Upgrading my TJ to be more off-road capable

Austin O. said:
Totally agree. Thank you. As for the locker, I believe I can do it and figure it out myself with some help from y’all/YouTube. I’ve never worked on cars before, but i like to think I’m mechanically inclined… I’ve been around similar stuff my whole life, I’m a woodworker as well (that really doesn’t help much here though 🤣). I’m planning to go to college for mechanical engineering 🤷‍♂️

I might look into it a bit more and see if I think I’m actually capable…
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I've done everything on my jeep so far, but I've never touched anything with the gearing or lockers. I've seen people on here say that's the one thing they won't do themselves because it requires special tools and a lot of knowledge, so it scared me a little. Not sure if doing just a locker is easier than a re-gear or if its the same work. I'd probably do both at once cause I have 33's
 
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JMT said:
1. an MT rather than an AT. Look way better and perform better off-road. Onroad not as good performance, but a little hum. Hey, they are MT’s. They look awesome!
2. A 1.25” body lift max. Aluminum. Won’t need to change the shock. It only makes more room for tires.
3. PowerTrax No Slip Locker. Yes, you will need this to keep up with your Dad’s JKUR. I drive mine in the snow all the time. Onroad just don’t accelerate through neighborhood turns. It’s fine. 4 winters for me. No issues.
4. Sliders, but tub mounted. You do want to drill holes in the tub. These are way better than a frame mounted (which should never be used on the rocks).
5. Winch, look for a Warn on FB. You never know, and you can rebuild easily with a few parts if it’s in decent condition.

Other things: quick disconnects, wheel spacers to move the wheel out some to clear 31’s, get a fid and I’ll send you some rope and you can make some soft shackles for recovery, a tree saver, recovery points front and rear. Should be a great build!
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Thanks! I’ll look at MT tires some more. I’ll take that advice then on the sliders. Sounds like a winch is a bit more important than I thought. I’ll look a bit more into that. Already have spacers because I need the lug nut adapter to fit the jk wheels. And I don’t know anything about quick disconnects, but I can look into that as well. What’s a fid? I’m pretty excited for the build… thanks for your help!
 
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Cheetokps said:
I've done everything on my jeep so far, but I've never touched anything with the gearing or lockers. I've seen people on here say that's the one thing they won't do themselves because it requires special tools and a lot of knowledge, so it scared me a little. Not sure if doing just a locker is easier than a re-gear or if its the same work. I'd probably do both at once cause I have 33's
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I don’t know much about either, but it sounds like gearing is definitely something I don’t want to mess with myself, but lockers might be okay? Fortunately, I don’t have plans to regear…
 
Fouledplugs said:
How much money do you have to spend right now for it?

With a number, we could help drive the direction on which mods to do first, second, and so on.
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Right now, I’d probably only be willing to spend around $600, but I’ll definitely be able to do quite a bit more come March/April
 
Austin O. said:
Right now, I’d probably only be willing to spend around $600, but I’ll definitely be able to do quite a bit more come March/April
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That should get you some recovery gear, air down tools/equipment, better tires, and some disconnects.

I'd focus on airing down, some recovery gear and wheeling it as is. See what it needs from there.
 
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Before lifts, tires or any other mod I’d spend money on some good recovery gear. You can find an affordable winch (smittybilt, Badlands, etc…). Get some soft shackles, tow strap, shovel. I use my winch all the time, if I’m not pulling myself I’m pulling someone else out
 
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Cheetokps said:
I've done everything on my jeep so far, but I've never touched anything with the gearing or lockers. I've seen people on here say that's the one thing they won't do themselves because it requires special tools and a lot of knowledge, so it scared me a little. Not sure if doing just a locker is easier than a re-gear or if its the same work. I'd probably do both at once cause I have 33's
Click to expand...

Austin O. said:
I don’t know much about either, but it sounds like gearing is definitely something I don’t want to mess with myself, but lockers might be okay? Fortunately, I don’t have plans to regear…
Click to expand...

Setting up ring and pinion gears does require some special tools and some technical knowledge. I'm a firm believer in the notion than anyone can learn how as long as they possess some basic mechanical skills and are willing to be patient and ask questions. I was able to learn the skills along with a couple of my buddies. We've done a handful of axles now and find the job rather therapeutic and incredibly rewarding.

Installation of a locker typically requires gear setup work, depending on which type of "locker" you're talking about. The lunchbox lockers (aka soft lockers) do not require gear setup because you typically maintain the factory carrier. Any type of selectable locker or limited slip differential that replaces the factory carrier will require gear set up work. I'd encourage you to do some research to learn the differences between the locker styles that exist.

I will say that correcting my axle gear ratio was one of the very best improvements I have done to my TJ - no question about it. I installed Eaton E-lockers along with 4.88 gears when I switched to 35" tires. After being on 33's with the stock 3.73 gearing for a number of years, my first reaction was "Why didn't I re-gear years ago?!"
 
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You can build a very capable Jeep for very little money, starting with a wrangler.

Get that 1.25” body lift (150 bucks). Buy some rubicon takeoff AT or MT tires in 255/75r17. (500-1000 bucks) You’ll have enough clearance for those with your body lift. Bump stop the shocks appropriately. Throw a lunchbox locker in the front (250). You can install the lunchbox yourself. Get some recovery points front and rear (100 bucks total)

Those three things along will make that little wrangler go further than 99 percent of people would be comfortable with. They will also drive your next set of upgrades, ie winch and armor. I would ask mom and dad for a kinetic rope and some soft shackles…Christmas is coming!
 
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Austin O. said:
Thanks! I’ll look at MT tires some more. I’ll take that advice then on the sliders. Sounds like a winch is a bit more important than I thought. I’ll look a bit more into that. Already have spacers because I need the lug nut adapter to fit the jk wheels. And I don’t know anything about quick disconnects, but I can look into that as well. What’s a fid? I’m pretty excited for the build… thanks for your help!
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Winch is not entirely necessary. You can always go with someone and usually find a way out. A kinetic rope for pulling you out might suffice in most situations, but not all. Even with a winch, if there’s nothing to winch from then what?

A fid is a splicing tool for the dyneema rope that you use to make a soft shackle for recovery. This would be a easy but fun and almost free upgrade to your recovery gear.

Check this out!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082YC9K3H/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Quick disconnects allow you to disconnect the front sway bar to get more articulation. You will definitely want a set. These are lower quality, but I’ve moved them from one rig to another several times over the last 5 years and they are still going!

Check this out!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B2AG2Q8/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
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I would get the body lift, some sway bar disconnects and recovery gear first. I would hold off on the locker for now because this will force you to learn about good tire placement. Once you have honed your skills and want to tackle more difficult trails then step up. You will probably find that at that time you will want larger tires so regearing will be part of the equation so you can do it all at once. A Tj with 31s and a winch is very capable and no too hard on the budget.
 
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Oh, and if you want to air down, use your key or anything with a point to depress the valve stem. It takes longer, but no need to spend $55 on the ARB tool or $85 for Coyote Deflators, though both of those make the job easier.

Don't forget, if you air down, you will need a way to air back up! A Viair 88P will suffice for a 31" tire.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ASY23I/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Or, if your Dad airs down, just bum off of his compressor to air back up if he's willing. Takes quite a bit longer, but it's still doable.

Airing down is a huge bonus for traction (and so is an MT 😉).

p.s. I have two 17 year olds with TJ's. One of them already built his rig to where he wants it. It's a White Sport on 33's with 2.5" SL (no lockers). The other is building his rig. It's a Blue Rubicon on 33's that will have 4.25" SL locked to rock! It is expensive...I bought the rigs for them, they paid for the upgrades.
 
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JMT said:
Oh, and if you want to air down, use your key or anything with a point to depress the valve stem. It takes longer, but no need to spend $55 on the ARB tool or $85 for Coyote Deflators, though both of those make the job easier.

Don't forget, if you air down, you will need a way to air back up! A Viair 88P will suffice for a 31" tire.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ASY23I/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Or, if your Dad airs down, just bum off of his compressor to air back up if he's willing. Takes quite a bit longer, but it's still doable.

Airing down is a huge bonus for traction (and so is an MT 😉).

p.s. I have two 17 year olds with TJ's. One of them already built his rig to where he wants it. It's a White Sport on 33's with 2.5" SL (no lockers). The other is building his rig. It's a Blue Rubicon on 33's that will have 4.25" SL locked to rock! It is expensive...I bought the rigs for them, they paid for the upgrades.
Click to expand...

gotta remember that out here, in the east, we're in private parks. I've never been to one that didn't have air available to fill your tires after a day of wheeling. Those park access fees gotta go for something.
 
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Mike_H said:
You can build a very capable Jeep for very little money, starting with a wrangler.

Get that 1.25” body lift (150 bucks). Buy some rubicon takeoff AT or MT tires in 255/75r17. (500-1000 bucks) You’ll have enough clearance for those with your body lift. Bump stop the shocks appropriately. Throw a lunchbox locker in the front (250). You can install the lunchbox yourself. Get some recovery points front and rear (100 bucks total)

Those three things along will make that little wrangler go further than 99 percent of people would be comfortable with. They will also drive your next set of upgrades, ie winch and armor. I would ask mom and dad for a kinetic rope and some soft shackles…Christmas is coming!
Click to expand...

Thanks! Gives me some hope for the little money I have available right now… I already have asked parents for a few jeep-related things! And have a couple jeep things for my Dad picked out as well 😉
 
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JMT said:
Winch is not entirely necessary. You can always go with someone and usually find a way out. A kinetic rope for pulling you out might suffice in most situations, but not all. Even with a winch, if there’s nothing to winch from then what?

A fid is a splicing tool for the dyneema rope that you use to make a soft shackle for recovery. This would be a easy but fun and almost free upgrade to your recovery gear.

Check this out!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082YC9K3H/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Quick disconnects allow you to disconnect the front sway bar to get more articulation. You will definitely want a set. These are lower quality, but I’ve moved them from one rig to another several times over the last 5 years and they are still going!

Check this out!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B2AG2Q8/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Click to expand...

Cool cool. Thank you!
 
JMT said:
Oh, and if you want to air down, use your key or anything with a point to depress the valve stem. It takes longer, but no need to spend $55 on the ARB tool or $85 for Coyote Deflators, though both of those make the job easier.

Don't forget, if you air down, you will need a way to air back up! A Viair 88P will suffice for a 31" tire.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ASY23I/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Or, if your Dad airs down, just bum off of his compressor to air back up if he's willing. Takes quite a bit longer, but it's still doable.

Airing down is a huge bonus for traction (and so is an MT 😉).

p.s. I have two 17 year olds with TJ's. One of them already built his rig to where he wants it. It's a White Sport on 33's with 2.5" SL (no lockers). The other is building his rig. It's a Blue Rubicon on 33's that will have 4.25" SL locked to rock! It is expensive...I bought the rigs for them, they paid for the upgrades.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the help! I doubt I’ll want my tj that big in the near future, but maybe sometime! I’m so glad my dad got me into the whole jeep thing, it’s a ton of fun, most definitely a money pit though 😬 My parents agreed to pay for half the tj, plus 25% on any mods afterwards… until I go to college… super grateful they’re willing to do that
 
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JMT said:
Oh, and if you want to air down, use your key or anything with a point to depress the valve stem. It takes longer, but no need to spend $55 on the ARB tool or $85 for Coyote Deflators, though both of those make the job easier.

Don't forget, if you air down, you will need a way to air back up! A Viair 88P will suffice for a 31" tire.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ASY23I/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Or, if your Dad airs down, just bum off of his compressor to air back up if he's willing. Takes quite a bit longer, but it's still doable.

Airing down is a huge bonus for traction (and so is an MT 😉).

p.s. I have two 17 year olds with TJ's. One of them already built his rig to where he wants it. It's a White Sport on 33's with 2.5" SL (no lockers). The other is building his rig. It's a Blue Rubicon on 33's that will have 4.25" SL locked to rock! It is expensive...I bought the rigs for them, they paid for the upgrades.
Click to expand...

I bought this deflator from amazon for 18 bucks and it has been GREAT it really makes the deflating easier... only seconds to deflate and no leaks...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088PNCKX1/?tag=wranglerorg-20

and regarding the Viair P88, those are expensive and if you are not going to use it each weekend I would recommend you my air compressor from amazon as well.. it takes my 33's from 10 psi up to 26 in like 2-3 minutes and for only 50 bucks.. used several times and has never failed me...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0946V131M/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
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Don Bulee said:
I bought this deflator from amazon for 18 bucks and it has been GREAT it really makes the deflating easier... only seconds to deflate and no leaks...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088PNCKX1/?tag=wranglerorg-20

and regarding the Viair P88, those are expensive and if you are not going to use it each weekend I would recommend you my air compressor from amazon as well.. it takes my 33's from 10 psi up to 26 in like 2-3 minutes and for only 50 bucks.. used several times and has never failed me...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0946V131M/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendations!
 
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