5.3L MJ D44 and Junk.

[MoparManiac]

Nice work man, looking forward to see it in person in the future.

How much more work do you think you have to do?

Rocktoberfest is in 2 months

 

[xj+rcks]

Still waiting on intake parts to come in. I used up some more powder on the coil pack holders.

Wire wheeled and painted up the leaf springs as well.

I'm not sure how much more time, but I am making progress.

 

[MoparManiac]

Any plans for a traction bar?

Didn't see if you were or had already built one.

 

[xj+rcks]

Any plans for a traction bar?

Didn't see if you were or had already built one.

I'm a bit nervous about wheelhop, we'll see how it goes. I want to eventually do a four link in the rear, so I don't want to put too much effort into the rear suspension with leafs.

 

[xj+rcks]

I chatted with a knowledgable Poly Performance rep and found out that suspension is big bucks. He recommended running coil overs in the front as lift coils aren't stiff enough for jumping and the tunability is tremendous. Using a 2.5" body 14" travel front coil over and a 2.5" body 16" travel rear shock my wallet would take a $2200 hit. That would be with King shocks, Fox would be even more cash. I'm looking into black market organ sales.

 

[Vanimal]

i got 12's in the front and 16's in the rear, 16 is a bit much IMO, and you'll likely have to run a triple rate on that, adding to the cost.
you can probably run 14's front and rear and get away with a double rate pretty easily.
Summit has really good prices on coilover springs, the best i've seen. i got my last springs for 130 bucks for a pair of shocks (4 springs), and they seem pretty decent.
even 14's will be fun to package in the front... how much lift and what % of droop were you thinking?

sounds like the guy was trying to upsell you, coil springs aren't stiff enough? what about all the jeepspeed guys running deavers?

 

[cracker]

Good shocks are worth their weight in gold. $2200 isn't bad for quality suspension. Don't run 2" fronts either....I know guys say it is ok but the XJ/MJs are heavy in the front so the 2.5s are the way to go. Don't waste money on emulsion suspension either.

I am a Bilstein guy and run 9100s on both of my rigs...once you go down that path you will never look back.

Here is some 2.65" 9100s on my MJ

 

[Vanimal]

2.0's work just fine for crawling and minor go fast stuff. however, i wouldnt use them for longer shocks as i noticed issues with the springs bowing and rubbing the shock bodies on the 16's. they're fine on my 12's, 14's might be ok.
agreed on emulsion, you're not saving much money there.

one thing worth noting, rear shock mounting will be a pita with 2.5 16" travel shocks and stock width axles. there isnt quite enough room between the frame rail and tires. when it flexes out, the springs will be hitting the tire on the compressed side, and the frame rail on the drooped side. i run 3.25" backspacing and it was still rubbing with 35's. bigger tires will make it worse. i now run a jk width front axle and 1.5" wheel spacers on an xj d44 in the rear and it's fine, but only barely. if you run shorter rear shocks it'll help some.



cracker, link no workie

 

[xj+rcks]

Homebrew motivation.

 

[xj+rcks]

i got 12's in the front and 16's in the rear, 16 is a bit much IMO, and you'll likely have to run a triple rate on that, adding to the cost.
you can probably run 14's front and rear and get away with a double rate pretty easily.
Summit has really good prices on coilover springs, the best i've seen. i got my last springs for 130 bucks for a pair of shocks (4 springs), and they seem pretty decent.
even 14's will be fun to package in the front... how much lift and what % of droop were you thinking?

sounds like the guy was trying to upsell you, coil springs aren't stiff enough? what about all the jeepspeed guys running deavers?

I probably wouldn't be able to use all 16" in the rear, is it bad to have a shock that's too big? I was thinking the same thing about running regular coils, don't Jeepspeed guys have to run off the shelf coils? I just don't like running the bumpstops inside of the springs and trying to make them not contact, coilovers just seem like a much cleaner option, albeit more coin.

I know it might not be a huge difference, but I know I'm lighter than the 4.0 guys in the front. I'll put the heap on scales and know for sure at some point.

Good shocks are worth their weight in gold. $2200 isn't bad for quality suspension. Don't run 2" fronts either....I know guys say it is ok but the XJ/MJs are heavy in the front so the 2.5s are the way to go. Don't waste money on emulsion suspension either.

I am a Bilstein guy and run 9100s on both of my rigs...once you go down that path you will never look back.

Here is some 2.65" 9100s on my MJ

Honestly I don't really like the King name, Bilsteins or Fox's would be more attractive an option to me. How much money do you have in your setup? I live in NH so I won't be able to get the hot, there just isn't enough wide open space. I just want to be able to go fast and hit jumps occasionally, well as often as I am presented the opportunity.

2.0's work just fine for crawling and minor go fast stuff. however, i wouldnt use them for longer shocks as i noticed issues with the springs bowing and rubbing the shock bodies on the 16's. they're fine on my 12's, 14's might be ok.
agreed on emulsion, you're not saving much money there.

one thing worth noting, rear shock mounting will be a pita with 2.5 16" travel shocks and stock width axles. there isnt quite enough room between the frame rail and tires. when it flexes out, the springs will be hitting the tire on the compressed side, and the frame rail on the drooped side. i run 3.25" backspacing and it was still rubbing with 35's. bigger tires will make it worse. i now run a jk width front axle and 1.5" wheel spacers on an xj d44 in the rear and it's fine, but only barely. if you run shorter rear shocks it'll help some.



cracker, link no workie

I'm running a Waggy D44 rear and I plan on using 1.5" spacers, where is the best place to run the shocks? I'm open to notching the frame and running tube where ever. I'm thinking that I should make the rear shock mounting points a valid option for running coilovers in the rear later.

 

[John D]

I know it might not be a huge difference, but I know I'm lighter than the 4.0 guys in the front. I'll put the heap on scales and know for sure at some.

5.3L is 75 pounds less than 4.0L, I'm not sure if there is any difference in the transmission.

 

[xj+rcks]

I'm running an AX15 so it would weigh the same. The weight is set a bit farther back but I guess it's not that much of a change from stock.

 

[kastein]

Well, I guess you probably won't need a snorkel...

 

[Vanimal]

I probably wouldn't be able to use all 16" in the rear, is it bad to have a shock that's too big? I was thinking the same thing about running regular coils, don't Jeepspeed guys have to run off the shelf coils? I just don't like running the bumpstops inside of the springs and trying to make them not contact, coilovers just seem like a much cleaner option, albeit more coin.

I know it might not be a huge difference, but I know I'm lighter than the 4.0 guys in the front. I'll put the heap on scales and know for sure at some point.



Honestly I don't really like the King name, Bilsteins or Fox's would be more attractive an option to me. How much money do you have in your setup? I live in NH so I won't be able to get the hot, there just isn't enough wide open space. I just want to be able to go fast and hit jumps occasionally, well as often as I am presented the opportunity.







I'm running a Waggy D44 rear and I plan on using 1.5" spacers, where is the best place to run the shocks? I'm open to notching the frame and running tube where ever. I'm thinking that I should make the rear shock mounting points a valid option for running coilovers in the rear later.

if wheeling in NH is anything like wheeling in CT, you shouldnt have many issues with 2.0's unless your springs are stupid long. even out here i dont have issues with the 2.0's with some mild go fast. it will be better than a coil/leaf sprung heep with regular king/fox/bil 2.0 shocks IMO.
you will have to notch the frame for 2.5" 16" rear coilovers i think, assuming you're using the travel. i just think 16" will be excessive. now that i'm on 35's, i cannot use the entire travel of my coilovers (im probably at 14" usable travel), and not once have i said "gee, i wish i had more travel". with 14's front and rear, i'm pretty sure you can reach the top of any RTI ramp, to give you an example of the flex you'll have.
what size tires and what height lift do you plan to get out of this thing?

 

[kastein]

Haven't you had coilovers on your XJ for a grand total of a few weeks?

 

[Vanimal]

4 months for the rear, wheeling on average every week.

 

[xj+rcks]

if wheeling in NH is anything like wheeling in CT, you shouldnt have many issues with 2.0's unless your springs are stupid long. even out here i dont have issues with the 2.0's with some mild go fast. it will be better than a coil/leaf sprung heep with regular king/fox/bil 2.0 shocks IMO.
you will have to notch the frame for 2.5" 16" rear coilovers i think, assuming you're using the travel. i just think 16" will be excessive. now that i'm on 35's, i cannot use the entire travel of my coilovers (im probably at 14" usable travel), and not once have i said "gee, i wish i had more travel". with 14's front and rear, i'm pretty sure you can reach the top of any RTI ramp, to give you an example of the flex you'll have.
what size tires and what height lift do you plan to get out of this thing?

I'm at six or so inches of lift now and I'm running Q78's (35.5x10.8")

 

[cracker]

Honestly I don't really like the King name, Bilsteins or Fox's would be more attractive an option to me. How much money do you have in your setup? I live in NH so I won't be able to get the hot, there just isn't enough wide open space. I just want to be able to go fast and hit jumps occasionally, well as often as I am presented the opportunity.

I have too much into them...I would guess about $1600 with springs. I also run the ACV reservoirs.

keep in mind I am the guy who will eat 0.99 cheeseburgures for 5 months to save up though

 

[Vanimal]

I probably wouldn't be able to use all 16" in the rear, is it bad to have a shock that's too big? I was thinking the same thing about running regular coils, don't Jeepspeed guys have to run off the shelf coils? I just don't like running the bumpstops inside of the springs and trying to make them not contact, coilovers just seem like a much cleaner option, albeit more coin.




I'm running a Waggy D44 rear and I plan on using 1.5" spacers, where is the best place to run the shocks? I'm open to notching the frame and running tube where ever. I'm thinking that I should make the rear shock mounting points a valid option for running coilovers in the rear later.

i run mine outside the frame rails.
this kind of shows how i did mine, you can see how far they go through the floor. you can probably get away with having them a few inches lower since you're running an inch more lift, and you may want a little more droop. I'm at 5" of lift and about 50% droop i believe.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1079954&page=10

here you can see how the coilover springs are just about hitting the lower edge of the passenger side frame rail. on the other side, you can't see it, but the top edge of the tire can hit the springs as well. i have not found a way around this without pocketing the frame and moving the shocks inboard a little on the top. i don't think the tires are hitting the shocks at the moment since i added 1.5" wheelspacers, but i think if i were using the full 16" of travel, it would. these are 2.0x16" shocks, obviously with 2.5's you'll have less room.
also worth mentioning, right now i have a wishbone 3 link setup, so the axle pivots central to the body. i'll be doing a true 3 link setup in the future, and with the track bar, i'd have to think that it would throw a wrench into the axle movement when flexed, possibly causing more of a problem. maybe with a 4 link as well.
sorry for the gay rti ramp pic, it's all i have that shows the shock to frame clearance somewhat.

disclaimer, not an expert, just passing along the stuff i encountered when running a long shock.

 

[xj+rcks]

That's a sweet setup, was it a huge improvement over the leafs? I was planning on running the coilovers inside the frame rails into the bed, the frame rails are a little different on an MJ. Something like this.