quick intro: new XJ owner in NorCal

[ArmyDad]

Hello, first post ... was a YJ owner years ago and now have a XJ. Going to be building for mild to moderate off-road (we'll see how long that lasts) with an emphasis on Low COG.

XJ is basically stock with 160K miles with the only "upgrade" being a nice set of 30x9.5/15 tires. After purchasing I went through it top to bottom, front to back just so I knew what I was starting with.

After rebuilding the suspension (no springs) I noticed the front tires rubbing the lower control arm so installed some 1" spacers and eliminated that. Obviously NOW I need to do some trimming and or lifting as there just isn't much space over those tires now. Yeah, yeah, yeah ... once you start it never ends but I knew what I was getting in for.

Looking forward to participating AND building. Thanks!!

 

[XJensen]

Welcome

 

[the_weirdo]

Welcome to the team.

 

[rocknxj]

Welcome to the SC. A 3.5" lift with 31" tires will qualify nicely for a mild lift and is easy and cheap to install. I look forward to your build pics and modification plans.

 

[Rammin97]

welcome to the madness!!

 

[connor0770]

ill be selling my 3.5 coils and short arms in a matter of weeks. If you want to make an offer let me know! Im also selling my 31's for about 625 or something around there.

 

[ArmyDad]

Thank you, connor0770.

 

[JeepFreak21]

Welcome to !

Billy

 

[SeansXJ]

WELCOME!!

 

[ArmyDad]

Well, the first phase of the my Cherokee build is about to begin. There are a lot of new parts in my garage:

RC 4.5" coil springs
RC control arm drop kit
4 new front coil spacers
new track bar bushings and bolt
RC steering dampener
RC sway bar disconnect
RC series 8000 shocks, front and rear
TeraFlex bar pin eliminators
Crown HD rear leaf spring (1+" lift)
IRO slip yoke eliminator w/ driveshaft

The work starts tomorrow (Sunday) early. By the end of the week I hope to be telling everyone about a 5" lift front and rear (4.5" coil plus 2nd stock isolator and rear springpack made from top 3 leaves of existing rear leaf springs), a relocated track bar, relocated brake lines and the installation of the SYE and DS.

Daily updates with pictures. Until tomorrow night ...

 

[Phil]

Sounds like a good start, get some rock rails and skids on there, some 33s and a locker, and you'll be able to go anywhere in the Sierras.

 

[ArmyDad]

Let me first apologize for not having any pictures to show of today's work. Steve and I got started this morning and didn't really take any breaks. Got the Cherokee up on jack stands and wheels pulled off then took a look at what we wanted to attack to start things off … we decided on the front.

So, at the end of the day here's what we had accomplished:

1 - Removed shocks and front coil springs.
2 - Disconnected brake line brackets.
3 - Disconnected track bar at axle.
4 - Installed the control arm drop brackets.
5 - Got ahold of a spring compressor to get the 4.5" coil springs installed along with with a 2nd factory isolator.
6 - Everything is all bolted up and ready to be torqued tomorrow night.

Tuesday, on to the rear suspension.

Oh, and Ronie did take a couple of pics of Steve and I working so there is proof we did the work ourselves.

 

[Alex E]

PICS?

 

[ArmyDad]

Alex E: I have a build thread going. It is in my signature so I wouldn't be clogging up all the threads with redundant photos.

Thanks for jumping in!