my XJ stage 2 build thread

if u are going to do blocks at least do the u bolt eliminators - 2 inch blocks are too much for an xj... you need to look into ruff stuffs 8.8 swap kit as well... 7 inches isnt too high - after a while it should settle to about 6

just get a longer shackle
 
i don't think i've ever seen so many posts from RCman in the same thread that wasn't his...


to emr1101, big xj's look awesome, i absolutely agree. but they're not nearly as stable and it's not unreasonable to run 35s on less lift than you're talking. there's a guy around here (i haven't met him, but i've seen pictures of his rig) who runs 37's on about 3.5" of lift. don't be afraid to cut metal and add bumpstops accordingly in favor of stability. one of the reasons that line on 32s and 3.07s didn't bother you is the fact that your center of gravity is so much lower. if you think about it, on 35s and 7" lift, your COG will be at least 4" higher than it is now. that may not seem like much, but it can easily be the difference between stability and rolling.

you mentioned get off your thread if we don't want to help a fellow jeeper. the comments that have been made are trying to help a fellow jeeper from rolling or hurting himself. i know the safety thing has already been beaten to death, but i can't emphasize it enough. i've gotten hit damn close to my eye from a grinder even while wearing glasses, i can't imagine using one without glasses. they're called accidents cuz you didn't plan it.

in terms of blocks, you could get the raised, longer spring perches to weld to the 8.8... that will help eliminate axle wrap and still get you some lift... but you really don't need 7" for 35s.

hope that helped.
 
Keep it big! Im about to put a 10 inch long arm lift on my xj. My buddy is at about 7inchs with 37s on his. We are about to do 8.5 inchs and 40s on my brothers. And than my other friend has an mj with 8 inchs and 36s. All good stable rigs that are definatley not pavement pounders. Just make sure its set up right and you strenghten the uni-body.
 
I dont think it will settle, its blocks not sure they would settle? Hard wheeling however would probably wrap my springs a bit and weaken them.
As for stability, i will be utting wheel spacers on and my rims stick out prett far as well, not much back spacing to them. Again, i dont do much crawling so im not worried. Im just curious about the 8.8" thing
 
if you do an 8.8 then you will need HUGE spacers for it to make it stable as they are skinny to start with...i run 4.5" coils with 2" spacers and in the rear 4.5" springs with a 1.5" shackle and 1.25 spidertrax spacers on 35s...feels real stable
 
Yeah i know i can adress that issue. Okay lets move on. Driveshaft length - will that be a problem? I have a tom woods CV shaft in there right now, i doubt it will cause any trouble?
 
Yeah i know i can adress that issue. Okay lets move on. Driveshaft length - will that be a problem? I have a tom woods CV shaft in there right now, i doubt it will cause any trouble?

Tape measure will assure that.
Check the slip length. You won't know for sure until you get everything all set.
 
Yeah i think the slip is pretty far, the front though I am a little worried about, as that length is pretty short, mine only slipped out like 2", seems wierd to me i think its stuck in there >:[
 
Listen to these guys... this is a Cherokee website with the most bangin rigs on it. When a few guys say the same thing about the amount of lift, 8 inches is way to much for anything under 37s... this isnt a fullsize truck a lower cherokee with a dialed in suspension with the right set-up will go ALOT of places on 33s-35s. I am just going to say the gearing thing is common knowledge in the offroad community.. the lower the better..
 
gearing isnt up for debate, its personal preferance. Okay, so what you want me to go to a deeper set of gears? Thats gonna not only be something I DONT want, but also cost me $1600 (yes gearing here is expensive).
 
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dont forget to get something to eat

it looks like ET " phone home" :cheers:
 
EMR1101-whoa whoa whoa, I'm from an hour east of you and gearing out here is not that expensive. I don't know where you're going for that, but go buy your gears and rebuild kits from completeoffroad.com and come over for a weekend and we'll save you about $1200 of your $1600 you quoted.
 
EMR1101-whoa whoa whoa, I'm from an hour east of you and gearing out here is not that expensive. I don't know where you're going for that, but go buy your gears and rebuild kits from completeoffroad.com and come over for a weekend and we'll save you about $1200 of your $1600 you quoted.
x2, even out here in luscious southern california his estimates hold true.
just cause the shop aint got actual 7-4 hours, doesnt mean its not a professional install =)
 
Yeah I still havent decided what to do about the rear, i have 3 options, get a 4.10 geared 8.25 from a junkyard, 8.8 swap, or gear the current set up. Ill send you a PM to find out where to go for that axle gearing man...


Anyway, heres an UPDATE!!!

Got the pitman arm off! I got a screwdriver and wedged it in the cut and it came off rather easy. Also got the new track bar on, bottom bolts had to be drilled out which didnt make me happy because i had to buy a new drill bit, rubicon expresses instructions did not mention this...

I didnt locktight any control arm bolts, but track bar bolts i did.

Also got the old ball joints off. Drivers side knuckle is on (reamed out ready to take that JCR 1 ton steering! )... But the passenger side is being a pain, the new lower ball joint is in, but the top is tricky as on the ball joint press i am using the screw rod that goes into the clamp is against the spring, making it hard to get my breaker bar on and socket on the rod to tighten down the joint. Im going to have to unbolt the shocks and get that spring off there, then i should be able to get it in... Ill send pics asap and update. Build should be finihsed veryyy soon :)
 
dont forget to get something to eat

it looks like ET " phone home" :cheers:

huh?


Anywya
Just hooked up my JCR and took it for a test run, i wish i could say i was pleased :(
The steering wheel no longer whips back when i turn, im still dialing stuff in so we'll see how it ends up....Also, at 5" of lift its pretty hard to get the drag link in, when i put in my spacers i have no idea how im going to fit it in :(
 
Nope, no OTK right now. Do you have to mod the track bar location for OTK? I have been doing so much cutting lately, that i wouldnt even have minded cutting my coil buckets, on top of that the previous owner of the 4.10 geared HP30 i have in there now cut off the sway bar links, so if no track bar mount mods were required then if i did it again id go OTK. I have an extra set of knuckles, eventually when i get a new stock pitman arm and new gear box (durango maybe) i will ream my knuckles and flop it over to the top.



Honestly though, i regret going with JCR. The TREs on the knuckles are retarded, they are useless, i dont blame this on them, but wherever the inverted T setup was born, it was done wrong. The knuckles locations are in a fixed position, relative to each other. you could weld a steel rod from knuckle to knuckle (with a small adjuster in the middle for "toe in") and have a much more solid setup, where the drag link connects to it would never move around, "roll" or have any "slop". It is a dumb set up, causing roll which makes my steering sloppy. Unfortunatly, no genious of engineering has designed this simple set up yet, if i could do it agian id do rock krawler or maybe bullet proof. On the same lift height, my stock steering had less play :(

Anyway, on to the other componets. Havent flexed out the 6.5" rustys coils (they are at about 5-5.5" right now, need spacers to compensate for winch bumper).

Track bar is awesome, i just kinda visually dialed it in, looks good enough for now (im on worn tires that will be replaced soon), super flex joint up top has a 1" coupler and is bolted to the RE1665 bracket nice and tight, the bracket is on right (i hope) and was locktighted down for extra safety.

Castor i kinda ghetto checked, checked using 2 differnt methods, got 5* and 5.3*, so i think im good. Could use a little less to give it a better pinion angle, but less castor favors steering, while more castor favors driveshaft angles - but seeing that my front driveshaft is not hooked up i think 5* is good for now.

Drop brackets worked out good, i think they are on nice and tight . The self tapping bolts for the RCX braces though im pretty sure i stripped every single one, but it didnt take much. If my socket wrench did strip them, then they mine as well be stripped because they wouldnt be in very firm anyway >:[

My steering angles are pretty good, just a tad off, but no real bump steer i dont think. I got NO shimmy, but had death wobble twice. To counter this i got angry and aired down my tires to like 20 psi, drove a bit like that and didnt get any death wobble, but i was scared so i decided to get a new stabilizer too, i ended up getting an ENORMOUS F350/ Excursion stabilizer for $70 from Pro Comp. Death wobble isnt something i like to F$&* with >:(
 
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This is a pic of the spacer they include, after my slop in my steering wheel i got pissed and tightened down my TREs like crazy, so this guy is a little more squished now. No differnce in steering, maybe .0001% better.

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Track bar bracket, i rotated the end to an even angle and tightened the locknut since, by the way...

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Getting ready to measure my castor... ELEMTARY STYLE!!!
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Stabilizer hooked up...
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New stabilizer kind of stands out doesnt it?
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Keep in mind, this is still at 5ish inches of lift, not my 7" as planned... waiting on tires and rear end...

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