bennyboyraptor

hey all, as some of you know, I wrecked my jeep the other day and the insurance totaled it and gave me 3000. I am selling my jeep for 700 ( guys is pickin it up tomorrow). so my question is, what do you guys think about this cherokee http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=&ni...iew&ad=1504146 If i get it, first thing I will do is lift it 6inches, and probably get some 33's. It is either this cherokee, or an 87 toyota pickup that is CLEAN with a 6inch lift, brand new 35bfg mud terrains and a locker in the rear. The yota also has a solid axle set up from an 85. How do the automatic cherokees do in the snow? What would i have to do to this cherokee to get it to where it would keep up with a yota built like the one I am looking to get?

thanks alot

Abovetimberline

You are on a jeep forum asking our opinion about a toyota,buy the jeep and it looks good the way it is,Spend your money on a winch and other items that will make the journey better. Jeep autos work great under all conditions.

bennyboyraptor

Im not asking about the toyota, I already know they are solid and very capable, I was just wondering What I could do to that jeep to make it comparable with the toyota.

Abovetimberline

I was just giving you a hard time,my personal opinion is all 4wheel drives are capable in there own class,Lockers and winches will take you much farther than lift and tires,that is what I would do to any 4x4 to make it better,if you can do it all that is even better,If I was in your position I would put a locker in it,depending on what rearend you have I would upgrade it to a D44 or 8.25 and I would put a winch on it. It is already a great looking jeep.

bennyboyraptor

I emailed him asking what rear end it has. What is a good locker set up for the cherokeee? Detroit in the rear? And how much would I be looking at to lock up the rearend? I plan on wheeling sort of a lot in the next few months, and will probably take it on some pretty rough trails.

Abovetimberline

Detroit is a good locker,but there others,part of the fun is learning about them and researching,if you are handy,you can do it yourself for about $400-$700,if you have it done,double that,I would stay with the tire size you have unless you have D44,if it is the stock axle it will not be a D44,it will be the D35 or chrysler 8.25,they can handle alot but they do not like big tires,and you say you have intentions of navigating some serious trails.

bennyboyraptor

would a 5.5 inch lift with 33s be pushing it if it does habe the 8.25?

Abovetimberline

It depends on which axle you have,8.25 maybe not,D35,yea. Any axle you abuse enough is going to break,If you are going to do serious 4wheeling you need to get a better axle,or stick with smaller tires,there is always the option of having an extra axle and the ability and means of changing it on the trail.

Mike1998XJ

I had an 86' Toyota truck with 33's on it. It didn't like the 33's. Don't know if the 1987 has the same manual tranny set up but the 86' had a setup that put lots of pressure on the rear bearing in the tranny for the 5th gear cluster. It would get hot and then sound like a chainsaw as it tore itself up. You could run in 4th gear for awhile to get by but then it would toast those bearings also. At the time I was a broke College student so I found this out the hard way.
I had mine rebuilt 3 times over the 130,000 miles I owned it... The second two times the guy gave me a break. I even went to 31's the last time but toasted it again. I thought they did not change this setup to 1989. Not positive on that though...
What are you going to offer that guy on the Cherokee?
Mike

Oh but I must say that Toyota 4 cylinder and a 5 speed were a wonderful combination. Love the torque in my XJ's though! Nothing like that!

bennyboyraptor

Well I offered the guy with the yota 3000 and he said he would take it, the yota has custom SAS with 85 front axle, alcan 5" springs, u bolt flip kit, marlin hi-steer kit, custom shock hoops, all of the sas swap is custom(not a store bought kit, all factory 85 bracketry), bilstein 5150 shocks, 5.29 gears with solid spacers instead of crush sleeves, detroit locker in the rear, warn hubs in front, custom rear tube bumper, bud built belly up crossmember, 2" body lift, american racing 15x10" wheels with basically new 35" BFG M/T's. I have been talkin to the guy with the jeep a bit, from what he says it has a beefy steering set up, but it leaks oil from the oil filter and leaks from trasnfercase at the slip yoke.. I dont know, its a tough choice.

strikechords

alright, first, both rigs sound pretty sweet, the toyoter is def built quite a bit more than the jeep but since that jeep already has a good start i think you would be better off building up the jeep yourself. and idk if i missed it but is that yota only a four cylinder? becuase i cant imagine 35s on a 4banger like that. even how that jeep is now, w/o adding much, i would think it would be able to keep up to that pickup no problem. winter-wise, depending on what tires you get you'll be fine. my very first winter of driving, i drove a 93 exploder all winter, auto, with crappy tires, and it did alright. if a ford can do it, a jeep can do it better. im looking to get some 31" BFG a/ts, my jeep is my DD and i have to deal with wisconsin winters, from what ive read they do alright in snow. btw, my jeep is going to look pretty much exactly the same once i get my lift and tires, thats a country right? in that case, go with the jeeep! (IMO).

Abovetimberline

The jeep for me offers alot more than just a 4wheeler,I do not know much about toyotas,but given it is a 4banger,I would buy the jeep witout hesitation.

XJSETH

offer 2500 and go from there toys are great too i want one to build a buggy but i love my xj. take the extra cash and do an axle swap and regear both axles and eventually run 35's.just my .02

strikechords

strongly agreed, you would be much better with the above set up than the yoter.

djlarroc

Both rigs sound sweet! If you did the deal on the yota, congrats. Sounds like a sweet truck. I came over from Yotas but mine were not SAS, and so the cost of an SAS was not something I was willing to do. You will not have a problem w/that 4 cyl. 5:29s is the right gear ratio.