n00bie to Jeep Mods

[Silent]

I own a 1995 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0L HO, 2wd, 4dr. I am looking to do something with her, but she is only 2wd. I heard that I could make it look and act like a pre-runner, is this true? If so what would be the highest lift kit I would want so's not to look like a 4wd wanna be. I want it to look good, but not look like a 4wd. I have seen some pics and they tend to look really cool, and not look like 4wd wanna be's. Thanks for the help.

Silent

 

[Osprey413]

If you really want to do the pre-runner thing I recommend looking at Jeep Speed components. With a 95 I would get frame strengtheners, progressive coils, and maybe even a long arm setup. To keep the prerunner look you should stay away from roof racks and plate steel bumpers. Go with tubular bumpers front and rear. A good place for parts, especially since you are in Dallas, is 4Wheel Parts Wholesalers (On Inspiration Drive off of 35E) and Crawltech in Tyler Texas. I am also in the Dallas area (Highland park), so if you want to go wheeling some time send me a message. If this is your first post, welcome to .

 

[Silent]

Where on the web do you find Jeep Speed or any of the other parts mentioned above. When I say n00b, I meant n00b. I am lost when it comes to this. I want to learn the difference in the parts, and what is needed and not. Any and all help would be appreciated.

Ok, the basics.
I know XJ=Cherokee, but what does LWB mean?
What is the difference in Long Arm, Body lift, Suspension Lift?

 

[Eagle]

Jeep Speed is a racing series for XJs. What you're looking for is parts that are designed for the vehicles in the Jeep Speed competition. Google on Jeep Speed.

 

[Fred]

You cannot put a body lift on a XJ, the body and frame are one piece, called a unibody. A suspension lift is just that, coils, leaf springs, and other parts that hold the body further above the axles. Long arms compensate for the change in suspension geometry caused by the longer/stiffer front springs, and give a more compliant ride which is important for desert running.

Fred

 

[Silent]

Ok, forgive me. I am trying to be a sponge here, and absorb all info given to me. What is needed for a long arm lift? And what is a good height of a lift for a pre-runner? I am trying to figure this all out before I start piecing together the parts.
What I have so far is this:
FIPK of some sort (not sure on brand)
Fender flares Bushwacker (not sure it I want the drilled or limited look)
New Throttle Body (not sure on brand)
Spark plugs (Denso,Splitfire, not too sure)
MSD ignition (not sure what all is needed)
Mobil 1 oil from now on
That is just some things I have thought about lately.

There is tons, I am not sure of. Like: fuel pump, brake pads, rotors, tires (size), lift height, type of lift kit (longarm or suspension), bumpers (front and rear),
plug wires, cams (if needed), exhaust, headers, ecu chip (if needed).

Like I said I am a complete and total newb. Sorry for all the brain picking. I am trying to get ideas and go from there. But, I just do not know where to start. Hence, the brain picking.

Thanks again..
Silent

 

[Silent]

Anyone know of any good pre-runner sites I can go to for ideas, and parts?

Thanks

 

[Osprey413]

OK, sorry. I didn't know the extent of what you didn't know. There are really three types of off-roading vehicle. One is built for mud, one for rocks, and one for desert running. 2wd vehicles are really only good at desert running because they are lighter and there is less stop and go that would require the traction provided by 4wd. I would say a 4.5" to 5" lift is as high as you would want to go for desert running mainly because if you go higher you will become very top heavy and risk flipping. The idea behind a long arm setup is to make it possible to "droop" or lower the axles more than with a stock suspension setup. In desert running the more movement you can get out of your axles the better. There are a number of suspension companies out there (Super lift, Skyjacker, Full Traction, Rusty's, Crawltech, Rancho, Old Man Emu, Rubicon Express, just to name some off the top of my head) that can provide you with a lift that ranges everywhere from 1.5" to 8". Only a select few of these provide long arm setups, (full traction and rubicon express do, I'm not sure about the others) or if you soak up enough information you can attempt to piece together your own lift, though I do not recommend it until you know alot more about XJ's. Here is a list of websites you can check out. If you have questions about any of the stuff you find in them you can use the search option for this forum and probably dig up more information than you would ever want to know about the part. I also recommend you buy or read a few magazines on offroading, these will help you get an idea of what other people have done and what can and cannot be done. The topic of suspension modification is one of the most complicated topics around. It would take pages and pages of information to cover just the beginning of what you need to know. But don't be discouraged by this, if you continue to read as much as you can in this forum you will learn everything you need. Here are the sites:

www.4wheelparts.com (they have a store off 35)
www.rustysoffroad.com
www.quadratec.com
www.4wd.com
www.xj-armor.com
www.crawltech.com (based in tyler, i was friends with a bunch of these guys when i lived there)
www.rubiconexpress.com
www.superlift.com
www.skyjacker.com
www.xjdb.com (mainly a picture forum, but is a cool site to look at for ideas)
www.cardomain.com (if you search around through the XJ's you can get more ideas on what to do and every once in a while there will be a writeup on how to install parts)

That is just a few to get you started. I understand that much of what you see you will not know its purpose or even what it is. Like I said before, if you look around on you will find all you need.

 

[Darky]

Ok, forgive me. I am trying to be a sponge here, and absorb all info given to me. What is needed for a long arm lift? And what is a good height of a lift for a pre-runner? I am trying to figure this all out before I start piecing together the parts.
What I have so far is this:
FIPK of some sort (not sure on brand) K&N is probably the most trusted, but look around
Fender flares Bushwacker (not sure it I want the drilled or limited look) Look at this site for their fiberglass fenders. If you want the pre-runner look 'glass fenders look better. At least on the front. You'd probably still have to do Bushwhackers for the rear.
New Throttle Body (not sure on brand) Just take your stock one to a machine shop and have them bore it out to 62mm. That's what you'd get from Rubicon Express for $200 almost.
Spark plugs (Denso,Splitfire, not too sure) No experience on this, just the word from others on the site. A lot say plain regular Champion plugs work best but I think Dyno uses platinum. Check him out. Just do a search under Dr Dyno. He's got a lot of info and write ups on engine stuff.
MSD ignition (not sure what all is needed) I want one too

There is tons, I am not sure of. Like: fuel pump, brake pads, rotors, tires (size), lift height, type of lift kit (longarm or suspension), bumpers (front and rear),
plug wires, cams (if needed), exhaust, headers, ecu chip (if needed).

A long arm is a suspension lift. The arm being referred to is the control arm. It connects your front axle to the "frame" to keep it from moving front/back or side to side. You have upper and lower control arms. I think the long arm kits use a longer lower control arm but a stock length upper. I may be wrong. Basically though, the arm being short or long isn't what is lifting your Jeep. The springs will be longer and will hold it up. The long arm setup just allows for more movement of the axle up and down. If you do to much engine work you'll likely need larger fuel injectors and faster fuel pump. Bumpers you'll want to be tubular because of their light weight and high clearance. Check online at performanceproducts.com for their slotted rotors. Tires will probably do fine in the 32-33" range and BFG A/Ts or some say M/Ts are good. If you got plenty of cash to throw at your ires, BFG Bajas are supposed to be awesome. Most people on say that chips are about useless, so that's up to you.

 

[davidt]

save yourself some pain and stay away from 4wparts wholesalers and rustys, don't even ask me why either...bad experiences

 

[davidt]

try looking here for info on jeep speed
http://www.jeepspeed.com/

 

[Silent]

Here is another question? If I go pre-runner, how can I still maintain a daily driver, without loosing my seats, radio, and general look to vehicle. I know the lift, bumpers will alter that, but I do not worry bout that. I am talking roll cages and netting? Is that essential, I mean this will not be an everyday occurance. Thanks

Silent

 

[Darky]

Roll cage would seem pretty important to me, ya never know what's gonna happen and high speed rollovers can hurt! If you don't want to lose your radio, seats and all that, then don't. Lots of guys out here drive pre-runner styled vehicles and keep all the niceties installed. Some have some pretty heavy duty stereo systems pumpin as well. You can keep all that if you want.

 

[Darky]

P.S. I've had a pretty good experience with Rusty's customer service, and there are quite a few who will stand up for his product.

 

[Silent]

Would this be considered a pre-runner bumper?

http://4wd.com/catalog/products/large/KJ70001.jpg

 

[TORX]

I have one big question

Do you actually plan on taking this out an running it?

not doing 60 on gravel roads but actually run it on a course. Or do you just want the look

if your not going to be running it then dont waste your money on all these prerunner afermarket parts.

like you said your a total newb so take some time an research what you are getting into prerunning can be very expensive and dangerous if you dont know what your doing dont go out an put $6000 worth of racing parts on an go out for your first time. I here this so much an I think its the most important lesson to learn before modding any rig LEARN ABOUT YOUR JEEP feel how it handles, know its limits, and read these boards as well youll learn a lot do some searchs on here for prerunner, jeepspeed, etc.

Also what is it exactly you want to be able to do (I know "prerun" but what do you think of that as, whats your goals you want to be able to do in you jeep)

TORX

 

[Silent]

I wasn't speaking of 60 on gravel roads either. But, I am not talking Jeep Speed either. I want the ability to run it, just not too extreme because it is my daily driver.

I plan on learning more about my XJ than what I do now. It is my only ride, so I need to know.

Silent

 

[Beej]

Or do you just want the look...if your not going to be running it then dont waste your money on all these prerunner afermarket parts.

I have to wholeheartedly disagree with TORX. Good intentions, but... Many of us spend ridiculous amounts of money on our vehicles to make them meet whatever our goals and expectations are. If this means looking good, so be it. No reason not to build it up exactly as you want to just because you won't be racing it or actually prerunning. On the contrary, do what you will and what you want, because ultimately, its your jeep and YOU need to be the one who's happy with it! Even if that means pouring $20000.00 into a $1000.00 jeep. If you're happy with it, then its money well spent.
B.

PS: if you're into spending money on all things Jeep, become a member!
B.

 

[Silent]

Ok, I found this thread, and the pics shown are what I want to be able to do.
prerunnerXJ started the thread.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=39588&highlight=prerunner

Also, he has more pics here:
http://www.cardomain.com/id/silverxj2001


Silent

 

[TORX]

I have to wholeheartedly disagree with TORX. Good intentions, but... Many of us spend ridiculous amounts of money on our vehicles to make them meet whatever our goals and expectations are. If this means looking good, so be it. No reason not to build it up exactly as you want to just because you won't be racing it or actually prerunning. On the contrary, do what you will and what you want, because ultimately, its your jeep and YOU need to be the one who's happy with it! Even if that means pouring $20000.00 into a $1000.00 jeep. If you're happy with it, then its money well spent.
B.

PS: if you're into spending money on all things Jeep, become a member!
B.

Beej, I understand that people put bumpers or tailights on for extra protection but also to make it look nice I have no problem with that infact Im planning out a bumper for mine but do I really need it no just extra protection. But my point was just to say you dont need all the aftermarket prunner stuff just to run you can hav 30" tires an a simple front bumper an go have a great time (if you know your limits) Also as for letting people build their own jeeps I cant agree more If people put money and wrench time into there rigs I have respect for them whether they have a buggy to a neon lit lowrider. Like you said in the end its there jeep an they can do what they want with it. Sorry if I gave you the wrong imprression!

TORX