I owned an Xterra and I think I remember you from the Xterra Boards Nate. I had a 08 off road that I had to sell because of financial difficulties. My first love is XJ's but I really do like the Xterra's I loved mine it was like riding in a caddy with a locker. I wheeled it in stock form shortly after I bought it but never did any hardcore stuff. The Xterra was very capable off road in stock form, however I would have to say even tho it had a fairly high stock ground clearance height in stock form I was constantly getting hung up on my lower control arms. The ifs did create a ground clearance problem. I have never wheeled a stock xj but I have wheeled with plenty and the trails that were difficult for the X were not for the xj. The nice thing about the X is that you can create a decent amount of lift and run 33's very easily however the aftermarket parts where extremely expensive. Just for a set of skids I was looking at around 700$, 700 a piece for bumpers, and 300 for 2.5 inch lift plus tires. So to wheel my X safely after spending 30 grand on buying it I was looking at another 3 grand.

That being said the XJ does not compare to the X for the outdoorsy type family that likes to go camping, fishing, biking, hiking, etc. There was tons of room and nice comfigurability, along with lots of comfort.

Bottom line is for wheeling along the XJ with soild axles will beat the X hands down unless the X is super built up. But what attracts me the most is price. You can buy and build a super off road XJ beast for under 5 grand. You would be hard pressed to find a stock 2000 X with super high miles for under 5.

 

Yea, I think I remember your NY avatar. What's up man?

Are you serious that you can buy AND build one for under $5k?!!!?! You've got to be kidding me. Don't say stuff like that or I may be tempted to do it. I've been waiting and waiting for the $$$ to build up my X.

Right now I got a 2" SL & 33" tires, Schrock rock rails, a Magnaflo pipe and a Volant CAI... now I'm waiting for some new shocks that can handle the weight of a Schrock bumper. But the shocks and bumper will be up over $2k. One thing I do like is the variety of Jeep bumpers and such...

 

I got mine for 300 after a lift, tires, bumpers, skids, and gears and some other goodies I think I will be around $3000

 

I just joined over at CLubXterra and wrote up a monster post....this should be fun

here's what I wrote:
"Hey everyone, I'm Zach. Your buddy nate posted a thread over on Cherokee Forum about Xterra's vs Cherokees. I figured I'd join over here and join in some friendly discussion.

The first thing is, which cherokee are you comparing the Xterra to? there's the regular Cherokee built from 84-01(XJ) the Grand Cherokee 93-98 (ZJ) 99-04 (WJ) and 05-present (WK)

The XJ and ZJ are both terrific offroad rigs and you will get way more bang for your buck over an Xterra. the WJ and everything after is complete crap for wheeling IMO. yes, I realize they're unibody, but anyone with a welder, and some fab experience can strengthen the unibody to be strong enough to take just about any abuse you can put it through.

The Cherokee (XJ and ZJ) world also generally has a different school of thought compared to Xterra's. There's a bunch of people who learn to weld themselves and build their own bumpers, sliders, skid plates and even long arm kits.

an Xterra is significantly heavier than an XJ from the factory. about 1000lbs on average. and has the downside of IFS. Both have 4.0L engines(X has a V6, Jeep has an I6), and I don't know much about the rest of the drivetrain the Xterra has but Jeeps had the AW4 and AX15/NV3550 used in the XJs from 91-on. both are terrific transmissions and the Ax-15/NV3550 have been successfully used behind stroker motors and small block V8s and not having any issues. The NP231/242 used in XJs is arguably one of the best transfer cases ever built an has been in use for 21 years and is still used in Jeeps to this day. The front axels on XJs are plenty strong stock for anything up to a 33" tire, go bigger with upgraded parts and you can run 35s no prob. Rear axels are iffy, depends what you have. the Dana35 is weak and known to break but can easily(see cheaply for less than $200 most times) be swapped out for a 29 Spline Chrysler 8.25 or Dana44 that came in earlier XJs.


Quote:
Originally Posted by drbandkgb
You need to ask them over there which still is being built Nuff SAID ahahahaha!

Xterras have been in production for 9 going on 10 years. the XJ was built for 17 years in the US and are still being produced under license in China as the Jeep 2500.

From wikipedia: The XJ was selected by Robert Cumberford of Automobile Magazine as one of the 20 greatest cars of all time, calling it "possibly the best SUV shape of all time, it is the paradigmatic model to which other designers have since aspired."


Quote:
Originally Posted by Pops
The new Jeeps don't seem as good to me as the ones that they're driving over there. The new Wrangler Unlimited even has an IFS, I'm not sure about the 2-door, I'd assume it's the same?? The Rubicon does look nice but by golly, it's expensive.

If you compare a new late model Jeep to a new Xterra, the Jeep will cost you more OTD. I know this because the Wranglers I was looking at were costing as much as I paid for my Armada and I couldn't justify spending that much money on a 1/4-ton platform.

I agree, the newer Jeeps minus the Liberty and Wranglers are total crap. I wish I could slap whoever designed them and thought they were a good idea. They're a disgrace to the Jeep heritage IMO. Wranglers allways have and still do have solid front axels. even the big 4door Unlimited has a SFA, thats one of the big selling points on a wrangler. A 2dr Wrangler may be a 1/4ton platform but you'd be shocked to see what one can do and what they can tow. from the factory they're rated to tow 2,000lbs and the 4doors are rated to pull 5,000. I know for a Fact that they can pull more, but aren't rated to from the factory to cover Chrysler's hind parts. I know of multiple people who've pulled 5,000lbs with an XJ without problems.

I think I've spoken enough, can't wait to see what you guys have to say "

 

I just bought a 99 stock 180k ( high miles but not crazy high for the 4.0l engine) in really good shape for 1000 bucks. There's a ton of ways to lift on a budget and built up for very cheap. Not to mention there's ton's of XJ's in bone yards from cash for clunkers that are near perfect minus the engine of course. I also have a 90 with 124k that I paid 1800 for which I over paid for and have 4" inches of lift and 31's with some aftermarket parts all done for under 1k. If I could have kept my X I would have bought a XJ anyway as a play toy. For the price that you will pay for a lift, armor, and tires you can buy a super sweet xj alreay built and possibly locked. No joke look on Craigs List and see.

 

Nice work Zach looks interesting, if you dont mind keep uploading new stuff from that post

 

Definitely gonna. yall can go look over on the forum and view the thread to see where it goes. The funniest two things I found is one guy was talking about how the Xterra is still in production...the XJ was built from 84-01 in the US(a 17 year run vs the Xterras current 9 years) and is still being built in China under license....that makes 26 years in production. thats one hell of a run

 

opc orn:

Well Zach, ya got my attention! LOL

Zach = ***** of steel

Mike

 

It seems by telling the truth about Jeeps I pissed one guy off. and then even more so by saying my $2,500 worth of Jeep could spank his Xterra anyday of the week on a trail. Xterra's are great vehicles, but they have IFS and are gosh darn expensive.

 

This is too much! Tons of fun!

There's no doubt that a built Jeep will stomp most vehicles off road (assuming the driver knows what he's doing). So what about all these mechanical issues I keep hearing about? All the guys on the Xterra Forum seem to think Jeeps do nothing but fall apart. What's the deal there?

 

Mechanical issues? The newer ones maybe, but XJs are built hella tough. Mine has a 100,000 mile motor and everything else has 208,000 miles on it. My front axel is going strong but could use a replacement, my rear axel is probably less than 20,000 from crapping its guts all over the road. That has nothing to do with the build quality and everything to do with the PO not taking care of it. I've had mine since August, and for the first month and a half, I was constantly fixing, and working on it, doing maintenance and whatnot. But since then I've daily driven it, and flogged it offroad, taken it through 18" of snow, and generally just not been the nicest to it and its taken everything I've thrown at it in stride and just keeps going.

 

That's because they don't own a Jeep, ALL vehicles have issues. Jeeps are legendary and famous for a reason and I suppose it's not because they look macho or something. In Wisconsin, in the rough areas, the US mail is delivered in the older Cherokees, my mail as well. When you talk to these people they wouldn't have it any other way.

I like the Xterra, it looks pretty cool. I'm not a hardcore 4 wheeler, yet, like some of the people here so my opinion is worthless but I will say this.......

During the course of history no other vehicle has more acclaim in the world of 4x4 than the Jeep brand. Xterra, although a nice truck, will never even come close to what the Jeep brand has EARNED. I say earned because that's what matters, in a few years the xterra will be a thing of the past and Nissan will come up with the next big thing from the marketing department, but the jeep brand will always hold it's well earned reputation long after the other companies move on to the next marketing project.


OK Zach, how am I doing? Am I starting to become a Jeep freak?

All in good fun!
Mike

 

I think you're well on your way :P

I'm guess you could say I'm head over Heels for Jeeps, with an open mind for other good 4x4 vehicles

 

Hmmmm.... seems like this thread is actually kicking up some dust over on the Xterra forum. Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut...?

 

SAS on either of my Runners was going to cost me about $2k +. I paid about $700 for my 95 xj w/a 3" lift, spent another $250 for some 31s and skids, and for less than $1000 I was out doing some hardcore trails.