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XJ and MJ lift differences

jeepingymc

NAXJA Forum User
Just got a complete MJ Trailmaster 4" lift with control arm drop brackets, front coils, rear springs.
Was wanting to use this lift on my 98 Cherokee XJ but want to make sure its a direct fit interchange for my XJ.
I know the rear leafs are supposed to be longer, but I was thinking I could swap out the XJ main leafs onto the MJ lift spring pack and still use them on the rear of my XJ...????
On the front, are the control arm drop brackets the same between a XJ and MJ???
Pretty sure I can use the front lift coils, just wanting to make sure the other stuff is usable on my XJ before I tear it all apart.
 
The control arm mounts on the frame of the MJ are a different setup then the XJ. Not sure if the drop brackets for an MJ will bolt into the XJ control arm pocket.

The MJ rear springs are going to carry substantially more arch then a comparable XJ spring(axle is on top on an MJ) So you can expect 3-4" more lift then advertised if you can make them fit on the XJ main leaf.
 
The MJ leaves are longer as well. I think you will be alright on control arms though. I had bought some converted WJ arms from a guy a while back. He was running them on his cherokee. They fit just fine on my MJ.
 
centering pin in the MJ pack is bigger than the XJ pin (3/8 vs 5/16?, it's been a while). You'll have to drill out the XJ main leaf and your XJ spring perches to use the larger MJ bolt.

Probably a better option would be to sell the MJ leafs, they're worth more money intact, then go to the junkyard and grab one of the 5 million S10 leaf packs and make your bastard pack out of those.

The MJ control arm pockets on the frame are different, I've read of some peple using CXJ drop brackets and not using the reinforcing piece on the back because of the existing factory reinforcement. I suspect that trailmaster just left those pieces out of the box and sold them for an MJ. If so, I'd just get the extra reinforcements from them and they should work fine.
 
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