Opinions on best Jeep model for a smaller budget

Seahawkfan

Seahawkfan

Hooked
BaddestCross said:
I don't think 3k is bad. 3-4 about what I expect will be needed for this one. Lift, tires, probably wheels, bumpers, etc.

The good thing is that it's streetable as it sits and we can build as my son puts some money together to buy parts. Right now I've gotta replace the hinge pins and bushings on the driver door and there was an evap leak code that may be just a gas cap.

What I did find today was the guy pulled the fuses on the ABS. He said it was because he doesn't like ABS, but when I put the fuses back in all sorts of random codes were thrown so I think there's a short in one of the speed sensors or something causing the PCM to throw a fit.

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
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Years ago cross the street neighbor came over and handed me the keys to their 99 XJ. They just bought a new truck and wanted it gone. It had 160,000 miles on it. I threw a 3" lift and 33" tires. Drove the piss out of it for another 125,000 miles. Replaced water pump once and MAP sensor once. Bunch of brake rotor replacements (Autozone 2 year warranty ). Lots of heavy braking on my part. Loved that thing. And I neglected the hell out that 4.0 but still ran great before I let the kids sell it because it was just collecting leaves while I was overseas. So you never know you may have something there. Good Luck and enjoy.
 
BaddestCross

BaddestCross

Active Member
Seahawkfan said:
Years ago cross the street neighbor came over and handed me the keys to their 99 XJ. They just bought a new truck and wanted it gone. It had 160,000 miles on it. I threw a 3" lift and 33" tires. Drove the piss out of it for another 125,000 miles. Replaced water pump once and MAP sensor once. Bunch of brake rotor replacements (Autozone 2 year warranty ). Lots of heavy braking on my part. Loved that thing. And I neglected the hell out that 4.0 but still ran great before I let the kids sell it because it was just collecting leaves while I was overseas. So you never know you may have something there. Good Luck and enjoy.
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It's got 180k on it and pulls strong as hell. No ticking or odd noises from the 4.0L... First time I've driven one and I'm really impressed. Trans shifts smooth and transfer case shifts easy. All in all, I think it's got good bones mechanically.

I'm sure we'll do an axle swap if he really gets serious about wheeling, but that'll be down the line.

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
 
TrailHunter

TrailHunter

Hooked
BaddestCross said:
From the little research I've done so far, that's pretty typical for a mild build. How would that do for the tougher Big Bear-type trails? What do your XJ buddies run?

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
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That's pretty much what they run and drive the shit out of them.... problem I see with the bigger obstacles is the lack of lockers and they need more skinny pedal... which sends them to SnapVille.
 
jdofmemi

jdofmemi

Active Member
BaddestCross said:
Well, thanks for all the info and advice... I've been taking a crash course on XJs these last couple of weeks and my head is swimming.

I know it wasn't the favorite amongst XJ aficionados, but we came across a good deal on an almost bone-stock 2001 Sport. The guy we picked it up from builds some crazy cool XJs and had bought this one too build for his brother, but his brother decided he wasn't into Jeeping.

It's got a few cosmetic issues and the suspension definitely needs an upgrade, but the guy had preemptively replaced the infamous head on the 4.0L with one from a 98. The motor pulls strong and the trans shifts smooth. Transfer case shifts easily. All-in-all, I believe this will become a great daily and trail rig for my son. We'll probably start a build thread when things start happening, but until then, here's Fiona's yet-to-be-named cousin...
View attachment 311141

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
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Congratulations on your member of the family!

That will be fun to build up.

I was out a while back with a guy in an XJ. He had a long arm set up and 35's, upgraded axles , not sure of the details. It performed well, and kept right up on Dishpan and Holcomb Valley with no problem.
 
BaddestCross

BaddestCross

Active Member
jdofmemi said:
Congratulations on your member of the family!

That will be fun to build up.

I was out a while back with a guy in an XJ. He had a long arm set up and 35's, upgraded axles , not sure of the details. It performed well, and kept right up on Dishpan and Holcomb Valley with no problem.
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Thanks. Yeah, we're looking forward to it. 👍

It'd be cool to put some 35s on it, but I'm thinking it'll be cost prohibitive in the near term. The guy I bought it from told me that 3-4" is about as high as you can go without having to really start going crazy on parts.

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
 
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