dunerunner

I hear you on the lockers. I was quietly hoping I wouldn't have to get that deep into modifying; but that's good know if it comes to it. I'm still trying to see how little 'beefing' I can get away with the Jeeps guts.. I've taken the Jeep to the dunes a couple times and it ran great. Just wished I had some more clearance for some of the 6-9" rocks that pebble some of the dune plains.

After the SYE, your early 242 should be equivalent to my late 242 right?

I seriously almost click "buy" on these lifts twice a day.

Maybe I'm naive, but my aim was simple:
- 4.5" RC lift (cheap-ish, don't care about ride quality... it's SAND!)
- 33's on black steelies (whatever I can get for cheap locally)
- Adjustable LCA, UCA, and Track Bar with Quick discos
- Extended Brake lines
- TC drop at first. (however, I've read that with the NP242, vibes are made even worse in lieu of a TC drop, so I may have to go straight to HnT)
- eventual HnT after I can't take the vibes anymore or have the gumption to do it.

All that said, I actually talked to Tatton because my front DS has a lot of slop and vibes; I yanked it out and a rebuild here at Six States (only option locally) is the same as a new freaking shaft by Tatton. However, if I wanted both DSs, he doesn't do pro-HnT with a shortened rod for the rears like Woods. He doesn't like them despite their success. He has some other version where he rebuilds the rear yoke for more play. Does anyone have any idea what he's talking about? I am too green to understand what he was trying to articulate. If you can, I would LOVE an explanation.

Anyway. Back to the daydream:

After all those initial things were done, that's where the fun begins:
- New paint. Royal Blue Metallic from KemBase (broke off of HOK)
- Custom Roof Rack with Tire Mount
- New BT stereo and subs; possibly rear TV mounted
- New exhaust (mines bent and beat like a soda can)
- clear markers and turns; some form of aftermarket headlamp
- Grill mods
- Hood vents
- electric cooling conversion
- black-ABS pipe-turned-water-storage-tanks (found on Pinterest... don't judge)
- possibly cut and fold with bushwhackers; but only if I actually need it.
- rock sliders (dime a dozen used here in Dixie)
- onboard air; otherwise the cacti will be my doom
- addition to the olympic bumper the prev owner installed (too small, too plain)
- LED racks. lots of them. everywhere.

and a literal endless list of possibilities beyond that. These last things are the ones that make me most excited. But I don't want to do them unless I can lift it. It may be dumb that I hinge everything on that, but I'm really stuck there. I want to lift it so bad.

Do any of you know of anyone else on these forums that has my exact set up with my year and TC? I'd love to check them out. I've hunted forever but I only found one thread titled "Any NP242 Lovers out there?" or something like that. Another forum though. And it was very helpful, just not specific enough to my Jeep for me to be comfortable finally jumping into the deep end.

unidentifiedbomb

When you lift your jeep, look for a HP D30, it'll raise the front pinion angle and should help the vibes you will most likely get. I'm at 4"s now and have no vibes or any work on the transfer case (thought older models are less costly to lift).

dunerunner

Looks like the swap requires some welding as likely a re-gear so that the rear matches. This is one of the areas I'm not as familiar with. As of today, that pushed me away from lifting. Maybe if I did some reading as to the swap, it wouldn't be so daunting/complex.

In your honest opinion, do you think there is any good reason to NOT lift the Jeep? If it were yours, would you even go to the trouble knowing how many potential issues were at hand with all the specs in mine? Or would you sell it and try to find another one with some different innards?

dunerunner

You may have already told me, but when you say no work on the TC, do you mean you don't even have a SYE?

unidentifiedbomb

Just have to lift it first and have the right gear ratio which isn't hard if you have the stock 3.55 gearing, many junk yards will have them too. You have to lift it first before the swap because the down pipe on your XJ would hit the housing on the HP 30, which is why the factory put in the LP version.
The only reason why you shouldn't lift your jeep... is if you don't want to. It is a very capable vehicle, just might not have the best starting parts but that's not a big deal. If you haven't overheated the block yet and you do have the 0331 head, then you're fine, just keep an eye on it. I have a closed system and many bash on them but the ones like me who maintain them have no issues, same goes for the 0331 head. The LP30 isn't great for lifting but a HP30 can be found for less than $200 and easily swapped in. The D35 is tough as long as you don't jump it in the desert, and if you do snap an axle and want to upgrade a 8.25 is usually around $200 as well. If you don't mind cutting the fenders you could go 3"s of lift, some aftermarket flares or TJ flares if you want and run the 33s as well, just bumpstop accordingly. This will cut down the cost of the lift and you might not run into as many issues from the lift.

Nope, just all stock, no drop or sye and stock drive shafts. My pinion angles are fine front and rear.

JandDGreens

I had the Danna 35 on my XJ and had 33"s also, But I did not wheel it hard as the gearing would not allow me too get to crazy. I have since then swapped out the axles. You would be OK for moderate wheeling but... If you catch the bug to do anything harder, I would say it is worth it to find a 97-99 XJ auto tranny with Chrysler 8.25 (29 spline vs 27 spline stronger axle shafts) and snag those axles, gears will be the same and you also will be getting the HP Danna 30 W/stronger u-joints than earlier models. A set of these are easy to snag for $300 or less around here.

RedStar

I know you're worried man. It sucks thinking about losing money. IMO if you go with a 3" & 31 setup you shouldn't have any vibes at all. The money you save from going that direction instead of 4.5 & 33's you can put into a new bumper (JCR) and a front auto locker (Lokka).

Go with the 3" & 31 and don't look back. I've never heard of that setup being bad for anyone.

caronaxtr

You're doing the right thing by asking tons of questions. Saying that, if you're not sure about lifting your XJ, don't. Once we lift our rigs, we're always tinkering with them. Not a big deal, it's just what we have to do.


I have an 01 and when I bought it, it had the LP30/D35 axles but I had the 231 TC. I'd recommend that if you're gonna lift it, hit up a P&P (pick & pull) and grab axles from a 97-99 (front & rear that way you won't have to regear). I swapped in a HP D30 & 8.25/29 spline. I believe you can just swap in a 231 also if you don't want the 242. The HP30 will clear your down pipe with 3"+ of lift. I don't have any issues but I'm around 5.5" of lift.


I wouldn't worry too much about your block (cracking issue). Flush out your cooling system & keep everything in working condition. It is something to be aware of but don't sell your rig because of it.


Jeep looks really nice & clean. Great base to start with.


Good luck.

JandDGreens

This is good advice! I am very happy with 31" tires right now (I had swapped out my 33" tires 'cause of the gearing) and can do most trails that I want to. My Dana was holding up for what I was doing. I just had the opportunity to go from 3.07 gears to 3.55 (we retired my son XJ so I took those axles) gears and get a better axles at the same time. The head is the most important thing to address, I would take care of that, because these 4.0 can run for ever if you don't allow them to over heat to often. Heck these XJ are fun to wheel stock! That is how I got hooked.
Keep us posted!

dunerunner

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I would respond with each persons quotes, but I still can't figure out the multi quote feature. And I don't want to write HTML every time I quote separately. I also have 45Mbps internet yet CF Forums are SLOW! Anyone know what the heck?

Anyway. Back to the Jeep. Seems there is some conflicting advice. Some say change the block, others say if it hasn't pooped yet, take care of it till it does.

Aftermarket fan is a good idea. I'm pretty sure I'm going to vent the hood. It's 115 here in the summers every day. And the dunes are like a stovetop.

I'm still stuck on the axle and gearing thing. But overall it sounds like I can try just lifting, and then if I need to, consider swapping axles and a locking diff (do i really need the diff for sand?). And that the best way to do that, is an Auto 97-99. There are some local bone yards (2, maybe 3) that have Jeeps come through. This is Jeep mecca, so I'm lucky that way.

Do you guys really think that it's any safer to go 3" vs 4.5" considering I'll likely have vibes either way? I figured at least with most 4.5" kits, you get the adjustable LCA/UCA and I would need those to solve my front DS issues with the NP242 and LP. And, again, I'm so stuck on that look. I have 29.5s now and i'm worried 31's will be too close in feel and the hunger won't have been appeased. And that's not a great feeling.

Chewdog has the exact same set up as me, and he went with a 4.5" BDS and had managed to find decent success. I would hate to go 3" and then always wonder if I could have pulled off the 4.5".

Also, considering the turf I'll be running, do the 33's really tax the gears that much more than 31's?

I know that's a lot of questions. I do appreciate you all helping with them. I'm looking for some consistent advice so I can take a consensus and start the build. I hope to create a build thread others can follow because I know I'm not alone with my specs.

And, caronaxtor, thanks for the advice. I'm not really afraid of lifting it at all. I'm just trying to vet every possible scenario and mull through the best decisions before I dive in. I have this obnoxious need to know the end from the beginning with everything.

Hindsight is 20/20 but I'll be the one trying on every pair of glasses I can find beforehand...

dunerunner

I've been doing some more reading and pic hopping and I actually think I'd be okay with some wide 31's like a cooper STT on a 4.5" lift. That way I would have the clearance and flex I want for the sandstone rocks but would be less likely to jack up my axles and diffs with insufficient gearing. What do you guy think?

If I'm considering 31's, I should probably just lift lower, huh? Agh! See what I mean? I hate having a project that doesn't require SWMBO to tell me what to do. Haha

dunerunner

Hey guys. Just a quick update. I think I've finally talked myself down to a 3" lift with 31s.

I need to just decide on this and stay there or I'm going to lose my mind.

CF member Matter's Jeep finally convinced me that it can look good.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/my-99-xj-81565/

As I said at the beginning, I'm gonna paint her Royal Blue Metallic with pro equip after all the suspension and body mods are completed. Stay tuned!
______________

Any new advice now that I've walked away from the ledge? It would be much appreciated!!

BTW, I'm pretty sold on RC 3" lift. Def need new leafs (mine are board straight) but they are ALWAYS sold out. Does anyone have experience with that issue?

unidentifiedbomb

3" and 31s will be fine and you won't have to worry as much with the little things like brake lines, caster adjustments with upper/lower arms, custom drive shafts. A tcase drop/sye might be needed but you'll have to find that out yourself, a HP30 will reduce that chance with the lift though.
As for quoting multiple posts. Down on the right corner of each post there are three options, there is one that has "+ in the middle. You simply want to click on that icon for each post you want to quote and on the last post you click both the "+ icon and the "quote" icon and it'll bring up all the posts you clicked the "+ icon on.

dunerunner

Sweet. Thanks bomb.

I'll keep you all updated on the build as it starts. I'd love to have any more input from you guys about the 3" and 31s.

I'm going RC for the lift with new leafs, but no LCA or anything else. Acceptable? Is there anything else I'd likely need besides a HnT (NP242 remember)? My reading so far says no.

I've been watching the classifieds for wheels but haven't seen anything for over a month. I'm probably just gonna get steelies with some cheap 31s. Any different suggestions there?

unidentifiedbomb

Craigslist often has some good deals on wheels/tires. For 3"s of lift you'll need an adjustable track bar as well, the stock arms should be fine if you're only playing in sand.