diducthat

i am interested in doing up my jeep and making in an offroading beast , i want to buy a set of light and wantg them to go on the roof ...what should i get and how do i install it?

where should i go to buy replacement suspension parts i want to replace everything ,leaves coils etc.?

i also would like to know where to buy a lift kit only looking for and aditional 3-4 insches this way i dont have to exstend the brakelines?


I NEED GUIDENCE

NJ-xj

most of your good lift kits will come with new leaves, coils, shocks, the whole nine. in my expierence, and never forget this, you get what you pay for. if your gonna do it do it right so you only have to do it once. the previous owner of my jeep put the lift kit on the jeep at 3000 miles. everything was fine when i got it. i just ordered new springs and leaves straid from rubicon express to replace the old one along with the bushings to replace the worn out ones. thats the good thing about popular lift kits ( the replacement parts are easy to come by)

5-90

If you want to "Build the Perfect Beast" (anyone have any idea who did that album?) you're not going to want to cheap out.

3-4" lift? Brake lines will be a must (you may want limiting straps, but you don't want those straps to be your brake softlines...) You'll also want to consider an SYE and replacing the rear driveshaft (some later XJs will start with vibes with that much lift. Also, having the SYE installed will allow you to lose/remove the rear driveshaft, retain front-wheel-drive, and also retain fluid in your transfer case!)

About the only lift I can think of where you could get away with not replacing the hardlines - for a while - is "pucks and spacers" netting you an inch to an inch and a half. And not tackling "technical" terrain.

For the roof lighting and such, approach it with a more definite plan than "I want to add lights." What lighting do you want to add, and why? What models of add-on light do you have in mind, if any?

We really do want to help you (we were all new at this once upon a time...) but we're going to need more information to help you effectively. Leaving a question entirely too open-ended is not going to get you the help you probably need.

I went through the same thing with my two boys - one was into Gen-III F-bodies, and the other into Gen-I Neons. They both kept asking me how fast I could make their cars go (I have a decent background in Pro-Am racing builds.) My answer? "Speed is a question of money. How fast can you afford to go?" Until I got more information, I really couldn't give a more useful answer than that.

Your situation is similar - "What lighting can I add, and how?" Gawd, do you have any idea how many options there are?

"I want to build an 'offroad beast'," and implying that you want to "cheap out" on a few bits (as indicated in your penultimate paragraph) can be mutually exclusive. Yeah, you can score some stuff cheap with creative shopping (Gawd knows I've done it plenty of times!) but you're still going to have to spend some dosh to Do It Right(tm). Failure to Do It Right(tm) means you'll usually end up Doing It Over(tm) - which means you're going to spend at least twice as much money as you would have if you had Done It Right(tm) in the first place. Why? Because you have to replace cheap/shonky parts, and you also usually have to replace parts you ended up breaking when you cheap out...

I've had to design quite a few things, and the hallmark of my designs is that they do not break. Shop rules:

"Cheap, Fast, or Good: pick two.
"Cheap work that is Fast won't be Good.
"Cheap work that is Good won't be Fast.
"Fast work that is Cheap won't be Good.
"Fast work that is Good won't be Cheap.
"Good work that is Cheap won't be Fast.
"Good work that is Fast won't be Cheap."

These seven rules apply to everything I do.

Upside? Stuff I design or build does not break - unless you did something seriously wrong. You won't get stranded because of something I did. I won't have it.

I'm perfectly willing to help you plan - and design, where necessary - mods, but you'll need to understand my design philosphy in return. I may spec parts you've never seen, but I do so because they Do Not Break(tm). Many parts I spec won't be cheap - but they Do Not Break(tm). Anything I personally recommend is something I have personal experience with, and it's something I'd put on my wife's rig (which I maintain far better than my own. I'm a mechanic, and MacGyver's got nothing on me. I don't get stuck anywhere for long. My wife is very logical, and has some mechanical inclination, but not an awful lot of skill. I don't want her to get stuckanywhere.)

OK - I got a little windy here, but I wanted to make sure you understood a few things. You sound like you're still fairly new to this whole thing, and it's better to learn these lessons before they cost you money. Or time.

NJ-xj

i love that i might use that as my sig

diducthat

oh my bad lol i ment 3-4 inches ..... did u think 3-4 feet????

diducthat

okay you obv know what your talking about lol, uh lets start with the lift i was told by a random guy at a parking lot with a cherokee that he lifted his up 3 inches without changing any breaklines. if that was a lie than how much does it usualy cost to take care of the lines for a 3-4 inch lift .

the light i have no preference something that looks nice and ets the job done in the dark preferably two on the top ... i was going to buy two light from the local advanced auto parts store but i have no idea how to hook them up to the battery the lights came with a switch and stuff but wiring is the issue

i am not looking to spend too much money on the lights but the suspension i want done right ... as for off roading its illegal in ny i think so i prob will only be offroading in woods once or twice every couple of months .

basicaly i love my jeep off roading is cool
i want my jeep to look like a beast

my jeep has 184,000 miles is it even worth it to do the work its a 2000
it will only be aloud out of his cage every once in a while

btw i use this car to go to school everyday so i will probably be doing the work in a month or two as for now i am saving money and plan on buying the parts

ultimately by the winter my jeep will have plenty of fun plowing the snow

NJ-xj

again, ya get what ya pay for. to look like an offroad beast? i would say 5+ inches and body armor out the ****. but for your needs i woud stick to a 4 inch and some 31-33 12.50 15's (check lift specs for max tire size.) 33's are big enough to look good but still keep your daily driver feel. what do you think guys? am i right or do we have other sugestions?

fishtaconc

4" max trim fenders to fit tires along with proper backspacing wheels to keep a better CoG, and Armor out the wazoo if you want a off road beast
just my .02

jeepfan93

As a first build and not knowing anything about trucks, i would say keep it mild, streetable, and affordable. NJ, yes I think your right on track. My daughter has watched me go through 17 Jeeps over the years and wants me to build her one. I'm going in the mild department for her once I find a suitable truck. 5-90 knows exactly what he's talking about. I would listen to him new guy. We can and will help if you want but as an "apprentice" you must be willing to listen, not try to rush, and not spend money or want an item because it looks cool. Form follows function here and as stated build it once, the right way. So now that in itself brings up a few questions I have for you OP. Is your truck in good condition? My philosophy is make it right, then make it cool. If you're in need of repairs before a cool set of lights, then let's get the repairs done first. Cool lights are no good on a broke truck. What kind of budget are we talking about? Lift kits and the extra,s that go along with could easily run a grand, more with tires to take up the room. So have you set an honest budget? Ask yourself these Q's then let us know. we'll be here

5-90

No. I may have used the wrong symbol - but figure that the OEMs usually do "just enough" to make something work properly.

Yeah, you can probably get away with a 3" lift without doing softlines, but you'll lose articulation (particularly downtravel,) and you'll end up stressing the hoses far more than they need to be (if you consistently use a hose for a limiting strap, it's going to fail. Dramatically.)

The very best advice I can give you at the moment? Drop the whole subject for about three days, think of other things.

After the three days, you'll have cleared your mind. Sit down with two notepads and one pen. At the top of one notepad, write the word "IDEAL." Write "ACCEPTABLE" atop the other. After or under the word "ACCEPTABLE," write a dollar figure (allowable budget) and a timeframe (when you want to have it all done by.) The "IDEAL" figure has no such limitations - but the closer the two lists are, the more realistic you are about your goals, and the easier time you'll have writing a plan and sticking to it.

Brainstorm what you want to do - you know where to put what. "IDEAL" is what you would do given unlimited funding and time. "ACCEPTABLE" is the "budget version" of IDEAL - it is going to account for reality.

Once you have your ACCEPTABLE plan in place, you can then filter it down some more and figure out what chunks you can break it into so you can accomplish it stepwise. You may find that easier - and we can help you put the steps in a logical order (so you don't duplicate or skip work.)

diducthat

my budjet is open i am saving money right now so far i have nothing saved for the project and in a few months i i plan on buying the suff and installing it in a few months probably july, my uncle works at a dodge dealership 8 miles from my house he takes care of my jeep as of now it is good i did the brakes a month ago i changed the u shaped thing that the driveshaft conects to cuz it broke long story lol...... i would like to put the lift in on the third week of july .
my only concern with the lift is that the original suspension is worn and the rear of my car is sagging about and inch and a half
i should have 1,6oo dolars save by than i can wait for the armor and stuff but i deff want lights lift and tires

joshhill

If you are wanting that beast some lockers might be something to think about. Functionally they will help you out a whole lot more than lights.

Ogre in KS

I think you could benefit tremendously from reading as much as you can on this and other sites, as well as magazines about Jeeps, and 4x4's in general. As far as lighting goes, I like KC's Daylighters, they're not cheap, but not too expensive, you can usually get a pair of lights, switch, complete wiring harness, and good instructions for around $110-130, installation's pretty simple if you just follow the instructions. If you want it to look like a "beast", I'd spraypaint it OD green or flat black, sawzall the fenderwells, put a 3" lift on, get the right offset wheels, and finally, if you want it to look BEASTLY, you HAVE to run Super Swamper TSL's or Boggers, as wide as possible. That's my .02,lol. Good luck, and remember to read and learn as much as possible about Jeeps

Ogre in KS

On second thought, you should buy an early to mid 70's Ford F-250 "High Boy", they came with a 4" lift from the factory, usually had big blocks, bullet proof 4 speeds, sometimes a Dana 60 up front, look about as tough as you can get, and the coolest thing about 'em is that you can trim the fenders with a sawzall/snips/nibbler/whatever and fit 38"s and even 39.5"s on 'em without lifting it anymore than it already is, just a thought. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Jeeps, especially the XJ, but I've got a special place for the ol' high boy's, that's what started my OBSESSION with 4x4's with HUGE tires

88MJ.uggernaut

I think that if you are going to use it as a dd you dont want to get too crazy with the term "beast". A 3-4" lift is a good idea and check the tire sizes. With that much lift you can run some nice 31" tires. Now if you want more wheeling capabilities you will need either and SYE/driveshaft or t-case drop because you dont want to break something. It is costly but in the end, cheap parts will cost more due to replacing. Then throw a locker in the rear and you will be good on and off road!