trigger

at the beginning of last summer, i bought a 99 WJ fully loaded for $2000 cert/e-tested. it has the 4.0L inline 6 out of an '03 that only had 50,000km on it.

all i have done so far is let it breathe a little easier with a K&N filter and a Poweraid TBS.

after doing some research over the last few months, i think i have come to a few decisions regarding this vehicle...

the plan is...
HID lights in factory fog light housings (got 'em for free, lol)

3.5" complete lift kit from rocky road outfitters using OME components
(Jeep WJ Grand Cherokee lift kit - best ride quality on the market)

a set of bridgestone dueler RVT P265/75 R-16's



ARB bull bumper with winch (view at rocky road link above)
front and rear airlockers from ARB
some superslider rock rails (might make my own, i'm pretty handy with a welder)
custom cargo basket for the roof (again, i'll likely make my own)

and since i usually have the wife and the dog along, i'll likely get one of those tents that attach to the WJ's lift gate.

does anyone have any input regarding these products?

so far it looks like the lift will be about $1000 by the time i get it here, the tires are like $170 each, the bumper/winch combo will be about $1200 and the tent is about $400. i haven't priced the rest of the parts yet.

while nothing is ever cast in stone, this is what i am hoping to accomplish this year. i may have to make some sacrifices to keep things within my budget, but i think if i make the things i can, i should be alright.

i would love to hear any personal experiences or opinions regarding any of these parts...

hey, i'm here to learn! ;D

oldfart

If you're competent with a welder you can save yourself a fortune on parts, and you can make them to exactly fit your requirements. Look around on sites like this one in the for sale section, you can sometimes find exactly what you're looking for at a great saving, buyer beware though. If you start a build thread with pictures it helps with accumulating knowledge and will sometimes help you in finding parts. Whenever you are pricing what a certain mod will cost, don't forget the small stuff, it adds up.

trigger

good advice, oldfart...

Thanks!

Huntr

I would look into Rocky Road's reputation. Search jeep forums and you will find some horror stories, mostly about items taking months to ship out and no customer service. But also that the kits are incomplete. Although I have a rcx 4" kit which was also incomplete for the same price (no adjustable upper arms , needed a jks trackbar and jks discos because the ones that came with it are garbage.

My main beef is how there website talks up their products like they are something special or different while slamming the competition. OME stuff can be bought elsewhere. A lot of people on Jeepforum.com go through kolak@aol.com to get ome lifts.

Regardless of what kit u choose, look into the need for a t case drop. All the kits have em but lotsa people find they don't need it. My jeep came with one and im planning to remove it. Actually tilts the driveline back resulting in better angles in the rear and worse up front. I will be installing adjustable rear lowers and front uppers and see if i can ditch the ugly t case drop which is stealing an inch of my ground clearance.

jeff the jerk

go with IRO iron rock offroad nothing but good things i here from and wont brake the bank

trigger

yeah i have looked into IRO and they do look pretty good, but i changed my mind and will be ordering the Rough Country 4" lift kit. the only difference between the RC 4" lift and the RC 4" X-series lift is an adjustable front track bar and fully rebuildable front lower control arms. the price difference is about $200 which will allow me to buy a set of 5 tires instead of 4

i have also decided to change my tire selection as well...i will be getting goodyear territory 265/75/16's. good looking tire and fairly affordable.

trigger

update- well, i have now been waiting 5 weeks and counting to receive my lift kit. the latest excuse i have heard is that RC is waiting on a shipment of bushings before they can fill my order.

this seems like a helluva long wait, has anyone else had similar problems when ordering lifts, etc?

ps- after further comparison i have also reconsidered my tire selection as well... i will still be getting goodyear wranglers, but instead of getting the territory model for approx. $280 @ canadian tire, i think the authority model is the better deal... they are available from walmart for approx $235/ea for 265/75/R16's including installation.
balancing and gov't BS extra.
a set of 4 w/inst., balancing, and gov't theft (tax) comes to just over $1100. doesn't seem like a bad deal to me. any thoughts?

...i know, i know... i seem to be having trouble selecting tires, lol... there are just WAY too many options, makes it hard to choose...

salad

See if you can pawn that junk throttle body spacer off on someone, take the money and spend it on something useful like a cat-back exhaust or header. TBSes have been busted time and time again as being a shiny waste of cash.

trigger

i kept a very close eye on my fuel consumption, range, etc. prior to and after installing the tbs. what it boils down to is approx 400km to a tank of fuel, mixed city/hwy prior to installation, and 450 - 500km to the tank afterwards and that includes pulling a 12' enclosed trailer a few days a week. the savings may be small, but add up over time. i put the tbs on at the beginning of the year, and it's paid for itself already. and thats just running regular gas... just last week i filled up with hi test, i've driven almost 350km so far, and i still have just over 3/8's showing on the gauge. milage improves greatly on the highway, cruising at approx 100kmh i get 7.5L/100km which is only .5L worse than what they got brand new, 13 years ago.

i think i'll hang on to that throttle body spacer, thanks.

trigger

still waiting for my lift...it'll be 6 weeks on monday...

finally got overdrive automotive to email me the tracking number, and it turns out to be a tracking number for a package shipped in august of last year.

i am officially NOT A HAPPY CUSTOMER.