[Guest]

now that the old xj is gone i am think about my next project, what do you guys think of a 97-99 xj with dana 44 rear dana 30 front locked in both axle with 33's and a 4 or 5 inch lift and a 4.0 auto. what kinda gas mileage do you thik i will get with the 4.0 and the 33's. also since i am only 18 i dont have much money to fix major things when they break do you think i will have problems with it or not cuz it will be my daily driver as well. sorry if i was not clear with what i said.thaks s for the help

 

[Guest]

your 18 and don't have money for repairs, but you are wanting a '97-99 4-5 inch dana 44 with 33's? Doesn't that sort of contradict itself? haha. Gas mileage would probably be pretty bag, like 13 maybe, and U joints wouldnt last long if its a daily driver I wouldnt think. you might want to think about picking up an older but still good XJ, and save some money (smaller payments if that is the plan you are goin with), that way WHEN something breaks, you can fix it. I'm 20, in college, and my '87 with 225,000 on it hasnt given me hardly any trouble, looks nice, and was only $2500. Might also want to condsider that the jeep is probably not the only thing you'll want to spend money on, so you dont want to have a cool nice car but jack for $$ to do anything else.

 

[krabysniper]

Yup, I agree, go with the KISS concept (keep it simple stupid). Get an older one and don't worry about huge tires and mega lift till you have a real career or job going and can afford all the goodies. You can still have ALOT of fun with a fairly stock XJ. A 90 thru 93 is going to be easier to lift later anyway, you can get them reasonably priced, and they get fair mileage. Your insurance is going to be high cause your 18 and it's a 4x4 but at least, around here anyway, they are considered station wagons LOL so that helps a little. A budget boost will allow clearance for 30" tires if you have a hard on for bigger tires and it will look good too. Good luck huntin one up.

 

[1572]

get a 91-95 for under 4500$ , take yer time and find one that is already built a little. people never make thier money back when selling lifted vehicles so you can gain on thier loss. most are mall cruisers anyway and never really get offroad , just chat with the guy and youll be able to tell if he took it wheelin much.

 

[130]

I can't get 30s to rub at stock-height, and I've tried! Get a 91-93 two-door, tastefully hack the fenders, put a decent 2" lift on, swap in axles from a 4-cyl, and strap on your 33" tires.

91-93 2-door- $3000-4000
Fender-hack- $150 for tool to do it unless you already have or can borrow one
4-cyl axles (have 4.10 gearing)- $300-500 depending on your location
2" lift- $200-500 depending on what the quality is and what it comes with (shocks, discos, etc)
33x12.5" tires- $270/set of 4 or $338/set of 5
Total (using all the highest values)- $5488

 

[Guest]

ok ill just get somthing for offroad use only i will only taker it on the street to get it to the trails, wont be my daily driver. what kind of lift do you guys recomend. somthign that wont sag and is in the 500 to 600 dollar range, and also do the older cherokees with the 4 cylinder like the 85 or 86 how do they perform offroad. are the axels good or should i try to find an 87-90 i only want to spoend about 1000 to 1200 on the jep itself and then antoher 800 to 1000 on tires lift and other offrioad accesories.

 

[Guest]

don't jump the gun. get your vehicle first then see what needs to be done, at 1000-1500 your gunna need to fix something.... seriously, make it run right first then work on all the extras... like previous email says.. You'd be amazed at what a jeep with good treads can do on the trails... get a i6 instead of a v4 it will make a difference down the road. if your gunna fix it up you'll want the power and torque especially if you go anything over 31's.

make sure whatever you get it had the oil changed regularly. that's the least you can do for $1500.

do it right the first time and save yourself alot of hassle later on.

good luck.

riehl8

 

[611]

Man this is a hard one for me not to jump down on a new(new to be) XJ'er...SO I will be nice and only say, K.I.S.S. Get an older one 89-94(b/c the 97+ ones suck a$$ to lift more problems with vibes and some newer ones have LP D30s

...I could keep going but I will be nice...If your only 18 then go cheap, learn how to fix you junk and have fun at the same time. In other words Dont waste your moneu on a newer one...andy

 

[Guest]

The 4 cylinder models won't compare to a newer XJ, mainly because of power. I know because I own an 86 2.5 liter 4 banger, TBI, not a bad Jeep. It performs well offroad, but gearing is going to be an issue, then once you change the gearing your mileage is screwed. The TBI is also "Cold Hearted" mines a b*tch to start in the winter, its like a carburated engine. If I didn't get such a good deal I would have bought a 4.0 liter but who can beat 35 bucks. There are plenty of deals out there, just look around. But check for major issues. Last year we rebuilt the old tired 4 banger, its a stought little motor, not much for bogging down, but reliable. This Christmas break my bro and I replaced the worn bushings with new polyurathane and put a simpe 3 inch lift under it, welded gussets into the top and lower control arms, helped stiffen the suspension. The suspension on all the XJs are bacically the same. Its the drive train thats going to vary, nothing really beats the 4.0, the 2.8 or my 2.5. My main point, go newer, avoid 4 cylinder models, but you can make them work for you, if you want.