Hello, new to this forum.

[jeep4play2000]

Hey all. New to this forum, and to XJ's, but not to Jeeps. I'm down in Kenosha, WI. I saw on another thread there are a few other XJers from Kenosha too!

Well, I was looking for some advice on building my first XJ. It's a 96 2 door, stick, 4.0 liter all stock. I mostly like trail runs, rocks... ehh I can take 'em or leave 'em. I plan on it being my DD with family trips off-roading once a month or so between May-November. I'll be working on about a 2500.00 budget. I would like to go no bigger than 33's. So, my question is if you had 2500.00 to put into an XJ knowing what you know already, how would you spend it? BTW, I already have a nice Warn winch, so I won't need that...
Thanks guys! Look forward to getting to know you!

 

[ChiXJeff]

Rocker protection! BEFORE you do anything else, get some rocker skids on there.

 

[jeep4play2000]

Any certain ones that you would recommend?

 

[ChiXJeff]

Not really. There are quite a few good ones out there. The thing to remember is that the rockers *ARE* structural on an XJ. You really need to do something to keep the structural integrity.

Having said that, I've got a set of Custom 4x4's skids (and front and rear bumpers.) I'm quite happy with them.

 

[jeep4play2000]

Thanks for the good advice. I've always had them on all of my wranglers. It was one of things I had thought about for this one too. But it sounds like it's even more important on these.

 

[2000xjclassic]

As far as rocker protection goes, I have the stage 2 sliders from JCR. I haven't beat them on anything yet, but they look pretty beefy, tie into the pinch seam, and from what I hear from other people, they hold up well. And there priced very nicely too.
Have fun.

Chris

 

[HaleYes]

As far as rocker protection goes, I have the stage 2 sliders from JCR. I haven't beat them on anything yet, but they look pretty beefy, tie into the pinch seam, and from what I hear from other people, they hold up well. And there priced very nicely too.
Have fun.

Chris

Same sliders I have. I've beat the heck out of them too. JCR makes good stuff. That lifetime warranty is nice too. Great products and customer service to match. The JCR gang will be at Winterfest, you can meet them in person if you can attend. They'll be serving up (free)lunch on Saturday.

www.jcroffroad.com