DirtWaterAltitude

Hello everyone,

I am building up my XJ to basically just have fun crawling around Moab/Escalante/Canyonlands areas of Utah.

I have to drive it home at the end of the trip so I don't do anything too crazy. As a reference, I have done a lot of the well known trails around Moab: Poison Spider, Hells Revenge, Sevenmile Rim, Fins & Things, Klondike Bluffs 4x4, etc. And a lot of the obstacles on the trails.

I want to build my XJ up as much as possible to where I can still drive it to Moab from Salt Lake (at about 60 mph and don't really care about gas mileage). I am not looking for anything to make it prettier than she already is—only functional.

Currently, my XJ mods are:

4.5 inch Rancho Lift
Sway Bar Disconnects
Rear Lock-right Lockers
32" BF Goodrich Mud Terrains on 15" Steel Wheels
Smittybilt Front XRC Bumper
New Cooling System w/ Trans Cooler
Smittybilt 10,000k Winch
Brown Dog Motor Mounts
Monstaliner on inside (no carpet)
On-board Air Compressor

Any ideas on where to go from there? My goals are to increase travel for more tippy areas/off camber/sloped surface, climb taller rocks and ledges, and be safe (roll bar, etc).

What size tires?
Suspension components?
Long arm kit?

Bolt on solutions are the best, I am not a fabricator, don't have a welder, or a shop unfortunately. Just a garage and tools. The cherokeeforum, BleepinJeep (YouTube), and Haynes manual are extremely valuable resources! Recently, I have replaced the power steering pump, neutral safety switch, entire cooling system w/ trans cooler, installed motor mounts, steering box bracket, front bumper and winch . . . just to get an idea of my auto mech level.

Here are some pictures of my current set up:



Climbing a ledge on Gold Bar Rim, Moab, UT




Off camber Sevenmile Rim, Moab, UT




Boulder Mountain, UT

Codenamefa

Honestly 4.5 to 5.5 lifts are about right on the money and judging by the pix you have and it being a 95 XJ 2dr, you could do what I did to my 94 XJ 2dr and put in Rubicon 4.5 Coils and Leafs and then put in a no lift shackle relocation bracket (Allows more droop in the rear and a softer ride) along with whatever flavor of long arm upgrades you want (RE,RC,TNT,IRO,Serious Offroad,etc). Cut and fold the fenders for a little extra room to breath for the tires, Put on fender flares if you want them, personally i like bush whackers on mine, possibly longer quick disconnects if they are needed.

Ummmm frame reinforcement front to back, if you have floor board rust fix it now while you are doing this. Upgrade your track bar to either a RE1660 setup or a IRO setup. Also if you haven't upgraded the steering I suggest talking to frank at Serious Offroad, His kits are the bomb! Note when doing the Serious offroad UTK kit you are better off taking the pitman and knuckles off and getting them drilled out at a shop with a press drill, much nicer holes then free hand. And Since you have on board air you might want to think about going ARB or OX locker so you can have that also 4.56 when running 33's. Also get some sliders to protect your rockers. And also get a SYE in there as well Hack n Tap or full SYE should do fine, Helps with letting the rear axle come down further when you have a SYE in, Mine before I put the SYE in would bind the u-joints if it drooped too low in the back.

When I got mine all done I sit at about 5.25" of lift but that is because rubicon express is stiff and won't sag down for years, yours might end up being about 4.75" because of the bumper which to level out the rear I would get custom shackles built in a boomerang style to make the world squarish, otherwise you can get a coil spacer to level her out usually .75" spacers do the job. And an after thought is get either bilstein or rubicon express mono tube shocks and you will love how it rides with those shocks. Other than all that you can get limit straps so you can keep control of the flex. Also make sure the long arm kit you get has either flex joints or johnny joints that attach at the frame and where the uppers meet the lower arm. Anyways once all is done you should have a pretty good flexing machine that can be driven daily without any worries of it falling apart on ya.

DirtWaterAltitude

That is a lot of really good information and extremely helpful. I now have a couple of days worth of parts googling.

I am trying to figure out the order to purchase my upgrades in. I am thinking of putting in the long arm kit, track bar, and steering upgrades first.

In a couple of months I need to get new tires. Do you think I should go to 33s? I am at 32s. I have seen a lot of people going to 35s is that too much for my XJ? I want to do everything right (not just throw big tires on without changing other necessary parts).

timamybrown

Looks like you are heading in the right direction and already have a lot of nice mods. Long arms would be a easy upgrade since you already have a 4.5in lift. Steering and track bar would be a good upgrade. I wouldn't upgrade shocks until I put the long arms on and flexed it out so you can measure for proper shock length and bump stops. Rock sliders would be great upgrade so you don't smash in your nice straight rockers. 33s or 35s I just switched from 33s to 35s the 33s worked great on and off road and where very road friendly my 35s are still pretty good on the road and I cant complain. The 35s really helped out with my approach angle and have gotten me threw a few trails I couldn't get threw with the 33s because my front bumper would dig in. But with 35s you would have to re-gear. Here's mine 5.5in IRO long arm on 33s and 35s. I to drive mine to and from the trail and wouldn't have it any other way.

andrewmp6

You can add long arms and keep the springs and shocks you already have.Tire size 33s or maybe 35s but both i would have the axles rear geared to match the tire size.Do you have any under armor on it?If not a t case and gas tank skid plates are easy to add.Like said rock sliders will help a lot in your case.

torque062

Is there a limit on the budget?

The next upgrades I would do in your situation would be OTK steering, which will require a new trac bar setup moving it over the axle. Serious Off-road makes a great kit.

After steering, I would do rock sliders. I have AJ's super sliders and absolutely love them.

Once you have worn out your current tires, I would suggest a re-gear. 4.56, if not 4.88. Depending on your driving habits, you can usually get away with running 35s on the Dana 30 if you use 760x u-joints and full circle snap rings. I'd even run those on 32s. Actually that should be one of the first things to do... and carry a spare set of shafts and u-joints if you don't already.

Then I would look into a good 3 link setup. I run the Rock Krawler 3 link and would buy it again, but I'd also take a good hard look at TNT and Clayton.

stang65

seeing how your already on the right track I might make a sugestion of some kind of roll over protection.

DirtWaterAltitude

Thanks everyone! Those are really good suggestions.

I think I will get started with a long arm kit. I do want to go to 35s. Would I need new axles (Dana 44s)? What gear ratio is the best?

I definitely need a roll bar. Does anyone have any experience with bolt in ones? Or are they just a waste of money. Rock sliders and armor are definitely on the Christmas list.

I didn't even know OTK steering existed. That looks like a good upgrade. Something is going on with my steering (there are weird popping noises when I turn my wheel). I guess it is good that it is winter so my XJ can take a break. Has anyone ever experienced that?

I definitely have a budget, but saved up some money just for this project.

andrewmp6

Some people do fine on 35s with the dana 30 and 8.25 and some break stuff all depends on how you drive it.

Fred/N0AZZ

Fuel Tank/Rocker Skids should be around the top of your list. At the very least a mid 90's V-8 GC tie rod setup a direct bolt in upgrade.

The Long Arm kit at the top of your list is a very good choice BTW with that I would suggest upgraded shocks if not done.

DirtWaterAltitude

Thank you all! Now I have to buy it all and put it together—that is the fun part.