What should I do with my TJ?
- Thread starter wv_kid
- Start date
Your 3.07s and Dana 35 will be fine with the 32rh trans and 31s. If you want 4.10s later on, swap in some axles from a 4 cylinder Jeep. It's MUCH cheaper. I got a set for my old 98' for $250. If the lift has stock front lower control arms and small spacers over the springs, it's the RC 3.25" lift. Their 4" lift comes with crappy, round lower arms.
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I measured today and came up with 13 inches rear spring length, 16 front. I'll have to take some pictures and measure again on a flat surface, this was on an incline.
I want to run the smallest tire that will look "normal" with the lift, will 31's be ok? I love the tip on the 4 cylinder axles, that is a great idea.
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Rough country really is horrible quality. Removing their stuff was the first thing i did when i bought my jeep.
You could just get a smaller set of coils and shocks for your jeep from someone like zone offroad? 4" lift I'd want 33's. Maybe 32s
I will take some more pics and post up in a few days, jeep is at my GF's house right now.
As for the kids growing up fast, no kidding. Going through pics on my phone is just crazy to realize how much older they've gotten so fast. Ages 5 and 9 now, the next few years are really going to be the best years of their childhood and the Jeep will be part of it. Top down, music blaring, maybe eating ice cream in the back seat ... kids never forget that stuff.
As for the kids growing up fast, no kidding. Going through pics on my phone is just crazy to realize how much older they've gotten so fast. Ages 5 and 9 now, the next few years are really going to be the best years of their childhood and the Jeep will be part of it. Top down, music blaring, maybe eating ice cream in the back seat ... kids never forget that stuff.
Honestly, if someone local with a stock TJ was willing to do the work to swap the lift off for their stock springs, I'd let them just have the lift. I don't need a lift at all.
Get some of the steering too. The pitman arm from the side and the trackbar mounts so we can make sure somebody hasn't f'd up the geometry there
Will do. Gotta figure out what I have before I start planning what changes to make!
I did this too, got some 4.10 from 4 cylinder and worked great with my set up and 33s. Off Craigslist for $200, might not be easy to find but worth a look if you need 4.10s.
Thanks! I grew up in Dundalk, by the way. User name is b/c I grew up hunting in WV. I live in Spokane now.
Another question - is it worth investing $ in a TJ with 210k miles on it? Seems like the 4.0 and 32RH are both very reliable and not terribly expensive to rebuild if they fail, so my current plan is to keep the Jeep forever and not be afraid to invest $ to make it more fun and useful.
Worth it? Boy, that's a loaded question. Most of us here have invested more into our Jeeps than our Jeeps are actually worth.
Strictly from an accounting perspective, is it worth it? Probably not. But my jeep lets me have tons of fun, repair parts are relatively cheap and it is really easy to work on. From that point of view, it's absolutely worth investing in.
I'm realistic in that I don't ever expect to get out of my jeep what I put into it, but now that the upgrades are a sunk cost, it's reliable and fun. Hard to ask much more than that from a 26 year old vehicle.
I mean of course a TJ is probably a toy for most of us. I don't mean "worth it" in the sense of "as opposed to buying a low-mileage subaru." I mean "worth it" in the sense of "as opposed to looking for a lower-mileage TJ with some mods similar to those I am considering." If that makes the question more answerable (or at least sensible), I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I'm on 31's and 3.07, it's not bad at all... but then I have a manual transmission, so can select better gears for a situation...
I'd love to have a manual trans, although I hear so many great things about the 32RH I can't really complain. I have an old hot rod to get my stick shift jollies but a manual TJ would just add to the fun.
Also been looking at tire size options ... thinking maybe a 235/85/r16 would do well. I would run an all-terrain with the snowflake symbol for good year-round usage, and I'd want enough clearance to run tire chains or cables.
Yeah, I get what you're saying. Again, I think it depends on personal preference.
My TJ has 156k on it, but I've done all the work getting it mechanically sound. As such, I will hop in it and drive it anywhere within a 500 miles without hesitation (longer than that is more a question of what my back can take, not the confidence i have in my rig).The 4.0 is known to go up to 300k miles without major problems. I kinda feel like mine is just getting broken in.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy and build a TJ or an XJ with the 4.0 if it had less than 200k on it (with the caveat that it was not beat on a bunch and didn't have a ton of obvious problems).