Where to start building your rig.

This might be a terrible stab at acquiring information but here goes nothing. I have a '95 2-door xj with a manual transmission and a 3 or so inch pro comp lift sitting on 31 10.50 tires. I bought it a couple months ago. I'm new to wheelin' but I want to build my rig up to a streetable yet fairly burley wheeler. This will be a one-step-at-a-time process over the years due to financial constraints. So the question is: WHERE DO I START!?! What is the best move to improve my wheelin ability while also preparing for the future. I realize it wouldn't behoove me to slap an exo on it but beyond that I'm rather lost. I talked with my local shop and they were helpful but every question answered led to two more questions. For example: Do I lock up my dana 35 or do I save that money for a locker for a 44 or an 8.8 that is an inevitable upgrade but still a ways out? Do I eliminate my c-clips so I don't get stuck in the boonies if I break an axle? Do I put a winch on it? Do I trim the fender for some 33s or 35s? Do I brace the steering? I just don't know what is most important and helpful. Any help would be great. Or feel free to to tell me to figure it out for myself. I'll understand. Thanks.

i put a locker in my 35 1st thing and i havent had 1 problem with it yet sooo. i have 31s on my xj and i do use it :thumbsup:

I'll just tell you what I think, and others can weigh in with their thoughts.

In Houston my two primary concerns are high water and mud. Really more of a clay. So when I think how can I improve my Jeep's ability, well it's to get it higher.

I started researching what height lift kits were available, and found that due to a design issue with the Cherokee to go 4.5, or higher you needed to resolve a poor design, at least when changing the suspension geometry.

I found that I could get a 4.5" lift for about $500, and I had a good chance that with the 1" transfer case drop that came with it I could for go the time and expense of a slip yoke eliminator (SYE). So I got the Rough Country 4.5" lift with add a leaf (didn't like AAL but it fit my budget). I purchased a set of BFG 32x11.5x15 tires, and a set of American Racing 10x15 wheels.

At the point of having all that installed I had a very capable off road rig. Of course it was capable before but now I had height and better traction.

Hello from one Durham dude to a Chico dude. What you have so far is very serviceable. I used a 3" lift and the same tires you have for years. The thing is, if you lock that D35 in the rocks around here you will break it. Just leave it open. I went a lot of places with my open diffs and Mark from Payless 4X4 does too. I went with the winch first. The idea is that if I do get stuck, I can extract myself or someone I am with, which has been the case up in the snow on Skyway and in the Rubicon area. Also, you can winch yourself through the tough spots on the rocks if you need to. When you get lockers around here, you have to plan on taking care of weak links. Stronger axles are required before you can do it successfully.

By the way, we will be having wrench parties at my place. You are invited. PM me if you are interested. My shop has everything you will need.

wheel it and see what it needs, what it can do and what you can do.. thats how i started mine, after sundays run i think i want a locker... keep us updated....:thumbsup:

OK I feel guilty now. I actually live in Durham. I was born and raised in Chico, but I went to Durham schools since 4th grade and as of 6 months ago I adopted the 95938 zip... damn beet it out of me why don't you. Anyway, wrench party, cool! But, what does PM mean. I am still trying to figure out how to use this forum (actually any forum).

PM means private message. If you click on 4.3LXJ in one of my posts, a menu will drop down and give you options. One of the is send private message, or email. You can use this option if you need to discuss something with me. Another option is when you get 100 posts is you can use the chat box. This morning I diagnosed a drivelline problem, or at least a potential one fairly quickly with the chat feature. When you want to post pictures, do it through photobucket. You can establish a free account with them and upload your pictures there. Then copy the image code into your post and the picture will show up.

By the way, I live out behind the big park by the lions and tigers.

I just sent you a PM. Check the upper right hand corner and you will see you have a private message. Click on it and a menu will drop down. Select it to open your message box.