Mister

Never gone wheeling before. but i would love to. love my 93 xj! sad part. its 2 wheel drive. and i cant find a 4x4 jeep worth buying anywhere around where i live. anyway if i go with friends i could do some light wheeling with a 2 wheel drive? probally not. but woth asking right? lol.

TrekkerJmm

Keep looking on Craigslist and since the "Cash for clunkers" the junk yards are full of them (around NJ anyway) BTW congrats...Tj

Mister

still on craigslist. lol. id like to find a 93 xj 2 door 4x4. just like mine but 4wd. then ill start modding it. in my 2wd all i have is my cb. lol. havnt even bothered looking or buying anything id need for wheeling.

oh and how do you get the signature. under what you typed for the post or thread?

Gee oh Dee

As long as you have some good rubber and you know how to drive you'll be able to do some light mudding and trail riding in 2wd. Just make sure you've got good friends with 4wd and strong tow straps!

Mister

i was thinking on getting a little 3-4.5inch lift. and general grabber at2's.and of course 8-10k lb winch. think that could be sufficent enough?

Gee oh Dee

I wouldn't stick any money into a lift, period. Not on a 2wd truck. Just not worth it. Save that cash for a 4wd truck. The winch really wouldn't hurt, but only because you can move that from vehicle to vehicle as you upgrade.

Thats just me, though. Do what you want.

As for rubber, go with BFG a/t's. Little pricey, but a good tire for what you'd want.

Mister

so just leave the suspension alone. and gegt some BFG a/t's and the winch. size rim would i want. i know for trailing, wheeling in general you want pretty good clearance. (sorry for the noob questions. lol like i said im new to trailing, wheeling. would just like to get it done right the first tiem rather than having to redo it becasue i messed up.)

these would do correct? BF Goodrich A/T KO, 31x10.50R-15 Load Range C

Gee oh Dee

Don't apologise to me, we all start somewhere. Gotta learn to crawl before we walk, right?

If it were me I'd keep the cash for the lift in my pocket. We both know unless you turn your truck into a 2wd buggy, its not gonna be great in serious off road situations. Its just not, no offense intended either. You can put that money to better use elsewhere.

If your concerned with clearance consider cutting your fenders. It won't be pretty, but it'll function. I'm not sure if you'll want to do this, though, as most people don't have the luxury (laugh) of a beater truck like I do. I couldn't care less what mine looks like, it was cheap and hasn't had floors since I bought it. Also, cutting fenders won't help big tires clear the frame, so even cutting fenders has its limits.

Rims are fairly easy. You can get cheap versions in TONS of places, for as little as $75-$85 per rim. I've got American racing 15x8's that are awesome. I'd suggest sticking with 15's as they typically are the cheapest to wrap with good rubber. Get into 17's or something and rubber gets expensive and hard to find (in certain sizes). Either way, no matter what you get, make sure its at least 8" wide. The 7's that most trucks come with won't take a tire wider than 10.5", and most larger rubber only comes in 12.5" widths. 8" rims will take 12.5's and maybe a bit bigger. The last concern with rubber would be backspacing. You want to make sure to get good backspacing to help avoid rubbing on the frame when you are fully cranking the wheel. You'll have to do some thinking and decide what you wanna do and how big you wanna go before you can figure propper backspacing, but since you are (in my opinion) fairly limited it should be really easy.

And yes, the rubber you found is what I was talking about. Good tire, good tread life, and can really hold its own when off road.

Mister

how much fender would i cut to have good clearence. i dont mind what it looks like. lol as long as i get to dive to work and back home to see my family. and do a little wheeling. ill be fine. lol. any information will help.

Gee oh Dee

That, good sir, will depend on what tools you have, what size rubber you get, and how crazy you wanna go. I'd say a couple inches will be enough, mostly because you'll be limited by the frame and not the fenders. And you won't have to trim the entire fender, just the spots that get in the way.

Mister

well. i own a junkyard. so i have parts i may need. and my father owns a mechanics shop. so i also have all the tool ill need. lol. i want to put as big of tires i can on my xj. i have 15" rims. might be able to find some out of the junkyard that are still in good condition, to fit the jeep.but we have no jeeps that are worth getting to fix up. there all smashed and wrecked. makes me sad to see all the 4x4 jeeps we have that cant even be drove no longer.

Gee oh Dee

I've never looked into it, but is it possible to take all the crap from a 4wd cherokee and make yours 4wd? It'd be tons of work, and the suspension attachment points may not be the same, but if you've got all the parts in front of you from a wrecked one, it may be possible.

Like I said, I've never done this NOR have I even looked into it. But maybe its something you could do.

Or go the other way. Take all your good parts and make a good truck out of a bad 4wd truck. Just make sure you keep the vin and title from your good truck otherwise you'll have a salvage title and will have to deal with getting it re-checked by the state.

Just offering up some things to think about.

GreenClassic

I believe all 4x4 parts are bolt-on replacements. It is a lot of work, but all the parts are interchangeable.

Tural

finding a wrecked 4wd and taking the parts off of it would be your best bet. everything is bolt-on.
but for now, i wouldn't recommend investing in new tires. find some good used tires on craigslist and maybe invest in a locker.
i've seen some amazing trail-riding done with a 2wd truck with a locker.