I'd suggest lot's of storage. At least a hitch mounted rack to haul firewood, fuel, grill, stove, etc you don't want in the interior or on the roof. An interior rack that hides your valuables is good for trailheads, truckstops, motels were thieves roam the parking lots. You'll want HD springs with an inch or more lift once it's all loaded up and on the trails and backroads.

 

x2

Maybe add:

Disc brake conversion
(simple, cost effective and you might need new brakes anyways)

Speedometer gear, so it's correct

Better seats, zj/wj, I know what it's like to sit in an xj for nearly 16hrs straight. Nicer seats would help.

 

^This I drove over 6k miles in my XJ in a month. Between the broken right rear seat bolt that causes a 'gangsta lean' and just the seat in general I was really wishing I had something better.

 

Stay stock height. Run 235/'s. Replace all fluids. Address any leaks. Check battery. Check brake's. Bring a sleeping bag and water purifier and your good to hit the road! I have made the drive from WY to PA and back several times. It is a 40 hour 3-4 day drive. Oh yeah. Bring alot of gas money lol. I should start a photo book of gas stations in the us after driving across a few times in my XJ.

 

sounds like good times are in the works...

ditto on a storage container on roof/ or rack.. also the extended storage on a hitch is another plus... anything where you can move your gear to the outside especially if you're going to sleep in it..

I would flush rad, change and oil everything that moves, bring spare fan belt and tools at the minimum..

 

If the op gets a roof rack I suggest getting limb risers also

 

So I have been shopping for suspension parts, what is a good company to get stock replacement parts from? Is there a good website to buy them from? I was looking at Amazon.

 

Old man emu

 

So for about a week now I have been doing research on lift kits and OEM replacement suspension parts. I think I am going to go with a Rustys Offroad 3.5" lift kit because it will actually cost me less that way than if I replaced everything with OEM stuff plus I will be able to fit larger tires under the Jeep. Now I know everyone has said there is a proper way to lift a Jeep so that there is no real strain on the drive train and that there is an in depth thread somewhere on this forum, does anyone know where this thread is, I tried searching with no luck. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

That is a mistake. Rustys components are known to fail I have had several parts of theirs fail and they are horrible to deal with when it comes to warranty. Go Re , OLd man Emu , BDS. If you want a good kit and when it comes to jeep suspension more up front is cheaper in the long run. I am personally running RE 3.5" coils , leafs, track bar , Teraflex Adjustable upper and lower control arms , crown extended steel brake lines on my Xj with Bilstein 5100 shocks it rides amazing on road and even better offroad. And I have a good bit of armor on mine too its holding up well

 

Well then I won't put a lift on it, I don't plan on wheeling at all. Just using it for long road trips and maybe driving down a dirt road getting to a camp site if I camp. I will just continue to shop for OEM replacement parts. I guess you saved me a bunch of money and headaches.

Or I will just do a budget lift, shackles and spacers.

 

If you're not wheeling it, and just taking trips and using it for a DD, keep it stock. Keep up on maintenance, throw some HD springs in the rear (I like my Quadratec HD springs), and some 235/75-15 tires. For something that never goes offroad, I'd throw some Michelins under it. And I don't run any less than load range C tires on my Jeep. Keep it simple and reliable, that's what I'd do.

 

Yeah, that is the idea. I guess I will do this and save my money to buy my next project, an MJ. I want this XJ to hopefully be able to tow that rig to the trails because that will be my offroad rig.

What would be a good replacement shock without breaking the bank? And would you guys order from Amazon?

I am looking at these and they are from Amazon.

 

Old Man Emu is exactly what you're looking for. They're an Australian outfit, there the laws regarding lift are very strict. There are a lot of posers (putting a snorkel on anything lol) but the idea is long distance driving across rough roads (or no roads). Very mild lift and, more importantly, a nice ride. OME springs come in 0.5" to 2" lift, ride better than stock, and cost about the same.

If you have the resources I'd strongly recommend going the OME route and get appropriate shocks. It's a bad idea to do just a shackle lift on 15 year old leaf springs if you intend on going anywhere, your springs are already shot. Up the tire size to 235/75R15 or 30x9.5R15, do all the catch-up and preventative maintenance, and a couple of the cargo mods suggested here. You don't need anything more than mild but you do need reliability.

 

If you are looking to save money:

Grab a junkyard XJ set of leaf springs, cut the eyes off the main leaf and make an XJ/XJ bastard pack. With your sagging rear leafs this should get you back to stock, maybe a little more and firm up the rear end. Throw an extra coil spring isolator from that same jy cherokee out front and bam. "Lift" complete. Won't overly affect MPGs and gets you back to stock+. Throw a catback exhaust on from performance curve which normal gains about 1 mpg and cowl intake.

If it was just me traveling in this thing, I wouldn't worry about a roof rack or cargo hitch. An XJ has plenty of storage for one guy. If you really want to sleep in the XJ, build a storage/sleeping platform that uses the whole area with seats folded down. Me, I would buy a Hennessy Hammock and bring some tent stakes.

So you are into this rig less than 500 and it will get you everywhere you need to go and probably some places you don't need to go.