this is what i ordered, what will i need

this is what i ordered, what will i need for suspention

well i was wondering what else i might need so here is the list of what is on order and what i am making for my 85 XJ loredo w/ chevy 350

3.5" AAL, 1.5" shackles rear, 4.5" coils, .75" neoprene spacer and bump stops for the front and brake line drops and i am fabricating a track bar drop down attach point to keep it closer to whats needed and i have shocks. total lift is 5.25" front and 5.0" rear with sag @4.75" all around.

what else is needed for her to be rock ready, suspention wise i mean???? the sway bars are comeing off with Q/D's and extentions i have made already

P.S. all has been ordered from rustys

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its hard to be origional when every thing i try has been done before!!!!!!!!!

Tires, rock rails, lockers, gears, recovery equipment, bumpers, cage, larger axles. What do you mean rock ready? Search about any specific questions that you have. Your question is to brod. HTH

With a chevy 350...you're gonna definitely need to swap in some good axles. I'd say a minimum of Dana 44's front and rear....just to start out with. Lockers....front and rear.... stout gearing...front and rear. If I were to ever v-8 my XJ...I'd be going with Chevy Dana 60/Corp. 14 bolt.....or a Ford Dana 60/Dana 60...setup...depending on which side drop frontend I needed for whatever I came up with in my drivetrain swap....I.E.....motor, tranny, transfer....etc.
Aron

Re: this is what i ordered, what will i need for suspention

steagall9301 said:

i am fabricating a track bar drop down attach point to keep it closer to whats needed

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this will change your steering angles - a better alternative is to spend the $$$ on an adjustable from JKS, RE...

steagall9301 said:

P.S. all has been ordered from rustys

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yikes

as for "rock ready"
what about control arms (long arms or short? - radius?) ? skids? tow points? Uni-frame structure? Steering? brakes for big tires and bigger wheels? seat time?

If you go with 4-1/2" coils plus spacers in front ... I've seen Rusty's brake line extenders, and they won't be enough. You need longer brake hoses. Buy the front and rear hoses for a 95 Wrangler and toss those cheesy extenders.

P.S. i forgot to say that i am fabing the bumpers and i have the tow points and i am in the middle of welding up the rock rails, i have the spacers for the t/case drop.
i have been offroading all my life, i just have never built a jeep, always been a chevy guy, blazers mostly and desert bikes, looking forward to going where no chevy has gone before( LOL... LOL ) thanks for all the input so far and if anyone has access to a used but good adjustable everything that i need ( track bar, upper and lower control arms or long arms) , let me know and if it is within my meager budget we will see.

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its hard to be origional when every thing i do i find out has been before!!!!

MOST of the above plus...
Make sure you spend lots of time reenforcing the unibody. You will almost want to develop a second frame (if you can even call the UB a frame LOL!) The 350 is going to put a lot of stress on your jeep! Just a little experience from a buddies 350 conversion. Take it for what its worth!

Good luck!

If you're going through that much fabbing, then forget the T-case drop & do the thing right! At least don't drop the T case by lowering the cross member. Why pay all that money for a 4.5 inch lift to give an inch or two back? Fab up a flat cross member. What tranny & T case combo will you be using? My assumption is a 700R4 w/ a 242. You'll need to figure out how to shift the T case. I was able to hook up my 242 to my stock T case lever.

Forget the add a leafs & get new spring packs for the rear. Factory Cherokee springs of that vintage are pretty tired by now & will give you horrible axle hop. And when you blow out that D35 with all that V-8 torque, you'll be needing heavier springs to go with that new heavier axle anyhow.

You'll need to figure out how to get all that hot air out of the engine compartment. XJs are infamous for high underhood temperatures. Many cut vents in the hood which works great.

Long arm or short arm doesn't matter as much as the angle of the control arm. Steeper arms give you a stiff, uncompliant ride. Control arms that are almost parallel to the road at rest are about ideal.

Keep the front & rear of your XJ level or have the rear a little higher. Butt low XJs have evil handling characteristics

I must say that this is an awesome overview of what needs to be done, in short, to put a 350 in a cherokee safely. Even if it is 2 years old, it still covers some great topics in just a short page of chatting. Bravo, guys.

350xj4x4 said:

I must say that this is an awesome overview of what needs to be done, in short, to put a 350 in a cherokee safely. Even if it is 2 years old, it still covers some great topics in just a short page of chatting. Bravo, guys.

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My hat's off to you for searching! :clap:

BigDawgz said:

Lockers....front and rear....

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Lockers? Don't need no lockers.



:wave:

Bent said:

Lockers? Don't need no lockers.



:wave:

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In that case, I'll call Dan and tell him to give me those arbs

Kejtar said:

My hat's off to you for searching! :clap:

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Someone's gotta do it. Anyway, I got more people talking on it again so I'm happy

Whats rocks are we talking about?

Are they trail rocks or Moab - So Cal Rocks?

Sawzall - read the Sig and heed to the calling, fit a 33", get some LCA flex, weld the axles as a last resort to lockers, lots of unibody bracing, lots of spare parts....good seats and a cage.....

Sometimes no matter what youve done to your rig you cant prevent OOpsies.

Badcop said:

Whats rocks are we talking about?

Are they trail rocks or Moab - So Cal Rocks?

Sawzall - read the Sig and heed to the calling, fit a 33", get some LCA flex, weld the axles as a last resort to lockers, lots of unibody bracing, lots of spare parts....good seats and a cage.....

Sometimes no matter what youve done to your rig you cant prevent OOpsies.

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Ouch man...everyone alright? how about the jeep?

nothing left, litterally, stripped and transfered to the 2 89's

Badcop said:

nothing left, litterally, stripped and transfered to the 2 89's

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I'm hoping the lack of response about the people in the car means everyone's alright
good to hear

thanks for resurecting this thread, quick update,

1. got 7+" of lift instead
2. fabricated the track bar ( and had it X-rayed for safety )
3. fabed the bumpers
4. fabed the long LCAs ( not in use yet, i have terra flex LCAs and stock uppers )
5. fabed the transfer case cross member
6. front safari doors / cutting on the rears
7. BFG 33/12.50/ 15's
8. longer brake lines
9. new front D/S ( i am fabing my own rear D/S ps i made my own front double cardan shaft tested on a friends xj!! Good to go)
10. half the internal cage is pre fabricated.

and thats where it stands for this week.