Advice needed: 2001 XJ NYC build

[colebxj]

Hey y’all, hope this is the right space to ask such a question.

I’m newer to the Jeep life and decided to dive in whilst living in NYC. The good news is I don’t need my Jeep for work or transport, allowing me to treat it more as a hobby/weekend adventure truck. The bad news is, being in Brooklyn I don’t have a garage to do a lot of the work needed myself and still have to consider street parking etc.

I’m by no means a mechanic or an expert with jeeps but I’m somewhat handy and definitely took on the XJ as a fun project. I’m obsessed really.

For reference. My Jeep is a 2001 Cherokee Sport with 182k miles on it. Rust isn’t horrible but present, it’s fairly clean and runs really well. Suspension is kind of shot so I’m gearing up for an overhaul/lift. Stock rims with new Duratracs stock size tires (wish I would’ve waited to get 31s but needed tires)

The question:

Does anyone have either hard advice on how I should be handling upgrades and refurbishment? Personal recs for shops in the area? Custom shops vs standard mechanic?

I’ve found a personal recommendation for a shop in Brooklyn. They seem nice and honest and have been doing various things to the jeep since I’ve gotten it.

So far they have:
-inspected the car
-replaced a gasket in the front diff
-replaced a bad ABS ring and bad U joint in the front right wheel assembly
-added an ac compressor to have Ac (however this is most recent and I heard a huge air leak when I turned it on the other day so need to bring it back.)

As you can imagine that’s not a lot of stuff but with labor and parts it’s been around 2k worth of work so far on a 4.5k purchased Jeep.

I want a shop / place that wants to look at my Jeep the way I see it - a long term refurbishment and project. I’m obsessed with wanting to get everything in tip top shape. All the details.

If anything thanks for letting me rant. Here’s some shots

Most recent shot. Great profile

Good angle showing the spacers

Jeep in the shop. Been here a bit so far. Maybe never ending

Interior shot.

Random shot underneath from when I bought it. Relatively new leafs were installed and prior owner replaced the exhaust.

Thanks for reading
-Cole


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[jeep ride]

You can't go wrong with a jeep good luck with your build.

 

[xcalibur223]

Not sure how far you are willing to drive it but Globex Performance is probably a little over an hour from you in Toms River NJ. I know they are usually booked out pretty far but they do great work and they know these jeeps very well.

 

[colebxj]

Not sure how far you are willing to drive it but Globex Performance is probably a little over an hour from you in Toms River NJ. I know they are usually booked out pretty far but they do great work and they know these jeeps very well.

Oh wow no way. I could consider that. I actually bought my Jeep in Toms River if you’d believe it!!


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[Rob Mayercik]

Looks nice. Those Duratracs are nice tires, now that Goodyear seems to have resolved the sidewall issues they were having back when they first cam

Whee's the rust? If it's all light surface stuff, wire brush it, spray with rust converter, and topcoat with paint (if it's underneath, avoid "undercoating" sprays - the stuff just traps moisture). Also, "antisieze" is your friend - learn to put it on any bolts/nuts you touch on this thing, other than the lugnuts - your future self (and any mechanic) will thank you when things actually come apart down the road.

Since you expressed an interest in NACFest, I can offer a couple ideas for your build:

rec

Full-size spare tire: definite requirement for trail runs, and far superior to iovery: You f that's what you have now. The "hanging rod" for the donut is shorter and straighter than the one for a full-size spare, but can be made to work until you track down the right one (speaking from experience here).can go with You can add an aftermarket bumper that has d-ring tabs or a hitch receiver (with proper frame tie-ins), or if you want to stick with the OEM bumper for a more "stealth" look, a set of OEM-like tow /brackets. First mod I did to my own Jeep was a Rusty's Tow Hook kit (https://www.rustysoffroad.com/vehic...ounts-tow-hooks/rustys-tow-hook-kit-xj.html); with very little wrenching experience I had no real trouble installing them in an afternoon and they served me well for about 10-11 years until I decided to switch to a bumper. Easily doable in a parking space.

Rear Recovery: You can do an aftermarket bumper here too, but a class-III hitch receiver works great andfor this gives you the ability to tow small trailers, use a hitch-mounted bike carrier or cargo basket, and so on, and keep that stealthy stock look. Fairly easy to install, but you"nutstrips" (plates of metal with nuts welded on) to slide into the frame rails and distribute the loads - the unibody isn't strong enough on its own for this. Several vendors make these, one example is JCR offroad: https://www.rustysoffroad.com/vehic...-mounts-tow-hooks/rustys-tow-hook-kit-xj.html

Skidplates and other "armor" (such as rocker guards) would be the next thing, but aren't required right out of the gate.

 

[Rock2pus]

One small thing: save all your original stuff as you go along, if that truck is half as clean as it shows in your photos, keep in mind that these are beginning to tick upwards in value.
I'm not in any way trying to discourage you from any modifications, mind you, but wow would I love to have that just as it sits!
Rich

 

[colebxj]

Good note Rich. I initially just intended to keep it stock but refurbish it as nice as I could until I fell down the rabbit hole.

Yes Rob, those are good ideas. I feel like coming to Nac fest and taking it easy yet talking with others will be a good jumping off point. I feel I’d rather go for aftermarket bumpers with tow points rather than modify stock but also if I don’t go aftermarket this is smart. I do want to do rock sliders for sure.

Thanks for the consideration!


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[Rob Mayercik]

Rock sliders are a good idea, especially with such a clean rig. I started wheeling without them, and I was constantly paranoid about my rocker panels for the first few trips. Once I bought a set of bolt-on sliders and got them installed (again, this is a pretty easy project for a beginner), the reduction in anxiety I felt in the rocks was substantial.
h is right about good-condition stock parts starting to become more sought-after/valuable - XJs aren't getting any younger, and you've got a really beautiful example now.

The best "mod" you can make is to get some trail time with it before making any major (suspension height/tire size/gears/lockers) changes - get to know what to expect from the truck now, and get used to driving it off-road. Once you get used to how the truck performs as it is now, you'll have a better idea of what you might want to change to improve/expand its capabilities (that said, a good sense for your vehicle and some driving technique will take you a long way too).

And by all means, post up here with questions - that's why we're here!

 

[chedisme]

Welcome. Rob brings up a good point. It's really great to start off with a small rig and learn the fundamentals. Line choice and tire placement mean a lot more when you're running stock size tires.

Alot of guys just jump to 35" and sky high lifts, a I truly believe that you lose some of the experience that way.

Better off wheeling it as is, find the situations where you struggle, and then find solutions to those problems.

I'm north of the City. In orange county.

 

[David_Bricker]

I agree with the above. Wheeling a stock rig teaches you a great deal about picking a good line offroad. Wheeling with 35s can make you lazy, especially if you are well armored.



Each person has different requirements for modifications. Wheel stock first, find out the weaknesses for the type of wheeling you are interested in, and go from there.


David Bricker / SYR