Hey guys, I'm pretty new to most of this stuff here n I'm jus looking for a little advice. so not too long ago i bought myself a 1997 xj sport, threw on some new 31's n fixed up a few of the minor quirks she had to get her running good now I'm jus looking forward to what i should add next?
It'll still be my daily driver so i know theres some stuff i shouldn't do to it for safety reasons but i just want to know what are some good mods to start with? I've been looking at a 3.5 to a 4.5 inch lift or a nice bumper to start off with
Any suggestions or tips?? Let me know

 

Basic maintenance before ANYTHING ELSE. Oil change, coolant flush, change the diff oil and flush the transfer case.

1. Upgrade the headlight wiring harness if you're running standard headlights. I have this one, but I think they were $20 when I bought it. Would not pay the $46 they're asking for today. Might be able to get one in the classifieds section for cheaper. No need to do this if you're running good LED headlights. Good means trucklite, jw speaker, morimoto....not this garbage. I personally run the morimotos because I got a fantastic deal on them. Don't run anything without a heated lens if you live someplace where it snows a lot.

2. Replace your motor mounts and transmission mount. Do these at the same time. Do not mix poly and rubber mounts. I choose rubber for my daily.

3. Replace your front sway bar bushings and sway bar links. This is cheap, easy, and will make your XJ handle a LOT better than it does on 20 year old bushings. Trust me. You'll have to measure the thickness of your swaybar since they used different thicknesses at different points, but my 98 took these bushings and 2 of these links.

4. Install a trailer hitch or a recovery rear bumper. Something that will protect the plastic gas tank in case of a rear collision. They recalled the ZJs for this, but not the XJs that have the same problem.

5. Replace your exhaust manifold. The one you have is probably cracked right at the collector.

 

this is what I'm working with btw

 

Very nice. I agree about maintenance first.

 

Hey guys so i have a 1997 xj sport with a 3.55 D35 rear end and I'm sitting on 30" wheels. Im planning on buying a used D44 rear and keeping it as a project for the next couple months until i buy 33" tires. Im pretty new to most of this stuff but I'm starting to get a little bit of an understanding through a bunch of research and what not. Anyway, the D44 I'm looking at came out of a ****** wagoner has 4.27 gear ration, 5 lug, 11" drums, measures 57" from outside wheel surface to the other, and the driveline is 2" off-center. I just would like to know how compatible this sounds and any other overall advise as this would be my first axle swap.

 

Hey guys so i have a 1997 xj sport with a 3.55 D35 rear end and I'm sitting on 30" wheels. Im planning on buying a used D44 rear and keeping it as a project for the next couple months until i buy 33" tires. Im pretty new to most of this stuff but I'm starting to get a little bit of an understanding through a bunch of research and what not. Anyway, the D44 I'm looking at came out of a ****** wagoner has 4.27 gear ration, 5 lug, 11" drums, measures 57" from outside wheel surface to the other, and the driveline is 2" off-center. I just would like to know how compatible this sounds and any other overall advise as this would be my first axle swap. also, if i change my rear axle, can i keep the D30 front. Also, I have a buddy selling 4.10 gears for front and back which seem to be what id ned for 33" should i vest in this??
also are tj gears compatible with an xj

 

Put.

The wrenches.

Down.


How did we go from "what are some good mods to start with" to "I'm doing an axle swap that will require a ton of fabrication and regearing"?

 

Troll

 

Or maybe the OP just has ADD. lol.

 

Why don’t you try a one-light LED install, before you get all excited about that other stuff. Just sayin’.