yet another newbie...

[mn62980]

Re: RE: Workin

I know I'm going to get blasted for this, but I love my jeep and I want to make it more offroadable. What can I do to a two wheel drive 2001 cherokee sport to make it respectable? I'm not wanting to do any seriously hardcore mud bogging or anything, but I'd like to able to handle intermediate type stuff. My buddy in Houston drives a pretty hoss 96 Bronco, and he got me hooked. He told me that with a 4.5" lift and 32s that I could probably handle a lot of stuff if I put lockers on the rear wheels and possibly lose the sway bar.... I suppose what I'm asking is this: what do I have to get to take my 2 wheel drive jeep offroad without having to worry about getting stuck every five minutes? Please be gentle, it's my first time.....
Thank You!!

 

[Saurian]

RE: Re: RE: Workin

Hmmm... Well, firstly, be of good cheer, we are of a pleasant question-answering bunch... I have not had any experience with 2wd XJs, my personal suggestion would be to swap out axle and driveshaft, add transfer case, and you have a 4X4... Don't know how easy/possible that is to do, however...

Besides that, some good tires that will grip, rather than make it fishtail in the back would be my first suggestion... There are a lot of others here who can answer your questions better than I...

Welcome to Jeepz, hope you stay around, and post often...

 

[bchcky]

RE: Will this body tub swap work?

swapping axles and putting in a t-case and driveshaft is an option, however, if you're asking how to make a 2 wheel drive vehicle workable, i think that might be a bit much to tackle for now. my suggestion would be to trade it in for a 4 wheel drive vehicle if you really wanna lift it and wheel it, or keep that, and just buy a beater jeep, i'm not sure how much money you want to or are able to spend, cause depending on the deals you can find, the first option would probably end up being cheaper.

 

[Junkpile]

RE: speakers

I would think it would be really easy to convert the Cherokee to 4wd if you wanted to. As far as I know, all the mounting points are the same on the Cherokee. I may be wrong, but if they are......4wd is just a parts truck away.

I had a 90 model 2wd Ford Ranger with 8.5" of lift that I loved. It's all about what you are doing. With high speed stuff on relatively firm ground, the 4wds won't be able to keep up with your dust, much less your Jeep. Slow speed wheeling is a whole different story. Actually there isn't any slow speed wheeling with a 2wd, it's WOT the whole time. Like I said, I loved mine, but I live in an area that is pretty friendly to lifted 2wds. I probably won't ever do one again unless I move to the desert. You really need lots of offroad room to have lots of fun with a pre-runner style setup. I wouldn't discourage anyone from running one, but it's not going to hang with the 4wds in most offroading situations.

*and if you like to street race your lifted truck, a 2wd makes a fine sleeper.

 

[mn62980]

Flat fender kit for a YJ???

let me pehrase the question....is there anything I can do besides spending an arm and a leg installing all the 4 wheel drive guts...is there any merit to the rear wheel lockers stuff I was told? Also, what's the best type (if any) lift kit for a 2 wheel drive XJ? Thanks for responding so quick by the way....this is a great first experience

 

[TwistedCU]

let me rephrase....

Yeah you can lift it, get some more agressive tires and throw in a rear locker like you said. No, it will not be as good as if it had 4WD, but if you don't mind being strapped or winched out of a few deep mudholes I say go for it. Just keep in mind what you have and use it appropriately. I'd go for a 4.5" lift.

Good deals on kits here: www.rustysoffroad.com

 

[Snitty]

putting in the 4wd parts from a junker would be no more of "an arm and a leg" than a 4.5" lift, a locker, and some tires. In fact, now that I think of it, when I bought my transmission on ebay, it was a transmission, Tcase, drifeshaft, front axle, and shift assemblies.... EVERYTHING needed to convert to 4wd.

where are you from... you can get a cheap front axle if you are anywhere near this area

 

[mujaman]

lets be realistic here... a first time jeeper thats just getting into the whole "off-road experience" is not going to go digging around through a junkyard (or spending $1,000's on new parts) so he can upgrade his rig. if i was you... i really would consider a trade-in. a 2001 in good shape would easily be worth enough to get a nice 97 or 98 4WD and still have enough left over to buy a lift, tires, etc. to make your investments worthwhile, i would recommend you use only a 4WD vehicle.

if you are set on keeping your 2WD... then yes, the lockers in the rear will make a good bit of difference. look around at the link twistedcopper gave you... there is a lot of great stuff on that site.