry about them?
- What are some of the first mods that you guys would recommend to make long distance trips more convenient/comfortable? I’m not planning on going alone, and I want my passengers to be as happy as I am.
- I’ve seen that I shouldn’t choose a suspension until I’m pretty sure I know what the fully loaded vehicle’s weight should be. But, waiting to do that last could make it harder, and I don’t want to afraid to use this thing until its done. I guess this question is: in what order would you guys go about building an overlander from a more or less stock XJ?
- Wheels and tires for overloading: what makes sense for my use case? I have read that 235s are about as big as I can go on stock suspension, and I don’t know what suspension I’m aiming for yet. Also I don’t know how one chooses wheel backspacing/offset. I know what that is, but given my use case, what should I choose and why?
- The gearing in my XJ is some of the lowest you can get. Even with P235s, I’m probably pushing it to do much. To get a good mix of on and off road performance, where should I be aiming? If I up my gearing, does that mean my LSD will have to be replaced (and if so, is that a good or bad thing)?
Thanks to all that post in these forums. We new guys are standing on the shoulders of giants!