00-01 XJ From STOCK to STUD

[IronSmiles]

Hello all, First off let me introduce myself.. My name is Glenn, I live in San Diego, and I owned a beautifully modified 2003 Jeep Wrangler with 25000 + in mods. Friday March 30th it was stolen, and It probably wont be recovered.

I am going to put in it's place a 2000 or 2001 Jeep Cherokee XJ and will be starting with a bone stock vehicle (maybe the one with the towing package that has the rear dana 44 already) But either way I am still a big amatuer and am very much in the learning process for jeeps in general.

Here is a general idea of what I KNOW I want.. At LEAST 6 inches of suspension lift with NO body lift.. wanting to run heavy duty 33"s but also want to be able to fit 35"s with good flex if I ever wanted.. some tough axles with at least 4:56 gear equivalent, rear bumper with tire swing like the one WARN has, that would not hamper using the back hatch.. a full inner roll cage that would not hinder the use of anything on the inside.. you get the idea. Now I am on a budget and would like to get the best quality for my money that I can, but I still have some money to spend.


HERE's where you all come in.. Everything from the lift to the axle upgrades, the works.. what would you do? And with the good stuff, where could I get it for a good price? Any help here would be GREATLY appreciated.. thanks guys.

- A sad ex-jeep owner =(

 

[2500Adventures]

Well I know where some custom XJ stuff can be purchased, whether not it is something you might buy though of course is left up to you..

www.rocklizardfabrications.com

Good luck with the build up, please keep us updated. Sorry to hear about your previous rig, I do up insurance will help cover you on the loss.

As for help with modding it, the NAXJA group should be able to lead you in the right direction when it comes to the right stuff and the do's and don'ts....

 

[\\'anderer]

Welcome Glenn, sorry about the Wrangler.
I have a couple Ideas for you, they are based on what I an currently working towards on my 94 xj. The choices are also based on my type of wheeling, more exploring and avoiding rockrawling.

Suspension= Full Traction 6.5" long arm kit, Rubicon Express also makes some decent kits.

Axles= You will have the Dana 30 up front(the weakest link), there are many aftermarket upgrades available. Rear axle will most likely be a chrysler 8.25, strong but from the sound of it, not strong enough. A popular conversion is the ford 8.8 from an explorer, which will also give you rear disc brakes. D44's are around, but usually at a preimum.

Roll cage= Check out the NAXJA forum, there is a guy in your area with a roll cage, it may still be available, Cheap!:safari-rig:

Rusty's also makes some steering upgrades that may come in handy. The steering box is bolted to the unibody and could use some beefing up.

 

[BigAl]

I just put a BDS 6.5 long arm on a 95. It was very well made and is performing well so far. There are some pics in this thread http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4770

 

[riverfever]

Most things have been covered pretty well. As far as lifts go, I would look into either the TNT kit or the Full Traction long arm kits.

You will not have a D44 unless someone swapped it in. You will have the 8.25 but it will be the 29 spline version instead of the 27 spline.

No body lift on the XJ b/c it's a unibody instead of a true frame.

NAXJA will be a good reference for you. There is a lot of good stuff in the archives over there. Have fun and keep us posted.