93 4dr sidekick for a 92 4dr cherokee

airmanwilliams

airmanwilliams

Well-Known Member
Location
Provo, Utah
So im thinking of trading a guy my 93 4dr sidekick for a 92 4dr cherokee at his shop and I have a few questions.

Popular low budget upgrades?

Best places to buy these parts?

Ways to boost gas mileage in these beasts?

Think I should do the trade?
 
:D exactly why I only want to put about a 2" lift on and maybe 30" tires.

Would headers, 2" exhaust, throttle body spacer and such decrease mpg and if so would it much?
 
A lift and 30" tires would decrease mileage.

Headers usually increase MPG, but not a TON. If you want good MPG, go with a civic. :) Check out fuelly.com to see what kinds of MPG people get in their UN-modded cherokees. Then subtract 10-15% if you put a lift and bigger tires on.
 
My wife wants to get a civic this next year from a friend of mine that has them come through his shop fairly often with blown head gaskets and they offer the people around $500 for the cars so im not worried about a super good economical commuter anymore for that reason and that im going to be taking the front runner to orem every week for school now. Not even sure about the 30's cause I really like 235/75R15 tires, just havent seen them with a 2" lift on a cherokee yet. My main thing on this cherokee if I get it will be to get it running like a top and good enough that I could drive it to oregon for a couple trips this year. Second an overhead dvd player again because they are magical and keep my son occupied on trips far more than the ones on the headrests do, mainly because he cant touch it :D. Then it will be for comfort on camping trips so I would like to do a 2" lift, 235 tires, drawer system in the back, build either a brush guard or tube bumpers, sliders, skid plates, my new Williams rocklight kit installed:D, and build my own rooftop tent platform with tent. I want to keep this low and not put a ton into it but make it a good comfortable camping vehicle since I dont drive my own vehicle much and when I need to get somewhere I just take my wifes car.

Is there a good xj or cherokee forum that some of you jeepers suggest.
 
airmanwilliams said:
My wife wants to get a civic this next year from a friend of mine that has them come through his shop fairly often with blown head gaskets and they offer the people around $500 for the cars so im not worried about a super good economical commuter anymore for that reason and that im going to be taking the front runner to orem every week for school now. Not even sure about the 30's cause I really like 235/75R15 tires, just havent seen them with a 2" lift on a cherokee yet. My main thing on this cherokee if I get it will be to get it running like a top and good enough that I could drive it to oregon for a couple trips this year. Second an overhead dvd player again because they are magical and keep my son occupied on trips far more than the ones on the headrests do, mainly because he cant touch it :D. Then it will be for comfort on camping trips so I would like to do a 2" lift, 235 tires, drawer system in the back, build either a brush guard or tube bumpers, sliders, skid plates, my new Williams rocklight kit installed:D, and build my own rooftop tent platform with tent. I want to keep this low and not put a ton into it but make it a good comfortable camping vehicle since I dont drive my own vehicle much and when I need to get somewhere I just take my wifes car.

Is there a good xj or cherokee forum that some of you jeepers suggest.
Click to expand...

NAXJA is a decent Cherokee forum.

Cherokees are cool, but so are sidekicks. Why the trade? More room, something different, wanna start over?
 
I had a 1992 Cherokee years ago. Before I started modding it, I got 15mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway. I put a 3" lift on and 31" tires and took a slight hit on the mpg. I then upgraded the lift to a 4.5" lift that had great flex, regeared to 4:10's and added limited slip differentials in the front and rear. With this the MPG went down to 15-16 on the highway. I put 33x10.50 BFG's on it and then changed the speedometer gear so my MPH matched the tires. I then added a throttle body spacer, bored out my throttle body myself, installed an cold air intake and a free flow exhaust. With these intake/exhaust modifications my MPG went to 15 city and 18 highway.

The Cherokee forum that I preferred was: http://www.naxja.org/forum/

I would suggest Rocky Road Outfitters out of Park City for modification parts. You may be familiar with them as they are big with the Suzuki stuff as well. They have a 2" budget boost kit for around $100. If you go bigger, I went with Rusty's Off Road front coils (best flex), Rocky Road Outfitters rear shackles and sway bar disconnects, Rubicon express lower control arms and adjustable track bar and for the rear, Junkyard Dodge Dakota rear springs with the eyes cut off and bolted up to the main leaf on the XJ (great flex and ride). This combination got me the best flex and ride by using the best stuff that each of the aftermarket vendors had to offer.

Good Luck with whatever you do.

Kevin
 
mesha said:
NAXJA is a decent Cherokee forum.

Cherokees are cool, but so are sidekicks. Why the trade? More room, something different, wanna start over?
Click to expand...


just kinda bored and want something alittle lower and something that has more parts available, just plain sucks that there isnt much out there for the sidekicks like other vehicles. would also like the extra little bit of room that the cherokee would provide yes.
 
i've had a XJ before and just picked up another. great basic platforms and aftermarket is huge.
sounds like would be perfect for what you describe, kinda the same thing i want to do; camping, trail riding and gettting to "nowhere".

also tons of used parts out there, i've been gathering some stuff for a lift and have a bunch that i picked up cheap. plan to hit up tear-a-part thurs for a few more minor things.

some issues with a 92 is; older electronic system that some people aren't a fan of. obviously rust but check the unibody for bad spots. also people wheel them pretty hard since it is easy to get some lift and play around so any obvious signs of abuse.
 
A rooftop tent will kill that mileage quickly. I'm not trying to poop on your party, just make sure your expectations are realistic.
 
sixstringsteve said:
A rooftop tent will kill that mileage quickly. I'm not trying to poop on your party, just make sure your expectations are realistic.
Click to expand...

it wont be left on full time and may even go on a trailer im making out of the back half of a samurai right now.


Im also looking into a platform that sits on top of the drawer system in the rear and when the rear seat is folded forward the platform folds forward to that area for a bed.
 
I come acrosss enough wrecked samurai's and trackers and thought well why not cut behind the front seats and make trailers out of the good portion of the vehicle. Just found a sami a few weeks ago for $150 and so im going to start parting it out and am gathering parts do build a small trailer out of it.
 
I had an XJ with 30", 31", 32", 33" and 35" tires. Each step had it's pluses and minus'. 30"-31" tires I had 3.55 gears, 32-33" tires I had 4.10 gears and for 35" tires, I had 4.88 gears. It really was a decent do-it-all rig, but they do have their limitations. If I built another XJ, I'd likely just do build it to a 33" tire spec. 4.10 gears, junk the D35 in the rear for whatever I could scrounge (8.25 29 spline or XJ D44) and stick with selectable lockers. With the right gearing, an XJ doesn't need the performance junk that people throw at it. I'd keep the powertrain close to stock for reliability.

For 33" tires, I'd add gears/lockers/rear axle, 4.5" lift (likely "short arm") with a shackle in the rear giving some of the lift (say 1.5" or so) and an SYE for the 231 or 242. Do some trimming on the fenders/quarters and drive the guts out of the thing until it pukes and then snag another one to swap the parts over to. By then the uni-body is likely close to used up and you need another one anyway.

We've had a ZJ and an XJ. The ZJ was much better built in most ways (structure for sure) but didn't get the mileage the XJ did (4.0L to 4.0L).
 
Now although it wouldnt get use by going through water and such but would a snorkel add alittle to the mpg? I think sixstringsteve said it might have added a tiny bit to his truck. Reason I ask is I can get one for free from a family member that has had one laying around for some time.
 
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