Got about 200-250 to spend on the Jeep..

Macdaddy4738

Macdaddy4738

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2005
Question is, what should I pick up? My Jeep is a 1998 TJ (2.4l) currently with a 2" BB, JKS Disco's and 32" tires.

Ive narrowed it down to a few choices.

Full Size spare. Will a 32" tire fit on the stock spare mounting system?

Warn Rockcrawler front bumper. Right now I have a single tow hook on the front end, and would love to have those 2 d rings, along with the better departure angles on the ends of the bumper, plus its something to install rather than a spare which takes minutes.

Skid plates - I have a new steering box to install, and was thinking I mine as well go ahead and install a skid plate for the box at the same time I install it. Id like to get the gas tank skid at some point, just not sure if its the most important skid plate to pick up. Perhaps some differential protection?

Beef up the axle's - not sure I really want to do this, as the 30/35 are fairly useless beyond a 33" tire. I know I want to go to 33's eventually, but not anytime soon, and I dont plan to go past 33's until it dies and I need to rebuild everything. I figured if I went past 33' in size, id just go ahead and do the axle swaps necessary to put bigger tires on. Should I add anything to the current axles or just keep them the way they are?

Rocker Protection - Im thinking this would be the most necessary thing right now, but I've yet to find a decent set of rocker guards. I want ones that will allow me to use a high lift jack on them if need be. Id also rather have a pair that bolts to the frame as well as the body.

So of all the above, what do you think the 250 would be better spent on, and if there are other choices you have in mind, don't hesitate to let me know.

Thanks!
 
Thought about a Lock-Rite for the Dana 30? I know either that or rocker protection are what i would do. (although a full size spare, is always a good, but slightly more boring idea)
 
no cage yet, but honestly I dont get into situations where I feel like the jeep is going over, being that its my DD and all.
 
Lock rite in the front, then getcha a 8.8 for the rear, some 33's and you're done


Edit: That's more then 250, so do either the lock rite, or the 8.8 first...I say 8.8. you can get them all day long at this one junk yard in gso for 75 or less
 
Lock Rite locker. Forget about spending money on a high dollar bumper. If you want better clearance on the ends, cut the ends of the factory bumper off. You can buy tow hooks for less than $20. And yes, a 32" tire will fit a factory rim. My spare is a 33x10.50 swamper on a factory YJ rim.
 
I'd go for rocker protection.
As you said it's a DD.
Once you've dented the crap out of the rockers, there isn't much helping them.
So my vote is rockers, then lock the front somehow.
(And find someone selling mostly bald 32" tires for a spare. should be doable/cheap.)
and it's a spare. So what if it's only got 20% tread or so?
 
Macdaddy4738 said:
no cage yet, but honestly I dont get into situations where I feel like the jeep is going over, being that its my DD and all.
Click to expand...
That is more of a reason to have a full cage.
Trail one at Tellico, the most dangerous trail there, yet it is only an access road and I've seen first hand vehicles roll down the side. If you value your life with a windshield frame, good on ya. A cage is one of those things you wish never to use, but when it's needed are thankful you have it. Before the lift, lockers, tires, blah, blah, blah were done, my cage was in, it was a stock jeep. It's not as glamorous an upgrade, but certainly one that is necessary, at least in my opinion.
Street jeeps without a cage, hmmmmm,....
awww.daveysjeeps.com_parting_images_wranglertj_T11.jpg

awww.daveysjeeps.com_parting_images_wranglertj_tj19.jpg

awww.daveysjeeps.com_parting_images_wranglertj_T9.jpg


The yellow one is bad off, but look at how much more protection that compartment would have had with a front cage installed;)
 
I'm with Rich, Cage it! As soon as I was able to afford it, that's what went in mine. It's the one investment/Mod that I hope I wasted my money on. Hope I never need to make full use of it!
 
Give me the money and I'll decide. LOL
 
A note. You're in Boone. I'd avoid that front locker for now, sicne I'm sure you enjoy using 4wd in the snow.
Rocker panels gaurds for a TJ aren't expensive, and you could prob get somebody on here to make you soem pretty cheaply. It's just 2 short pieces of angled steel, if you want to get fancy, have a bar bent/welded to it.

Then take thr remaining $$ and set it aside to start saving for that cage... which $200-250 isn't gonna get any where near by itself.
I'm sure if you keep an eye out, you can find a used full size spare on here cheap. It dosn't have to be perdy, just hold air. May have to buy the tire and rim seperately.
 
Best strength gain for the money: find a Ford 8.8 w/ 4.10's to replace D35. Add full circle clips to your D30 axle u-joint caps.


As far as rocker protection goes, I bought a set of Shrockworks rocker skids for my YJ several years ago and have been very pleased with them. The tubes on the Shrockworks rockers stick out far more than the Poison Spyder rocker guards which is a very good thing, allowing for easy Hi Lift jacking and they double as an entry step. I think they are more than $250 though...
 
for the spare, I was hoping to get an actual new full size, mostly to incorporate in my tire rotation to try and get a little more life out of my tires.
 
I vote either rockers or an Aussie locker for the 30. Both of which are within your range of 200-250. The Aussie might be 25X. Mine was around 255 I think shipped to my door in a week or so. A cage will most likely cost you more, though I am not sure what some of the weld in kits run. You would then need a friend or favor to get the welding for free or shell out for the install which puts it out of range. While you can find 8.8s for cheap all day in junk yards, TJs then need a fairly extensive amount of work to install them from what I have heard. Somewhere in the 400 range just for the kit, no labor. You can find 32 spares for dirt cheap to free if you look long enough and yes they will mount up fine to stock wheels. Just my $.02
 
... $250 might buy a tank full of gas if you shop around...:popcorn:

I say buy the Lockright..
 
oh how money burns a hole in our pockets

as for how to spend it?
if you must spend it then my vote is for armor or a locker

the cage is the best idea I've heard yet though.
I know money is hard to hold onto and wait with it burning your pockets up.

so if you can't hold out then just buy some tube for your cage to be built later. it'll give you a reason to save more
 
I think the Poison Spider add on front kit is within your price range.
I second the cage idea.

After that, rocker guards, and a front locker.
As was mentioned above, if you are worried about the front bumper, cut the ends off.
 
I think im going to go with the rocker's, mostly because thats where Ive run into the most trouble in terms of watching out for damage and such.

I know the cage is a priority, I just don't wheel the jeep enough right now to make that seem like its the top though. I also have a sound bar I would need to work around.

Im not sure what rockers to get though. Im really wanting a set that bolts up to the frame and the body in order to facilitate high lift use..I like the warn rockers, but im not sure if they bolt to the frame...any suggestions?
 
I may be totally off here, but I thought the beauty of TJ rockers and gaurds is the fact that the body is already very square there, and the gaurd can bolt to the body and be plenty strong. The ones I'm thinking of are bsically just an L-brackets of very thick steel. It may not be bolted to the frame, but becuase of the length/thickness/shape of it, all the weight is distributed across the whole length so that it is very strong.
A Hi-Lift is putting teh pressure right on the corner, which is the strongest part.
 
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