sperkinsvt

Hey everyone,

First off, thanks for this resource to help a new Jeep owner out. I'm looking at buying a 2001 XJ 4.0 I6 in the coming week. I've had one overwhelming decision to make, and I'm hoping your insights will help me out.

The problem: I know nothing about cars. However, I'm surrounded by friends who do (friends who have modded their wranglers and one who built out his XJ). I want a lifted 2001 XJ, with all terrain tires and a roof cargo rack. Which option, for me, would you recommend:

Budget: +/- $5000
Option 1: Buy a used XJ with about 150,xxx miles that has already been lifted and with all terrain tires and a rack, and has likely been pounded on trails.
Option 2: Buy a used XJ with about 100,xxx miles that is stock, and I can lift it and mod it with the help of my much more knowledgeable friends over the next year.

I want option 2, but I'm afraid my abilities will be in the way of it every turning into option 1.

Thanks so much for your help!

Scott

thatXJguy

It all comes down to one thing: personal preference.

I would recommend buying the Cherokee where you build it yourself. That way you know what's going into it. When you buy Cherokees that have already been lifted, you have no clue how stable the lift is or if the original owner took shortcuts in installing it. These could be potential safety hazards. In addition, you will learn a lot about the suspension system and your Jeep if you do it yourself. Not to mention it has 33% less mileage – it will last longer!

Option one is a step you take only if you are 100% sure you will not be able to lift the Cherokee. I would highly recommend against it though, just because you don't know if the lift job is sketchy or not.

If your budget is $5000, you might just break even. Getting my lift kit was $950, the slip yoke eliminator and CV driveshaft was another $500, and the wheels and tires came out to be another $1300. I paid some friends to help me install it and get the job done faster – another $600. After I bought everything, the lift put me in the hole at about $3900. I bought the Jeep I own for $5995.

Best of luck!

sperkinsvt

Thanks for the input. I do a lot of camping/backpacking in the Colorado Rockies, and have been using an '06 Corolla, complete with girlfriend and dog to get into the backcountry. I'm not planning on scrambling up mountains with this thing, just getting to the more primitive lakes and trailheads I can't reach now. Thinking of a 2" Rubicon Express lift, but I like the idea of 31s instead of 30s, so I'm up in the air. Thankfully I have time.

As you can see I'm definitely leaning toward the lift-my-own approach instead of buying someone else's work. I don't know anything about jeeps...yet.

CheapCherokee

buy stock and lift it yourself, unless you can tell that the lift put on by the previous owner did it right with a quality kit. otherwise most of the lifted xjs are crap

Bbasso

get yourself a bone stock and DIY.
I did this past month and now loving it!
I have a thread with some info in it if you want to look... https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/i-b...stions-141101/
I found an all stock 99 and did a 3 inch with 31s.

rideordie66

Just to add a bit more to think about, I would avoid the 2001 because of the problem with the heads cracking. Look that up to get more info, but if your just looking to get the newest xj that you can, it might not be the best idea for you.

As for your question, I would get all stock because then its in the same form that it was when it left the factory. There is something to be said for "factory condition" in a cherokee or any car for that matter. You may want to do the same lift and modifications that the option one had but then you will know how those mods were done and hopefully done correctly. Even if you have some one else do the work, you will have more to say about how it was done.

sperkinsvt

Bbasso, thanks for the link to the thread and your two cents. I'll be one step behind you with my XJ!

Rideordie, I have read about about the cracked cylinder heads, but probably did not heed the warnings enough. So you guys would assume that any wear and tear a vehicle two years older (a '99 instead of an '01) is offset by the likelihood of a cracked head? Makes sense. One other question though: if I find an '01 XJ with an 0630 or TUPY head (that the PO replaced when his head cracked), does that absolve me of worrying about this?

prerunner1982

Also the 2000 and 2001s have a low pinion front axle. This will put the front driveshaft at a slightly more of an angle when lifted. With only 3" it may...or may not be an issue. For no more hard core than you are planning I wouldn't let this be a deciding factor in anyway, just something else (driveline vibrations) you might have to deal with when lifting the Jeep.