Amigo30

Hi Everyone.. I'm new here. I have a few basic questions about XJ's.

Here's my story-I've driven a stock 2000 XJ 4x4 for the last 7 years as my daily driver, and I've kept it maintained and in good shape. Since it's been my daily driver I kept it stock.

I blew up my engine at a 170,000 miles-it was overheating during rush hour and a convoy of 18-wheelers wouldn't let me get off to the side in time. Engine was toast. I went out an bought a little Jetta that is much better suited for a long daily commute.

I found a guy that can will put a 4.0 in my XJ that he pulled from a totalled Grand Cherokee with 45,000 miles on it, and is doing it at a reasonable price. When I get it back, my wife wants me to sell it since we bought a new car. I'll put it on Craigslist for $6K and hope nobody calls.
I'll use it for Home Depot runs, snow days, camping and some moderate off-roading. Now that it's not a daily driver, I can have some fun with it.

Here's the questions:

Tires: Michelin LTX M/S 235/75R-15 tires. Will they work on 8" Canyon rims? The tires are new on factory 15x7 steelies,(I bought them before the engine blew up) and I want to get rid of the ugly rims. Michelin says the max rim width the tires fit on are 7" wide. Every other tire that size says it will work on 8" rims. I'd like the 8" rims because I like the way the Canyons look and eventually want to move up to bigger tires.

Rubber Strips on the doors and fenders : Mine are shot. I want to rip them off, and either leave them off, or replace them. I can't find those parts anywhere. Any suggestions?

Wind Noise: I've got crappy hearing, and this XJ is one of the noisiest vehicles you've ever been in. Will replacing window seals help, or are they all that way?

Building her up: After nobody buys the XJ, I want to build her up a bit, but not too much. Enough for easy to mid-level off road work. I'll have to do it in steps because money is tight. It looks like the right order to do this in is:

1. Lift her up somewhere between 2-3.5 inches. New shocks?
2. Bigger tires and rims. 31x10.5s?
3. Front bumper - Get a steel one with D-rings and a winch attachement so I can get un-stuck.
4. Add a winch
5. Rear bumper - so it doesn't look out of line with the front..
6. Rock Sliders down the side.
7. Skid plates underneath. (which ones first?)
8. Air Intake..
9. What next?????

So what do you experts think? Does that order make sense?

I've been lurking here for a few days. I like you guys. And this forum has awesome smilies!

offroadnut36

Not sure on the trim. I just pulled mine off cause I don't care how it looks right now. lol

The 8" wide rims might be a little too wide for those tires, but it shouldn't do anything horrible. It might wear your tires a little bit funny, though.

2-3.5" is a good start, probably right around 3" is what you're going to want.

31x10.0 tires are a good size for 3-3.5" of lift.

The bumpers are a good idea, and for the skid plates, it really depends on where you think you will need them, but personally I would get a tranny/tcase skid first.

What next all depends on what you want to do from there on out.

and yes...we do have awesome smilies

nickl

Re the door rubber strips:

I had a kinked rear one at one end due to the front door hooking it whenever the rear was open at the same time, it was places a little too far forward on the door. Yanked it off eventually, with help from a putty knife.

Went to the JY & got another one no problem for $10. They are 2 sided taped on, so get some of that from the auto parts store first. You must remove all the old residual tape with thinner before applying the new tape to the body, then just press on the strip firmly.

It looks bad to not have them on as the doors have recesses in them for the strips.

93gc40

Keep, the Jeep. At $6000 it might sell, if you fix the Motor. Even if you were to dump $1000-$2000 in it per year it would be cheaper than a new car. Besides it gives the family a reason to get out in Nature on the weekend.
The 235/75 will work fin on 8" Canyons, My daughter has them on her ZJ with no issues.

1. Lift her up somewhere between 2-3.5 inches. New shocks? Yes and Yes, can be done for under $500, including replacing the bushings and TREs and ball joints, to prevent Death Wobble issues
2. Bigger tires and rims. 31x10.5s? Keep the Canyons dp 31" tires when lifted
3. Front bumper - Get a steel one with D-rings and a winch attachement so I can get un-stuck. Always a good idea, lots of options out there, I like the Detours BackBone system,
4. Add a winch Always nice to have
5. Rear bumper - so it doesn't look out of line with the front.. Samae opinion as for front
6. Rock Sliders down the side. Good idea, do skids first
7. Skid plates underneath. (which ones first?) Fuel tank and Transfer case are a must the rest is up to you
8. Air Intake.. unless you upgrade the exhaust waste of time and $$$$
9. What next????? Go Wheeling

Plan on doing the work yourself, another good family activity, besides will save you alot of money. Parts even upgrade parts and lifting Items cane found in Junkyards, "Bastard Pack". I say "Junkyards are the Jeep version of Walmart". Get new rubber for the doors and windows, and sone of the Vent shade things, will help with the noise. Jeeps are noisy but a XJ will never be as noisy as a Wrangler. Pull the body trim, IMO, but there are products out there to freshen it up. have even heard that you can go over it lightly with a propane touch and refresh it that way.

Desert Rat

Nickl, I have to disagree on the side moldings being removed looking bad, I think XJ's look a lot cleaner without them. I removed mine after installing my sliders (my sliders now protect the sides from door dings, thats all the mouldings are for).

Amigo30

Thanks for the reply's..

I really kind of like the look of Desert Rats XJ without the molding. It does kind of clean up the look.

Wow...you guys really think I'd get a hit offering to sell the XJ for 6k? I might have to go higher...lol...

ZaKingHunter

Everyone everywhere seem to want XJs. I had a note on mine the other day asking if I was interested in selling (and I've only owned it about 4 months now.) So yeah, you'd probably get several offers at $6k.

93gc40

Blue book for your rig is $6500-6900, believe it or not. No way they are worth that, IMO, unless well built.

Tural

X2. mine is built quite a bit and it's only probably worth about $6500-7000. i've had a few offers right at $6000, but it's worth much more than that to me. i've seen a bunch of 96-98's with lifts for $6000.
but i think you shouldn't have a hard time getting 6k for yours. why would you sell it though??????????? i've quit driving my 2000 Jetta and my 04 dakota since i've had the XJ. Xj is just so much fun.

Amigo30

Haha... I have no intention of selling it. I'm just going to put it up for sale to keep my wife happy.. I need to price it high enough that nobody will want to buy it.

truckntractorhick

if someone replays, say its sold i forgot to delete post!

JerseyJeeper

I wouldn't push those tires on a 8 inch wheel mainly because of two things:

1. May not hold the bead properly
2. Will probably cause un-even wear which will rapidly reduce the tire life.

Like you said you'll be upgrading to the 31s do don't blow what already works while you wait on new ones.

Next topic; moldings. Well mine never came with the moldings so I like it without it if you're getting sliders. But if you want them that bad just go to a local jy and grab some.

All the XJs that I've ever been in have all been noisy. It's a box with wheels not an Audi with sound dampening lol You could do some sound deadening by using some dynamat or off brand stuff on the ceiling underneath the headliner because that's where most of the noise seems to come from. Even more noise with my tire up there in my roof basket.

Your build order looks pretty good. You may want to do skids sooner if you plan on wheeling it before you're finished like just about everyone on the forum has lol I did my gas tank and tcase skid at the same time so I don't really know which I would have done first. I like the gas tank skid because if I slam the rear, I don't get as scared. Same thing if I get hung up on something underneath near the t case.

Yes you will need longer shocks to accommodate the extra lift.

Good luck with your build! Hope this helps out!!

Amigo30

It helps out a ton. Thanks for the input.

I am getting mixed messages on the tires though. Maybe I should just go with a pair of Ecco's or Grizzlies. I like the way they look as well, and they should accommodate a 30 or 31" tire.

Only problem is, the only time I ever see them on sale for a decent price is when they are being sold by somebody 3 hours away. I guess I should be patient....

The91XJ

I also like the look with the molding removed.

Your wish list looks good so far!! Good luck!

AzulGrande XJ

I always get asked if I want to sell mine or get phone numbers left on it. Really, if I wanted to sell, then there would be a sign. I just don't like people always staring and guys trying to holla or whatev to me.