4.5" 5" what do I need?

well, so I'm sitting at ~4" (tomken leaf pack) in the rear and ~3.5" (up country coils and a spacer) in the front. In any case I started to think...... since I'll want to even out somehow I might as well consider doing front and rear..... so what if I do longer shackle in the rear and then look into a longer coil for the front. Also, what bout double stacking the spacers? I think someone said a while ago that a 3" coil + 2 spacers works good....

In any case, I need to start making a list of what else I'll need. I know that I will need longer shocks, longer brake lines.... trackbar (?), and how high can I go without having to mess with the arms??

I don't mind sitting higher in the rear then the front as the front has pretty nicely opened up fenders so if that gets me away without having to deal with some of the stuff up front that'd be great....

Kejtar

Anyone?

Okay - within the last few months I went from 3/3.5 to 4.5. Not saying this is the perfect way to do it but.... this is my recent experience.

For starters, didn't mess with the shocks - had already replaced them for the 3.5".

In the rear, I already had a 3" full length RE AAL w/MJ shackles, and changed to 2" shackles. This netted me 4.5" in the back. Did change out rear brake line - put in a YJ one for the 3.5", then went to the SS extension (But, not sure this was necessary though). What I DID have a problem with was the slip yoke - not vibes - but at extreme droop, there was not enough clearance at the ears. You can either grind out the ears a bit, or just replace (as I did) with a YJ slip yoke. (I should mention that I have a 5 speed D/S and a D44 in the back - different set-ups affect geometry differently, you'll have to look). At the moment, the parking brake lines look OK, but are stretched pretty good - may consider moving the mounting points on the tunnel back a bit and lengthening the threaded rod.

In the front, had 3" coils with a half inch spacer, just put in 4.5" coils. Already had an adjustable HD track bar and mount. Didn't like what the 4.5" finally did to my wheelbase, so I bit the bullet and replaced some fixed length skyjacker LCA and the stock UCA with a full set of adjustable Uppers and Lowers to get back to 101.4

Front D/S and 231 are fine and do not need to be touched.

Also don't notice any issue with the front brake lines (although, as part of the SS set I have them, if necessary).

Now have 32x11.50 MTRs on 15x8 4.5bs wheels - no issues yet with rubbing, although I am watching the inner liners in the front if trimming might be needed.

Seemed like I could get away with basic stuff up through 3.5, but going over 4 pushed me into a different zone.

Good Luck.

Mike in NJ atriot:

ok, the yoke shouldn't be an issue since I did the RE hack and tap SYE....

Now in regards to your front.... how much did did the axle get pulled back? (kind of a guesstimate...)

Thanks
Kejtar

IIRC, when the dust settled on the 4.5" lift with the "stock" CA's, she was sitting around 99.8 (about an inch and a half shorter). Tires (31's at that time) were getting much too close to the wheelwell.

I will tell you this though, it wasn't like I just lengthened the LCA's an inch and a half. Not quite sure how the geometry works, but ended up using the chart that (I think) XJeeper posted a month or so ago for a 4.5" lift. I think it was actually a 3/4 or 7/8 adjustment on the LCA's, not much adjustment on the UCA's was needed (mainly just to fine tune caster and pinion angle).

Mike in NJ atriot:

thanks... gonna go hunt for that chart now

is this the chart you were referring to? http://home.earthlink.net/~jeepcherokee/Suspension, Steering, Axles and Brakes/Control Arm Chart.htm

Yep - Different source, but the numbers look familiar. Jeff also gave the triangle philosophy behind it all (probably an April or early May thread).

Actually, I did extend the UCA a bit at 4.5" - not for a wheelbase correction, but for pinion angle-caster adjustment. Now THAT was another Mod Tech thread of a couple of months ago, MaXJohnson has the definitive say on that arcane subject!

It's all here, no need to go anywhere else on the Net for XJ stuff, right?

Mike in NJ atriot: