Just another basic lift build thread

I started Friday after work and wrapped up today about 4 pm.

The XJ is a 2000 Sport automatic with 168k. It has a Chrysler 8.25 rear axle. It's a little saggy.



The lift includes OME 934 springs and CS033RB leaves; Bilstein 5100 shocks; Iron Rock Off-Road shackles, adjustable upper control arms, standard lower control arms, U-bolts and plates, and miscellaneous other stuff. I'm also replacing the front hubs and the steering stabilizer.



Here are the before measurements. These are from the floor of my garage to the bottom of the wheel flare. FD = front driver side. FP = front passenger side. RD = rear driver side. RP = rear passenger side.



On jack stands and ready to go.



New hub on. I replaced my brake rotors recently, so they weren't seized on (this time).



This worked great to access the front passenger upper shock bolt.



Removing the airbox is simple, and makes it much easier to reach the front driver's side upper shock bolt.



Vice grips were enough to keep the shock shaft from turning.



The trackbar axle mount bolt was a real pain.





cont...

The clip that was supposed to keep the axle side mount for the passenger side upper control arm wouldn't stay put. It just rotated as I tried to loosen the bolt. I used a C-clamp to hold it in place.



OME 934 vs. the stock spring.



Waiting for new stuff...





I wrestled with the new extended bump stop for about five minutes when I realized there was an easier way to install it. I just held it in place and jacked up the axle. It popped right in.



Getting the front axle into position to accept the new driver's side lower control arm was a pain. The stock XJ jack saved me here.



The view from the business end of a new upper control arm.



Some new parts are starting to find their way onto the Jeep.



Passenger side, just hanging around...



New shock in place.

I got the front done at the end of the day on Saturday, so half the Jeep basically took a day and a half. No bolt came out easily.

Probably the worst was the passenger side unibody mount for the lower control arm. I spent about three hours on that bolt alone.

The upper control arm unibody side nuts also were pretty bad -- just really hard to access. I dreaded removing them once I got the nuts off. To my surprise, though, they slid out fairly easily.

Time for the back.

All four of these broke. They didn't even tease me a little. Just snapped instantly.



If anyone needs a photo for reference, this is where the drill came through the floor when I drilled out the first broken rear shock mount.



OME CS033RB vs. stock XJ leaf spring.



At this point, I was starting to feel like every bolt was a video game boss battle that would require a new strategy to defeat. This was a big one. The bolt stopped extracting at this point.



It's not pretty, but it worked.



Just like an onion: each time you remove a layer, there's another one staring back at you.



I scored the other side with a Dremel and was able to split the sleeve.



Bad shackle.



Installing leaf spring bushings. It was tricky getting these started, but after that, the vice made quick work of them.



After wrestling with the leaf springs, which pretty much kicked my butt (they're like Jerry Springer's Newman...heavy, awkward and the Jeep builder's nemesis), This was my next problem, covered in this thread.

Basically, the pin wouldn't align to the axle. Jacking up the springs independently of the axle shifted the spring into position. I was then able to jack up the axle to meet the pin. This wouldn't work when I simply jacked the axle and the spring up together, because the pressure of the spring against the axle didn't allow the spring to shift rearward.

One rear is done, and so was Sunday... almost. I had enough energy left to turn the Jeep around and get it back up on jack stands.



Things get messy as jobs drag on...



Labor Day morning. Time to get to work.



The Jeep could sense I was getting close. Bolts were just breaking without reservation at this point.



This is ugly, and I'll understand if someone makes fun of it...



Shackle No. 2. Is it wrong that a part of me was actually looking forward to the challenge?



OK, the passenger side shackle was going to be easier, but different...



A little heat and the shackle started to melt right off. Some leverage with my breaker bar finished the job.



Once this bolt was out, things started to go back together a bit quickly.

The only remaining hitch was I didn't expect the OME springs to lift the rear as much as they did. The stock rear brake hose (the one that goes from the hard line to the axle) was absolutely unworkable. So, I had to make a run to Advance Auto and buy a rear brake hose. After some searching by a very accommodating clerk, we found one that was longer and had the right splitter for the axle end. I think it was from an early '90s Dakota.

The rear shackle angle isn't very good, but it's not quite as bad as this photo seems to indicate. I'm hoping this improves as the springs settle.



Here's the pinion/driveshaft. I don't know... I think this is pretty good? :dunno: I used two-degree shims for the rear.



Here are the measurements. Like I said, I got way more out of the rear springs than I expected. I had the shorter of the Iron Rock Off-Road shackles. I believe they were supposed to provide an extra 3/4-inch of lift.



And, here's the Jeep. Part of my incentive for burning my Labor Day weekend on this is it needs new tires bad. Those will go on this week, probably 31s since this is primarily a daily driver.

Here it is with the 31s. Kenda Klever A/Ts. Thanks to Chris at Tire Discounters for hooking me up. And sorry that I looked dumb when you asked me what "Nax-ja" was. I always knew this as "N.A.X.J.A."

Looks good. Unfortunate you had to deal with so much rust. By the picture I feel like your existing muffler won't last two long if you are going to be climbing over rocks. Mine is tucked and it still gets contact w/ a 3.5" lift

Yeah, I need to do something with the muffler. It's only a few months old. The old, original one was hanging down pretty low and this one isn't much better. I sort of left where it was because I knew I was going to do the lift. That's on the list to mess with now.

Also, I'm afraid to say it and jinx myself, but *knock on wood* I don't think I'm getting any driveshaft vibes? At first I heard some grinding type sounds around 35 and 50 but whatever they are they seem to be going away/lessening.

Also, the carpet is ripped up in the back now, so more noises are getting through.

That said, I have only had the Jeep up to about 55-60.

Stupid question, but what should I be feeling/listening for with respect to the vibes?

Any feedback on the ride quality?

I've been looking into these springs since they were introduced but can only find feedback on older models from OME.

yzmuddereffer said:

Stupid question, but what should I be feeling/listening for with respect to the vibes?

Click to expand...

Listening is the first identification. My experience has shown that you will experience vibes under acceleration or coasting(no acceleration) or if it is really bad both.

If it is bad to a point of vibes then you will feel it in your seat or at your feet but most likely in your seat since you are sitting almost overtop the tcase. I believe you will notice right away if it becomes an issue.

Your pinion angle at the axle looks pretty good so you are safe there but I am going to say that the angle on your tcase output will be a little bit steeper. Grease the ujoints if possible to keep operation smooth. Hack n Tap the rear output shaft if the vibes start to get to you :flamemad:

themauler said:

Listening is the first identification. My experience has shown that you will experience vibes under acceleration or coasting(no acceleration) or if it is really bad both.

If it is bad to a point of vibes then you will feel it in your seat or at your feet but most likely in your seat since you are sitting almost overtop the tcase. I believe you will notice right away if it becomes an issue.

Your pinion angle at the axle looks pretty good so you are safe there but I am going to say that the angle on your tcase output will be a little bit steeper. Grease the ujoints if possible to keep operation smooth. Hack n Tap the rear output shaft if the vibes start to get to you :flamemad:

Click to expand...

Thanks. Like I said, I don't necessarily feel anything (that wasn't there before...) but I do hear a few more noises.

The measurements I took show the rear 5-1/2 inches over where I started, which was probably an inch or so sagged over stock. From what I've read, 4+ inches is pretty far to not get vibes on a 2000.

Now that I've had it aligned and put some miles on it, I'll re-torque everything and get it up to 65-70 or so and see what happens.

SketchyWaffles said:

Any feedback on the ride quality?

I've been looking into these springs since they were introduced but can only find feedback on older models from OME.

Click to expand...

I assume you mean the leaf springs, since the 934s have been around awhile.

They seem good to me, but this is my first lift, so take that for what's it's worth. If my experience with motorcycles has any relevance, however, the shock valving is more significant with respect to ride quality, and the Bilsteins are reportedly valved stiffer than the comparable OME shocks.

Quality wise, they look very stout and well built.

Bottom line is I like it. It feels firm, doesn't dive under braking and there's very little body roll through the corners (not that I'm going crazy in the corners...).

What I can say is the lift was a bit higher than I expected, so plan on that, particularly if you go with an aftermarket shackle that provides anything over stock.

yzmuddereffer said:

I assume you mean the leaf springs, since the 934s have been around awhile.

They seem good to me, but this is my first lift, so take that for what's it's worth. If my experience with motorcycles has any relevance, however, the shock valving is more significant with respect to ride quality, and the Bilsteins are reportedly valved stiffer than the comparable OME shocks.

Quality wise, they look very stout and well built.

Bottom line is I like it. It feels firm, doesn't dive under braking and there's very little body roll through the corners (not that I'm going crazy in the corners...).

What I can say is the lift was a bit higher than I expected, so plan on that, particularly if you go with an aftermarket shackle that provides anything over stock.

Click to expand...

My questions was specific to the leafs. Thanks for the information. My plan is to go with the CS033RB and the 934's. The goal was to stay with stock shackle or go to the non lifting HD relocation brackets. I'm running a JCR bumper from and rear which should help keep the lift they give down a bit.

SketchyWaffles said:

My questions was specific to the leafs. Thanks for the information. My plan is to go with the CS033RB and the 934's. The goal was to stay with stock shackle or go to the non lifting HD relocation brackets. I'm running a JCR bumper from and rear which should help keep the lift they give down a bit.

Click to expand...

Depending on your timeline, hit me up later and I'll do another measurement to see how much they've sagged... that reminds me, though. Since I was measuring from the ground up, I need to get another baseline with the 31-inch tires spooned on.

While I currently have no rear bumper mounted, it was also off when I did the before measurement shown in the pic above.

Why did you choose iron rock control arms? curious about getting them myself.

chesterbuggle said:

Why did you choose iron rock control arms? curious about getting them myself.

Click to expand...

I was browsing their site when I was considering springs. Although I decided to go with the OMEs, I was impressed by the look and features of their other products.

That they offered such a range of lengths and adjustability with the arms seemed like a good sign. I read some online and didn't really find any negatives, so I rolled the dice.

For the small-to-moderate lift I was planning, the fixed lower, adjustable upper seemed like the way to go.

They're burly as heck and fit well. Comparing the stock arms to them is almost comical in terms of durability. It would be like comparing a wadded up ball of paper to a rock.

For full disclosure with respect to the IRO stuff I got, I do have one complaint, but it's very minor. The zert fitting insert threads in one of the shackles were buggered up really bad, and I had to run them through with a tap. Luckily, I had the right tap handy.