Looks great! I had the same plans for mine. 30.5" tire and either a 2 or 3" lift. Where did you get your OME parts? I'm on the line between them or Rubicon Express.

Tony, you did not mentin what you will be doing with the Jeep. Mainly daily driving, hunting, fishing, or hitting trails?

Congrats on the XJ, they are definitely a great value, and heck you cna always chop the top off on them. Google up for ideas, I have seen pretty much everything form chopped tops to Avalanche looking conversions on the rear cargo. The Xj's do great on the trails specially if you strengthen the unibody.

If mild to wildertrails, I woudl go witha long arm lift, 35's, upgrade the front axle and add a locker to the rear 8.25 with some chomollys and you are ready to play.


I have had a ****load of Jeeps, buggies, etc, and love them. I went from building a few rigs to buggy and now have a TJ with tons, etc, greta for trails and a fun daily driver :P

My old YTJ (YJ on tons, I put a TJ front clip):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8/IMGP2300.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...r/IMGP2334.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/IMGP0135.jpg

Cruiser buggy:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...9/IMGP0298.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...9/IMGP0300.jpg

and PEPECA:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...d/IMGP0556.jpg


street legal...errrr
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...d/IMGP0550.jpg

on the trail after lowering about a foot :)

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/P1160449.jpg

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/P1160660.jpg

Wow, those look like some nice builds. I wont be going that serious, although those looks like a lot of fun.

I want to do a hybrid tour/expedition/trail type of XJ. It has to cruise down the highway at 70mph and still be able to handle a fair amount of rough terrain, so I'm trying to find a good balance there.

Tony, I love Xj's plus power windows and AC are hard to beat, spcially for nice trail riding with teh family.

I would go with the combo I mentioned above, long arms, stick to 35's max.

Several buddies form our jeep club have very capable XJ's like Jeff's below (old pics the rig is much more modified now), but puts several Warnaglers to shame :)

http://wanderingwheelers.com/images/...ff_rubicon.jpg

http://wanderingwheelers.com/images/..._slickrock.jpg

http://wanderingwheelers.com/images/...ff_wheelin.jpg

I bought mine from Quadratec. I had it installed by a local shop and it was a real pain. I sprayed down the bolts but they had a hell of a time.

My plan has always been to take mine long distance for hunts. That's why I opted for the mild lift and wheel combo. I can tell you it's not blessed with power at 70mph with 30's. Plan on doing gears for anything over 31's. Also, you then need to start removing fender flares, longer brake lines, sway bar changes and the list goes on....

Take it out and mess around with it stock for a while and figure out what you really want.

Here are a few more pictures.... The dirty photo is on top of Ball mountain which is 7 hours from my house and around 10,000 feet of elevation. I drove over 200 miles off road that week hunting all over this country.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps71e9781f.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps933acd34.jpg

I love the landscape out west! Here's an old pic from our Honeymoon in Sedona... we rented a Jeep and did some trails... best day ever!

My plan is a 245/75-16 tire, which is 30.5". I really like the looks of the Cooper ST Maxx... there are some good reviews too. I love BFG, but they demand a price for their brand.

I hear you on all the changes that need to be made with big lifts/tires. I don't even want to go there. I do like the 2-3" lift to try and keep the ride closer to OEM and the gas mileage up.

We did the same thing in 2005 when we vacationed in Sedona. That was some of the best 4 wheeling I've ever done.

If you go with OME, my research led me to use the heavy duty springs out back. If you do, put the .5 spacer in with the front springs. Mine sets a little ass high and I'll get a light rub under full compression in the RF. I am planning to start using a reciever basket out back for gear once I get my hunting dog that will need to kennel in the back. I will likely add a roof rack or at very least a full size spare so it still may even out some. The chassis balance is very good hauling ass in the loose dirt off road. It absorbs the bumps really well.

The rear brake hose was under a little pressure, I bent the mounting bracket a touch to give it some slack. With a 3" kit, you will need to replace the hose. I like the fact the kit comes with a cross member spacer to correct the driveline angles.

It's hard to swallow the cost on a 4000 jeep but I'd do it again as I feel it's well engineered.

Thanks for the info. I hear you on the lift price on a 4000 Jeep, but the more I read, the more OME sounds superior. I may just pop for it. If I spend half that and am not happy, then what's the point in doing the lift at all?

Did you need to do a transfer case drop or is that what you mean by the cross member spacer? What about their steering stabilizer? Also, are you running an adjustable track bar?

And this video pretty much sealed the deal for me on OME.

Tony, I couldn't find anything negative except cost. I did utilize their steering stabilizer and it's called a transfer case spacer kit as that's what is attached to the cross member. I don't have an aftermarket track bar.

That's a good video to show you how it sucks up the bumps at a good rate of speed.