new to me jeep

ok, so i bought a 4.0 5 speed yj about a week ago. the guy bought it from owns his own offroad fab shop/mechanics. this was his sons jeep, he said they have replaced the rear main seal, the oil pan seal, the tranny seal, put all new pads and rotors on it, flushed the engine, flushed the radiator, newer shocks, 2.5 inch lift(said it was a rough country brand), 17 inch wheels with 255 bfg km mud tires. dont know if it was a mistake buying leaf springs or not. want to build it for beach/sand and trail riding. will have to drive a few hours to both since the only thing around here is marshy/muddy flat land and i just dont see the fun in tearing up a muddy puddle until i get stuck and suck in water.

1995 wrangler
4.0
5 speed
roughly 160k on the clock
blackw/tan interior

good:
straight body
mechanically sound
4x4 works in hi and lo
4x2 works
very little to no rust
a/c and heat both work
still has rear bench seat
honestly, looks to be all original

bad:
speedometer/tac/odometer intermittent (going to have to shoot wiring)
driver rear brake cylinder leaks (already got new cyinder to replace it with)
windshield wiper motor clocked wrong
feels as if theres no suspension at all

would like to:
4 inch lift( softer springs, adjustable drag links, pitman drop, hydro shocks)
33x12.5 bfg km2 or km3 (v8 xj/zj steering arm, better steering dampener?)
steel wheels
9k winch
fab up a panel for accessory rocker switches and usb charger ports
get rid of the hard top and go to a soft top
remove carpet and bedline inside

any pointers/tips, decent affordable lift kits to look at, etc. would be appreciated.

ive owned a 4.0 5spd 97 tj lifted 4 inches, 33s on 15 inch steelies, 9k winch, and an orf stinger front bumper a couple years back and would love to get it to preform like it did.

 

Nice looking YJ

 

Welcome to the forum @mike456. Saw your other post.
Anyway. YJ looks like it's in great shape. And what you have there and what you want to do with it is not completely out of line. I'm no YJ expert. But it looks like you have a great canvas to work with. As stated in the previous thread. There are numerous sites, avenues to look into. Quadratec is a good place to start. Also, there are numerous members here that are very knowledgeable in older jeeps. Sorry....I'm not one of them. Loll.

You came to the right place. I wouldn't give up on your new money pit....lol. Just yet. Welcome to the forum.

 

i dont wanna give up on another vehicle. i gave this one up before and regretted it ever since.

 

As i said dude. Im no expert. But that YJ.....looks like a great place to start a nice build. Based on what you want to do with it. It sounds very do able. I'd hang tight with it for now if I were you. Any jeep is gonna cost ya some cash. But again, looks like you have an awesome rig to start with. Cant wait to see what ya do with'er.

 

Great jeep! The Rubicon Express 4.5in lift is a great lift, but pricey. The Rough country is known to be a rough riding lift, but it is inexpensive which is why it is so popular.

 

ive heard of rough country being rough multiple times. i had a voodoo lift on my old jeep i bought right before they stopped making them. paid 400 bucks for it and it was so soft it was almost annoying on the highway. im actually looking at seeing what i could do to make a Frankenlift. RE leafs, greasable shackles, no brand tranny drop, some good hydro shocks instead of nitro's. no brand pitman drop or one possibly off a cherokee since ive heard theyre the same as a 4 inch drop for the wrangler?

 

I don't like tranny drops. I would rather do a SYE kit with a double cardan (CV) drive shaft.

 

the tranny drop would be until i break down, replace the rear axle with a 8.8, then id just go ahead and convert over to the sye set up. but i never had any problems with my old tranny drop besides the occasional scrapping light on the rocks and dirt. plus it makes it easier to clean up all the crud that gets built up on the skid plate haha

 

Agreed with the easier cleaning. I ran a drop kit for a couple months until I had the time to cut and weld my perches on the axle to get the right geometry for a double cardan. The engine already tilts back from the factory making the oil heavy in the back and light in the front so making this angle worse using a drop kit just compounds any issues that might come from this like the constant problem with oil leaking at the rear of the motor (finally fixed all of my oil leaks), or light lubrication on the front valves and cylinders etc. I'm a worry wart.