My undiagnosed add is a problem with these builds, i get 3 pages in and lose all focus...

Okay so how about this I'm doing a little bit of reading I'm seeing the different axle swaps then people start talking about different components and clearance issues and blah blah blah. So what first, knowing what you know now what besides armor and recovery would you work on. And you guys are right there sure is a hell of a lot of stuff to learn.

Don't worry about it. Get a little lift, some armor and recovery and go wheel. You'll find out what you need when you have a need for it.

there's too much to just sit here and tell you all of it. you need to be more specific

have you ever built a rig before? have you ever wheeled? can you weld? what's your budget?
theres a hundred and one axles you could swap in. only about 10 of them are worth a crap. and 7 of those 10 will need a full rebuild. you're looking at $thousands to do a decent set of axles

theres just no way you can go from knowing nothing to having a full width build. if I had a do-over I'd still build the stock axles and run 33's or 35's
don't overthink it just get out on the trail

You can spend 10 grand and destroy 2grand the first time out. Its more than just buying stuff, its getting experience.

A hack can break an anvil and not accomplish anything, but a pro can do twice as much with less.

Best off getting a good base rig. You are not going to be bulletproof, never will.. But learning what you need and how to fix it on the trail will do more than you think. Wheeled with a guy from this forum who broke two teeth off his pinion gear. Day is done right? WRONG. He pulled the pinion out and welded/shaped two weld teeth back on, finished the day wheeling.

That is how you make your jeep bulletproof, its you.

That said. Maybe someone should start with a catagory. Axles, steering, suspension, beadlocks, etc....

Good luck.

No builds as for driving, just screwing around on trails but nothing technical, this will be my first serious adult responsible non ghetto offroad adventure. And I'm working a crap job making less than when i was 18. I have a couple of buddies that can weld and I'm willing and capable to take this on, at least in my own mind.

I think the reason I'm over thinking this so much is i don't know what comes first, I'm afraid to do anything with my d35 rear because everyone says it'll break sitting still in a parking lot. And most important, I'll be with my son, who under no circumstance can i allow him to be put in a bad situation. Not to mention that i don't really have many people with similar interest in offloading, so I'm basically on my own here. And finally, I'm just sharing thoughts, my post is almost becoming rhetorical. Welcome to my sick twisted and demented mind.

Btw, thanks for all the feedback, be patient with me, I'll get there, I'm just kinda scatter brained and vocal.

join the club

seriously though join a club. see if theres some NAXJA.org guys in your area. go out on a run with them on a basic trail. talk tech. get a feel for it and trust me, local guys with similar builds want to see you succeed. they'll hook you up with cheap parts and maybe even help you build it in exchange for beer.

**** happens on the trail. just does. I poked around this forum for a year then spent 6 months collecting parts. FINALLY finished my build. took it out and rolled it my first time wheeling

it just takes trial and error. some people run their D35 on 35" tires with success. some people break it in the parking lot


basic information you should share:
-what year/model is your XJ?
-what is your budget?
-where are you located? what is the terrain like?

Okay, so after reading prius 1 & 2 i see what your saying, armor it, recovery it, build it, break it, fortify or fix whatever broke and break something else. So the plan is to start wheeling small, break stuff and gain experience so that i can get to the hard stuff and break all the stuff i thought i made bulletproof and a bunch of stuff i had no idea was going to break, all the while having FUN, instead of wasting all this money and worry building but never gaining experience and having FUN. I told you i would get it, im just slow.

yup. I had to work way too many bugs out of that engine. but basically, I gathered about $5000 worth of parts and built it all at once (rather than have build it slowly over time). it performed really well and very reliably once I had the kinks worked out

What was the deal with your stiffners, why did you end up liking the lighter stuff, isnt heavier mean stonger and better against bashing?

lots of debate about that. the thinner 10ga is much easier to work with and weld and I'd say nearly 4x lighter. but in the end, I did dent it. just a little

it's a crap shot really. as long as you get some sort of plating on there you'll be better off. I do more rock bashing so I'm trying the ruffstuff ones this time around