Choppersean

I am absolutely new to this forum and absolutely new to Jeeps, altogether!! Sorry for the long post……we have lots of thoughts and ideas we want to move on. Any pics you can point us to in regards to our questions are greatly appreciated! A picture is worth 1000 words, or so they say!!

We have already searched the forums, but would end up spending days looking through everything. I don’t have the time, so I thought I would make my first post to troll for some info.

I just bought my 15 year old a 2000 XJ. He turns 16 in a couple of months and we want to work together to get some custom upgrades done this spring/summer……..nothing too extreme, but I want quality and not half-assed. His goal isn’t crazy off-road…..just more cool looks and mildly functional if he wants to off-road. We have some budget to play and here are our priorities………….stuff at the top is highest priority.

Lift. Biggest thing here is that I want quality and I don’t want to have to guess on what “extras” I might need outside of the basic package…..i.e. brake line extensions, SYE, etc. My goal would be one complete kit, all inclusive. Who is a quality kit, but maybe not the most expensive? We are thinking a 4” lift, plus or minus, to accommodate 31” to 33” tires.

Wheels/tires. He wants custom wheels/tires. We are thinking 31”,32”, or 33”. What brand of wheels and tires is OK without breaking the bank? We would need new wheels all around, including spare. I have seen online packages for like $1000 for a set of 4 but have also seen nearly $1000 per wheel (YIKES!!!!). Here are some critical questions I have on wheels/tires….
• What rim diameters are OK?
• What other rims would work on the XJ? Are other Jeep rims interchangeable?.....what about other non-jeep vehicle wheels?
• What off-sets or other rim/wheel dimension restrictions should I be aware of?
• If you have pictures of your set-ups, we would love to see them to help us make some choices. If you post, please explain details to help us make some decisions.

Front fenders/quarter panels and fender flairs. Driver-side fender/quarter panel is jacked up and interferes with the driver door. The other side has some ripples in it. I can try to bang out the damage and straighten things. With the prices I see online, though, I wonder if buying after-market replacements might be just easier and have a better result than my hack-job.
• Who sells reasonably priced after-market fenders?
• He wants fender flairs…….prefers the flat-type flaps. What would you recommend? Again, budget is a consideration.

Spare tire carrier option. Bumper or roof. I see a lot of roof racks with spare tires/wheels on them. Not sure if that is cheaper than a bumper with wheel carrier option. Where should I look for these options and who makes reasonably good/reasonably priced equipment?

Bumpers/Winch. This is absolutely the lowest priority at this time. It is something that he wants at some point, but it may be a year or more before we get here. Any suggestions at this time would be appreciated so we can see what things look like and understand what the cost would be.

Choppersean

Here's a pic of the kid and his new ride....

BNJeepsta

I would highly suggest the metal cloak 3.5" lift and 31's unless he wants to regear. I've ran stock to 37's on stock gears and everything in between. 31's are tolerable but, any bigger and it will be a gas guzzling turd. Well, more so than it already is lol. You could also try Dirk over at DPG. He sells OME and RE lifts and can set you up nicely. Stay away from Rough Country and other cheap crap. Regardless of what lift you go with, upgrade the steering to at least the V8 ZJ set up. The stock stuff is garbage. As for wheels, I would recommend 15x8 soft 8's or d windows from summit. They are about $50 a piece and look good. If you wanna put $1000 bro rims on it feel free but, seems silly to me. I would highly recommend Goodyear duratracs for tires. Decent price and a great all around tire for mild wheeling.

Ianf406

Like he said, OME (Old Man Emu/ARB) is known for having the best ride... since metal cloak can have OME springs/shocks, probably a good bet that it rides nice as well. With a mild lift, you wont have to get an SYE more than likely.

I would recommend a 16" rim. There are many more tires available and in the future this will be even more true (several manufacturers have started dropping 15" sizes). Plus if you upgrade your rear brakes down the road, you will have clearance. I personally have been running a set of procomp alloy rims for along time with no problems.

As for tires, duratracs are awesome... they last forever, have great road manners and perform well offroad.

You will want to get your axles regeared/upgraded as well. Yours cane with the weak low-pinion Dana30 in the front and more than likely a Dana35 in the rear. Swap the front out for a high pinion (pre 1999) and the rear for an XJ 8.25/D44 and you'll be good to go. Being as it'll be mostly on the road, I would either regear it with 4.10s or find a set that came with 4.10s stock (they are out there... just harder to find).

As for bumpers, Check out www.JCROffroad.com. They make my favorite stuff. I ran a 33"/35" on my roof for along time. It is definitely cheaper but If you cant shoulder press a tire/rim... I wouldn't do it.

*edit* there a quite a few guys/threads about guys who make their own flares using garden edging. I personally have a set of Rustys flexible flares but the garden edging ones aren't that bad looking, way cheaper and pretty durable. Just take your time with em.

olive-N

OMG. I appreciate that this is a father and son project and good on ya' for helping him out but as good a driver as you may perceive your son to be, to put this much into his first set of wheels could be a big waste of money and time. Get him a beater and build the jeep over the first year while he wrecks the beater. Or treat this one as the beater and get another to build. Let him do the research. All the answers are out there. The more sweat equity and personal $ he puts into it, the more he will appreciate it and it will pay off in the long run. This isn't just an opinion. It's an observation.
Not to mention driving a lifted jeep is not the same as the family grocery getter. Consider the fact that he isn't equipped (experienced enough or mature enough) to operate such a vehicle safely or responsibly.
I hate to be a wet blanket but I think you should consider this post first.
I'm sure lots of guys will hate on me for this post but I really don't think you know what you're getting into.

Choppersean

Wow, olive, my first post and I get a response like this?!?! I hope the rest of the forum members don't greet a newbie like this. If so, I'll go elsewhere. Why don't you let me be the judge of my son's maturity and skills.......and decide what we are willing to beat up or not. Your "observation" IS only an opinion. I suggest keeping that opinion to yourself.

Anyone else have a constructive response for me?

extrashaky

He said he's going more for looks than for off-road capability. For his purposes, the LP D30 and a D35 rear (if that's what it has) will be fine as long as he stays with 31s.

OP, you've waded into something that can't be settled in a single thread. There are so many options available to you that you and your son will need to do a LOT of research before throwing money at upgrades that may not meet your needs. You can spend from a few hundred bucks to over $30K on one of these trucks, and everything in between.

(For reference, I have a 2000 XJ, and my build is budgeted out on spreadsheets at $22K. I'm about $11K into it at the moment. When I get finished, the truck will be worth no more than $15K if I tried to sell it. I'm an accountant. I must have lost my mind. Let that be a warning to you.)

One thing you do need to be aware of is that the 2000 and 2001 XJs came from the factory with a head that was prone to cracking due to a casting flaw (search "0331 head crack). You don't have to overheat one to crack it, but cooling system maintenance is critical in these things. Some people never have a problem, but if I were buying another 2000, I would consider preemptively swapping out the head for a reliable replacement so that I wouldn't always be wondering about it.

A few things to consider based on what you already have written:

You can run 31s on the existing gearing. However, keep in mind that as you go up in tire size, you're asking the truck to do more work on the existing gears. You lose torque and fuel economy.

That's where the question above about your axles comes in. You can have your axles regeared to take the truck back close to stock performance, but there's little point in doing that with the low pinion Dana 30 front axle. The 2000 came with either a Dana 35 or Chrysler 8.25 rear. There's little point in regearing a Dana 35 either. If you're going to have to regear those, you might as well upgrade axles.

That's why I suggest you stick with 31s (and your existing axles and gearing) for the time being until you figure out exactly where you want to go with the build. Otherwise you'll end up throwing money at problems that never really get solved without more money.

The OEM rims have a 5 x 4.5" bolt pattern with 5.25" backspacing. Decreasing the backspacing will make the wheels stick out more. Using backspacing for that is preferable to using spacers, since spacers put more stress on the bearings.

You'll find the largest selection of tires available for 16" rims. Your kid will need to do a lot of research to find the rims he likes, as there are way too many options for anyone to adequately list here. Start by just browsing on Tire Rack and some of the other tire/rim and off-road sites.

Also, get into the habit of browsing your local Craigslist auto parts section. A lot of rim/tire combos get posted on there, and you might find a deal.

Get familiar with your local DIY junk yards, like Pull-A-Part, Pick n Pull, LKQ, etc. You can find good, straight body panels all day long at those places for not a whole lot of money. You will also find other parts you will eventually need. You have to take your own tools and pull the parts yourself, but that's all part of the adventure. Sometimes you even find a truck that's the same color as yours, so you can bolt on and go.

I'm not aware of any "cheap" flat flairs except the ones people make themselves, and some of those really scare me. The closest thing you'll get is to pull the flares off another Jeep like a TJ at the junk yard and adapt them to your body.

I have a set of Bushwacker flat flares waiting to go on mine, but you're looking at a $470 price tag on those. In contrast, some guy recently had a whole set of TJ flairs on Craigslist near me for $60.

Keep in mind that if you put the spare on the roof, it will affect the fuel economy of the truck, and it will raise the center of gravity. If you lift the vehicle and put a bigger, heavier tire on top of it, that could be an issue, especially for an inexperienced driver. XJs do NOT survive rollovers without an external cage.

There are a number of options for a rear tire carrier, from the type that install in a trailer hitch receiver to a full bumper with a swing-out carrier. For the whole bumper you can pay anywhere from $450 up to $1200, depending on what you get and what features it has. The stand-alone receiver carriers can be cheaper. This is another place where you will need to do a lot of research and figure out exactly what works for your goals and budget.

Here are a couple of tips for doing your research:

1. Read this board every day. Read the OEM Cherokee Tech, Modified Cherokee Tech and Cherokee Chat boards on a daily basis. Reading the board will give you ideas and help shape the direction of your build. It will also alert you to potential pitfalls you wouldn't even know about otherwise.

2. When you're researching a specific topic or problem, use GOOGLE to search this site rather than the idiotic search link on this board. The way you do that is by adding the "site:cherokeeforum.com" tag to your search terms. Here's an example of such a search:

site:cherokeeforum.com 0331 head crack

Doing that uses the power of Google but restricts it to just this site. The board's own search is pretty terrible in comparison.

Welcome to the community, and good luck!

Lake00XJ

I agree with olive, however as a parent it is up to you and your decision.

I run 31 in Kenda Klevers on stock rims. I have a 3 in rustys advanced kit going on soon. I need to get a front locker for the front, and most likely an axle swap to get rid of the lp D30.

I also plan on getting soft 8s soon.

As for flares, I like the bushwhacker flat flares, but they are pricey.

roadraje

Your priority should be roadworthiness. Start by changing every fluid, flush the heater core, change the plugs, wires and coil pack, change the valve cover gasket, inspect the u-joints, ball joints, wheel hubs and bearings. How are the brakes, the tie-rods, drag link, sway bar bushings and track bar? I understand your enthusiasm, I buy something for mine at least once a week. Hell, I have a list of items I want to buy. As soon as I got mine I did a 2" lift just to upgrade the old shocks, springs and leafs. If I would've waited and did more research I would've went 3.5" from the get. There are issues with every vehicle on the road and the 2000 XJ has one that needs to be addressed. Take a moment and Google "2000/2001 0331 Head" and you'll have some interesting reading. With a set of basic tools, a jack and stands you can do a lot of the work yourselves and if you don't own it you can always rent it. YouTube has how-to videos for almost everything regarding our XJ's and there aren't many that can't be done in your driveway or garage weather dependent. There are guys on here that do their own alignments and there are some that find it easier to just take it to a shop. Pick your battles, do the research and get your hands dirty. Welcome to the addiction, built not bought is not just a catch-phrase.

extrashaky

He didn't mean any offense. Kids are notoriously hard on their first vehicles. It's a miracle I survived my 16th year. My brother spent his 15th year building a 400HP motor for a '67 Chevelle and then promptly wrapped it around a tree once he turned 16.

You're talking about potentially sinking some serious coin into this Jeep. You're also talking about doing some things to it that can make it less stable. Olive was just advising caution with an inexperienced driver.

lukc22

I am looking at this lift from Rusty's.... It is pretty complete... You could upgrade the shocks and get front swaybar disconnects... Ive been looking at 3-4 inch lifts, and I am pretty sure that Im getting this one....

http://www.rustysoffroad.com/jeep-su...anced-kit.html

Rogue4x4

You hate being a wet blanket? No you don't. Sounds to me like you get off on it. Don't agree with it? Then don't let your kid do it, but STFU when someone trusts their kid enough to do it. Every situation is different.
Excellent response, sir. You'll notice she's a newbie as well, (I say she because of the amount of sand in her vagina, LOL) so take that FWIW. Stick around this is a great forum with tons of great info and knowledgeable folk. I just got in from wrenching on my jeep and need a shower and a beer, I'll post up what I can to help in a bit...

Welcome to the forum!

sycoglitch

Welcome aboard chopper. Nice jeep. You're gonna get all different types here. Don't let it get to you. A big forum plus is having thick skin. Many ppl feel if they cant have it or do it, or if they wrecked it, then everyone else either shouldn't get it or do it. We actually are a helpful bunch and many jeepers here, that met here, even talk in the RW. Good luck with the build. Search around and the amount of knowledge here tops many other forums you'll find, because they use a lot of the knowledge from here lol.

Nicely well put

Tonis506

I don't post much but I will on this. There is slot of bs on forums weather it be through this board or not your going to get people's opinions that don't agree with yours. I take them as constructive info and presume none is being mean or talking down on anyone.
As far as the truck goes. I think a first car being a project also means he will respect it more then he would a beater and potentially not do things he would in a ratted beater.

A 3 inch or 3.5 inch lift is most likely where you want to be. There is posts here where you will find exactly what parts you need. Ome and re lifts ride great. You might not need an sye. I might have missed it but depending on 242 or 231 tc will make the decision on which she you would need. Basically if he just wants a dd and weekend wheeler 31s some trimming ,3.5 lift would be more then enough and you can take it from there weather you want to be bigger depending on what he is wheeling. The trucks are quite capable in stock form. Most people don't put spares on their roof because it is another 100lbs on the highest point of the truck,raising the center if gravity. So a bumper with a carrier would be better imo. Front bumper with a winch would be a wise investment, you want to be able to get out of what you got into. Armor and more armor will be yout friend. But before you lifting anything or do anything I say this all the time to my customers make sure all the maintenance is up to date and the structure of the truck is in good condition. And go out once and wheel it. Then decide what else you need to go further and have more fun. Invest in a good tow strap and tow points and hit the trails!

olive-N

If I came across as an a$$...... THAT'S your opinion. Sorry if you didn't get the advice you were expecting
A father son build can be very rewarding. Especially if you both learn something along the way.
I just don't think throwing your kid in the deep end of the pool because he likes water is the best way to go.
Good luck. I hope it all works out.
I'm done!
And to the guys hurling insults and presuming i'm a Newb....Post count means nothing.