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This is my first post about my first jeep! In mid March I purchased a 2001 Jeep Cherokee 2wd for specifically daily driving, as I have an off-road dune buggy.
It’s not the prettiest, but I saw the potential. I bought it with a near perfect interior with 180,000 miles. I bought it from a guy near Mobile for 2200. It was a relative good deal, although I was bummed about 2wd, but I dont off-road much. When I do, it’s more of pre-runner fast trail stuff. Will post more photos of what I have done to it.
Yes, please make jokes about light bar before lift or tires, but that’s what I did! It was the school year, so I barely made enough for gas. I saved and scraped change for a few weeks and got this eBay light bar and mounting brackets. I was so proud of myself for pulling this off.
Next, I painted the hood black to cover the faded paint. Like i said, low budget, done what I could ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I also cut and rolled the fenders and removed end caps. This was all in about three weeks of purchasing it.
Then the modding ceased. It wasn’t until summer I could save my money, and boy did I get power hungry. I bought a good set of stock wheels and tires for about 800. At the same time I purchased led headlights. These are by far my favorite aesthetically, although the light pattern is a little odd.
I tied them into the parking lights because in my opinion, you don’t always want DRL and I didn’t want to run anymore wiring. Also, I want to put led light pods where the blinkers are.
Then, disaster struck. Someone in the night came and ripped of my light bar and brackets on 8/26/18. So, now the roof is naked. Also, someone backed their truck down the front of my grill. So, I had some left over bedliner in a can and repainted the hood and grill!
So here we are, 6 months in and I have hardly done anything to it. Now I need your help. What mods can I do for under $50 that will really spice it up? I’m very much into mechanic-ing on my own, and I love fabrication! I’ll be updating this thread with new upgrades hopefully once a week. I want to keep it either stock heigh or add 2.5 inches so I don’t ruin the good drivability of it. It’s not an off road rig, it’s a cliche mall crawler, but I want to take pride in the build.
Welcome! You could by a $50,000 sports car, and nobody will even notice it on the road. Buy a $2200 XJ and people will be waving to you. Its a good value!
$50 bucks. Hmm.
I suppose adding some tow hook brackets and tow hooks up front might be possible for that amount. With the brackets on, you could also try to find a cheap craigslist brushguard (they mount using the towhook brackets typically).
You might be able to recondition someones rusty old roof rack for that amount, they can be hard to find, but pop up cheap occasionally.
You could look for a junkyard trailer hitch and add that and a simple trailer harness perhaps.
Personally, I would get a BAFX OBD2 bluetooth scanner from amazon, and a cheap walmart android tablet, and Torque application from the play store and build a digital dash. That can all be done for about $70.
Yeah, I'd start with the front end. You can get a set of dealer take-off JK shocks on ebay, cheap ! I got mine $15 each. I'd concentrate on the basic maintenance and greasing everything. Check the front tie rods and ball joints. Have someone get in and turn the wheel while you watch the joints moving. Basic maintenance first, then cool stuff later. Nice Jeep ! Did you find a sucker to buy those wheels. LOL The light and rack will just kill your mileage,,,
Personally speaking, forget about modding it, at least for now.
What basic maintenance have you done? Flushed any fluids? Spark plugs? Have you checked the steering and suspension to see whats worn out?
Mods dont get you home but basic maintenance does. Just sayin....
I have done most all of the maintenance one can think of. Spark plugs, oil change, wiring, piping, etc. working on U joints tomorrow. I have a bad one, so I might as well replace both while I’m at it. I need to work on the A/C sometime soon. The blower speed **** is out, and I haven’t found a fix. Seems like you have to buy the whole panel?
Yeah, I'd start with the front end. You can get a set of dealer take-off JK shocks on ebay, cheap ! I got mine $15 each. I'd concentrate on the basic maintenance and greasing everything. Check the front tie rods and ball joints. Have someone get in and turn the wheel while you watch the joints moving. Basic maintenance first, then cool stuff later. Nice Jeep ! Did you find a sucker to buy those wheels. LOL The light and rack will just kill your mileage,,,
Tie rods are on the way out, so those have another 500 miles or so before they get bad. Next paycheck will handle those. Wheels are still for sale. It’s been a month or so lol. Probably won’t do rack. It’s not an off roaring rig, so I don’t need to carry anything. Sound system seems to be the next upgrade. I have a whole new system of speakers, head unit, amp, subwoofer, and more priced for 600. Seems like a good deal. Thanks for the feedback!
Welcome! You could by a $50,000 sports car, and nobody will even notice it on the road. Buy a $2200 XJ and people will be waving to you. Its a good value!
$50 bucks. Hmm.
I suppose adding some tow hook brackets and tow hooks up front might be possible for that amount. With the brackets on, you could also try to find a cheap craigslist brushguard (they mount using the towhook brackets typically).
You might be able to recondition someones rusty old roof rack for that amount, they can be hard to find, but pop up cheap occasionally.
You could look for a junkyard trailer hitch and add that and a simple trailer harness perhaps.
Personally, I would get a BAFX OBD2 bluetooth scanner from amazon, and a cheap walmart android tablet, and Torque application from the play store and build a digital dash. That can all be done for about $70.
it’s got a high quality hitch. Don’t ask the name. I have no idea lol. I have considered a roof rack, but I always buy something with the intention to use. I don’t see myself using it except for led pod mounting. It also has a trailer harness too. I have thought about the digital dash. I made a write up in CAD for a 3D printed tablet holder which replaces everything on the RPM side of the odometers, with plastic to finish off the border between gauge and tablet. Thank you for the help! If you want, I have an instagram dedicated to the build. @fuego.xj
Tie rods are on the way out, so those have another 500 miles or so before they get bad. Next paycheck will handle those. Wheels are still for sale. It’s been a month or so lol. Probably won’t do rack. It’s not an off roaring rig, so I don’t need to carry anything. Sound system seems to be the next upgrade. I have a whole new system of speakers, head unit, amp, subwoofer, and more priced for 600. Seems like a good deal. Thanks for the feedback!
Update the sound system with all the details ! I wanta see it !
I would do as suggested above, get it running in top top shape, before any "mods"...also seems like you live in a sketchy area if they're stealing exterior upgrades, so, instead of a sound system, you should look into an alarm system first...I also will suggest not wasting your money on LED pods or bars. It might look cool, but you can't (and shouldn't) run them legally on the highway. My .02
I would do as suggested above, get it running in top top shape, before any "mods"...also seems like you live in a sketchy area if they're stealing exterior upgrades, so, instead of a sound system, you should look into an alarm system first...I also will suggest not wasting your money on LED pods or bars. It might look cool, but you can't (and shouldn't) run them legally on the highway. My .02
They can be run legally in Florida. At least two pods can. They count as driving lights and/or foggers. And the led was stolen because it sat for a week while I was doing other things.
09-07-2018, 01:49 PM
First Jeep
