6+ inches of lift on stock shocks...?

[XJ_ranger]

here's the flat-out-honest-truth. I'm not going to to sugar-coat anything here, and this is not a personal attack against you or your character;

I strongly believe (and know that many others here would agree) that someone with as little automotive common sense as you has NO business owning an XJ with a 6" lift, especially doing it yourself and trying to do it cheap.

i will say the same thing - only make it personal

if YOU cant look at your stock length shocks and see that with your axles 6" lower than they currently are (in relation to the body) and see that YOUR shock will be to short -
you are beyond anyone's help...

My rear shocks for a 3" lift are too short after my 6" bastard leaf pack build and raisiing my shockmounts - I cant attach them without weight in the rear end...

 

[cLAYH]

Heres a tip for you that MIGHT work depending on your current shock length. When I went to 4.5" I cut off the lower shock mounts and remounted them up directly onto the axle tube. This moved the lower mount up about 4" and let me use stock length shocks on the 4.5" lift and at the same time incresed my ground clearance under the axle tubes. You'll need access to welder and grinder to do this.

Otherwise..... BE PATIENT!!!

 

[dsgray16]

I know you can do that in the back, but he would still need to buy new shocks for the front, and that wouldnt work with 6 inches f lift which is what he wants...botum line, you cant run stock shocks on a lifted jeep, stop being cheap and pony up for some aftermarket shocks

 

[VegasAnthony]

$300 plus the converters for the front and bar pin eliminators for the rear.


300buds for shocks??wtf
porc has 4 shocks for $100

 

[Eagle]

BIG-G,

WHY are you so fixated on getting more lift? A 4" lift is plenty for most trails you're likely to encounter. I've run a lot of the trails at Paragon with a stock XJ, and a bunch more with an MJ on a Trailmaster lift (which is what yours sounds like, BTW). Just how much wheeling do you actually do? I seriously doubt that the extra inch and a half will be worth all the problems you're going to create.

Is your AAL a thick, short (half-length) AAL? Piling up AALs is not a good solution. The shortie AALs are not a good solution to begin with, and combining AALs will just make it worse. You said you just got the XJ. Live with it for awhile, see how it works, see how much lift you actually NEED, then decide on the best (not necessarily the cheapest) way to get there.

Remember that more lift raises the center of gravity, and that makes the vehicle less stable when driving on the highway. Unless your Jeep is a trail-only vehicle, going for more lift than the minimum you need for the trails you run is dumb and dangerous. Doing it for looks, or just to be able to say you have a 6-inch lift, is idiotic. That's no reason to put your life and the lives of other people at risk.

 

[Dirt]

good job guys. his suicide is on your hands.

 

[jbassxj]

Wow, I don't really post here at all but these guys don't play when it comes to tellin' a person if they're stupid or not.

The urge to lift must be strong with you right now, but I think this is another reason why people usually say don't buy already lifted xj's. Oh well, that's the past, you can't do nothing about it. You can do things about the present though.

Personally, you may have to practice some hardcore self-control in this one and save up some pennies. Putting an AAL on top of another as mentioned is not a good idea, especially if you're leafs are flat. Also, if you think you're sittin' on stock leaf springs, then why don't you change out your leaf springs with maybe (just example) a 3.5 from RE, or 3in" from Skyjacker, or get a full pack from Rusty's... Add that with the AAL you currently have and you should definitely be pushing up in your desired range, if not more.

Also as for the shocks, I highly doubt you have stock shocks as is, but I wouldn't go testing your shocks by putting more lift and what not. You should save up and do all of this right the first time so nothing breaks and you'll have to save up to fix it and delay other items needing to be bought.

I apologize for the post being long, but as I'm always told...

It's better to do it right the first time!


edit: heh... it's actually my first post here.... wow ^_^

 

[BrettM]

Wow, I don't really post here at all but these guys don't play when it comes to tellin' a person if they're stupid or not.

do a little searching for this guys previous posts and I think you will find that we are being very nice here.

 

[ArcticXJ]

Sometimes I hate to say this, but...

Sir, maybe off roading just isnt for you. Even if I found equestrian horse riding to be a thrilling hobby, I likely would still have to bite the bullet and look elsewhere for entertainment, seeing as how my budget would obviously dictate my lack of particpation.

If you honestly cannot afford to participate in a safe and correct manner, attempt to find another outlet. I hate to suggest that route, but aside from heroin, vehicle building/customizing may be the most expensive hobby known to blue collar man.

 

[Silverstreak01]

why dont you run NO SHOCKS? that way you can sell the ones you have on there now and come out ahead of the game?... o man i love these threads

keith h

 

[ArcticXJ]

*wobble wobble wobble*

 

[sloppyjoe]

Well thanks for the honesty but in my opinion, YOUR DEAD WRONG ABOUT ME!! I totaly agree with u on the way im aproaching the buildup, but for now i just cant resist!!! You need to realize im trying to build up my XJ by saving my pennies and dimes so even if i get the crapy setup for now and then a year later swap out EVERYTHING for a complete kit and do it right!!!

Once again, your wrong about me but everyones entitled to there opinion.

I will have to agree with, well I guess everyone else on thisone. You are not taking the best angle at the whole build up part, and when guys who have been hear and done that rty to help you you won't listen or even understand. You won't even acknowledge the fact that this will not be safe at best. Building from my experience has been somthing I have had to study on then study some more, and when I thought I had it down, study some more. This is a fine tuned fantastic hobbie, and yes like most other hobbies it does require money. If you build it wrong it will ride like crap and probably cause premature wear on the components, where as you can practice a little selfcontrol, and common sense, to come out with a pretty nice rig. In closing you should listen to people when you seek out answers. Asking a question and then not liking, or ignoring, the answer does not make the answer wrong it just makes you hard headed. GOOD LUCK JOE>

 

[Kejtar]

Heres a tip for you that MIGHT work depending on your current shock length. When I went to 4.5" I cut off the lower shock mounts and remounted them up directly onto the axle tube. This moved the lower mount up about 4" and let me use stock length shocks on the 4.5" lift and at the same time incresed my ground clearance under the axle tubes. You'll need access to welder and grinder to do this.

Otherwise..... BE PATIENT!!!

Short of moving the axle end shock mount to top of the tube you're not going to get 4". IIRC when I got the ORGS (now JKS) shock mounts welded to the tube they ended up moving the shock mount by 2 to 2.5" tops.

Now getting back to question at hand: think things through three times, and do them RIGHT the first time around. Your planned rear lift sounds really squirly and I will have to echo other people's concerns here: why do you need/want more lift? And are you ready for more lift? At 4.5" your rig can be VERY capable if you do things right .

 

[XJ_ranger]

The urge to lift must be strong with this one

fixed for ya

sorry - just thought that was funny

 

[Lawn Cher']

Well, its a good thing Brett got to him before I did, I doubt I would have been so nice.

 

[The Blu Yak]

Not only shocks, but if you cant shell out the cash for shocks, what about your new driveshaft and slipe yoke killer ur goin to need to possibly be even able drive it outta your garage,without losing some teeth. thats goin to be about 500 bucks

 

[BIG-G]

Well so much love is felt here!!!!
Since i failed to specify some minor things like already having alot of the aftermarket parts to accomodate the lift... maybe i dont have stock shocks since i bought it with the lift.... i'll throw out some specs and then u guys can rip me apart some more if u feel im wrong....

-Center hub to stock flair front 22.5" rear 21.5"
-running 31's on 15"X10" rims BFG a/t 325/60/15
-LCA drop brackets but stock LCA's
-drop sway bar but no disco's YET
-no spacers so front lift must be springs
-rear leaf pack has 5 leafs, stock shackles, NO blocks so lift must be an AAL
-1" T-Case and crossmember drop plus an SYE
-steering stablizer, trailmaster

Now after all of this i still have both front and rear swaybars connected and when flexed my e-brake is stretched out to max so the shocks MAY NOT be stock but i cant place any brand on them. I have brake line and e-brake extenders on order along with a 2" BB (spacer & AAL) so for some reason i just assumed my shocks are STOCK. Maybe YES maybe NO???? Either or i have a great on road ride, NO WABBLES, and do just fine offroad as of yet.

So continue with the great responses.......

 

[Kejtar]

Well in that case, let me post this question to you: will my shocks be enough for 8" lift? Let me guess, you got no clue cause I didn't tell you how long my shocks are.
oops... hit the submit by accident
ANyways to continue my thought: Measure the shock as it sits, take it off and measure it at full extension. This will tell you how much more room you got. If you're sitting at 4" and you plan to go to 6" your shock better have at least 3" inches from the position you're at just to get around town. In reality you need more then 1" of droop, otherwise it feel really weird when your wheel goes into a big pothole.

 

[Eagle]

You probably have a Trailmaster lift. It includes rather beefy front coils, drop brackets, and rear AALs. The one I had on my MJ was a shortie AAL -- don't know what they come with now. The Trailmaster is nominally a 4" lift.

The reason you don't have wobbles is that the drop brackets are designed to maintain stock front suspension geometery at 4" of lift. Your control arms are still parellel to the pavement. Throw in your coil spacers and they won't be.

4" is all the lift you need to run 31" tires. Doesn't matter if you have begun collecting parts for additional lift. You haven't got any need to lift more. You haven't even disconnected yet, so you have not begun to test the capabilities of your vehicle. You are just asking for problems if you take a factory lift kit that's designed to work together -- and does work together, as evidenced by the fact that you don't have death wobble -- and start throwing mis-matched parts at it.

It's been said before, but I'll say it again: you are approaching this all wrong. If you had a stock vehicle, we would be advising you to run it stock until you see how much lift or other changes you need, then decide on the MINIMUM lift necessary to run the trails you have access to. You bought a Jeep with a 4" lift. That's a vary capable setup. You haven't begun to test its limits yet. There is no reason for you to go higher. There is CERTAINLY no reason for you to go higher in a jury-rigged, Mickey Mouse fashion that's going to make your rig dangerous to you and anyone sharing the road with you.

Listen up, man! You can't even afford to buy shock absorbers -- stop looking for problems. Just start saving, and spend the time learning the capabilities of your vehicle. If, sometime down the road, you find that you really NEED to go higher, don't do it until you have the money to buy a complete kit and do it right. The cost of lifting is exponential. Start tossing parts at your Jeep and you'll just create a Frankenstein that's unsafe on the street and still won't perform any better off-road than what you have now.

 

[sloppyjoe]

You probably have a Trailmaster lift. It includes rather beefy front coils, drop brackets, and rear AALs. The one I had on my MJ was a shortie AAL -- don't know what they come with now. The Trailmaster is nominally a 4" lift.

The reason you don't have wobbles is that the drop brackets are designed to maintain stock front suspension geometery at 4" of lift. Your control arms are still parellel to the pavement. Throw in your coil spacers and they won't be.

4" is all the lift you need to run 31" tires. Doesn't matter if you have begun collecting parts for additional lift. You haven't got any need to lift more. You haven't even disconnected yet, so you have not begun to test the capabilities of your vehicle. You are just asking for problems if you take a factory lift kit that's designed to work together -- and does work together, as evidenced by the fact that you don't have death wobble -- and start throwing mis-matched parts at it.

It's been said before, but I'll say it again: you are approaching this all wrong. If you had a stock vehicle, we would be advising you to run it stock until you see how much lift or other changes you need, then decide on the MINIMUM lift necessary to run the trails you have access to. You bought a Jeep with a 4" lift. That's a vary capable setup. You haven't begun to test its limits yet. There is no reason for you to go higher. There is CERTAINLY no reason for you to go higher in a jury-rigged, Mickey Mouse fashion that's going to make your rig dangerous to you and anyone sharing the road with you.

Listen up, man! You can't even afford to buy shock absorbers -- stop looking for problems. Just start saving, and spend the time learning the capabilities of your vehicle. If, sometime down the road, you find that you really NEED to go higher, don't do it until you have the money to buy a complete kit and do it right. The cost of lifting is exponential. Start tossing parts at your Jeep and you'll just create a Frankenstein that's unsafe on the street and still won't perform any better off-road than what you have now.

X2