Embreykm

I bought my 2000 XJ 4x4 this past summer and have been waiting around for some cash before I start doing any upgrading. With tax time finally here I'll be looking at about $800 to spend on her. I know its not much cash to be modding with so I need some help discerning how I can use it most wisely. She's bone stock other than upgraded headlights and K&N cold air intake. I would greatly appreciate some input from cherokee forum in what direction to head off in! Thanks in advance

Kevin

BuckB91XJ

Kevin,

You need to start with a plan. Ask yourself what are you wanting to do with your Jeep. They can be built many ways. Are you building it for the street...I hope not? Are you building it to blast over sand dunes, to creep through narrow winding Jeep trails, to blast through deep gooey mud bogs or as a hunting/fishing rig that will see the occasional forest service road or occasional snowy and icey roads. I built my Jeep for sort of a cross duty rig. I drive it daily 7 miles to and from work. I have also driven it on work trips out of state as far away as California and Nevada. I also wheel it on the weekends on all of the gnarliest local trails. I also like to do snow runs as often as possible. My jeep is lifted 6", with 33" tires, 4.56 gears, Aussie (lunchbox) lockers front and rear, Smittybuilt XRC8000 winch, JCR sliders and tow hooks front and rear. I haven't been on a trail yet that I didn't make it through and my Jeep still gets 18mpg on the highway. Hopfully that will give you an example of how you might want to bui;ld your Jeep.

jcwclm

You mean you've never been stuck or just havent broke it bad enough to get rescued? haha


To the OP, one of the first mods people normally look into is a lift and tires. After that you have so many options!

BuckB91XJ

No I didn't say I hadn't broke or got stuck. Any wheeler who hasn't been stuck and /or broke is either lying or he isn't playing hard enough. I've been stuck and broke but between carrying enough extraction gear, spare parts and tools plus always wheeling with a friend, I have always made it out.

jeepgrlxj

Agreed that most people look into a lift and tires first.
The best thing - in my opinion - to ask yourself first is what size tires you want to run. Once you know what size tires you are looking for, you'll know what size lift you need and what other mods may be needed as well

Dude

There will be as many opinions as there are xj owners. Not sure how green you are, but if new to the Jeep madness, then I'd say; get out there, get dirty. Experience is more than 50%. I was too cautious thinking my std XJ would be completely incapable of wheelin'. Nothing could be further from the thruth. Find a crowd to wheel with watch them, listen to them, then make up you mind.

clayton3854

if your on a budget and have some time to play with before you need to buy your parts i would start searching daily on here on naxja maybe pirate 4x4 and craigslist and see what people are selling cheap. i have an entire 6.5" long arm kit iv peiced together this winter from searching those sites. all peices are new and iv prolly saved over $500+ looking for deals and not impulse buying. but like previously stated before you even start doing what i just mentioned i would set up a plan so you know what your looking for and what you want and dont just buy a stockpile of random parts that wont work together well.

Embreykm

Im definitley building it for offroad but its also my daily driver so i don't wanna do anything too impracticle. Probably just stick with 31s and 3 inch lift.

Alaskan xj 97

With lockers that is all you will need I also added a snorkel for our rivers but its a monster just get a quality lift and you won't be disappointed
Plus not going to high keeps the rollovers to a minimum

Embreykm

Anybody sitting on a rough country lift? If so how does it ride and did u do aal or replacement spring packs in the back?

BuckB91XJ

I would recommend Rough Country lift kits to anybody. My lift is a conglomeration of Rusty's, Daystar and Rough Country pieces but, my son has the Rough Country 6.5" lift on his Jeep and it rides and flexes very well.

Tural

imo, 800 is not enough to start on lift and tires. i'd put that money towards engine upgrades and add-ons for a future lift kit.
a good start would be a header, high flow cat, injectors, muffler and depending on your current rear axle, a disk brake conversion through a junkyard or ebay.
then if you have money left over, get an adjustable track bar, gas tank skid plate and some rock sliders.
that way, when the time comes to lift it, you have all of the hassle parts out of the way. besides, by upgrading the parts that i listed above, you'll get a ton of experience working on your jeep.
let me explain why the lift is not the best idea on a low budget:
cheapest, good quality 3" kit - about $350
decent wheels - aluminum (lighter weight, better mpg) or steel (heavy, but flexible in case if it bends) between $300-400
good offroad tires - $1000
lift kit misc. - $100-150

now, you might come off lucky and find used parts, wheels and tires, but that would require a lot of hunting for deals, getting new hardware and still not saving too much or having any warranty.