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Adding front zj coils

BCKNBLK

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Arizona
Ive heard a bunch of you guys saying that you can add zj front coil springs to an xj to get a little lift. About how much lift do you think I would get, and are there any particular years that are better to go with? Thanks.
 
I have ZJ coils on the front of mine. They lifted the front end 1” and made the ride much stiffer. Don’t bother trying to get the coils from a dealer. All of the Jeep coils have a two-letter designator depending on what vehicle, engine, transmission and package option they were used on. The codes make since to no one but Jeep and there is no clear way to figure out which spring is heavier, lighter, taller or shorter than the others. Just go to a junkyard and get a set of coils for a Grand Cherokee with a V-8. It has to be the V-8 version; if it’s the inline 6 you will get the same coils that you have now. I’m not sure if it will make a difference if the Grand Cherokee had a towing option.
 
What Wiley said.

ZJs came with 6-cylinders or V-8s, with and without Up Country suspension. Depending on which ZJ springs you get, the lift could vary from almost nothing to more than 2". The most lift will be from a ZJ with the 5.9L and Up Country.

Where I disagree with Wiley is where to buy the springs. I would buy from a dealer, for the very reason that the codes only make sense to a Jeep dealer. If you buy springs out of a junker, you don't really know what you're getting.
 
I have done the lift that was linked in XJ_rangers post on several XJ's now, and although I have yet to update that tech article, I have found big differences in lift height even between different ZJ V8 coils, that aren't UpCountry. Although there are quite a few different part numbers between the V8 coils, and the tags are color coded as well, I have found that if you get a front coil with an "F" at the beginning of the part number, you will get around 5/8" lift. Not much lift, but the ride is a little more firm, giving real nice handling in corners and a quality ride all around. For the same exceptional quality, but more between 1-1.5" of lift, look for ZJ coils with a "G" at the beginning of the part number. Like was mentioned, there are a lot of part numbers and they don't make a lot of sense, but go for the "G" coils, and you'll do pretty good. Just be sure the "G" coils are off a V8, because the I6 ZJ UpCountry models have "G" coils.

Here are some part numbers to help you out.

ZJ V8 UpCountry front coils: GN 5208 8363

ZJ I6 UpCountry front coils: GP 5208 9141

If you are having a tough time finding the ZJ coils you want, there have been some guys that have used CarQuest coil springs and have gotten about 2.5" of lift out of them, and they are pretty cheap (about $70/pair). Here is one guy that used them: http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/557451/2

Here is the part # for the Carquest springs: CarQuest HD XJ springs #CC784 $67.28
 
I should have explained why I didn’t get springs from the dealer. I have service factory manuals and parts catalogs that list the various coils. Unfortunately, they just show what coils were available on the vehicles, not which ones correspond to particular packages. My local Jeep dealer is unable to order coils unless they know the two-letter code. I tried “Give me a set of coils for a 98 ZJ, 5.9L, tow package” and it didn’t work, they still want the two letter code. I tried explaining that I didn’t have the coils, so I can’t give you the code, hence the reason I needed to order them. I went around and around like that with multiple people on several different occasions and finally I got tired and ****ed off and went to a junkyard. If you can find a dealer that can order them based on package options, then by all means go for it. I suspect that all dealers need the code to order the parts. This particular dealer has screwed me on parts prices before and I’m sure he would have loved to bend me over the table again if he could. You got to love AK, where there is only one A-hole Jeep dealer in a 500 mile radius and parts are two to three times what they cost in the lower 48 due to “shipping”!!!
 
What about the diesel ZJ's? Does anyone know if they have the Upcountry package on them as a matter of course? I know that over here all diesel XJs have the upcountry package on (kind of makes up for the parts costs over here), but what's the normal spec for diesel ZJs?
 
Thanks for all the help guys, especially the part numbers 'gotta be'. This heads me in the right direction. Im really only looking for about a 1 1/2" rise all around and figured Id do the front first then swap in/out leafs in the rear to eliminate the sag before I raise the rear to match the front.
Then a year from now I'll want to go higher.......
 
Not necessarily - diesel engines are typically quite heavy - even for a four cylinder. I wouldn't be surprised if the diesel was close to the weight of a 6 cylinder (which is a heavy six cylinder anyway).

r@m
 
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