So I plan on gettin a 94-98 grand cherokee when I get back from basic and AIT next April, I know that's a long ways out but I was wondering if anyone could tell me what they would suggest as far as some off-road mod's go so I can save up while I'm gone... Just from what I've looked up so far I was plannin on doin just a 2" body lift, bigger tires, flared fenders, brush guard, exhaust kit, and of course up grade some of the routine maintenance stuff while I do it like the the plugs, wires, brakes, distributor cap and rotor and what not. I was hopin to get some feed back as to anything I might have missed that you guys would suggest and which brands and what not you would suggest... all I've ever owned before is sports cars and muscle cars so I'm a little bit out of my element so any help would be great!
Need some ideas
- Thread starter zig8121
- Start date
54cj3b
New member
first of all grand cherokee's don't have frames so body lift is out !!!
you would have to get a suspention kit to do it ..
before deciding on a lift we need a few things answered :
what size tires are you looking for ?
what kind of wheeling are you into? mudding,rockcrawling,snow/dune bashing ect
different set ups are made for each kind of application
what kind of budget are you looking at ?
are you going to swap out differentials ect
shocks depend on terrain you plan on doing and lift chosen
also got to remember once you start lifting and changing tire size you start to notice you need gearing for better gas milage / trail performance drive shaft angles will need to be changed if lifted any more than 2 inch
size tires you plane on using is a big factor before deciding on a lift for example 33 inch tires need 4.5 inch lift to fit comfortably also rim spacing changes with tire size .
figure out how much you can afford and go from there dont rush it because it always costs more to fix all the mistakes and changes later build it the way you want it the first time not 2 inch lift now than a year down line you decide 4.5 or 6 inch lift with 35s ect if you build it the right way you want the first time it it will save you money in long run and wont cost a small fortune a year or so later to change out everything again
you would have to get a suspention kit to do it ..
before deciding on a lift we need a few things answered :
what size tires are you looking for ?
what kind of wheeling are you into? mudding,rockcrawling,snow/dune bashing ect
different set ups are made for each kind of application
what kind of budget are you looking at ?
are you going to swap out differentials ect
shocks depend on terrain you plan on doing and lift chosen
also got to remember once you start lifting and changing tire size you start to notice you need gearing for better gas milage / trail performance drive shaft angles will need to be changed if lifted any more than 2 inch
size tires you plane on using is a big factor before deciding on a lift for example 33 inch tires need 4.5 inch lift to fit comfortably also rim spacing changes with tire size .
figure out how much you can afford and go from there dont rush it because it always costs more to fix all the mistakes and changes later build it the way you want it the first time not 2 inch lift now than a year down line you decide 4.5 or 6 inch lift with 35s ect if you build it the right way you want the first time it it will save you money in long run and wont cost a small fortune a year or so later to change out everything again
Well I guess what I meant by body lift is those coil spring spacers, which the more I looked into it is a bad idea. And I actually plan on using it for just about everything aside from rock crawling. From just rompin in the desert to when I go hunting up north in the snow. I'm thinkin something along the line of 31" pro comp all terrain, full traction 3.5" lift, the bushwacker cut out flared fenders and what not.
Might be a dumb question but is there a particular reason I'd need to change the rear diff.? Like I know to change the gearing ratio but if this is going to mostly be for on road travel with some off roading on the weekends I didn't figure there was too much of a reason to mess with that unless there's one hell of a performance gain. Speaking of which what're your thoughts on doin a firepower ignition kit with a hypertech power programmer a borla exhaust including headers and and AEM brute force intake?
Might be a dumb question but is there a particular reason I'd need to change the rear diff.? Like I know to change the gearing ratio but if this is going to mostly be for on road travel with some off roading on the weekends I didn't figure there was too much of a reason to mess with that unless there's one hell of a performance gain. Speaking of which what're your thoughts on doin a firepower ignition kit with a hypertech power programmer a borla exhaust including headers and and AEM brute force intake?
54cj3b
New member
changing the diff is more a option than a must do, most change out rear diff if they have a Dana 35 which is common in xjs unless you got lucky and got a 8.25 or a dana 44 since 35s don't hold up with bigger tires very well , I like the Dana 44 myself,which I picked up at a local junk yard for $100.
coil spring spacers aren't to bad as long as there in good shape not cracking or falling apart this is a cheaper option for a low budget build ,
since its not a extreme 4 wheeler this is a idea for your build ,
first thing I would do is a 4.5 lift rather than a 3.5 not very different in height but will benefit on your daily driving in ride quality and also would give you a option of tire sizes to use up to a 33 tire recommend A/Ts over M/Ts better gas mileage and ride and good trail tire. invest in the better rancho 9000 adjustable air ride shocks so you can choose your comfort level on the hwy and off road at touch of a button . Bushwhacker flairs are too stiff .if you rub up against a tree or just look at them wrong they'll just crack off or shatter . Would recommend skid plates for the under carriage engine compartment,oil pan,trans/transfer,fuel tank etc .
and a set of diff guards, also would change out stock ujoints with a good heavy duty aftermarket ujoint, another thing I would do is upgrade the radiator with a 3 or 4 core radiator and upgrade to a set of good set of electric fans since you mentioned running in dessert , and a good transmission cooler.
If you do your homework you can build your rig to suite your needs for under $3000.
what I mean by homework is make a list of what you want and shop around checking out lots of vendors for the best prices on certain parts
I made a big mistake by buying all my parts at once from 1 vendor than 2 months later found out if I shopped around I could have saved allot of money for other mods I wanted to do, if I didn't rush it and accumulated my parts over a few months , this way you can be sure you have everything you need to build your rig with the best parts rather than bitting the bullet spending more than you wanted in first place ,
few other things to consider
always ask others on there opinions and experience with certain parts to make sure you get the best parts for your build
don't let others talk you into doing things on your rig you weren't planning on doing
since your driving it not them and only you really know what you want for your rig and know your limits
last but not least take your time build it right but most of all have fun!!!!!!!!!!
This rig was built on a $5000. budget
coil spring spacers aren't to bad as long as there in good shape not cracking or falling apart this is a cheaper option for a low budget build ,
since its not a extreme 4 wheeler this is a idea for your build ,
first thing I would do is a 4.5 lift rather than a 3.5 not very different in height but will benefit on your daily driving in ride quality and also would give you a option of tire sizes to use up to a 33 tire recommend A/Ts over M/Ts better gas mileage and ride and good trail tire. invest in the better rancho 9000 adjustable air ride shocks so you can choose your comfort level on the hwy and off road at touch of a button . Bushwhacker flairs are too stiff .if you rub up against a tree or just look at them wrong they'll just crack off or shatter . Would recommend skid plates for the under carriage engine compartment,oil pan,trans/transfer,fuel tank etc .
and a set of diff guards, also would change out stock ujoints with a good heavy duty aftermarket ujoint, another thing I would do is upgrade the radiator with a 3 or 4 core radiator and upgrade to a set of good set of electric fans since you mentioned running in dessert , and a good transmission cooler.
If you do your homework you can build your rig to suite your needs for under $3000.
what I mean by homework is make a list of what you want and shop around checking out lots of vendors for the best prices on certain parts
I made a big mistake by buying all my parts at once from 1 vendor than 2 months later found out if I shopped around I could have saved allot of money for other mods I wanted to do, if I didn't rush it and accumulated my parts over a few months , this way you can be sure you have everything you need to build your rig with the best parts rather than bitting the bullet spending more than you wanted in first place ,
few other things to consider
always ask others on there opinions and experience with certain parts to make sure you get the best parts for your build
don't let others talk you into doing things on your rig you weren't planning on doing
since your driving it not them and only you really know what you want for your rig and know your limits
last but not least take your time build it right but most of all have fun!!!!!!!!!!
This rig was built on a $5000. budget
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Well I'll have to wait to figure if I'm going to mess with the diff. cuz I won't even be getting my jeep till I get back next april so obviously can't really plan on that till I know what I'm getting.
And another reason I was wantin to kinda take it easy as far as what I do to this jeep is after I come back I want to save up a little more and am wanting to get a CJ7 which would be nothing but my off-road ride, so that's the one I wanna go balls to the walls with. The only reason I'm going to be doing anything to my cherokee when I get it is I'm one of those guys that can't just leave my cars stock, I always wind up spending at least 2 or 3 grand on them, sometimes quite a bit more lol. I really do appreciate the insight though, and I completely understand what you mean about doing my homework, which is why I'm looking into this stuff way before I even have the jeep lol. I'll keep posted on here on what I'm thinking about doing that way I can get some opinons on whether it's a good idea or not cuz I know there's people on here who know a HELL of a lot more about this stuff than I do and this isn't one of those things where I want to learn about it by making mistakes lol.
And another reason I was wantin to kinda take it easy as far as what I do to this jeep is after I come back I want to save up a little more and am wanting to get a CJ7 which would be nothing but my off-road ride, so that's the one I wanna go balls to the walls with. The only reason I'm going to be doing anything to my cherokee when I get it is I'm one of those guys that can't just leave my cars stock, I always wind up spending at least 2 or 3 grand on them, sometimes quite a bit more lol. I really do appreciate the insight though, and I completely understand what you mean about doing my homework, which is why I'm looking into this stuff way before I even have the jeep lol. I'll keep posted on here on what I'm thinking about doing that way I can get some opinons on whether it's a good idea or not cuz I know there's people on here who know a HELL of a lot more about this stuff than I do and this isn't one of those things where I want to learn about it by making mistakes lol.
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