Buying a 89 jeep cherokee with the 4.0 in it. Always been a ford man and didn't do "too" much preformance wise to them. But wanting a muder outta it. Still want it as a daily driver tho. Live in North Carolina so mostly sandy area but got some nice mud spots as well..... like i said tho lookin for something as a toy but still street legal. Wanting good suspension as well as power/torque ideas. got about a grand now but got a steady pay so more money will come.

 

Moved from builds section.

 

start with the basics. work out any issues first. fix any rust. then start figuring out how high you wanna go, how hard you're gonna wheel.
what rear axle do you have?

 

I agree with Tural, fix any issues first. While your doing that figure out the other details.

If you still want to keep it a DD, dont go over 4.5in lift. You can but its alot more work and money.

 

x2 on^

I had to do a lot on mine before I am going to put the lift. The lift is in boxes in my garage, Im ready to put it on just need a little time

 

yep fix it then build it Fugger out what you have and read the forums nonstop everything you need is on here if you look for it and try to put up a pic

 

Thanks gents i was planning on doing the basics of a tune up and getting my **** clean already. But where is a good place to purchase a lift kit from, never done one (in marines as a diesel engine mechanic and electronics.. got a simple enough grasp on turning wrenches that gonna be enough to do a lift job?). and what do you recomend for power boast? intake and exhaust gonna do much for the 4.0?

 

For a mudder that you want to keep as a DD, go with either Rubicon Express' 4.5 spring pack kit or Rusty's 4.5 Spring pack kit. Both are really good lifts and will let you run 32's with out any trimming. Slight trimming and you can run 33's.

The Rusty's is $670 before shipping. The RE is $1,050. Rusty's comes with shocks, while the RE does not. RE has new bump-stops, quick discos, and shackles while Rusty's does not. However, if you want to save money, you can get the bump stops, quick discos, and shackles from Rusty's and still be spending less than you would on the RE. With either lift, an SYE is recommended with a rear CV drive shaft. Rusty's does a combo of the SYE and the drive shaft for $480. Most of the lift stuff you can do on your own, but it's always helpful to have someone there that's done a lift or two before. Especially if you have access to a garage with a car lift in the bay.

Performance wise, a snorkel will give you a better CAI than any K&N, plus you don't have to worry so much about water. Bore the throttle body out, put on a spacer, and an exhaust (2.5" Flowmaster works pretty well and sounds great!). Fuel injectors for a Neon have a higher pressure rating than the stock ones. After doing any of these, getting it professionally tuned will give you the best power increases. Tuning isn't really cheap, so I'd say do all the upgrades you want, then get it tuned so you only pay for it once.

If you're going 32's/33's, re-gearing to 4.10's will help in the mud/sand and won't affect it as a DD as much as 4.56's would. That's all I can really think of. There's quite a bit of $$ in all this, but I hope it helps! Just remember, make it how you want it and take your time. There's ton's of info on here and some really knowledgeable people. Use it.

 

camp lejuene? lots of sand and fun trails there is why i ask. my dad retired from 2mef out there and my brother still works for them as a contractor. we get to go up that way every year almost.

if you are at camp lejuene and want some other 4x4 people to hang out with, let me know and i'll get my brother to get a hold of you. he and a bunch of friends used to go out all the time.

and, if your a diesel mechanic then you can handle putting a lift kit on. its easy compared to rebuilding a generator or something like that