kristuphir
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Lake Elizabeth, CA
So I've had my XJ a few months now, and it's finally smogged, registered, running, and leaking transmission fluid all over my driveway (this is par for the course for me, it seems). It's a beater '87 4.0 with all the stock goodies (NP231, D44 out back, tow package, stock diff and tank guards, etc.) and I had originally picked it up to make a dedicated trail rig/3rd car out of. I was planning on getting the RE 4.5" Superflex kit (because it seemed like a good lift and includes so many of the necessary parts) at the time, and some bigger tires and all that stuff.
However, there has been a recent development at work that will cut down on the slick carpooling setup I have right now and require the XJ to be pressed into service for 30-50 miles a day on the road. So it's looking like, instead of 30% road/70% trail, it's going to be the other way around.
Now, this XJ has 210K miles on it and the suspension and steering gear are just shot, which is giving me a bad case of the classic 55mph death wobble. I was going to replace steering stuff at the same time as adding the RE kit, but that was kind of a "some day in the next year or so" situation. Now, I find that the Jeep will need to be ready to roll inside of a week or two, and I need to make it safe to drive on the highway, reasonable on the MPG, and still capable enough on the bazillions of rutted, steep, and lovely trails that literally encircle my house. The 4.5 is going to be too much for right off the bat I think, as I will have neither the time or spare cash to go chasing down all the other stuff that needs to be addressed with a lift like that. Also, big new tires are not on the "buy in the next month or two" list. Plus, I'm a beginner and it maybe wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure I hone my skills and pay my dues on a setup closer to stock...yes?
Now, I've got to replace the dead old leaf springs and the shocks as part of my overhaul of course, so it still seems like the time to upgrade a LITTLE bit...what would you do?
Rebuild all the steering and suspension componentry to stock specs from Quadratec, and just wheel it "stock" until I feel like I know what I'm doing? What would be a good intermediate shock to use in this situation?
Or do I do the above, but find a quality 2" or so lift to do at the same time? I have to say a little extra ground clearance wouldn't hurt for some of the big ruts out in the desert, and perhaps a mild lift like this would not introduce the "lift gremlins" like making the wobble worse, driveline vibrations, crappy ride, etc? Is there a quality way to do this that uses spring packs instead of add-a-leafs or (shudder) blocks? The thing I love about the RE 4.5 kit I was going to get was that it came with the burly track bar, the burly control arms, etc. Is there any more mild lift available that would include similar components? I may need to make this thing a commuter, but I still want to be able to be hard on it out on the trail. I'm not looking to ford mud holes or climb boulders here, but we go exploring/shooting in the desert a lot and I want it to be able to get me where I need to go.
Given the somewhat emergency timing of this whole thing, I'm not going to be searching junkyards and piecing together a lift from this and that other truck. I need to go online, order parts, and get them here STAT so I can get this thing safely on the road.
What would you do?
However, there has been a recent development at work that will cut down on the slick carpooling setup I have right now and require the XJ to be pressed into service for 30-50 miles a day on the road. So it's looking like, instead of 30% road/70% trail, it's going to be the other way around.
Now, this XJ has 210K miles on it and the suspension and steering gear are just shot, which is giving me a bad case of the classic 55mph death wobble. I was going to replace steering stuff at the same time as adding the RE kit, but that was kind of a "some day in the next year or so" situation. Now, I find that the Jeep will need to be ready to roll inside of a week or two, and I need to make it safe to drive on the highway, reasonable on the MPG, and still capable enough on the bazillions of rutted, steep, and lovely trails that literally encircle my house. The 4.5 is going to be too much for right off the bat I think, as I will have neither the time or spare cash to go chasing down all the other stuff that needs to be addressed with a lift like that. Also, big new tires are not on the "buy in the next month or two" list. Plus, I'm a beginner and it maybe wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure I hone my skills and pay my dues on a setup closer to stock...yes?
Now, I've got to replace the dead old leaf springs and the shocks as part of my overhaul of course, so it still seems like the time to upgrade a LITTLE bit...what would you do?
Rebuild all the steering and suspension componentry to stock specs from Quadratec, and just wheel it "stock" until I feel like I know what I'm doing? What would be a good intermediate shock to use in this situation?
Or do I do the above, but find a quality 2" or so lift to do at the same time? I have to say a little extra ground clearance wouldn't hurt for some of the big ruts out in the desert, and perhaps a mild lift like this would not introduce the "lift gremlins" like making the wobble worse, driveline vibrations, crappy ride, etc? Is there a quality way to do this that uses spring packs instead of add-a-leafs or (shudder) blocks? The thing I love about the RE 4.5 kit I was going to get was that it came with the burly track bar, the burly control arms, etc. Is there any more mild lift available that would include similar components? I may need to make this thing a commuter, but I still want to be able to be hard on it out on the trail. I'm not looking to ford mud holes or climb boulders here, but we go exploring/shooting in the desert a lot and I want it to be able to get me where I need to go.
Given the somewhat emergency timing of this whole thing, I'm not going to be searching junkyards and piecing together a lift from this and that other truck. I need to go online, order parts, and get them here STAT so I can get this thing safely on the road.
What would you do?
