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For the whole year of 2017, I drove a brand new JKU Sport that I enjoyed to a point. This was my first venture into the Jeep world, and the fun of off-roading.
i had it on a 2" Mopar lift, 35" toyos, 4.56 gears and an E-Locker. I loved it...
What I hated was the constant looming fear of doing some serious damage while wheeling. Damage that insurance wouldnt cover because off-roading... The terrible mileage on a daily driver didn't help.
So after 14 months, I took a nasty hit and traded the JKU in on a 14 Passat TDI (perfect for daily driver duties) and picked up a pretty cherry XJ for $1,000. It has a blown motor, but the seller had a good motor to go with it that just needed installing.
My time off-roading the JKU has taught me what I want the XJ to accomplish.
For the whole year of 2017, I drove a brand new JKU Sport that I enjoyed to a point. This was my first venture into the Jeep world, and the fun of off-roading.
i had it on a 2" Mopar lift, 35" toyos, 4.56 gears and an E-Locker. I loved it...
What I hated was the constant looming fear of doing some serious damage while wheeling. Damage that insurance wouldnt cover because off-roading... The terrible mileage on a daily driver didn't help.
So after 14 months, I took a nasty hit and traded the JKU in on a 14 Passat TDI (perfect for daily driver duties) and picked up a pretty cherry XJ for $1,000. It has a blown motor, but the seller had a good motor to go with it that just needed installing.
My time off-roading the JKU has taught me what I want the XJ to accomplish.
It's essentially a bone stock XJ Country. I believe it is Emerald Green Pearl, but it wont be for long.
Pretty immaculate powered black leather. 4.0 I-6, Auto, NP231, HP non-CAD Dana 30, Chry 8.25
In the coming month, I am going to rebuild the "known good" 4.0 and drop it in, raptor line the outside, Rustys 4.5" lift, 32" tires, Ford 8.8 rear end with 4.10 gears, and of course regear the front to match.
Last edited by Fixmy59bug; 02-12-2018 at 10:06 AM.
if you are going to bed line it look into scorpion liner it is far better than raptor ive been spraying bed liner for 12 years and the scorpion is the best DO IT YOURSELF stuff out there and no i do not sell it or work for them im just a regular guy that has used a lot of different stuff , the raptor gets ultra hard and is prone to chipping
No need to put a ford 8.8 in if you are running 32s, the chrysler 8.25 is a stout axle that can handle 35s, you wouldn't gain much of anything by swapping to an 8.8.
No need to put a ford 8.8 in if you are running 32s, the chrysler 8.25 is a stout axle that can handle 35s, you wouldn't gain much of anything by swapping to an 8.8.
Looking at it strictly from a $$ standpoint, it would be cheaper to swap in a 8.8 that already has disc brakes and 4.10 gears vs swapping my 8.25 to 4.10's and discs. Plus I give me some leeway in the strength department if I decided to go bigger later.
as for the 8.8 i would rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it , i went 8.8 cuz i got 4.10 gears, lsd,and disk brakes, all in one for 75.00 + the cost to swap all together i had less than 350.00 in the swap
The good news is if you do the 8.8 swap you shouldn't have any trouble selling that 8.25 to make up for the cost, there are several XJ owners with a Dana 35 looking to upgrade.
02-08-2018, 11:40 PM
Out with the JK, In with the XJ
