what upgrades should i focus on the most?

YotasBOW2Jeeps · 10-02-2008, 09:33 PM

Hi, Im semi new to the jeep thing. I have a CJ-7 1983. im a highschool student with not so much money lol. i was wondering what should i do next for my jeep? i have killed all the rust on the body, rhino lined the interior, put new shocks on it, brand new 31 inch pathfinder tires, new wheels, idk what to do next? i here that 31 inch tires are to small? should i go to 33's? i am at some point going to rebuild my 258 inline six engine. and stroke it. should i focus on maybe a lift? im not sure if it has a shackel lift or not. im not sure how to tell as well. should i focus on getting a winch or maybe some rock crawlers front and rear bumpers? a full roll cage? idk what to do. oh and what kind of axles would i have? dana 30 and amc 20? ty for the help from anyone
remember though, i only have so much money as iam a high school student. i just want to go out and have fun and not so much breaking down or getting stuck.

**BYuen** · 10-02-2008, 09:36 PM

What I did to choose what was next.. I went out and wheeled it! You'll soon find what you need first depending on where and how you wheel.

I essentially went:
Lift, tires, lockers, skids/rockers, cage, winch, bumpers.

**foggybottombob** · 10-02-2008, 09:46 PM

The first thing I would do is change the speedo gear to match the new tires if that is not calibrated. Less than $10 to be able to actually know how fast you are going is a bargain. I would guess that your next change would be one piece axles for the AMC 20. If you just put on tires then I would run those till they wore out. The reason to add a lift is to be able to use larger tires. If you wheel in rocky country, then a locker will make a world of difference in what obstacles you can get over. An aussie or lockright is not that expensive.

YotasBOW2Jeeps · 10-02-2008, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foggybottombob

The first thing I would do is change the speedo gear to match the new tires if that is not calibrated. Less than $10 to be able to actually know how fast you are going is a bargain. I would guess that your next change would be one piece axles for the AMC 20. If you just put on tires then I would run those till they wore out. The reason to add a lift is to be able to use larger tires. If you wheel in rocky country, then a locker will make a world of difference in what obstacles you can get over. An aussie or lockright is not that expensive.

heh thats a brilliant idea. i was always wondering y my guage said 20 and i new i was goin 35. ty. would it be a good idea if i where to just lock my back axle without replacing it? or should i just replace the whole thing? if i where to replace the axle would that be quite a bit of money? I live in Oregon so i wheel in high dessert country. ty for ur info.

NHwheelin · 10-03-2008, 08:06 AM

I will agree withe Foggy. I would take the two piece axle shafts out and replace them with 1 piece axle shafts.You knock out two birds with one stone, you get better axle shafts and you are replacing all the seals and bearings in the rear axle. Then wheel it and drive it and what to do next will show up. You could start working on the cage a little bit here and there. I went with the Procomp bumpers on mine and love them. They were pretty inexpensive and have tow points on them. I believe I paid 100 for the front and $100 for the rear at the beginning of the year.

**foggybottombob** · 10-03-2008, 08:14 AM

You can get a scout rear dana 44 axle for less than $300 online. There are local junk yards here which sell any axle for $100. Then replace the drums and wheel cylinders for about $150. Add whatever it costs you to move the spring perches and that is the cost of a Dana 44 axle on your CJ. I don't know what AMC 20 1 piece axle shafts cost. One advantage of the scout D44 rear axle is that both shafts are the same so you only need one spare axle shaft to replace a broken shaft on either side.

NHwheelin · 10-03-2008, 08:18 AM

I picked up my 1 piece shafts for a little under $200 to my door and it took about 3 hrs to put them in. Of course we were having some "cocktails" while doing it.

**Mike Romain** · 10-03-2008, 01:30 PM

I would say tow hooks and a snatch strap. Get the strap with the sewn in loops, never use hooks on a strap. The CJ can go amazing places with 31's on it so I would wheel it first and see if that is enough clearance for the trails in your area. Then maybe I would get a Come-A-Long hand winch next, they can come in real handy for self extractions and if I used it too many times I would think of a power winch.

There is a saying, 'you play you pay' so with that in mind enjoy! The next upgrades will usually make themselves evident....

I would be checking your speedo gear out with a GPS. Most CJ's will be really close to right on with 31's on.

**80cj** · 10-03-2008, 01:48 PM

If the 31's will do what you want, Keep them. Going to 33's is only going to cost you money since you'll need a lift and you're probably going to want to change gears when you find out how much power you lose going to 33's (your model will probably have 2.73 or 3.31 gears). Mike Romain made some good reccomendations. I would wheel it and then decide what is needed to enhance the performance you're looking for. I wheeled with stock axles and 31's and never had any problems. You may want to check the torque on your hub nuts. The spec is 250 ft. lb. minimum plus whatever it takes to get the cotter pin in. By no means should you back the nut off to get the cotter pin in.