Budget Build Tips?

B

BTaylor

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Terre Haute, IN
I posted this in the general modified section as well but figured I'd throw it in the local section as I know we have several pretty knowledgeable guys in here that might share some advice and opinions:

Figured I'd just see what input I could get before I actually start ordering stuff. I'm still really new to the Jeep world. I've owned a couple XJ's but still don't know a whole lot.

98 4dr XJ Auto
185k

This isn't extreme budget build but definitely is to an extent. Here are the current plans

- 4.5" Rough Country lift ($450)
- (5) 15x8's of some sort ($300ish)
- 32x11.50 : Leaning towards BFG All-Terrains ($845 shipped for 5 of these), had them on my last XJ and seemed to be a good all around tire
- Front/Rear Bumpers ($450)

That's about all I have planned to get me started, just the basics. Looking for any other suggestions that would be recommended with this setup.

I do have a 8.8 disc brake rear end sitting here that I have nothing in, I'm planning on doing that swap down the road. I really just want to get these main things done before winter really hits.

Any input in appreciated!
 
Forgot to specify that, that would help to know.

It's my 2nd "fun" vehicle, winter driver (so the wife can drive my truck). I'm not against trimming, planned on it actually. I want it to be road worthy though. Badlands is roughly an hour away, driving there and back home would be nice.

I've considered spending the extra couple hundred and getting the kit with the rear springs and u-bolts rather than the add-a-leafs if its really worth it.
 
with a 4.5in lift, id go 33s. easier tire to find, not that much more(if at all) and most people run them on a 3.5in lift.

i cracked a rough country aal in half on my old jeep. id go with leaf packs.
 
I will add to this and say if you are going to go to this much effort, you should go ahead and get a SYE and use a front drive shaft in the reqar. It allows for an easy swap of shafts if you nuke the rear, and you can carry one shaft as a replacement and it makes trail repairs nice. You can be into that with your own labor for @ $200 and it is well worth it in my opinion. I too would suggest a full leaf pack. AAL's are a band-aid to getting the real deal. I personally love the ability and look of a 32" tire, I think they look good on a 4.5" lift and you can run stock flares with them. I also think that wheeling a rig on 31 or 32" tires is a bit more fun and challenging. When I ran 36" tires and 8" of lift, things became easy and I got bored. Smaller rigs is where the fun is to me now. I also suggest trying to find a set of drop brackets for the control arms...huge difference in on road comfort.

Cheese "I can take the budet out of budget build pretty fast" Man
 
For a budget minded build: I would suggest searching some of the junkyard upgrades. Over the years Cherokees had great parts, just not all in the same year. Example Rear Dana 44's from 87.....Dana 30 HP.......
 
budget, reliable and road worthy?

Put 30's on it, a set of swaybar discos and lockers.

You'll go further off road than with your lift.
and you'll not need fancy suspension parts, regearing, or be breaking shafts.
swap the factory arms for WJ arms and they'll be stronger and it will ride nicely at 80 mph on the freeway.
 
87manche said:
budget, reliable and road worthy?

Put 30's on it, a set of swaybar discos and lockers.

You'll go further off road than with your lift.
and you'll not need fancy suspension parts, regearing, or be breaking shafts.
swap the factory arms for WJ arms and they'll be stronger and it will ride nicely at 80 mph on the freeway.
Click to expand...


You wont get much better advice than this. Budget, road worthy, or big you only get to pick two of the three :D
 
87manche said:
budget, reliable and road worthy?

Put 30's on it, a set of swaybar discos and lockers.

You'll go further off road than with your lift.
and you'll not need fancy suspension parts, regearing, or be breaking shafts.
swap the factory arms for WJ arms and they'll be stronger and it will ride nicely at 80 mph on the freeway.
Click to expand...

Good!
Way back in the day when XJ lift kits were rare as hens teeth, I followed my buddy around the badlands with what amounted to a 1.5" lift, 235x75 BFG ATs and open diffs. I was always suprised where that truck would go!

A nice 2.5 ~ 3" lift isn't out of line either and will allow 31's and lots of articulation without spending a lot of money on SYEs, arms, or much of anything else. Spend money on armor if your headed to the Badlands. Those hills eat rockers and lower door skins :)

~Ron
 
I always recommend 3" and 31s for a rig that will see more street Time then trail. No matter what get new full leaf packs.

When I built my red 2dr I decided to mix an match stuff to get what I wanted(tufftruck/rocks/trails). Front is Pac Racing Jeepseed 4" 220lbs springs, RE mono tube shocks from a 6" lift, RE single flex lowers and fixed uppers on RC drop brackets with RE trackbar and a cut/turned/beefed RC frame bracket, also stuffed some Prothan bumps into the coils. Rear is RE 3.5hd full leaf pack with Billstein 14" travel mounted off leaf plate tied in to rear cage and a AA SYE. I had to pull the 2nd from bottom leaf and add a 2" puck to the front to get it to sit level. It works very well for what it was built for but with plans to drive it on the street(all around rig). Total invested is around 800$ Not counting tires, cage, bumpers, seats, ect, and I did all the work.

Anyways I digress. It all boils down to what you want from your jeep long term.
 
Thanks for all the tips guys. I don't think I'm going to make this as "budget" as I first intended, just going to take a little longer to gather the proper parts than I'd like.

Now my question is.. Is there a better tire for the money than the BFG All Terrain K/O's? I can get 5 of them to my door for $845 (32/11.50s). I want a good all around tire for wheeling, not so much a mud terrain.
 
BTaylor said:
Thanks for all the tips guys. I don't think I'm going to make this as "budget" as I first intended, just going to take a little longer to gather the proper parts than I'd like.

Now my question is.. Is there a better tire for the money than the BFG All Terrain K/O's? I can get 5 of them to my door for $845 (32/11.50s). I want a good all around tire for wheeling, not so much a mud terrain.
Click to expand...

hankook dynapro ATM.

cheaper than BFG, wearing well, superior in the winter. Seriously, magical in the snow.
I've wheeled the badlands and Harlan on a set of 245/75s and they are a good value for the money.
To get that size you'll have to do 16" wheels, but you were going to do new wheels for wide 32's anyway, right? ;)
 
Yea the 15x8s are already on the way though lol.. the BFG are 157.99 a tire, probably just going to stick with them.
 
That was the plan anyway.. 2 hours later I still haven't pulled the trigger lol. Thinking I might regret not going with something a little more agressive. The K/O was an awesome tire on the old 99 XJ I had though, seemed to go through pretty much everything I threw at it at Badlands.. ugh.
 
MTRs and duratracs seem to be the current flavor of the month aggressive all terrain style.

no personal experience with either.
 
DuraTracs are good tires. I don't DD my XJ, so I can't tell you anything about tread wear, but they are great in snow, rain and offroad. KOs are excellent in everything but mud.
 
I don't really plan on hitting a lot of mud, I think I'll just go with the KO's. Thinking about stepping up to 33/12.50 instead of the 32/11.50
 
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