[XJAlex]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to the boards, and have just taken up interest in upgrading my parents' 2000 Cherokee Sport (auto). Just wanted to get your opinions, as most of you have much more experience and knowledge than I do when it comes to adding or changing parts.

Just to give you my scenario, I'm in NY, so no real offroad driving for me. I'm not looking to do any mods that will decrease my gas mileage, but I'd like to free up some HP's if possible. I am also debating whether to get a cold air intake or just replace the air filter (which is much cheeper) with a K&N filter. Please give me your advice on this issue.

I've also been having a few problems with the car, and hopefully some of you may know if it.

1) The steering seems to be a bit screwed up...to elaborate, I often hear tire squeak whenever doing tight turns, even slowly, and the steering wheel feels very stiff and is tough to turn.

2) When I turn on 4wd, and I try to make turns, the car kinda shakes and wobbles, feels like some of the tires are going against the others.....dont know if this is normal or not, please let me know.

3) When the car is idling, or is in drive, but is stopped, there is something of a gurgling, but doesn't sound wet. It sound like it's coming from air vent, although it's not it, I'm certain. This has something to do with the engine....I'm not really sure what. Maybe some of you had this problem.

4) I've also fish tailed way too many times on wet asphalt, probably not compensating for the wet road and taking it at the same speed as I would during normal conditions. And I know that this is a rwd car (with the 4wd turned off), but is this common? Any way to reduce that? I have the stock tires on which have been recently replaced, so it can't be that the tires are bald. I'm a bit lost on this one.

Also, the car has a ton of body roll, and I'd like to know what mods I can do to reduce that (sway bar?) I don't want to stiffen the ride, so I don't think that changing the springs would be an option.

I don't want to do any crazy mods, or add any lift, as I do most of the driving on paved roads.

Would you also recommend changing to synthetic oil? The car has around 52000 miles on it, and has been using organic all along. I want this car to last, so I'd appreciate your advice on the types and brands of oil that you guys use.

I'm a total newbie when it comes to all this stuff, so please don't flame me if I asked some stupid questions, which I'm sure I have, and I've also spent some time looking through some of the threads on here, but couldn't find the answers that I was looking for. Thanks for your help in advance.

[balloo93]

Welcome to the board.

1. It could just be the fact that solid axle 4wd don't like to be at full lock. The Ujoint has to rotate while at a funny angle and therefore will fight you a bit on sharp turning. You can adjust the steering stops on the knuckles to prevent you from cutting it too tight is need be.

2. If you don't have Select trac, then that is your ploblem. If the 4wd shifter panel reads: 2hi 4hi N 4lo then you have a Command trac and it should only be used in loose traction sitautions like dirt roads, trails, and SHORT stinks on ice. The driveline is actually binding up and that will cause issues with Ujoints and stress on the TC is done too often. The Selectrac has a full time 4wd functin that allows the use all the time in 4wd.

3. More than likely that is just the heater core gurguling. If yoiu start to loose fluid or get drips of antifreeze on the pass side floor board then you may have an issue. You could look into replacing the Heater Control Valve as well, in case it is staying open and circulting coolant when it's not supposed too.

4. #1 cause of lose of traction is CRAPPY wrangler tires. You'll need to upgrade to a good set of tires for the weather or conditins you plan on driving. You could probably get away with P235 70 R15's with no rubbing issues at all and it would feel better as far as ride quality.

5. Body roll can be cured with aftermarket sway bars from Hellwig sway bar (http://www.suspensionconnection.com/...con/7568J.html). The front sway bar bushings can be upgraded to poly units that will offer more control and some quality shocks like the Edlbrock AIS units will also help.

Synthetics should be fine, but be sure to run them in the Diffs, and TC as well as the motor. That should help with mpg as well. Not the TRANS though, stick with the manufacturer recommended Dextron/mercon III.

The K&N FIPK kit would be the best all around intake for you. Good build on it, CARB legal, and easy to install. My dad and briother run them on thier GM truck and Yukon and love them. A solid 2.5" cat-back exhaust using a Magnaflow muffler would also be a great way to free up some HP and help mpg as well.

[octane]

can you switch from comand trac to select trac with out alot of work or is it not possible, also what would be the top speed you would want to drive in 4 HI if you have the comand trac when the roads are wet or icying.

[balloo93]

Not when wet, only ice and only while there is a patch of ice on the ground. If even one tire gets traction it will bind the driveline. Granted it would not be as bad as dry road binding, but never the less........

The TC swap would not be that bad. Both cases are essentilally mechanical cases. You would have to adjust the linkage and the shift indicator might be off as far as what lights come on in 4wd.

You'd have to verify is the input spline counts from the trans to the TC are the same on each case though.

[xj-xile]

Yes, the tires are most of your problem, when it comes to tight turns, squealing, hopping, or whatever.

I second the idea of getting 235's. You'll have to decide how tall you want the tire to be, i.e., whether a profile of 235/70 or 235/75, and what diameter. Michelin makes an H-speed rated tire (Pilot H4S, I think) that will fit stock rims -- but -- although they are 235/70/R15 -- they are of a much smaller diameter, and will sit lower to the ground than, the stock tires. This may or may not be what you want. Note: I did not go with the Michelins for a couple of reasons, though I wanted a street tire: 1) reviews of the tire on www.tirerack.com indicate that it does not do especially well on wet pavement or snow, though it will be better than the stock Wranglers, 2) it is of so small a diameter that it would have, I think, made my speedometer quite inaccurate. The Bridgestone Dueller A/T REVO is a tire that gets rave reviews &, at 235/70/R15, has almost exactly the same diameter as the stock Wranglers -- it's supposed to do well in all road conditions (again, relying on the reviews on tirerack.com). However, some folks complain about early treadwear on the REVOs, they may be touchy about regular rotation.

You can see from my signature that I chose Yokohama's Geolandar H/Ts. They have a diameter over 29", so probably my speedometer is off a little now, but they seem to do well in most weather conditions. They are supposed to have a longer tread life than the REVOs. So far, I find that they won't break traction in cornering on wet roads, but they will still spin on starting from a full stop if I punch the gas. They do hydroplane - probably more than would the REVOs - but then I paid only $63 per tire (& I got a gift cert. to Crutchfield ); shipping, unfortunately, was about $60, & I paid $80 for the installation. But they're SO much better than the Wrangler A/Ts.

As far as other mods: sway bars (& stiffer tires) will improve the body roll problem; the intake mods are good, but you will find that it is cheaper to fashion your own FIPK, then again it can be worth the money to pay someone else to do it; I highly recommend a bored-out throttlebody (TB) [especially from artsound on eBay]; &, I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet--get a better downpipe for your exhaust (from the collector down to the catalytic converter)-- see this website: www.jeep4.0performance.4mg.com. I think a less restrictive downpipe might be a better mod (& cheaper) even than a new header, but that's just my opinion. Good Luck!

[XJAlex]

WOW, thanks so much guys, your advice is MUCH appreciated. I actually did some reasearch and found some bored out throttle bodies, as well as a really cheap intake, which was positively reviewed on jeepin.com.

Here's the link to throttle body:

http://www.jeepin.com/features/throttlebody/index.asp

And the intake:

http://www.jeepin.com/features/rustystube/index.asp

Whaddaya think of them?

The CAI is really cheap on here ($30+$42 for filter), as opposed to a K&N FIPK kit, which is around $240. Is there a real difference between the two, other than warranty, carb compliant and brand name?

Have any of you purchased from Rusty's store before, if so, is it a trustworthy place to shop for parts?

Baloo, you mentioned a cat back exhaust system with a magnaflow muffler, is it much louder than the stock exhaust? If it is, could you suggest a quiter set up? I want to stay as close to stock as possible on this one in terms of loudness.

Another mod I've considered it the throttle body spacer. Have any of you installed one of these, and if you have, did you notice a major difference in throttle responce and mpg? Also, would this have any affect if done along with a bored out throttle body?

Speaking of throttle bodies, where is a good place to get one?

I'm planning on doing everything myself (with my dad), so please note if any of these mods should be installed professionally (cat-back exhaust?), I definitely don't want to FUBAR my car.

Once again, thank you all for contributing to my quest for making my XJ a better car. I plan to keep it around for years to come. And thank you for putting up with my newbie questions, I really do appreciate all of your responses.

[balloo93]

The only plus to the FIPK is that it is a little better as far as sealing the intake inlet area than an open element setup. That and it's CARB certified, so once a year you wouldn't have to tear it down and put the old one back on.


What are you looking at on Rusty's site? He makes lots of great odds and ends stuff, but if you take the time to make those items DIY you'll end up paying less.

Dynomax makes a nice streetable exhasut system. summitracing.com sells the bolt up kits. You can do that then take it to a shop and have them weld the pieces together. Hardly noticable at idle and cruising speed, but a give a mellow roar at WOT.


I personally am not a big fan of the TB spacers. The bored TB is the best all around bang for the buck IMO. I bored my own in my driveway. I'll post the links to the bored TB and the homemade CAI setup. You'd need a 96+ TB, as they have the MAP sensor ON the TB and not remote like teh older models.

Find out the diameter of the sway bar and check out places like AutoZone or O'riely's , or any parts store for that matter. A lot of them carry the Energy Suspension Bushings for the sway bar and end links.

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/325707/2
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/325707/3

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/325707/9

[sroodtuo74]

Your tire squeeling can also be caused by something as simple as tire pressure, especially this time of year with the temperature changes. Every 10 degrees in temp change can equate to 2 or so lbs. of pressure. I know that in my company vehicle whenever my tires start squeeling I get my tire pressure checked and everytime they've been low and when corrected, everytime the squeeling stops! (This never happens in my own vehicles because I CARE about them and regularly check the pressure, grin...)

When you check your tire pressure your tires should always be cold. You should always wait at least 15 minutes to a half hour after driving to check them. The best time is first thing, before you go anywhere. Then correct them before driving with a home air compressor. One other thing, If you don't already know this... Don't automatically fill your tires to the "max pressure" stamped on the tire, On the drivers door jam or in the glovebox there should be a sticker that gives you the recommended tire pressures front and back. In most cases this is different then the max pressure stamped on the tire itself.

Nate