Building a Cherokee that will see lots of highway use...what is practical?

[larsbc]

If you are going to be driving the highway on 33"s or bigger, loaded with gear and your kids, you are going to want to upgrade the front and rear brakes.
WJ or Vancos on the front should be a serious consideration as well as ZJ discs on the rear.

I agree. The brakes are a reason I'm considering swapping in a D44, even if I go with 33's. It's a full-size D44, so bigger discs than the D30. And I've already got a disc-brake 8.8 waiting to go into whatever Cherokee I buy.

...lars

 

[larsbc]

So far it sounds like the majority of you think that 4.88's will be ok with 33's or 35's.

This D44 I'm considering was built for a truggy (a Cherokee that was partially chopped up and turned into a rock buggy). So the track bar mount is set up for heims, not bushings. It also has no coil spring buckets, since it was setup for air shocks.

If I get it, I might go with coilover shocks, or cut off the air shock mounts and install spring buckets...the problem being that there's also a truss on the axle that may have to get lopped off to fit the buckets. Either way, I don't think it'll be too much of a problem.

But...what about a track bar running heims? Has anyone run a heim joint track bar for a couple of years? I'm wondering how long they last before they start wearing and clunking...and possibly inducing death wobble?

I guess I should also mention that this XJ will ONLY be for off-roading. So it'll be driven maybe 5-6 times per year.

...lars

 

[Brad M.]

I guess I should also mention that this XJ will ONLY be for off-roading. So it'll be driven maybe 5-6 times per year.

...lars

Given this /\... yes you will be fine with a heim joint track bar.

 

[Kevin108]

I guess I should also mention that this XJ will ONLY be for off-roading. So it'll be driven maybe 5-6 times per year....lars

That sort of contradicts what the title implied - that it would see lots of highway use. It also seems to negate the point of building a practical rig.

 

[larsbc]

That sort of contradicts what the title implied - that it would see lots of highway use. It also seems to negate the point of building a practical rig.

What I meant is that I will only being using the XJ for offroading trips. But I will be putting on a lot of highway miles to reach some of these destinations. So while I has to be pretty good offroad, it also has to be comfy at highway speeds.

With my built-up YJ, I rarely ever drove beyond a 200 mile radius of my home to go 'wheeling. It was just too uncomfortable and slow.

...lars