halmotors

Alright, so I just got home from picking up my new (to me) 1995 Cherokee Country. Picked it up for a cool $500; 149k miles on the clock. 4-door, automatic, 4x4. It came with an extra transmission, transfer case, rocker panels, exhaust, spare rim and tire, and a set of taillights. I can't really argue with the price of it, considering the extras it came with and the fact that the only rust on it is on the two existing rocker panels (which are getting replaced with the extras I got ASAP).

This vehicle is going to serve duty as my winter runner, as my current DD is NOT a winter vehicle by any stretch of the imagination. I love my Bimmer, but snow is not its forte. We get some pretty hefty snowfall here in New Hampshire, so the goal is to have the Jeep road- and winter-ready by the end of November.

Planned mods to start off with include:

• Moderate lift (I'm thinking 3" or so...it doesn't have to be massive)
• Upgraded tire size (again, something moderate...31"-33" tires suitable for both offroad and snow running)
• New bumpers front and rear
• Stripped carpeting being replaced by bedliner sprayed on the floor (the interior in this thing is pretty hideous; plenty of dirt, pet hair, etc.)
• New shocks all around. The current ones are pretty much gone at this point. Pushing down on the front of the vehicle causes it to bounce quite a bit. (I'm open to suggestions for good shocks)
• Fix the front wheel shimmy (apparently at high speeds the wheel shakes a bit; I didn't experience that on the interstate coming home, but my thought was the front stabilizer. Correct me if I'm wrong)
• Install CB radio for weather watch
• Upgrade the $25 crap stereo the PO installed
• Install my Sirius radio from my Bimmer

I'm not exactly on a budget, but I don't have tons of money to throw around, either. I'll be cutting corners where it's safe to do so, but of course I'm open to any suggestions anyone has. And now, some pics!







Here you can see some of the spare parts it came with, along with the nasty-*** carpeting. The entire carpet looks like this...


Rocker panel cancer. This will be one of the first things fixed, to prevent it spreading.


Another ucky interior shot. The people left cigarette butts in the ashtray, trash in the car, etc. Not really happy with that, but it was a $500 Cherokee...I couldn't pass it up.


I'll update more as I do more to the vehicle. For right now, I'll be waiting until next paycheck to get it registered and inspected, and I need to go to the local pick and pull to get some miscellaneous parts it needs.

warrpath4x4

Not bad for $500

halmotors

After spending the majority of the day thinking about the direction I want to go in with the Snow Runner, and also spending the day gnoshing with one of my coworkers (who's an experienced offroader), I've made a decision on how I want to mod the SN. With the small amount of harsh offroading I'd be doing, it behooves me to keep the Jeep fairly close to stock to help maximize comfort and driveability. That being said, I've made the decision to go with a 3" suspension lift and 31"x10.5" tires. For the tires, I've settled on Interco TrXus Mud Terrain Tires, in a 31x10.5 size. I've heard a lot of good things about the snow and ice capabilities of these tires, but of course I'll listen to user feedback on them. I'm undecided in regards to the suspension lift. I'm looking for a quality 3" kit that won't break the bank; I'd like to spend under a grand for tires, wheels, and lift. I'd love some suggestions on this, as well.

COSXJFAN

Check out Rough Country, their prices are decent!! Wheels, tires, & lift for less than 1K, good luck with that one!! You might be able to do it, but it will be a chore!! Good luck!

djlarroc

TrXus are great tires. I used to have them on my 4Runner. You can easily do a budget boost to fit the 31s for about $100. Or you can do the RC kit for about $250 +/-. Black steelies should run about $40 each from summitracing.com.

halmotors

I was thinking of potentially doing a bastard S10 pack in the rear for that lift. What else would you suggest for a budget lift that's not going to ruin my suspension geometry and leave the vehicle unstable?

And since I'm actually at my computer now, and not trying to reply on my cellphone, here's what I'm looking at for tires and rims, for anyone who's interested:

Tires:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ICT-RXM-05R/

djlarroc

Lol. Nice.

Carparts.com has some good prices.

If you have the D35 axle, this is a great price on the lift. Looks like the control arms are included: http://www.carparts.com/autoparts/It...32490610612334

'Course people have also had good luck calling RC straight up and getting better deals.

Better price on tires here and free shipping: http://www.carparts.com/autoparts/It...D:100000383163

...Or, you can do treadwrights for cheaper. Members here have been really happy w/them: http://www.treadwright.com/shopnow/p...d-dog-m-t.aspx

Here are the wheels. A bit more, but maybe less overall w/the free shipping. http://www.carparts.com/webapp/wcs/s...atalogId=10618

Total I see for lift, wheels and trxus is $1047 shipped and including the heavy item charge. HTH!

halmotors

To be honest, I have no idea what I've got for axles on it, nor what transfer case I've got. How do I go about finding this out?

djlarroc

Actually... better deal to get wheels from summit and rest through carparts.com. Will save you another $35! ...

Transfer case you most likely have is the NP231 which is very good. Or you will have the NP242. Pretty good too, but the 231 is better for 4wheelin. You can tell that by your 4wd selector. NP231 has 2H - 4H - N - 4LO.

242 has a selector for all time 4WD I think.

On the axles, you'll either have the Dana 35, or the Chrysler 8.25. If you have ABS, you have the 35. If you don't, you have the 8.25 which is the better of the two. Either will be fine for 31s though...

heep92

if you want to find out for sure what exactly your jeep came stock with (and what you may still have depending on if the previous owner did any mods or not) i went to the local jeep dealership and if you give them your vin they can give you printouts of what your jeep came stock with...very helpful if your new to jeeps instead of having to guess

halmotors

Alright, then I've got an NP231 and Dana 35.

djlarroc

Yeah, just give a call to the stealership. They will ask for the last 6 of the VIN I think and can tell you what axle you have etc.

From the looks of your interior and body cladding, it looks like you have the country edition. In which case you have the NP242 I think. And most likely the D35. Looks like you have dual fans too. Do they work properly?

halmotors

Yes, I've got the Country edition. Both fans seem to work, although I haven't let it run long enough to check the electric fan. Would I still have the NP242 even though I've got the 2H-4HI-N-4LO selector?

I'll put a call in to a dealership today and see what I can find out.

halmotors

alright, and update. I called the dealership, and they informed me that i've got a 231 transfer case, and no abs...so the chrysler axle

djlarroc

Nice! You got the better of the equipment options. I went to see a country edition recently and it had the NP242. The guy told me all country's came w/it. Glad your's is the exception.