New to NAXJA...could use some friendly help!

[mrlonewolfe]

Im new to the community and a first time owner of a jeep.I recently bought a 1995 xj ...its automatic and a HO..Im wanted to know about Claton long arm lift kits...or whats a great lift.Im looking for @6in...to run 33in tires...Can anyone give me some helpful ideas..tips...ect?This is going to be my tow rig....[Also I need to know about Lockers/or lsd's....Thanks for any help you might have......Wolfe~~ :lol: [/b]

 

[Andy in Pa.]

I run Claytons long arms on my Jeep and I really like them. Very heavy duty (also work well as rock sliders!!) and have great flex. I am at about 8" of lift. Just make sure you have an expert weld the crossmember to the unibody frame, and use all of the braces in the kit. Not sure how well any lift springs for the rear will hold up to towing, but the Big Offroad 6" pack usually nets around 8.5" before they settle out. Towing on a set of these springs will really help them settle a lot quicker too. Also, if your going to run 33's and use the XJ for towing, you better consider at least 4.56 gearing and swapping out that toothpick D35 rear for an 8.25 rear or a D44 out of an 87 or 88 Cherokee. As for a LSD or locking device, once again a full carrier locking device (Detroit) is better if you plan on towing. Or, maybe an Auburn LSD.

A.

 

[Eagle]

Welcome to . You didn't say where you call home, but if you're in the northeast, I hope you'll consider joining and becoming a member of the North Atlantic Chapter.

This is the chapter forum, and its primary purpose is conducting chapter business. Since is an international club, we have members all across the country and Canada, and in Europe and Australia, who DON'T ever look at this forum. You will get a much broader range of responses to your question if you hop over to our Modified Tech forum and post the question there.

That having been said, I'm going to get on your case a bit and suggest that trying to use a rig with a 6" lift and 33" tires for a tow rig is almost certainly a huge mistake. IMHO even the 4.56 gears that Andy suggested aren't enough for towing with 33" tires, and with a 6" lift your rig is not going to be very stable as a tow rig.

Also, [i:2f8bfe5f5d]DO NOT[/i:2f8bfe5f5d] tow with a locker. The additional weight makes it difficult for the locker to unlock. A tow rig should have either an open rear or a limited slip.

Or did we misunderstand you? Did you mean that you will be towing the Jeep behind something else?

 

[ROCKREADYXJ]

Wolfe

Welcome to if you are looking for a long arm set up I think you should steer away from the claton system because of the way it is constructed. It has a crossmember that is part of the mounts for the lower radius arms. If you want a true long arm set up I run the Rockkrawler and it is the best street riding and best trail performing lift I have ever had. The lower control arms mount to the frame rail and are stich welded to provide more strength and rigidity.I dont know where you are located but I am in New Jersey if you wanted to come by and check both kits out give me a call or email me good luck with your XJ! If you need to purchase any items for your rig let me know all members get a discount.

 

[Andy in Pa.]

Gonna have to call SPOBI on ya there Joe!!!

The Claytons long arm setup also mounts (welded) to the frame rails where the long arms mount. The crossmember is replaced with Claytons setup, but the whole center section un-bolts to allow for dropping the transmission if needed. So basically with Claytons kit you get a much more heavier duty crossmember with the long arm mounts welded to the frame rails, a drop out center section and very heavy duty long arms (mine have the scars to prove it) with plenty of adjustability. I can also say that they provide the best on-road ride I have experienced thus far with 8" of lift.

 

[Eagle]

Joe, I'll back up Andy on this. I don't have Clayton's kit, but he lives not far from me and I have ridden in his ZJ. For my money, Clayton's long arm kit is a true long arm set-up, and it is absolutely top drawer equipment.

I think you're confusing his kit with somebody else's, or you've been fed some bad information.

 

[ROCKREADYXJ]

I have had a xj in and out of my shop six times with nothing but problems with his lift kit and the cross member is one piece that attaches the lower control arms and I have had to take down the lower control arms to remove the crossmember to remove the trans not a godd set up if you ask me. Granted this kid has had this truck for quite some time and he bought it with the lift in it so we have no idea how old it is. but any lift kit that reguires you to unbolt the lower control arms to remove the cross member is not a kit that I would recomend. I think that you will agree with me on that.

Andy what is SPOBI ?

 

[Eagle]

SPOBI is an acronym Beezil initiated on the tech forums. It stands for Stop Putting Out Bogus Information.

Joe, are you sure what you worked on is Clayton's kit? Your description does not sound right, and if the owner bought it used with the kit already on it -- I wonder about timing. Clayton's kit has not been generally available to the public all that long. I think Andy has one of the first -- maybe Andy can confirm that, and fill in when he bought it because I don't recall.

 

[Andy in Pa.]

I bought my kit a little over a year ago now. Trust me, the Claytons set up allows the center section of the crossmember to be removed. I suppose it is possible that one of the early kits he produced did not have this option, but somehow I doubt it.

A.

 

[ROCKREADYXJ]

ok well last night I checked out his websight and I saw what you guys were talking about with the removeable cross member but the one that I see here all the time is different
.
As far as quality and which is more heavy duty I will have to disagree with you guys as far as it goes for long arm lift kits the RockKrawler is hands down better engineered and better constructed. the mounting points are much more solid simplier to install. They are self aligning which is good for beginers or the weekend mechanic. The lower radius arms are made from solid 1.25 thick steel not a hollow 2x2 square piece of tubing. and the RockKrawler is a true tri-link lift kit as opposed to the claytons which has radius arms with connecting arms to where the upper control arms would mount.

So if I had to pick a long arm kit I would suggest the Rockkrawler. Not the clayton. I would be interested to know how thick the wall is on those clayton arms if they are 1/8 or 3/16 or 1/4 thick?

I have driven both and I will stand behind the RockKrawler lift as the best riding and best performing.