zj coils

I'm working on a home brew/rockliz type lift. After getting burned by the salvage yard on junk (and I do mean junk) leaf packs, I ended up ordering HD packs from qtec. I'll place these packs beneath my existing mains, anticipating a lift in the rear of about 1.5 to 2 inches. From what I've read that should be OK on my "96 regarding driveline issues even though I have the 242 tc and c8.25 axle.

Anyhoo, since I don't want to get ripped on used parts again but still want to keep costs down, I'm looking for some guidance on used front zj coils for V8. Any thoughts on what to look for other than the obvious excessive rust and cracks? What should the length of the coil be? How stiff should they feel? I don't want to end up with rear ZJ coils or XJ coils, but couldn't find much on specs doing a search.

dont have my mic with me or i could give you the coil diameter, but i know that 4.0 zj coils gave me ~1.5", and they ride great.

streetpirate said:

dont have my mic with me or i could give you the coil diameter, but i know that 4.0 zj coils gave me ~1.5", and they ride great.

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I'm not up on the zj engines but I think you are saying the coils came off a 6 cylinder engine (which I presume is the 4L straight 6). I had always read you needed to get coils off the V8 zj.

Yeah i have v8 zj coils and they are the same height as the stock coils they are just wound a little differently and you can tell they are a bit more beefy.

MrShaft696 said:

Yeah i have v8 zj coils and they are the same height as the stock coils they are just wound a little differently and you can tell they are a bit more beefy.

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Stock height? Weren't you expecting some lift when you put them in?

Rod Knee said:

Stock height? Weren't you expecting some lift when you put them in?

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I think he wants to know what the ZJ V8 coils measure in the stock form. So when he gets some he doesn't get bugared again. If he has the choice of a few he wants to get the best ones for his money.

I used V8 ZJ coils in my brothers XJ and they looked very very similar to stock XJ coils.. both in length and diameter. I never got the calipers out to measure, but they looked quite close. They did provide around 1.5" lift and a better compression rate (in my opinion) then the stock coils.

They should be stiffer 1.5 lift and from the V8 not the 4.0

beakie said:

I think he wants to know what the ZJ V8 coils measure in the stock form. So when he gets some he doesn't get bugared again. If he has the choice of a few he wants to get the best ones for his money.

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I now realize Mrshaft meant the UNLOADED height was about the same as the xj coil. I thought he meant the lift that resulted from their installation. My bad. And yes I'm interested in the stock height unloaded in feet and inches (or metric) since I don't know the unloaded height of the xj coil either.

Rod Knee said:

I now realize Mrshaft meant the UNLOADED height was about the same as the xj coil. I thought he meant the lift that resulted from their installation. My bad. And yes I'm interested in the stock height unloaded in feet and inches (or metric) since I don't know the unloaded height of the xj coil either.

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Yes thats what I meant, they are good for 1.5" of lift or so and ride better than stock in my opinion. Im sure someone knows exactally how tall stock coils so check here for a side by side comparison http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/home_brew_budget_boost.htm

MrShaft696 said:

Yes thats what I meant, they are good for 1.5" of lift or so and ride better than stock in my opinion. Im sure someone knows exactally how tall stock coils so check here for a side by side comparison http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/home_brew_budget_boost.htm

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So how about. Anyone know what the unloaded height (length) of the stock XJ coil spring?

Anybody? :huh:

BRB

zj coils maybe a better option than spacers?

Wire gauge/Free-standing height

'90 Limited- .525/???
'9? ZJ- .540/18"
'94(?) Country- .560/17"

There are a few caveats to the free-standing height:

First, all measurements are nominal. Even between matched sets there was 1/4 to 1/2 inch difference.

Second, the 18" was taken from the '90 springs I replaced. They have those stupid rubber blocks in the coils. When I swapped the ZJ springs in, the quickest way to tell them apart was by those stupid rubber chunks. They looked to be the same height when lined up side-by-side. That is where I get 18" height on the ZJ springs. I removed the rubber chunks tonight, no change in the free-height.

Note: Since I had the stock springs from another Heep, I tossed them in the comparo. The XJ they came from had no rear anti-sway bar form the factory, indicative of a heavier suspension. I have an '89 Waggy Limited in the driveway, wire diameter gauged the same as the '90 limited.

Conclusion: Since the free-standing height is nominal, your best bet is to measure the diameter of the wire. I used a dial caliper, measured the coil pretty much center of the spring height. I am very confident of the measurements I took tonight. I'll be taking that caliper to the boneyard with me just in case I'm tempted.

HTH, Mike

Stock 2000 XJ coils are about THAT long

These were my stock V8 ZJ front coils. They are long gone so I can't measure them for you, although Gerr has them so maybe he can measure them.

The 93-98 ZJs had 3 options for front coils: The I6 coils, the V8 coils and the Up Country coils.

Post your question on NAGCA.com. I'm sure someone will have the measurements there.

Hypoid said:

Wire gauge/Free-standing height

'90 Limited- .525/???
'9? ZJ- .540/18"
'94(?) Country- .560/17"

Conclusion: Since the free-standing height is nominal, your best bet is to measure the diameter of the wire. I used a dial caliper, measured the coil pretty much center of the spring height. I am very confident of the measurements I took tonight. I'll be taking that caliper to the boneyard with me just in case I'm tempted.

HTH, Mike

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Thanx. The wire gauge is measured in centimeters? inches?

My bad, I measured in inches.

I ran through the boneyard today after work, measured a '96 with V-8: .540" diameter wire-same as mine.

There was another XJ with a Rancho kit, coils measured at .625" diameter. I think the Mrs would notice the ride with those. LOL

Hypoid said:

My bad, I measured in inches.

I ran through the boneyard today after work, measured a '96 with V-8: .540" diameter wire-same as mine.

There was another XJ with a Rancho kit, coils measured at .625" diameter. I think the Mrs would notice the ride with those. LOL

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Thanx for all that and for going out of your way, that's just the info I was looking for.

I got a set from an 93 GC with a V8 laying in my garage. I also have the stockers from my 88 cherokee.