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moab cj5

Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Threads
8
Messages
109
Location
Village of Kay Utah
Good evening! I am new to MUD, and new to the GX crowd. I have been a Jeep guy my whole life, and still have lots of love for the pre Chrysler garbage. I will own a CJ again, but now not likely until 2017.

I recently took the plunge and purchased a 2003 GX 470 with Nav (bummer, i know), and am in the process of lining out my build components for a trip planned the end of March over spring break. I don't have a ton of time, but I hope to have sliders and a lift installed, if not new tires and wheels too.

I have been reading through a ton of build threads, trying to decide on components to buy, and now need to decide and pull the trigger! Right now I am trying to narrow down my list of wants vs. needs to make sure i built this right the first time for what i want to do, without having to go back later. Sometimes that is easier said than done, but there are many examples of nice rigs on here that I have come across so far.

Anyway, i look forward to seeing what y'all do to your rigs, and sharing what I end up doing to mine.

Pics to come shortly.
 
With the running boards removed.

image.webp
 
Welcome to mud. The gx is an excellent platform for traveling/off-road etc.You won't be disappointed. With the right mods it should get you there and back. "Have fun and stay safe my friend":cheers:
 
theferg said:
Glad you found the place. :) Tons of good info starting to pile up on here on these rigs. Look forward to seeing what you do with the GX. Still think you shoulda gone with the LX though.... ;) :p Haha Hope to see ya on the trails as well.
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If you wanted to sell your LX, you shouldn't have talked up the GX...lol. Your rig was my backup if this didn't work out.

I'm still struggling with the lift decision. Having a hard time deciding if I go OME, Icon, or Radflo. If I choose wisely, and get the right one within budget, I can swing new tires too. Trying to find enough info in builds to get an idea what will work best for my application and style. I'm going to call Kurt tomorrow and pick his brain too.

Looking forward to building this rig and seeing how much fun I can have with it! We are heading to St George the end of March, so I need to decide soon...
 
moab cj5 said:
I'm still struggling with the lift decision. Having a hard time deciding if I go OME, Icon, or Radflo. If I choose wisely, and get the right one within budget, I can swing new tires too. Trying to find enough info in builds to get an idea what will work best for my application and style. I'm going to call Kurt tomorrow and pick his brain too.
Click to expand...

'05 GX470 "build"...


I thought that one went well for the suspension. Good info about the choices. Even the rates of things etc.
 
co4wheel: Thanks for the link. I hadn't found that build yet. I am looking for more lift. This is going to be my sole offroad rig for at least a year, and need to be able to go where i want in Southern Utah.

Right now I am leaning toward the Radflo Stage 3.5 or 4, haven't decided if the adjust ability of stage 4 is worth the extra money. I am still looking at putting together my own lift as well with different components. I would love to do the Stage 7, but I can't spend as much on the suspension as i did on the truck...:)
 
The lift you decide on should depend on 2 things:
1. What do I want to do with this rig long term?
2. What is my budget?

Thinking long term should outweigh the budget, since you really don't want to have to do it all twice to get what you really want. The Toytec Bilstein combo front and rear, to me, is the best of both worlds. Better ride than the OME setup, but not nearly as expensive as the coilover setups from Icon, Radflo, Etc. Will they ride as well as the coilovers? No - but most folks wouldn't notice. Will they do as well off road? Depends on the type of off roading you do. If high speed, bumpy stuff - then definitely coilovers designed for that. But if just slow crawling in rocks, anything but spacers will perform just about the same. Then of course there's the long travel stuff, for going hard core (both off road and off budget!)

For pure budget lifting, the Bilstein 5100's up front with stock springs, and airbag trick in the rear to bump it up an inch or so, would be fine. Anything other than the airbag trick will also require the spring conversion kit from Metal Tech....
 
madtoy said:
The lift you decide on should depend on 2 things:
1. What do I want to do with this rig long term?
2. What is my budget?
Click to expand...

Exactly. I have about $5k to spend on lift and tires/wheels. If I spend it all on lift, I have to run the little wheels and tires until i save enough to upgrade.

With all of the kits i am looking at, since they are bolt on, it isn't that much of a challenge to go cheaper shocks now, and upgrade to better shocks later. Biggest decision i am struggling with now is going with new upper control arms and coilovers, and i am leaning hard toward going that route for the extra articulation. I just haven't decided which ones to order yet.

The type of wheeling i have always done, and still enjoy a lot, is more rock crawling where articulation is king (especially when i don't have lockers). This won't be that hardcore of a rig at first, but i have to get that out of my head i guess.
 
5k should get you a nice set of tires/wheels, and a decent extended travel setup in front, with long travel rear. I personally would go with the Radflo's. Had them on my Tacoma, and was amazed at how much better they rode compared to my Old Man Emu setup. For rock crawling, there's no need for spending the extra money on the remote reservoir coilovers, so that cuts down the cost considerably. This would be what I would go with if I had that kind of money for it (even though it's Icons) - GX470 02-09 Rear Long Travel KitIcon Coilovers

Add in the UCA's and spring conversion kit, and you should still have some left for wheels and tires (as long as you aren't looking at prime stuff).
 
madtoy said:
5k should get you a nice set of tires/wheels, and a decent extended travel setup in front, with long travel rear. I personally would go with the Radflo's. Had them on my Tacoma, and was amazed at how much better they rode compared to my Old Man Emu setup. For rock crawling, there's no need for spending the extra money on the remote reservoir coilovers, so that cuts down the cost considerably. This would be what I would go with if I had that kind of money for it (even though it's Icons) - GX470 02-09 Rear Long Travel KitIcon Coilovers

Add in the UCA's and spring conversion kit, and you should still have some left for wheels and tires (as long as you aren't looking at prime stuff).
Click to expand...

Great info! I have been looking at this stuff too, but haven't pulled the trigger and ordered anything yet. Do any vendors give discounts to MUD members?

wingysataday said:
figure about $1500 for wheels/tires. Watch for sales
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The wheels i am looking at are $150 each, and tires are $280 each. I am leaning toward a 17x9 wheel and a 285 75 r 17 (i think is the size) BFG KO2. The single quote i got so far was with $100 per tire trade for what i have now.

Who sells a bolt on slider? All i have seen so far (in an admittedly limited search) are weld on options.
 
Bolt on sliders - OPOR Lexus GX470 Sliders

And I believe Southern Style Speed should be coming out with some very shortly....
 
madtoy said:
5k should get you a nice set of tires/wheels, and a decent extended travel setup in front, with long travel rear. I personally would go with the Radflo's. Had them on my Tacoma, and was amazed at how much better they rode compared to my Old Man Emu setup. For rock crawling, there's no need for spending the extra money on the remote reservoir coilovers, so that cuts down the cost considerably. This would be what I would go with if I had that kind of money for it (even though it's Icons) - GX470 02-09 Rear Long Travel KitIcon Coilovers

Add in the UCA's and spring conversion kit, and you should still have some left for wheels and tires (as long as you aren't looking at prime stuff).
Click to expand...

I like that Long travel kit, but I would like shocks with reservers
Also does anyone know how the rear springs carry a load?
 
moab cj5 said:
Looking forward to building this rig and seeing how much fun I can have with it! We are heading to St George the end of March, so I need to decide soon...
Click to expand...

Sweet, my wife's GX needs a friend :) What event in StG? We are doing more mapping on Sand Mountain this weekend.

Great platform, we love ours. Simple Radflo setup with 285's right now and FN Wheels. Metaltech sliders and ASFIR aluminum skids. She's begging for a front bumper/winch, but we haven't found one she likes just yet.

Next on our list is retrofitting the FJC e-locker diff :) The ATRAC works quite well, but there are times when a locked rear would be nice.
 
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