JeepFanMan

I just traded a 95 Chevy for a 2000 XJ and I'm psyched to get it on the road and start making her original. It's a red sport with under 150k so I got the better deal the truck was pushing 200k. Also got him to throw 200 cash in cuz he wanted that gas hog 454 that badly. Lol wait till he is at a pump with his wallet running away.

KevMez

Congrats on the XJ! Have fun with it.

JeepFanMan

Thanks i will post pics in the am!!! Not sure how i want to mod it though...

KevMez

All depends on what you are going to do with it. I started 10 years ago with a 3" lift, 31's and a kick *** stereo. My tastes have changed and I've decided to keep the XJ, I was looking at getting a new 4 door JK. And now I am redoing my XJ to my taste. Upgraded the lift and making it more of a trail rig, I don't go out and wheel it. I just need something very capable to get me up in the deep snow and to navigate trails to hunt and hike. Just figure out what you want to do with it, and have fun with it.

thatXJguy

Yeah I wanna see pics. I love pics. Pics are awesome and stuff.

Congrats buddy.

JeepFanMan

I am not to sure what i want to do, see i owned a truck and they are not the blank canvas that a jeep is! so many options for lifts, and tires. I dont know if i want to mud bog or trail ride? Maybe a bit of both along with it being my daily driver. Help me chose Its a 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0L with the tow package.

KevMez

First off you will need to know what your budget is. Everything depends on the budget. I went cheapo on my first lift and regretted it the first time I hit a bump. I'm now slowly redoing my suspension, got rid of the aal's and went with a 3.5" leaf pack. Then I used a 1" poly spacer on top of my 3" front springs to level it all out. I'll be getting new disco's and an adjustable track bar......ect. ect. ect. Hopefully by next hunting season I will have the suspension all on track. It already rides 100 times better than it did before. Sorry went off on a tangent there, but it really does depend on your budget. You are right there are so many choices out there for the XJ, that's why they are so fun.

JeepFanMan

Well i want to do a lift and maybe a bull bar. So if I have a 500 Budget then what am i looking for excatly?

KevMez

As far as a bull bar, I would lean more towards a light bar check out www.detoursusa.com and check out the bumper brow light bar. Or check my build thread and see my KC light bar I installed. If you are looking for front end protection, I would look into a beefy bumper not a bull bar. For a lift, there is a lot of places to look. Ebay, www.quadratec.com Rusty's offroad, Serious offroad, www.rocky-road.com/cherokee Just start looking around, see what's in your budget. And when in doubt, ask the guy's on here. I would highly recommend you stay away from add a leafs, your budget may not allow that, but they suck. Also google search jeep Cherokee bastard pack. There are a lot of options out there, just use google and see what you find.

JeepFanMan

See the thing is the PO gave me the Add a leaf kit due to the fact that he has bigger tires on it and the leafs are fine but it sags in the rear to the point that you hit bumps it rubs. The front sits higher than the rear and that drives me crazy already!! And the Blower motor resister is old and im debating whether or not to change it now before i lose all heat or wait

KevMez

If you already have the aal, and you are just looking for a lift for looks. Then just get new front springs or add some spacers. Check out Rusty's, if I remember right they sell just front springs and just leaf springs and such. So you don't have to buy a full lift kit. That's what I'm doing right now, just piecing together a much better lift than what I had. As for your heater issue, if it's your dd then I would make sure the heat is working before anything else, just my 2cents.

JeepFanMan

I am going to replace the Blower part and see how it looks after the aal. Might check that site out and see what's out there, Just want my dd to look mean and be able to take a trail or 2

KevMez

3" with some 31's will look real nice. The aal will give you enough in the rear for 31's. Just make sure you have at least 3" in the front for 31's or you will have to do some trimming. You might have to do some trimming anyways with even a 3", I had to anyways.

JeepFanMan

See its sitting on 16's now and im confused so if i add the leaf spring how much will it bring it up? not higher than the front i hope i first need to see it even before i go higher.

KevMez

I'll need to see some pics. But the add a leaf will bring you up 1.5 to 2 inches I think, so it will look like a lame hot rod for awhile till you do something about the front. If you are running 16's then you will be looking at 245/75/16 tires not 31's, or 265/75/16's one or the other. before you do the aal, search a budget boost, 2" budget boosts are cheap and you can run 245/75/16's with that and it looks real good.