fromohio

Hey all!
I'm new to Jeeps and off-road stuff in general. I've done a good deal of research, but I want some expert opinions on my gear choices. The 2000 or 01 Xj (don’t remember which one I had the dealership transfer) I am getting this week, is the stock dana 30 front and Chrysler 8.25 rear. Seems like a good rig. Its very clean, about 160k miles.

Anyway, this is what I want to add to it, to make an expedition/towing/basic off-roading rig.

Transmission Cooler
Spectre 9948 Air Intake
Skyjacker JC31BKH 3” lift
30”-31” Tires (haven’t yet decided which ones, going to be something from Mickey Thompson tho.)
Dynomax 17340 Exhaust
Superwinch 1595200 9500lbs winch (how should I mount it?)

Want to make something that is a DD and back country camping rig. Any thoughts on this setup? Thanks everyone!

Bustedback

I would leave the air intake and use the money towards a winch bumper. But before you modify your first 4x4 you should take it off road bone stock first to get a feel for it and see how well it does. Wheeling a stock rig will make you a better driver and teach you how to pick a good line over an obstacle. Have fun and be carefully with your new Jeep.

Rockhead

I agree with bustedback, you would learn allot about your rig and your own skill off-roading stock.
You say you will be towing. The trans cooler is a good idea and you should go with the smaller tires (you will lose power as you go up in tire size unless you regear). You can buy a winch bumper or have a shop make one for you. I designed my own based off of the backbone design and had a local welder make it for me. Good luck and have fun with the build.

fromohio

I never even THOUGHT about off-roading in a stock rig. Makes sense tho.

That is a pretty sweet bumper Rockhead. I’m handy with a welder, but not brave enough to try that. I’ll hunt around and see if I can find a good machine shop. Factory winch bumpers seem pricey for a big name brand one.

Just thought of this, if I'm going to be towing should I skip the lift kit?

Here’s an idea I had at work today. What about a front hitch mount and a hitch mounted winch?

Rockhead

I've seen a couple of people with the winch mounted on a receiver plate. Good idea for use front and rear. The first couple of times I went off-roading was with my Cherokee in stock form. There was allot of contact with rocks on the bottom but it taught me to pick my line and to keep the tires up on the rocks. I've got about a six inch lift and wouldn't hesitate to tow. You will be surprised just how far you can go with a stock Cherokee and a good set of off-road tires; add a locker or two and you will be unstoppable. This is a pic of my Cherokee when it was stock with 30s on it. And a pic of my rear bumper (if I can find one) with the receiver.

macgyver35

I'll second Bustedback's suggestion of leaving the intake alone. If you are really going to use it for DD and long road trips the noise will drive you crazy. You'll need a winch bumper as he said, but I'd also suggest spending the intake money on a Spartan lunchbox locker for the rear. A winch is great for getting you unstuck. A locker is great for keeping you from getting stuck in the first place I have both...

If you are going to tow a lot, upgrade the front brakes to drilled/slotted rotors and high quality pads.

fromohio

I kinda like the Cherokee stock with heavier tires...
Would I need to modify anything to mount 30's on stock? And is that Hi-Jack you have completely necessary to off-roading?
I'm happy people are telling me about the air intake. It probably would sound like my old cavalier did (no exhaust and a redneck cold air intake, sounded like it had a 350 )
I found out thru work I can get a set of drilled and slotted rotors with ceramic pads for less than $100 :P
This place is so very helpful for getting started! I love it hear.

Rockhead

30's on stock is fine; you might get a little rubbing but nothing to worry about. The stock tire size is about 28, so with 30's you will experience what feels like a loss of power when going up hills.
For what I do with my Cherokee the high lift has been very helpful not only for lifting but as a tool for pushing and pulling on things. If your out in the rocks the extra lift can come in handy.
There are different thoughts about whether to put your first locker in the front or rear, this will open a can of worms on the forum. Some of the 8.25's had a limited slip differential, if yours has a limited slip leave it and put a locker in the front. If you get snow and ice in the winter don't put an auto locker (lunch box) in the rear, your traction on snow and ice will be very bad (off-roading it is great). There's allot on the forum about lockers.

Bluelight

The stock suspension isn't going to be happy with heavy loads and towing, especially if it's original. You are probably going to have to look into heavier duty springs. They will give some lift as a byproduct, and that would probably be enough to clear 30s. Depending on what your towing, a good proportional trailer brake controller will be handy too.

black label

I have to agree with those who say keep it stock for now.

Back in the days when you could buy a brand new XJ I got invited to "jeep 101". They built an off road course and you could take your pick of wrangler, cherokee or grand cherokee to take around the course.

What a jeep can do in stock trim is nothing short of amazing. This was a man made course but we were going up and down extremely steep hills, over logs, driving off camber... Some of the descents you were literally being held up by your seat belt as you stared what seemed like straight down.

Find out what's limiting you them modify that.