Meet my 2000 TJ sport!
As a new user I've been diligently reading this forum in lieu of some of the other wrangler forums because I love the comradery in the TJ tribe!
I have a few questions and I'll start by explaining my goals:
Proposed modifications (high level):
Awesome forum - gotta say thanks in advance to everyone - this is a great place for information and tons of people with professional attitudes!
- 4.0 I6
- 5MT (NV3550)
- Dana 30/Dana 35 axles
- Stock 3.73 gears
- Almost no rust!
- 200K miles on the dot when purchased
As a new user I've been diligently reading this forum in lieu of some of the other wrangler forums because I love the comradery in the TJ tribe!
I have a few questions and I'll start by explaining my goals:
- I want to run trails that will be rated a 4 and maybe 4.5 in the 'Colorado Difficulty Rating' (see link below for what that means if out of state)
- Chinaman Gulch - a favorite of mine - https://www.jeeptheusa.com/chinaman-gulch-40.html
- A lot of the mountain passes here in Colorado (i.e. silverton/ouray area 'Apline Loop') - easier stuff for sure.
- General Colorado ratings guide - https://www.jeeptheusa.com/difficulty-ratings.html
- I want to run trails that will be 6 to 7 and maybe 7 to 8 in the 'Utah Difficulty Rating' (see link below for what that means if out state)
- Poison Spider, Gold Bar Rim, Golden Spike, Metal Masher, Hells Revenge, and probably a few others I'm forgetting are ones I like to hit up with my buddies in their fancy new rigs (JKs and JLs mainly).
- For the sake of this list - the Utah trail ratings guide - https://www.rr4w.com/ratings.cfm
- I won't be daily driving this vehicle - but I will be driving it 1-2 times a week... definitely to pick up groceries because who wouldn't want to drive their jeep to do that?
- I sold my JK after following the typical J.E.E.P. mantra and I'd like to build this TJ up on a relatively controlled budget - but maximize it's ability to drive off road while not looking like a monster truck. If I can get away with stock stuff (i.e. axles) I'd like to do that for sure.
- My last jeep doing some crack:
Proposed modifications (high level):
- I have a set of the JK moab 17" wheels ($100 for 5 !) - my goal is to buy a used set of the JL rubicon tires (285/70R17) come up on craigslist (goal is sub $500 total for 33" wheelset).
- I'm pretty much sold on doing a full Savvy/Currie johny joint setup (including the weld on front axle UCA mounts)
- I'll be on the hunt for the NP241J t-case - I have a seller here in Colorado I'm working on a deal with
- I want to only do as much as I need to accomplish my trail goals
- Given that I have done all the trails already on a JKUR with 35s - Can I expect to run the same trails with the smaller TJ on 33's? I'm not too familiar with how much benefit in terms of breakover approach/departure angles I'll have by wheeling a smaller vehicle now - my hope is that I can scale just about everything including tires down and go 4x4'ing for less $$
- Can I get away with the Dana 30/Dana 35 I have and go the 'super' route - i.e. just throw in larger CroMo shafts with beefier (locking) carriers while on 33-34 size tires? I will not go to 35 if I don't have to - my goal is to stay in the 33-34 metric size equivalent range... I don't care about aesthetics when it comes to tire size.
- Will a full Johny Joint 3 inch lift plus 1" body lift be a good way to go to get the most articulation for the $$? Sub $3000 for a lift is my goal - and I like the 'low(er) center of gravity' concept with the 3+1 lift concept. I'm not opposed to the currie 4" kit - I've just been working on piecing together my own kit with Savvy control arms.
- For those that drive higher speed highways (75mph) on 33in tires - is the 4.56 gear ratio the best bet?
- With the manual NV3550 - is the NP241j a must-have? I will stick with the 5MT - I loved wheeling with the 6MT in my JK - but I also loved its 4:1 t-case!
- Can I go wheeling already?
Awesome forum - gotta say thanks in advance to everyone - this is a great place for information and tons of people with professional attitudes!