What are modest off-road mods?

TRevs

TRevs

YJ Enthusiast
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Joined
Oct 25, 2022
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233
Location
San Antonio, TX
I've had an LJ for the past 5 years and built it for moderate Colorado mountain trails. It's on 33's with 2.5" OME springs 1.25" body lift, and JKS Quicker Disconnect sway bar links. It is otherwise basically stock, with all original control arms, no tummy tuck, stock driveshafts, gearing and factory LSD (which may not even work). The only armor is Mopar rock rails.

I started thinking about building the YJ up a bit for similar off-road use, to go in convoy with the LJ as my kids get older and can be trusted to drive off road. However, I wouldn't want to try and duplicate or exceed the build of the LJ, mainly because the YJ came to me with 4" of lift on 33's, and I didn't like it. I'd keep the YJ on the 2.5" springs it has and 30-31" tires.

So given the above parameters, what can be done to the YJ? Without big tires I'm imagining a fair bit of armor underneath and having to winch or drag it across obstacles fairly often. I found that detaching the sway bar links on the LJ does wonders for making decent time on moderately rough roads, but the removable links I've seen so far seem far inferior to the TJ offerings. Maybe front and rear lockers?

This is all hypothetical for now; happy to hear any suggestions.
 
The only issue I have with the UCF skid plates is it's kinda hard to change the oil, otherwise they're tough as hell. They have better clearance and are way more "slipplerly" than the stock unit.

undercoverfab.com

UCF Transfer Case Skid for '87-'95 YJ (Extra-Clearance)(Carbon Steel) Material Thickness 3/16" Thick Steel Plate T-Case Shifter Use Stock Shifter

Protect your transfer case from trail damage with this heavy-duty skid plate
undercoverfab.com undercoverfab.com

undercoverfab.com

UCF Carbon Steel Engine Skid Plate for '87-'95 YJ (4.0l)

Keep you engine oil pan and transmission safely out of the rocks without weighing down your rig
undercoverfab.com undercoverfab.com

These Zone quick discos work pretty well, although I cant remember the last time I bothered to hook them back up.

www.ebay.com

Zone Offroad ZONJ5021 Front Sway Bar Disconnects for 1987-1995 Wrangler YJ | eBay

These sway bar disconnects will make it easy to gain articulation by disconnecting the sway bar when you go out on the trail. 87-95 Jeep Wrangler YJ. Heim mounts for easy disconnect operation. Zinc plated for long lasting appearance.
www.ebay.com
 
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I S'canned the sway bars and trac bars on my 91and drove it regularly on 60 mile highway runs with no issues. A Small lift, decent shocks, a winch were all I needed. Remember the old times ran the Rubicon in stock CJ's. Its all about finesse and skill not bling.
 
Stoopid Jeep said:
The only issue I have with the UCF skid plates is it's kinda hard to change the oil, otherwise they're tough as hell. They have better clearance and are way more "slipplerly" than the stock unit.

undercoverfab.com

UCF Transfer Case Skid for '87-'95 YJ (Extra-Clearance)(Carbon Steel) Material Thickness 3/16" Thick Steel Plate T-Case Shifter Use Stock Shifter

Protect your transfer case from trail damage with this heavy-duty skid plate
undercoverfab.com undercoverfab.com

undercoverfab.com

UCF Carbon Steel Engine Skid Plate for '87-'95 YJ (4.0l)

Keep you engine oil pan and transmission safely out of the rocks without weighing down your rig
undercoverfab.com undercoverfab.com

These Zone quick discos work pretty well, although I cant remember the last time I bothered to hook them back up.

www.ebay.com

Zone Offroad ZONJ5021 Front Sway Bar Disconnects for 1987-1995 Wrangler YJ | eBay

These sway bar disconnects will make it easy to gain articulation by disconnecting the sway bar when you go out on the trail. 87-95 Jeep Wrangler YJ. Heim mounts for easy disconnect operation. Zinc plated for long lasting appearance.
www.ebay.com
Click to expand...

Throttle down kustoms crossmember with removable plate can be had for about same price.
 
With the OME springs it has in the rear I had driveshaft vibrations, so it has a T-case drop at the moment. I’d have to get a double cardan rear driveshaft and SYE, I suppose.
 
Plus my stock transmission skid has some definite rust compromise, so a mild tummy tuck with a new skid plate could be nice. I suppose I could tolerate a small body lift if I had to.
 
I’d probably say other than fixing stuff you know is not ideal (like the driveshaft and tcase drop), I’d drive it offroad and see what you think it needs to improve on. A winch and maybe lockers eventually. You pretty much have to accept medium or less trails due to the tire size. Otherwise you do a trail that ends up needing 33-35" tires and soon you're down the rabbit hole doing what the LJ was built for or surpassing it. Pretty much have to choose where you want to take it, see what it takes to get through those places (and make the changes for that) and then leave it at that.
 
Has anyone done a SYE? Based on videos I’ve watched it looks fairly straight forward. Then a custom DC driveshaft. It might be nice to do that regardless and get rid of the drop pucks.
 
I had one for a long time up until I went back to stock height and stock t-case output/driveshaft last year. It solves the problem of steep driveshaft angles. I prefer the stock design but unfortunately it can’t really work well for much besides stock.
 
Honestly, put a locker or 2 in it, keep it at mostly stock height and run with it. The lockers, or locker, on a stock setup with stock sized tires will get you way more places than people think they will. Maybe add a winch if you plan on going out alone.

My normal budget setup is a front lunchbox locker and open rear. Given my YJ is manual steering, I'm going more towards limited slips on both ends. It's going to cost more but will make for a better all around vehicle.
 
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