Need advice on moving front axle forward

Hey guys Im working on a 2000 xj that was purchased with a lift kit & 33"s already on it, Im pretty new to the scene & I would appreciate some advice from you seasoned vets..

The problem seems to be that the front axle is too far back, I think this is because it is sitting about 7 inches above stock & has non adjustable LCAs that must be for a much smaller lift, It also has adjustable UCAs but I noticed they seem to be adjusted as short as possible (No threads visible).


LCA & UCA


Drivers side


Passenger side


Bump-stop almost touching spring


The plan is to buy some IronMan adjustable LCAs & use the adjustment potential of the uppers we already have to move the axle forward a few inches while keeping about the same caster, I've already ordered an angle finder that I can use to check & record the angle before I swap the LCAs.

Another problem is that my drag link/tie rod joint is hitting the bottom of the sway bar disconnect during right turns, from what I've read this is a pretty common problem but it looks like moving the axle forward would make it worse.
As it is now the drag link part actually slides under the sway bar disconnect's mount & then pops back out with a bang when you steer back straight.. It looks like I could rotate the axle back a little & create enough space between the two that they wouldn't actually touch, but thats probably not a good idea.. The pinion angle already looks pretty steep & I dont want my caster all out of whack.



I know they sell high sway bar mount kits but I'd rather not have to do any cutting/welding on the axle.

Thanks for the help!

Check the table at the bottom for recommended LCA length.

http://www.yuccaman.com/jeep/re_db.html

You need some DB's or LA's to fix that!

Check the table at the bottom for recommended LCA length.
http://www.yuccaman.com/jeep/re_db.html

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THANK YOU!! This will help a lot..
The "eye-to-eye" measurement would be a direct line from the inside-most point of one hole to the inside-most point of the other like this right?

Even on a bent style arm like IronMan?

You need some DB's or LA's to fix that!

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I'm trying to avoid going the drop bracket route & I dont want to go with a long arm kit either.. One of the reasons I like the IronMan arms is because they have a pretty good bend in them much like the arms that are already on it, I think straight arms like Currie & others would hit the lower shock mount area at this height.


The IronMan LCAs are supposed to have 4 inches of adjustment & work for up to 8" lifts so I'm hoping they will do the trick!

Eye-to-eye measurements are from center to center.

Oh, and from my understanding, pinion angle is more important than caster.

If you intend to driv e this thing on the road its not a matter of if you WANt long arms or drop brackets.... you NEED one or the other. Pinion angle and caster are equally important for asomething you drive on the road. If you don't have death wobble ill be seriously suprised.

You will not have good driveability at that height with short arms and no drop brackets no matter what you do. If this is a trail rig then maybe you will be able to live with it but it will ride like doo doo.

Eye-to-eye measurements are from center to center.

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Thanks, I should have known that..

I'm not all that worried about getting vibration from bad pinion angle because it has manual hubs, I'm more concerned with the on-road handling as this will be my little brothers DD..

I've put close to 500 highway miles on this thing & have never experience death wobble.. although the bump-steer is pretty bad at times.


If the table SaMo_XJ provided in his link is correct & 17.36 is the right length for LCAs on a 7" lift then the IronMan arms should work fine as they are adjustable from 16" to 20" eye-to-eye.

Would drop brackets really make that much difference? I don't want to weld anything to the frame rails & I'd rather not have the reduced ground clearance & more stuff to get hung up/bashed up on the rocks.

I should however mention a crack in one of the UCA mounts right along where its welded to the axle.. I have since welded the crack back up, but would drop brackets help prevent this from happening again? I can see how it could help by keeping the axle from trying to roll backwards as much when hitting bumps & potholes & such..

If this is a trail rig then maybe you will be able to live with it but it will ride like doo doo.

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Definitely rides like doo doo.. Lol

that crack should not only be fixed, but re-enforced, or even replaced if you plan on wheeling it for years to come.

also to help yourself, remove those coil spacers from the top of your coils.
the larger/thicker ones are probably not needed if you really have "7 inches above stock" you can drop those spacers, and still have plenty of room to fit 33's

Look into a JY or semi-built axle. Maybe swap in and fix/beef up your current axle.
FOr high lift you definitely need either DB's, long arms or custom mid arm.

you can shim the lowers a little ... XJ do have shim stacks...

beakie said:

also to help yourself, remove those coil spacers from the top of your coils.
the larger/thicker ones are probably not needed if you really have "7 inches above stock" you can drop those spacers, and still have plenty of room to fit 33's

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You only need 4" of lift (or less) to fit 33"s. It will drive a lot better and be more stable. A LCG is a good thing.

To eliminate the drag link from hitting the sway bar bracket, remove the link and left front spring and then heat the bracket up with a torch and, when red, beat it upward 1/2-3/4".
This will provide the extra clearance needed. After, you will probably need to adjust the sway bar link's length.

lazyxj said:

You only need 4" of lift (or less) to fit 33"s. It will drive a lot better and be more stable. A LCG is a good thing.

To eliminate the drag link from hitting the sway bar bracket, remove the link and left front spring and then heat the bracket up with a torch and, when red, beat it upward 1/2-3/4".
This will provide the extra clearance needed. After, you will probably need to adjust the sway bar link's length.

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I just cut a pie shaped notch in the swaybar bracket and bent it to the rear an rewelded it.

RCP Phx said:

I just cut a pie shaped notch in the swaybar bracket and bent it to the rear an rewelded it.

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That is probably a better, more controlled way of doing it.

Drop brackets will dramatically improve the ride but they are spendy. They don't cause too many issues with hanging up.

Well it seems everyone is in agreement that along with adjustable LCAs we need some drop brackets for this thing aswell.. Any suggestions as far as what manufacturer to go with? The two I come across the most are Rubicon Express & Rough Country. The only obvious differences between the two are that the RE braces look a little more hardcore & go all the way back to the cross member whereas the RC braces are much shorter & not secured as well.. But they do have a cool looking "RCX" cut into them!
Oh & the other difference.. PRICE! The RE kit costs about twice as much!

As far as the sway bar disconnect mounts go I think were gonna go with the Poly performance sway bar relocation brackets used in this thread.

remove those coil spacers from the top of your coils.

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I dont want to remove the coil spacers right now because the front tires already rub the rear part of the of the fender flares during turns since the axle is so far back.. & lowering the front would probably make it worse. Besides I like how level it sits right now & going up to 35s is always a possibility once we get the front end all sorted out.. though its probably not a good idea for the sake of the d30.

i would remove spacers but if you so not want to then you need:

RE or RC drop brackets

Adjustable lowers

total about 400 bucks and you can get you angles nice and right plus getting that axle where it should be!

it will ride on and off road 10x better than it does now i promise... this is money well worth spending if you are keeping all that lift...

also use the chart as a guide: with adjustable lowers and drop brackets (which can move axle forward anyways) you can use the coils as a guide as to where the axle needs to land then adjust uppers for castor/ pinion angle...

I had an xj with 6 inches of lift and then got drop brackets and man it was like stock if not better (iron man lower arms and RK adjustable uppers...)

For the price of buying new lower control arms that are adjustable and the new drop brackets you are literally just below buying a new long arm kit that could possibly include a new HD crossmember and TC skid.

In the end you can sell ALL of your control arms which will definately pay for a nice chunk of your long arm kit. Highly consider this option, I bet you will come out on top and will cost you less all said and done man.

If you can get $50 or more per control arm thats already 200, RC long arm setup is like $650. Thats basically what you will be paying for new arms and drop brackets and I bet you can get more for $50 an arm. I paid $600 bucks for a used Rock Krawler 3 link long arm kit - suspension and all, sold off my short arm kit for $700 with some extras, sold a trackbar setup i didnt need for $125, in the end I got a long arm kit and made $225!!! ..... I wanted long arms and thats what I got, start putting ads up looking for used long arm kits and you will be suprised. Someone doing a full on build might be selling their old long arm suspension setup for a damn good deal like I found, you sell yours and you can possibly break even or even make cash!! Get aggressive with your search and start posting ads everywhere people are in need of cash these days and some may be even downgrading or selling off parts they don't need, something will come up .

Thanks for the input, I was thinking we were probably getting close to the price range of some of the lower end long arm kits.. Here's the thing though, I'm a little worried about the reduced ground clearance you get with drop brackets anyway, but from what I've read the problem is even worse with long arm kits, & instead of hanging up on the drop brackets you hang up on the arms themselves which lifts your tire up & can bend your arm if you drop down on it hard enough..