Moving front axle forward

I have the bds 4 link long arm. Trying to find some measurements forward or back from a known point somewhere so I can determine where my axle sits from stock position. Original link mounts are gone from body. Wanting to push front axle forward a couple inches.

stock wheelbase is about 100-101". as far as a physical measurement for its position... i cant help. my cherokee has long since been turned into harbor freight tools.

if you are pushing the axle forward, youll want to do new coil buckets to keep the springs from bowing. if you intend to use the coil buckets on a factory axle, they will be you limiting factor before things get excessive. if you are willing to move your buckets, they next thing you will run into issues with is steering. exactly how much stretch you get before the tie rod come in contact with the pitman arm depends on what kind of steering you are running. at that point you are looking at moving the steering gear.

with the factory steering gear location, inverted T steering, and high steer on a ford dana 44 i was able to push the axle far enough forward to keep a 35 off of the rear inner fender. then you start getting contact with the front inner fender (where the battery and air box are)

the best thing i found to do was to put axle and frame on separate jack stands, frame at ride height, axle at full bump. full bump is typically your worst case scenario for a lot of components.

with the steering hooked up up can move the axle forward until there are issues with steering. once you are happy with the stretch and full bump drop in your links or make some mock up ones to check for clearances to exhaust, drive shaft, etc... if everything clears now you can bolt on some tires and check lock to lock. its also good to articulate the suspension and check lock to lock. you will find rubbing issues in the cherokee's notoriously small wheel wells depending on tire size.

this is also a good time to adjust your bump stops and limit the suspension for droop. steering, shocks, suspension geometry, and drive shaft operating angle can effect your droop numbers. if you are moving the coil buckets, a plumb bob off of the spring tower will help show you where the new ones go. position them after checking full bump, ride height, and full droop. i like my coils to be happy at ride height, but my bump stop striking square at full bump. there isnt as much load on the spring on droop, so as the suspension arcs rearward, i dont give as much priority on that (in a rock crawler).