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98 XJ build help - Armor & Lift...

XJ_NorCal

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Patterson, CA
I recently bought a 1998 Cherokee Sport that is bone stock with ~ 113K miles. Aside from admiring nice rigs from a distance and reading random threads I am new to the XJ scene. In the next 2 weeks I’ll be draining and replacing all fluids. I also need to develop a game plan for which brands I should look at for the modifications I want to do and in which order I should do them to fit my needs and my budget. This is the main objective of this thread. I’m hoping I can get some help from the XJ community.

My goal is to build something capable of going off road for camping trips and some moderate to easy rock climbing and off road trails. I’m not trying to build a full on rock climbing rig. I've listed some trails in my area for reference below. This jeep is not my daily driver but I do plan on cruising it around town after work. I never plan to run anything larger than 33” tires and would be just fine maxing out at 32” tires.

Currently, my plan is to prioritize getting it trail ready by adding armor (TC skid, gas tank skid, rock rails, and Rear Diff armor), new tires and a lift in that order. I had a $1500 budget to get this done but I scored 31” tires and wheels, a TC skid plate and RC lower control arms and brackets (I may or may not use these) for $300 so I’m down to $1,200 for the rest. Which parts should I invest most of my budget in and where can I save money?....I anticipate having another $500ish dollars added to the budget at the end of January (tax return!!) for what it’s worth.

Also, I am comfortable doing most mechanical and bolt on stuff but no welding. I'm new to this so all feedback is greatly appreciated.

Trails in my area:
Frank Raines OHV
Hollister
Carnegie
Slick Rock
Lake Tahoe
 
I figured this information would be helpful as well....

1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport
113K miles
I6 4.0 litre
Automatic Transmission
NP231 Transfer Case
 
I'd recommend front and rear diff armor, sliders, and a gas tank skid like you have planned. Plan on spending some if not all of your cash on black Friday and cyber Monday as a good amount of companies will have sales going on.

I always try and buy as much as I can from one retailer to save on shipping or at least factor that into the price of the items you're buying and where you buy from.

Before you lift the rig, take it out to Hollister stock but with armor and get familiar with what it is capable of. It will do a lot more than you think.

Front tow points are also a good idea and the Boostedworks ultimate steering brace stiffens the chassis while also providing tabs for shackles to hang off of.

Check out the Sierra Chapter for sale, lots of good stuff just posted.
 
This should give you an idea

700ish for a 4" zone lift
200 for an sye
50 to 70 for a front driveshaft for the rear
spend the rest front, rear, axle shaft u joints and supplies to install the sye and tow points
 
I'd recommend front and rear diff armor, sliders, and a gas tank skid like you have planned. Plan on spending some if not all of your cash on black Friday and cyber Monday as a good amount of companies will have sales going on.

Before you lift the rig, take it out to Hollister stock but with armor and get familiar with what it is capable of. It will do a lot more than you think.

TC Skid, Front and Rear diff. armor secured!
I'll be hitting the junkyards for a ZJ gas tank skid and an exhaust manifold next weekend.
I've settled on Affordable Offroad Rock Rails that I'll get on Black Friday.

I really need some advice for my lift. I've looked long and hard at lifts from Rubicon Express (3.5" & 4.5"), Zone (4.5"), Iron Rock Offroad (4") and Rough Country (4.5"). Full Leaf packs, quick discos and adjustable trackbars put all these lifts over $1k except the rough country lift. Ruled out RE's 4.5" and IRO. I'll be running 31" tires for at least the next year and will max out at 33" tires, maybe even 32".

RE's 3.5" Super Flex kit comes out to about $1,324 but doesn't include upper control arms, TC drop or drop pitman arm.

Zone's 4.5" lift comes in at $1,101 but doesn't include upper control arms or drop pitman arm.

Rough Country's 4.5" comes in at $950 and has everything...but it's a rough country kit. It's hard to look past that price point though, hell for $1,180 I could get this kit with Billstein 5100's.

Any thoughts considering the trails I plan on frequenting and the tire sizes I'll be running?
 
If you know someone that can weld, you can do 2x6 1/4" steel rock rails that replace your rocker panels for cheaper than bold on rocker armor. I run a IRO 3" lift with 1.5" lift pucks up front, their full leaf pack with boomerang shackles for a total of 4.5" of lift.
figure on getting an adjustable track bar (core4x4, IRO, ironman4x4fab)
Riddler diff covers are nice and don't break the bank too bad.
I have a 99 on above mentioned 4.5" lift with 33x10.50 KM2s on stock alloy wheels, it rubs at full lock, but I can remedy that. mine is a daily and a weekend warrior. biggest thing for a setup like mine is not cheaping out on important parts.
if you do a t-case drop instead of a SYE just find a crossmember off a 5 speed Cherokee, they give a 1" drop w/out losing ground clearance.
a H&T SYE works good, some people bash them but I have not had issues with mine what so ever. a piece of advice, any bolt you take out, either put anti-seize or locktite on it, youll appreciate it when you gotta take it apart again.
 
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if this pic works, this is mine
 
Just a thought, I found 2 separate RE3.5 leaf springs for $ 80 and $90 respectively on eBay that were scratched up but new. Add a new pair of 4.5 RE Coils from amazon adds another $90. Id get a shackle relocation bracket like HD Offroad($130) or IRONMAN4X4($130). Add Some RC discos($69), and a set of bilstien shocks($350). For under $ 900 you have a great lift. You can get a decent set of LCAs with Heim joints for $ 160 or so from several sponsors.
 
core 4x4 and ironman4x4 both have good control arms that don't break the bank.
either of those SRBs are good, the slider boxes are supposed to be good, my buddy has them, and loves them. doestech shocks are good for $190/4 too, not gonna ride quite as good as bilsteins, but are longer and well built
 
Does DPG actually make good stuff? they have super low prices, but ive never seen anyone use it. I've been eyeballing their bumpstop plates for a while now, and their transfer case skid. but I'm Leary about ordering it.
 
I don't know that Dirk makes anything, I've bought several lift kits from him though, great guy, I went and visited him about 10yrs ago!
 
I don't think I saw longer shackles on this thread yet. One inch straight or boomerang is plenty; not adjustable, though.
 
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If you go adj shackles, id do Ironman4x4fab, ive seen them in person, they are beefy. I personally have DBmetalworks boomerang shackles and they are well built. Boostwerks has their comp shackles too, dunno how well they work, but they look good
 
I scored a ZJ gas tank skid plate for $15 from the JY. Does anyone know if an install thread exists with pictures? Everything I've found has dead photobucket links.
 
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