Good day, CHEROKEEFORUM! I am still driving my 2000 xj. A little background: my wife's dad got it with 10k miles, she bought it at 70k, and I bought it at 125k. It now approaches 180k. I have a bored throttle body, 2.5" catback, 784 injectors, and cold air intake (all installed in the past 40k miles). I have a small oil filter adapter seal leak, a tiny rear main leak, and a leaky freeze plug. A tiny bit of engine chatter but MMO and Rotella 15w40 keep her happy. I have about 2k to spend and am considering serious suspension upgrades. Maybe long arms, boosting it to about 5" or 6" (from 4.5). I recently put on a tire carrier and my rc leafs are flat. Also, I broke off a shock mount in moab. While raising rear shock mounts I think I will install the jks rear shock cross member/mount.


OR..! Should I keep suspension cheap and use the money to rebuild the engine for longevity. I drove it 1500 miles to moab and back a few weeks ago and the thing is a champ. Zero issues other than refilling coolant and oil once. I cruised 80mph+ alot of the way.

I run 31s and when I need tires will likely go to 33s. What do you think? If I go this last step on the suspension, the engine is virtually the only thing left untouched..

should I just assume I know the history and have faith in my high mile jeep? (And go ***** out on suspension)

Or should I skimp on suspension and rebuild a good motor?


Or... would you advise any engine work? (I plan on doing freeze plugs, motor mounts, and oil filter adapter seal) top end, bottom end, cam, etc???

This always has been a DD jeep with light offroad, but I plan on getting a car before too long. We will never sell it.

A high flow cat, welding exhaust, bank header (maybe), and extended brake lines are on the list.

Thanks to all of you more prudent and wise than myself. Now, give me some advice!


(Is everyone cherokeeforum android app failing to work?)

 

I would compression test your engine that can tell you a lot about the inside of it.The 4.0 in these jeeps can run 300k no problem if taken care of.The rear main seal leaking is common on these.The freeze out plug leaking isn't normal but can happen and easy to fix.The valve train does a tick a tiny bit on these its normal for them.

 

Being its a 2000 model year and the amount of time its been in your family do you know if it still has the stock 0331 head on it, or has it been replaced? They had a very high failure rate and something you might want to consider, but its been on a long time and not cracked I guess.


Like Andrew said these engines will go 300,000 easy mine has 225,000 on it and still running strong, but do run a compression test before you decide anything.


A 4 1/2" lift is a good size for an all around lift and up to about 35" tires I run both sizes on my 4 1/2" lift. The RC springs are not known for the best quality you may need to buy better leafs and coils and stick with a 4 1/2" and the 33"'s. If you don't have one you need an SYE also and I would suggest Adj. U/LCA's.


Another item if not replaced yet is the front LPD30 it is weaker and sits lower than the 99's back HPD30 and with 33" tires or even 31's you need new gears more so with the 33's. A 4.56 gear is the proper gear for them and when changing them that's the time to install lockers front and rear same amount of labor when doing the gears/adding lockers.
The gears and lockers were the single most improvement I made to my XJ of all of them as far as performance bar none off road.


Remember it a: JEEP
Just
Empty
Every
Pocket
Then go borrow a little from the wife

 

It is the original head. I am half worried that, when I pull the manifolds to replace steel freeze plugs with brass, that I will find the antifreeze leak is something else. BUT, the jeep runs great. I will do, or pay for, a compression test just for peace of mind.


I'm leaning towards adj upper and lower control arms, redoing resuspension as noted, brake lines, and engine mounts. That leaves money in the bank and maybe at best I'll get a header, cat, and have exhaust reworked for jks upper shock cross tower.

I think the compression test will check out. I'll focus on oil filter adapter seal and pan seal. Then, I'll see what's left dripping.

If all that pans out, I think some gears are due when I get tires. Hopefully, a locker at this point (next spring).

After I make some decisions and get the suspension/leaks sorted, I will keep myself happy with armor and electronics through the end of the year. I want fenders/flares badly (rocks keep chipping my paint, and they look mean). Rustys don't cover great, but sure are pretty.

... everything will be solid for a while and hopefully I can make the engine last a few years. I'll keep my eyes peeled for an elusive 2000 donor for a build up. I should learn to build an engine.

 

for that much highway driving, I wouldn't go to 33s. 31s are about the max on stock gears, you'll never see 80 mph unless your foot stays in the pedal all the time.

if you don't go to 33s, then you don't need any more lift. maybe add a long arm conversion to your 4.5"

for the engine, do some testing to see if you even need it. compression and leakdown if you get mixed results on a few cylinders. compression is head related 9/10 times. so maybe a new head or a valve job on yours would be in order. maybe add some after market rockers to get more valve lift out of your stock cam.