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Junkyard upgrades

I haven't seen these in person or in action, maybe somebody has some experince they can contribute. I didn't want to bash the ides, just enlighten you for things to watch out for. I drove down Imogene with one arm totally in two pieces and the other hanging on by a thread. With the drop offs, I didn't have any problems falling asleep at the wheel. :laugh3:
 
old_man said:
I haven't seen these in person or in action, maybe somebody has some experince they can contribute. I didn't want to bash the ides, just enlighten you for things to watch out for. I drove down Imogene with one arm totally in two pieces and the other hanging on by a thread. With the drop offs, I didn't have any problems falling asleep at the wheel. :laugh3:
I didn't think you where bashing :) I'll definitly keep an eye on them (I installed the front WJ arms w/ the bend) you can get a good look at the bushings to see what I'm talking about on madxj's page: http://www.madxj.com/MADXJ/technical/technicalfiles/BSlowerWJctrlArms/WJ_LCA.htm
 
XJ_ranger said:
anyone know of any better steering boxes from junkyards?

read something once about a J10 or J20 box?

What about the durango boxes. Some of those years work but I'm not sure which ones, maybe someone will chime in.
 
As for boxes, are any of the alternatives better for tapping to use for a hydro steer than the OEM box.
 
semisynth said:
I didn't think you where bashing :) I'll definitly keep an eye on them (I installed the front WJ arms w/ the bend) you can get a good look at the bushings to see what I'm talking about on madxj's page: http://www.madxj.com/MADXJ/technical/technicalfiles/BSlowerWJctrlArms/WJ_LCA.htm


Well I gave it some thought and have come up with this theory. I think the bushings are designed to have more torsional give on the WJ arms, but once the metal sleeves are cut down to fit into the XJs LCA pockets I think it would partially negate the design. I think the WJ has the wider pockets and the LCA bushings have the sleeves that stick out from the rubber so more leverage is applied to the bushings themselves when the arms twist. Make any sense?? I feel like wile coyote “back to the drawing board” doh!
 
old_man said:
As for boxes, are any of the alternatives better for tapping to use for a hydro steer than the OEM box.

that is what i was getting at...

my steering box is leaking a few drops per mile and its time to re-build/buy a new one/upgrade....

and im thinking that i will either tap this box or buy a better box and tap that - and install plugs for now till the $$$ for the ram and time to make mounting brackets comes...
 
semisynth said:
Well I gave it some thought and have come up with this theory. I think the bushings are designed to have more torsional give on the WJ arms, but once the metal sleeves are cut down to fit into the XJs LCA pockets I think it would partially negate the design. I think the WJ has the wider pockets and the LCA bushings have the sleeves that stick out from the rubber so more leverage is applied to the bushings themselves when the arms twist. Make any sense?? I feel like wile coyote “back to the drawing board” doh!

Ok I thought of a possible solution. What about 'unboxing' the bottom of the arms by cutting a horizontal line about 1/2” wide down the center of the arms and strengthening the bushing ends by boxing them in (since that would seem too be the weak point)?
 
old_man said:
As for boxes, are any of the alternatives better for tapping to use for a hydro steer than the OEM box.


I have a Chevy Saginaw thats been ported and from what I understand its one of the better ones to use for strength, etc.


A couple of more junkyard upgrades and finds:

95-96 XJ power brake booster - great replacement to the renix crap.

S-10 chevy rear leafs - when using the main eye and bottom most leaf with the rest of a stock XJ pack it will yield about 3.5" of lift.

350 or 351 power steering pump - works alot better than what we all have now especially with 35+ sixed tires. Mounts easily does take some welding.

ZJ stock coils - about 1.5" taller than stock XJ

If youve scrapped your renix AC for OBA - use the existing AC cooler and plum it into the power steering gear box, you use alot more PS fluid but wont get the "whine" when turning at crawl speeds.

92+ HO 4.0's - almost everything is straight accross swapable with the non HO engine. If your not a wiring geneous as I am not, use everything that doesnt need the computer, head, intake, exhaust, etc. Use your renix TB, injectors, etc. I did this just recently and noticed a considerable change in power. The HO head is ported much better along with the intake and exhaust.
 
semisynth said:
Ok I thought of a possible solution. What about 'unboxing' the bottom of the arms by cutting a horizontal line about 1/2” wide down the center of the arms and strengthening the bushing ends by boxing them in (since that would seem too be the weak point)?


By the time your done buying the steal, buying the arms from the junkyard and spending most of an afternoon grinding, it might be cheaper to pick up a used set of actual XJ arms.


OOOHH! I forgot, TJ arms are completely interchangeable with the XJ incase you all didnt know.
 
'97+ mirrors are a direct swap to the older '84-'96 models and allow you to fold them on the trail and get a slightly larger mirror as well. It's one of my favorite changes since we have the tight trees in the Pacific Northwest and I wasted a couple of stock mirrors. The old style never seem to be the same after holding the Jeep away from a large Douglas Fir tree. ;)
 
I know different setup have different gear ratio (not sure what tho)
 
red_01_xj said:
I know different setup have different gear ratio (not sure what tho)

I got my 4.10 axles from a 4 cylinder rig...most of them have 4.10 gearing.
 
Badcop said:
By the time your done buying the steal, buying the arms from the junkyard and spending most of an afternoon grinding, it might be cheaper to pick up a used set of actual XJ arms.
Thats some sound advice. If I didn't already go through the trouble of finding some and cutting down the bushings, didn't have a pile of scrap metal laying around, and had more money than time I would definitely
follow it. :)
John90XJ said:
I got my 4.10 axles from a 4 cylinder rig...most of them have 4.10 gearing.
I got my 4.10 axles from a '87 2.8 XJ so check those too.
 
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Here's a bit of steering box info. I replaced my stock unit with a new/rebuilt one from Auto Zone and have had to replace it (lifetime warranty) four times. I did some research and found out that pretty much all of the auto parts stores supply the exact same box for our cherokee as they do for S-10 pickups, camaros, and an endless list of other vehicles that were never intended for off road use, let alone abuse. The hot ticket is to get a box from a late 80's - early 90's Camaro/Firebird with the "sport suspension package". It will have a "Z" cast into the side. This is the box the Jeepspeed guys run. It's stronger and has a better ratio too. But you'll have to find it in a junkyard or on ebay cause if you ask for it at the parts store you'll get the same one you'd get if you asked for one for your cherokee!
 
I guess that the WS-6 Package trans-am sitting the junkyard at work is going to lose its' steering box tomorrow. COOL, just one less part to have to figure out for my prerunner MJ.(maybe)
 
ren said:
I guess that the WS-6 Package trans-am sitting the junkyard at work is going to lose its' steering box tomorrow. COOL, just one less part to have to figure out for my prerunner MJ.(maybe)

Man am I jealous, having all those handy parts right there! Whenever I go, I'm lucky if I can find an antenna!
 
Don't forget the rear shackles off of a full size GM truck-worth anywhere from 1-1 1/2" of lift.(do not go higher than that because they can bend.) Spring plates that the U-bolts go through off of a lot of trucks will let you do a cheap and effective U-bolt flip- Dodge trucks from the '80s'are good for these plates, since the plates wrap around the top of the axle housing to start with. This is one of the tricks that my MJ prerunner already has in place, and works great- no more U-bolts getting hung or bent.
 
ren said:
Don't forget the rear shackles off of a full size GM truck-worth anywhere from 1-1 1/2" of lift.(do not go higher than that because they can bend.) Spring plates that the U-bolts go through off of a lot of trucks will let you do a cheap and effective U-bolt flip- Dodge trucks from the '80s'are good for these plates, since the plates wrap around the top of the axle housing to start with. This is one of the tricks that my MJ prerunner already has in place, and works great- no more U-bolts getting hung or bent.

most of us are spring over from the factory - and the u-bolt flip will do nothing for an XJ - ours are already "flipped"

and the GM shackles are known to be weak for any amount of lift...
 
yeah, I guess it is nice sometimes to have a junkyard that you work in/ are a partner in. On the bad side, however, we have to be careful about how fluids are desposed of, especially when we are crushing cars, not to mention the flat tire hazards form broken glass, bolts, running over the edge of a hood and slicing the side wall for about 10" on a new tire, etc...
 
How about the guts from a Dodge truck 231? Wider chain and so on for an upgrade on your 231...
There have been posts here before regarding this mod, might be a cheap T case junkyard upgrade for those lookin to do some mods on the cheap
 
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