HI guys i am in high school and looking into getting an XJ. I have put 33's on my ranger that i have right now but am looking to sell it to get something i can do a little more offroading in. I have found these two Xj's near me and wanted your advice on which one is best and why.
https://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/d/199...335644725.html
https://southjersey.craigslist.org/c...322219418.html
Much appreciated,
Dante Ritchey

 

For me, neither. Both are way to heavily modified for me to trust the work done. One even has a 7.5 inch lift. Why that is ridiculous haha!! Buy something closer to stock and build it up yourself imo.

 

Honestly what year ranger do you have, they're pretty damn potent when setup correctly.

As for the best XJ it starts with anything past 1991 as you get the more reliable fuel injection system and a standard HP Dana 30 instead of a Vacuum Disconnect version. From there it's all about body style "OG" vs "classic", I'm partial to the classic.

But again I ask, for the price you're lookin at for an XJ that could or could not be built right...you could make some really nice choice upgrades to a decent ranger (a vehicle you know).

 

Look at a 91-99 as clean and virgin you can buy,I rather buy one stock and do everything my way vs paying more for mods i probably do not want or a cheapo lift kit which rides rough and i end up hating and replacing.Or do it all my way so im 100% happy with everything and know its all new vs probably used and abused stuff thats gonna show its ugly head after a while.And year is your ranger you have ?If its a 97 or older you can sas it with a early bronco dana 30 or dana 44 and have it almost stock width.Then swap in the explorer 8.8 in the rear and have a pretty good off road small truck.Even a v8 swap in a ranger is easy since the explorer used them and shared stuff with a ranger.

 

The ranger came with the same 8.8 as the expo, the only difference is the spline count as the Explorer got the 31 spline no matter what whereas the Ranger got the 29 spline depending in year and package as well as the 31 spline.

To the OP -

The Ranger, Mazda B-series, Explorer, Mountaineer, Navajo, and Bronco 2 are all what folks refer to as an RBV (Ranger Based Vehicle). Parts swap around like Legos and in the end the TTB front end can be quite effective on the trail.

 

All Ford Ranger 8.8-Inch axles have 28-spline axle shafts except for the 2002 FX4 and 2003 & newer FX4 Level II models which had 31-spline shafts.
All 8.8-Inch Ford Explorer axles use 31-spline axle shafts. All 8.8-Inch Ford Ranger axles use 28-spline axle shafts (except FX4 and FX4 Level II which use 31-splines).
The Ford Ranger 28-spline 8.8-Inch axle tube is 3.00 inches in diameter.
The Ford Ranger 31-spline 8.8-Inch axle tube is 3.25 inches in diameter.
The Ford Explorer 31-spline 8.8-Inch axle tube is 3.25 inches in diameter.
1993-2009 Ford Ranger 8.8-inch Axle - 58-1/2 inches
1991-2003 Ford Explorer 8.8-Inch Axle - 59-1/2 inches
And the brakes the ranger didn't get rear disc tell 2010 while the explorer got them in 95.

 

Oh ok, sorry about that, I was off on my spline count by 1

But the overall point that the ranger came with the same 8.8 as the explorer stays. Plenty of places to find an 8.8, just the Explorer is "best"

 

But The yukon ultimate 88 only fits the explorer 8.8 not the rangers because of width.