New XJ Owner

[mbryson]

Oh trust me, I know where the lever for 4-low is. The 2-speed transfer case is definately one of God's greatest gifts to mankind . Anyways, it's sounding like I'm gonna need a helluva lotta money to get the thing in the air (hence my attraction to the 2" kits). Damn, I'm gonna have to think about whether or not I can afford all this. I mean I could save up for a while (like a year or more, depending if I get kicked out or not), but I'm not sure whether it would be worth it. I don't wheel that often, or that hard. I'd like to get into it more, but I really don't have the bank account to fix things that I'd break and whatever wears out, etc. Hmm... sounds like I've got a lot of thinking to do. I'd love to have a relatively big XJ that's very capable, but I'm not sure I'd be able to use it enough to justify everything I'd have to give up in order to afford it, at least at this point in time. I'm starting to think that maybe running the 2" kit w/ some good 30's, armoring the hell out of it, and learning the basics of wheeling (through wheeling it of course) would be my best bet for the time being.

Nothing wrong with that...........enjoy your Jeep.

I know I'm under $10K total with my whole XJ including purchase price. Pretty decent for something I drive to work each day and can go play in. I just wish I'd bought the 4.5" or 5.5" kit first and stuck to the 32-33" tire area. I don't think my XJ would be living on borrowed time like it is now.

Quick Estimate for you..........

Used lift........$400-500
New RE lift......$600-900 or so.....{spend as much as you'd like really}

Cheap 4.10 axle 'upgrade' for gear ratio, mostly......junkyard....$250 and some time under the rig...............try to get the same model rear axle that you have so you'll have some spare axles--just in case

buy your tires and you're good to go........{well until you want to lock it up}

 

[JoeT]

But you still got the spotlight treatment. My brother is not part of this board, yet. Just send him a e-mail, he actually lives is Eagle Idaho.

Chased by helicopters??? Man, that would suck... :-\



Oh, BTW, just to clear the air about said incident. It WAS on an existing trail, not out thrashing the weeds.

 

[metalry101]

Well under 10K is impressive, but see, I don't exactly make much money, so even 2K takes a while to save up. For the lift, I'd probably end up buying new anyways, so that's not cheap, and it's probably 250 per axle, so that would be at least 500 for the pair (could be kinda interesting driving a rig w/ 4.10's in rear and 3.07's or whatever in front ). Then I need some armor, which ain't cheap. Rockers, T-Case, Oil Pan, Gas Tank, and maybe the bumpers, that's a lotta coin. I don't know, I gotta figure out the financial situation and look into exactly how much everything is gonna cost, and then I gotta tack on a bunch of additional maintenence, so we'll see. Gotta keep it liveable on the street (I drive 300-400 miles a week), and I really don't wanna go back to the stone age w/ 10 mpg and things breaking all the time. Anyways, I'll do some research, maybe go poke around Pick N Pull and see what I can find. There's a guy in my neighborhood who's got some welding skills, so maybe I'll go talk to him, see if he'd be able to weld some spring perches for me if I needed. I've heard the 8.8 out of an Explorer is a great axle and comes w/ discs (stopping is cool!!!). Any idea how difficult that swap is, and/or what ratios they come w/? Just an idea, the D44 would be easier probably, if I could find one in decent shape. Since all the Exploders came w/ the 8.8, and only a few XJ's came w/ D44's, the 8.8 is probably easier to find. Anyways, LMK what you think. Thanx

 

[utahxjer]

whoa, whoa, whoa, just take it slow. one thing at a time. Get a lift(no matter how big or small),tires, gears, and you'll be able to have a ton of fun.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Chased by helicopters??? Man, that would suck... :-\



Oh, BTW, just to clear the air about said incident. It WAS on an existing trail, not out thrashing the weeds.

They havn't had choppers up there for 4-5 years... but my first two "trespassing tickets" were helped out by a helicopter...

SL County still patrols the area, just not regularly for the last 2-3 years, and way less now that Draper no longer uses SL County...

There are only two "legal" roads in CC Area, the Upper and Lower Corner Canyon Roads, all others are closed, regardless of being marked or not. The only one that is "pseudo-legal" is the Jacobs Ladder trail.... for several reasons.... I would love to get a ticket on that one and fight it in court...

Anyways, glad to have another Sandy jeeper on the board... Do you like airplanes on the East side?

 

[metalry101]

Well I know I can have fun w/ anything, but I wanna have fun w/o breaking things. Also, I like my fun to extend to the pavement portion of life as well. In other words, I don't want my 4.0 Jeep becoming as slow and as prone to exploding as the 2.8 Jeep that my family owns. Not fun. Hence my reasoning behind seriously thinking about the 2" kit and 30's for the time being. Maybe if my Jeep is still running by the time those tires are bald, I'd have enough experience (and money) to sky it the right way (Good lift, lockers, real axles, etc.) Plus, then everything else on the Jeep would be ready for more extreme trails (it'd be armored, hopefully it'd have winch, all the other recovery and safety equipment, etc).

 

[iceaxe]

So that was you guys eh! I was up corner canyon on a lovely evening several years ago enjoying a nice mountain bike ride in the direction of Jacobs ladder off of the main road on one of the main 2 tracks that skirts the ridgeline. There was a gentle purr of ATV's near the movie road, a few off road vehicles moving about, a party of mountain bikers near jacobs ladder about to ride down the ridge, the birds where singing and the smell of... anyway all of a sudden this sheriff chopper comes roaring up the canyon and starts hovering Mennacingly over the ridge. Chills run up my spine as the choppers PA yells "get on the main road" then hovers to another area "go back to the main road now" I didn't know if they were including me in that but I hightailed it back to the main road ducking under the trees for cover just in case. Havn't been able to enjoy riding there since, even on the main road, hear a helicopter in the valley and i'm ducking for cover!!

One thing is for sure it's nice to jeep up to Jacobs ladder for the Lone Peak Hike, that is one brute of a hike, done it from draper ridge, the movie road and Jacobs ladder parking near the movie road. would rather drive up to the "closer trailhead" anyday.

Have fun in your stock XJ! it's ok. even a budget boost makes a difference off road and will get you started towards your goals. Thanks for spotting me at little moab when I was stock utahxjer!

 

[utahxjer]

So that was you guys eh! I was up corner canyon on a lovely evening several years ago enjoying a nice mountain bike ride in the direction of Jacobs ladder off of the main road on one of the main 2 tracks that skirts the ridgeline. There was a gentle purr of ATV's near the movie road, a few off road vehicles moving about, a party of mountain bikers near jacobs ladder about to ride down the ridge, the birds where singing and the smell of... anyway all of a sudden this sheriff chopper comes roaring up the canyon and starts hovering Mennacingly over the ridge. Chills run up my spine as the choppers PA yells "get on the main road" then hovers to another area "go back to the main road now" I didn't know if they were including me in that but I hightailed it back to the main road ducking under the trees for cover just in case. Havn't been able to enjoy riding there since, even on the main road, hear a helicopter in the valley and i'm ducking for cover!!

One thing is for sure it's nice to jeep up to Jacobs ladder for the Lone Peak Hike, that is one brute of a hike, done it from draper ridge, the movie road and Jacobs ladder parking near the movie road. would rather drive up to the "closer trailhead" anyday.

Have fun in your stock XJ! it's ok. even a budget boost makes a difference off road and will get you started towards your goals. Thanks for spotting me at little moab when I was stock utahxjer!

Funny story!! And what were you driving at Little Moab?

 

[iceaxe]

Funny story!! And what were you driving at Little Moab?

remember my little turquiose rig? I'm in your American Fork photos (went with a different screen name on this board)

 

[utahxjer]

remember my little turquiose rig? I'm in your American Fork photos (went with a different screen name on this board)

ahh xjblue, what up!

 

[iceaxe]

ahh xjblue, what up!

missed you at little sahara, sounded like you were going to be there!

 

[utahxjer]

missed you at little sahara, sounded like you were going to be there!

this thread is waaaaaayyyy passed Introductions, but oh well.

yeah, I wanted to go but I couldn't get the tow rig passed inspections in time.

 

[iceaxe]

this thread is waaaaaayyyy passed Introductions, but oh well.

yeah, I wanted to go but I couldn't get the tow rig passed inspections in time.

bummer we had a blast... Might have to do it again before it dries out.

(sorry for the hijack of your introduction metal101)

 

[JoeT]

Hmm, I just might have a XJ Dana 44 for sale......