How stiff does your XJ ride?

[CarbonXJ]

So after breaking all 4 rear shock bolts and fishing in new ones, I have 4 new shocks and a new steering dampner. Sweet. Rides smooth around town and I loved it; until I got on the interstate for work this morning. Stiff as hell and bridges, well, let's just sat I can't wait to get my GF in the passenger seat for bridges....

Should it ride this stiff? I used Gabriel ProGuard shocks at all four corners, and I understand that this is a short wheelbase 4x4....but
it's pretty harsh. Stock springs, 160k on them, Jeep looks and rides level.

How does everyone else's XJ ride, and what are you running?

 

[Matthew Currie]

Mine is stock except for an added leaf in the back for sag relief and 235 tires, and yes, it is rough compared to a car, or for that matter to a modern half-ton pickup. Solid axles and a leading-arm front suspension make for a sensitivity especially to little sharp bumps and expansion joints that will linger no matter what you have for shocks. I have plain old Monroe or whatever they had at the parts store shocks*, and it's tolerable, but it hops on curves and feels every bump just as you'd expect. If it's rocking back and forth sideways, you might want to check the stabilizer bars and bushings, and watch out for overinflation, which makes it worse. You may find it rides better laden than empty. The weight of a receiver hitch and a full size spare seems to tame the rear a little.


*Actually, now that I think of it , I don't recall ever having replaced the fronts. They may be original. It only has 259 thousand miles on it, but I should probably have a look sometime in the next year or two.

 

[Alaskan89XJ]

Greets; With stock oem coils, and springs, and fresh name brand shocks.., the XJ drove a bit more smoothly, albeit a bit harshly when sort of bottoming out in ruts, potholes, etc., on over the hill dead leafs from 190k miles, etc. The oem front coils seemed to be ok for their purpose. However the oem coils when compared to the Old Man Emu coil replacements were shorter. With the taller aka stock type coils by OME over the oem's, and the OME replacement higher arched leafs, and their top of the line shocks, and similar steering damper, and other important front linkage/bars/bushings/brace/bull bumper w/winch, etc., the ride now is superior in the sense that everything is really tight. The OME ride is harsher than worn out oem, but again sturdy, or a much more solid feeling. Hitting a lot of pot holes, washboard roads, makes for some body parts to vibrate. XJ seats, are ok and seem to minimize spinal compactions, LOL! Anyway, whatever shock system, and fresh suspension parts you get will all have a 'half-life' anyways. So, new soft rides, medium, or hard suspension system(s) will naturally feel very different, and adjusting to the newness will last only for so long before they tire, or one retires them for another setup requiring different suspension components. (I gave away my entire practically new shocks with 2k miles to someone in need). Certainly the idea already given you suggesting that that extra weight can help some systems is true enough. Your ride may calm down somewhat with that added weight, but it probably won't drive like a Caddy. I prefer the ride where the wheels want to stay glued to the road surfaces, and I can get a better feel of the XJ's punishment being received, rather than going sproing, sproing, sproing over ruts, losing traction bouncing up and down, rain, or shine.., and especially plowing through snow on corduroy/washboard ice.

 

[ParadiseXJ]

My 90 XJ rides much smoother than my 88 MJ.

Exact same suspension components. Stock front springs with spacers, Full packs on rear. Monroe ULTRA shocks with BPE's and extended sway bar links.

The ONE difference is the XJ has aftermarket LCA's with greasable poly bushings, the MJ has stock control arms with OEM rubber bushings. The aftermarket arms are only 1/2" longer than the stocks.

 

[jmeti000]

I put on a bastard pack in the rear, new springs and shocks up front and it still rides rough. But once I hook up my boat trailer to the tow hitch it rides like a caddy .

 

[CarbonXJ]

I guess I'm just really used to a soft ride. The Front were stone dead, and with a bull guard it nose dived BAD. The rear were very slow to rebound and one had a slight leak. All were OEM 2000 Chrysler. My other vehicle is an '87 Ford Ranger Std. cab/bed V6, and it rides like a swb truck. The rear is stiff and jolts over high speed larger bumps. The XJ now rides like....well, the Ranger.

Should the rear be this jolting? I have tow package and fullsize spare tire. I did the "fish" in bolts with the shock since they all broke. and all torqued to specs.

 

[Tim_MN]

Stiff compared to what ?

Apparently the shocks you bought are not right for a Cherokee. I had that happen with some Rancho RS 5000, too soft on the 4x4 trials, and too stiff on the pavement. Just because they "fit" does not mean they are valved correctly for all applications.

Monroe SensaTrac seems to be popular for a having a decent ride quality.

http://www.doetsch-shocks.com/2.asp DT-3000's ride similar to the stock XJ Up Country gas shocks.

 

[DRock558]

I have heard nothing but good things about OME shocks.

They claim more comfortable ride than stock.

 

[ehall]

Quality shocks make a huge difference. There's a reason a full set of OME costs $400 instead of $100 like the bottom-shelf parts-store shocks. Having the valve rate appropriate for the vehicle weight and using good materials, it all adds up. I know it made a big difference to me just changing from the Mopar JK shocks to the OME XJ shocks.

The other factor is that the springs/shocks absorb the up-down movement but the control arms absorb the front-rear movement. If the control arms are at a steep angle they will also start to take the up-down movement too. You need to keep the control arms as close to parallel as possible. You also want to keep as many rubber bushings as possible since it will absorb vibrations better than poly.

Taken together, good shocks in conjunction with either long arms or drop brackets will make it ride nice

 

[blondejoncherokee]

how are you control arm and leaf spring bushings? if thy need replacement it would make for a harsher ride?

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Our XJ's are a bit lighter than comparable SUV's and with solid axle front and rear the ride is going to be less tame. When my current XJ was stock with semi-worn shocks it rode semi-decent. Then I first installed 3" front springs and longer shocks (Gabriel Ultra's) Ride in front was better. Then installed Bastard pack in rear and longer shocks. Unloaded the ride is kinda rough in the back, but reasonable. With a couple axles in the back the ride is better. But I know its cuz the packs are stiff.
Not all vehicles are created equal. Better quality shocks will help your ride a good amount though. I think its time to replace the stock worn out parts.

 

[Jeepguy03]

I have OME rear springs and OME shocks. Best ride ever. Firm but comfortable, not mushy or bouncy. I don't even feel highway bumps anymore.

 

[CarbonXJ]

It is just such a HUGE difference that it blew my mind. I'm going to double check the part numbers at the store just to make sure. Just bc it fit, doesnt mean it's right.

Stock suspension bushings look good, worn with the northern salt wear. I should replace them when I lift it in the next few months. My ranger's transmission is going out and it's getting a V8 and taking up my time...

 

[heyhar]

Both of my XJs have Monroe SensaTrac shocks, which I've narrowed down to be the best all-around 'normal' on the road type of shock. I've tried them all through the years, and yes, they're 'firm', but I don't find them unreasonably so. And, they've been known to last a good, long time.

One thing I haven't seen anyone address in this thread is tire size, sidewall stiffness, and tread type. Our vehicles tend to be at the light end of the size class, and having too large a tire, and the relative sidewall stiffness that they bring, will detract greatly from the perceived quality of the ride. Most XJs and ZJs came equipped with some sort of Goodyear Wrangler tires, usually 225/75, a soft tire of a lower weight class. I remember replacing my '98 ZJ's tires with 235/70-15, and ride quality went down drastically! They looked and handled fine, but the ride was very coarse and flinty, as if the tires had 100psi in them. Even the sunroof started to rattle.

A few years ago, I replaced the ATR type tires on my '96 Country with Firestone Indy 500 tires, admittedly car tires, not SUV or light truck treads, and wow, nice and smooth! Of course, they suck in snow, and I would not even attempt to leave the pavement with them. I have a set of Cooper ATRs (which I hate, very rough) for the winter, and they seem to do OK in the snow.

There's a reason they put eraser-soft tires on a new vehicle in the factory...To appeal to the original buyer, looking for a smooth ride. Not too many folks would drop 20-30 large for a vehicle that rides the way most of our beasts do!

 

[420BlackXJ]

My XJ rides like a dream ( for a Jeep ).
Seriously, I have Monroe sensa trac shocks all around, with RR BPE's. The rear shocks have a coil spring wrapped around them for a little helper boost. Also have ZJ springs up front, and a bastard pack leaf set that are nearly flat, or slightly arched.
When I carry my winch in back, the Jeep rides level (2.5 inches of lift ), and the ride smooths out. (The winch is mounted on a rec. hitch plate so I can use it up front as well as rear.) Without the winch, the ride is a little bouncy, so I carry it all the time for ride quality. Recently, while giving a ride to an aquaintance, she commented on how well my XJ handled the road bumps, as compared to her Honda Element. FWIW

 

[GFS01XJ]

I agree with heyhar, I got new tires on the XJ (130,000) stock suspension and the ride was drastically different. That was going from BF radials to Destination A/Ts.

 

[xjtrailrider]

We have 4 XJ's and a MJ. Both of my personal XJ's have one shared suspension component and that is NitroCharger shocks. Mine ride better than the others without a doubt.

 

[CarbonXJ]

The ride has softened up now that I towed the boat back. It's about a 120mile drive over moderate hills, with a 17' 1200lb boat. It rode very well loaded down. Unloaded, It still tosses you back and forth over bridges. Since my main focus right now is my Ranger and it's V8 swap, I'll have to go with how the Jeep rides for now. Since I had no issues until this shock swap, they will go soon.

 

[charger_340]

With Rough Country coils and some cheapo Monroe parts store shocks, mine actually rides pretty nice in the front. The back with the same shocks and my Dakota bastard pack is a different story. Pretty sure I should have taken that overload leaf out. Oh well, as others have said, it'll tow well now, lol.

 

[volaredon]

not bad at all; if anything, a bit soft. 97 XJ all stock except urethane front bushings and Michelin 235/75R15s (the best tires money can buy)
though i would rather drive my 83 Dodge 3/4 ton pickup than any car on the road these days largely because i much prefer the ride/handling of a truck to a marshmallow car.