Jeep Cherokee XJ Build Advice needed

[Homefryy]

1996 XJ details

• AW4 automatic transmission
• Completely re-manufactured 4.0 after it spun a rod bearing at 162k miles. The re-manufactured engine has less than 1k miles on it so far. I pulled and reinstalled the engine myself but had Clegg Machine do the rebuild.
• Brown Dog motor mounts
• Spartan locker in the rear
• B&M Transmission cooler
• Roof basket

What I plan to use it for

• This will mostly serve as an adventure and camping rig for multi-day trips all over the place. There will be a lot of highway driving to get to our destinations so it needs to handle high speeds reasonably well.
• I don't need to build a hardcore rock crawling rig but also don't want to be very limited in where I can go so it needs to be as capable as possible.
• Typical trips will include me, my wife and my dog but I would like to have as much interior space as possible so additional passengers plus camping gear can come along as well.

What I mods want to add

• Rear bumper with swing out tire carrier, hitch receiver and the ability to mount at least 2 5 gallon gas or water cans. A Hi-Lift mount would be nice as well but I can strap that to the roof easily enough. Putting a cooler on the bumper would be awesome but I don't think there would be room. I want to free up as much interior space as possible while keeping as much weight off the roof as I can.
• Somewhere around 3" of lift
• Wider wheels with better backspacing for bigger tires.
• Probably 31" tires since I don't have the money to re-gear at this point and from my research so far 31" appears to be the largest people recommend on stock gearing. I also don't want to be at a high risk of breaking an axle in remote areas.
• At least a gas tank skid plate and possibly rock sliders
• Front bumper isn't critical but I would like to get front recovery points and potentially a winch so I will probably end up getting one.

I am on a budget but want to build it right and don't want to cut corners or go the cheap route. From my research so far I'm expecting that I will probably spend about $1k on 5 wheels and tires, $1k on a lift and $1k on front and rear bumpers.
I drive old high mileage cars and do all my own maintenance so I can wrench but don't have any real fabrication skills like welding.
I live in South Salt Lake.

Advice I need

• Are there any local (Utah) people or shops that build bumpers like I am looking for that people can recommend. I certainly would rather stay local and support small business. I also like the idea of potentially being able to customize exactly what I want on the bumper. I have seen Dirtworx fabrication (I think they are in Cedar City) adds on KSL and it looks like they build what I am looking for.
• Can anybody recommend a lift kit? Opinions seem to be all over the place on these. I want a quality lift with full leaf packs and not an add-a-leaf or spacers.
• Are there any things on my list of mods that shouldn't be there or things I am missing that I should consider?
• Any other advice or opinions is welcome.

 

[BlueWolfFab]

Shoot me a text I have some questions. 801-420-6205

 

[Bart]

Just a couple of suggestions. I would suggest a quality 2" to 3" lift and 31" tires. I would stay with an 8" wheel and not go wider, or else you'll have problems losing beads. Racks are nice on top, but you'll lose mpgs. Other than that, good luck. Sounds like a fun build.

 

[xjtony]

Just make sure you get a Full quality lift kit. Make sure it has everything you need to get you front end geometry, including steering, correct. I fought issues for a long time because I started out with a budget lift. At 2-3 inches transfer case vibration should not be an issue, but a drop kit or H&T SYE is good piece of mind. I think I paid $100 for my H&T back in the day and it allowed me to run the same drive shaft front and back. If you want a little more capability, a lunchbox locker up front will give you that without being felt on the street. I drove mine all over with 33s on stock axles with 3.55s, but that's on the high end for reliability and driveability

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[Homefryy]

Just a couple of suggestions. I would suggest a quality 2" to 3" lift and 31" tires. I would stay with an 8" wheel and not go wider, or else you'll have problems losing beads. Racks are nice on top, but you'll lose mpgs. Other than that, good luck. Sounds like a fun build.

Right now my plan for wheels is 15x8 Cragar Soft 8's. It looks like 3.75" or 4" of backspacing is what is recommended. I'm open to other wheel options but the soft 8's seem to be reasonably priced and will do what I want them to.

Do you think I should definitely stick with 31" tires? The reasonable part of me says stick with 31's but the other part of me wants to try to push it to 32's.

Any recommendations for tires that will be used for long highway runs and then heading off road in the mountains, deserts and rocks of Utah. I want something with good all around performance that will also do decently in the snow. I am already nervous of driving in the snow with the spartan locker in the rear after taking the XJ out on some dirt and seeing how much the back end wanted to slide around. My other car is a Subaru Forester that I put larger than stock General Grabber AT2s on that I have been super happy with but I already had a set of dedicated snow tires for the Forester so I haven't driven the Grabbers in the snow. I don't want to buy a separate set of snow tires for the XJ.

As a side note, I found the Forester to be far more capable than people give it credit for. It took me a lot of places that people said it couldn't. My only issue with it was not being able to do much to increase ground clearance. I decided I needed the XJ after doing a lot of front bumper and belly dragging on some rutted up deep sandy roads getting out to White Pocket near Coyote Buttes.

 

[xjtony]

I was a little vague. I would lock the front instead of the rear. The locker will engage under load. In the rear it's not bad, but you will have some ratcheting as it engages and opens. In the front, under 2 wheel drive there is no load. You won't even know it's there

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[Homefryy]

Just make sure you get a Full quality lift kit. Make sure it has everything you need to get you front end geometry, including steering, correct. I fought issues for a long time because I started out with a budget lift. At 2-3 inches transfer case vibration should not be an issue, but a drop kit or H&T SYE is good piece of mind. I think I paid $100 for my H&T back in the day and it allowed me to run the same drive shaft front and back. If you want a little more capability, a lunchbox locker up front will give you that without being felt on the street. I drove mine all over with 33s on stock axles with 3.55s, but that's on the high end for reliability and driveability

Can you expand on what should be needed for a 3" to 3.5" lift. Here is what I think I need. Am I missing anything? I am new to solid axles so am still figuring out all the different components.

• Front and rear springs
• Front and rear shocks
• Adjustable track bar
• Lower control arms
• Probably a SYE or transfer case drop
• New U-bolts
• Longer sway bar links? I want to get quick disconnect ones anyway
• Longer brake lines?
• Bump stops?

Right now I am leaning toward the Rubicon Express 3.5" Super Flex kit which comes with springs, front bump stops, rear brake lines, rear U-bolts, front sway bar disconnects and lower control arms. So I think I would need to at least buy shocks and an adjustable track bar on top of the kit.

I don't think I want a non selectable locker in the front. I don't want to kill my steering every time I put it in 4 wheel drive which is what I hear happens with a lunchbox locker up front. So far I am happy with the locker in the rear. The ratcheting doesn't bother me. My only real concern is driving in the snow and having it lock up on me and start sliding.

 

[xjtony]

That's a pretty good list. If you can find a kit in your budget that includes everything including UCAs that's going to be the best bet. Companies spend a ton of money on R&D so a complete system will be designed to work well. Track bar is a must. Without it you will most likely end up with vibrations. I got death wobble with my first lift because I didn't correct the geometry. RE has always made good stuff. I ran the 5.5 extreme short arm for a long time. As far as the locker, I never noticed a steering issue with mine, but it's a valid concern.

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[gorillaxj]

I agree with everyone else. I loved the RE lift kit I had on mine, it had adjustable uppers/lowers. It was a 3” and I put 32’s on it, didn’t bother me a bit. Put 33’s on it and I wanted to re-gear. If you want it lifted more later there are so many options with XJ’s... my favorite suspension mods where long arms, and shackle relocation kit (lifts it 2” IIRC) get some longer shackles and you could get away with stock leafs and 2-3” of lift with ideal/adjustable shackle angle. Makes for a much more comfortable ride.

I would make some simple 2x6 sliders to protect the doors/unibody. I think this would be my first upgrade after lift/tires.

For bumpers it comes down to budget/preference, I feel like XJ stuff comes on KSL enough I would just wait for one used.

Grab a factory gas tank skid from the junk yard to start. Cheap/easy and works.

 

[kmboren]

It hasn't been mentioned yet but a common failure on XJS is the frame around the steerin gear starts to rip with continued use. There are some good steering frame braces out there that are bolt on kits. Having built 3 XJS this is a must. Everything else sounds great. XJs on 31s are very capable on a 3-4 inch lift. I do understand the desire to go larger. Like said if you go much bigger a regear is in order an then you'll have to start timing your flares. Sliders are also very reccomended. Better to do them and not need them then to dent it and wish you had them.

 

[Homefryy]

I started moving forward with purchasing parts for my lift. I am piecing together my own kit and found some good deals on Amazon this weekend. Here is what I ordered so far.
Rubicon Express 3.5" Leaf Springs (RE1463) - $184 for both
Rubicon Express 3.5" Front Coil Springs (RE1300) - $100 for the pair
Rubicon Express Adjustable Double Shear Track Bar (RE1660) - $114

I just realized when typing this up that the track bar is for 4.5" to 7.5" lift so I may be returning this to get something else. Oops.​

Rubicon Express Track Bar Bracket (RE1665) - $47
Rubicon Express Super Flex Fixed Lower Control Arms (RE3700) - $148
Rubicon Express Super Flex Adjustable Upper Control Arms (RE3780) - $150

I still need to order shocks but am planning on getting Bilstein 5100's.
I also still need to figure out what to get for sway bar end links.