Brent Christensen

Hey guys, first post here after lurking around for dozens and dozens of hours doing research. Would love to get some opinions to help me make a decision.

I'm a middle-aged guy with grown up kids. I have a nice sedan that I park in the garage and can take my wife to dinner in. I've had 4x4 vehicles all my life including a number of CJs and a '95 XJ. Just don't have one right now, and since I'm saving up pennies for my retirement rig (a fully-outfitted Mercedes Sprinter 4x4) I'm looking at older, less expensive options than buying something new. I also want something I can scratch and dent without shedding a tear.

It needs to be a 3rd car that can do weekend duty hauling mountain bikes, fishing gear, and most importantly, hunting trips that will include hundreds of miles of highway followed by many miles of graded and ungraded trails in the back country. I'm NOT looking to build a rock crawler and since it will probably be consigned to being parked on the street next to our house, it will need to look "acceptable" to both my wife and the neighbors. (no extreme lifts, flared out or removed fenders, etc).

My plans are to add 31" tires and a mild lift just to get some ground clearance and good tires (like BFG ATKO2). I'd like to beef up the front suspension sufficiently to carry an XD9000 winch I've had in the garage for a few years, and install a good front winch bumper and rear bumper with swing-away tire carrier and jerry can/tool carrier. I may add a coat of color-matched Line-X paint (or something similar) along the sides to eliminate any concerns about crappy-looking desert pin striping. I plan to probably spend 2x to 3x the original purchase price on outfitting the rig.

On the road comfort is important, but not as important as reliability and capability for "basic" off road travel (traversing washed out creeks, narrow overgrown trails, and sandy washes. Aftermarket options look a LOT more plentiful for the XJ, but in my area (SoCal) a similar year and condition ZJ sells for about 1/3 the price of an XJ and sure seems like a lot more car for the money (plus they tend to be one-owner cars that are well maintained as opposed to clapped-out rigs owned by a succession of college kids).

I've done a ton of research on the XJ and have my years narrowed down to 1998 to 2000, and with the ZJ, it looks like the options will be between '96 and '98 with the 5.2 V8. In either case, I'll be searching for a car with 150k or fewer miles and a good maintenance history and as few owners/stock condition as possible.

A locking diff would be a huge plus for me, and the ability to add a front locker would also be great.

Any pros/cons based on my intended use that I should consider?

Would love any and all feedback regarding this choice. Thanks in advance!!

Brent

00t444e

Most of the V8 ZJs come with the full time np249 transfer case that has a viscous coupler that's known to wear out, but it can be swapped out for a np242 or np231. For an XJ I prefer the 91-99 years, the biggest thing to avoid is the Dana 35 rear axle try to find one that has an 8.25. I made a long post comparing the two in this thread. https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f59/ch...erokee-240589/

andrewmp6

The xj you want 91-99 to me,The 00-01 have a head cracking problem,A funny exhaust and low pinion front axle.You can add a locker to just about any rear end made,It just comes down to price like a lunch box vs a arb air locker.Off road some love the xj some love the zj.Both can be built up the same just parts for the zj cost a little more then a xj.

Caish

Not a fan of the 318/360 ZJ they have a habit of blowing a plenum gasket and makes them suck oil into the engine.
THe transmission is another weak point in ZJ unless you find a 4.0 93 model with Asien like the XJ.
Then ZJ electrical gremlins can be fun too.
Lets not forget the ZJ door hinges that crack the door typically on the drivers side and left it drop.
I had a 97 Limited ZJ I loved it, 5.5" Rustys lift, 33x12.50's on TJ Ravine wheels.
But it had he issues above except a tranny issue. it liked gas too.
Then there was the Death Wobble, I finally got it to go way after replacing EVERYTHING on the front end, by setting alignment toe-out, it was trial and error, if i gave the adjustr 1/2 turn more towards toe-in from 1/4 out it would DW like heck.
So if you get a ZJ keep the lift small, remember the CV driveshaft does not like more than 3" lift and will gernade itself.
So if your looking for one I suggest a 99 XJ, 18 to 20 mpg 4.0/aw4 reliability. most had a NP242 thats a good case and the full time option is nice for intermittent ice/drive driving.
Good luck on your search.

andrewmp6

Using the right gaskets and torquing everything right it won't blow the intake gasket.The trans can be hit or miss and its not one that takes abuse well.I have never seen the door hinge break on a zj just xjs so far.

RocketMouse

Everyone has different tastes...but I think there's a larger XJ fan base than the ZJ's... Not that there's anything wrong with a ZJ if that's your preference.... but as stated a few posts up... both models have things that will break....and when it comes down to it, the parts for the XJ tend to be a little less $$ wise than the ZJ and there also is arguably a little bigger aftermarket parts world for the XJ too.

Also remember... when you lift... it's not going to be a "one and done" deal. Modifying one thing always leads to you needing to mod other things too. The price of the kit itself is only the very beginning of the build. So unless you really feel you need that extra 3 inches... it may or may not be worth it to you in the long run.
Just determine what you honestly think you'd really use it for and go from there.

Brent Christensen

Great advice. And yes, indeed - changing anything to the "system" creates a cascading series of changes required to "rebalance the system" - been there done that with not only lifts, but engine swaps, trans swaps, etc. etc. Having learned my lesson(s) the hard way, I now research the *(#$%^ out of every decision. :-)

It seems like the only way to get 31's under an XJ is either a 3" lift or fender trimming. If I could do a 2" lift (say using something like Bilstein 5100s) and then just trim fenders (which could then be covered by something like Bushwacker flares) I'd actually be happier with that. I don't care about "lift" Per se; I just want the under-axle and under-diff clearance that the larger tires provides. I'd love to be able to run 31x10.5 tires on an XJ in that scenario but have something that rides well and doesn't have U-joint or diff-angle issues.

RocketMouse

I'd like to have 31's on mine too.. but since I already have 30's on her now... isn't really worth all the extra work and expense for me. One thing you also have to watch for is not just the fender trimming.... but when you get close lock right and left, you will have some rubbing on the LCAs. But a small lift and correct back spacing should do the trick.

And no worries.... I will research the @#$@#$ out of something too for the details before I tackle a project like that to make sure I've got everything correct before I start too.