opinions on front suspension lift and rest of build

hi guys, i have been working on a 99 xj for some time and i am finally ready to tackle the front suspension.

i measured the rear, i have about 11 1/4 measurement from the bottom of the frame rail to the top of the axle housing.

from what i can tell i will need about 5 1/4 lift in the front, currently i have about 3 inches, and yes it does look funny atm.

i am thinking of the RE1345 spring, which says it will give 5 1/2 lift and i do plan on building a front bumper, with maybe a winch. so that should level that with my rear, is my thinking correct there? my other option is to go with 3 or 4 inch springs and use an adjustable coil spring spacer to dial everything in just right. i also assume i will want to make some sort of front bump stop while the springs are off, i plan on running 34 or 36 inch tires so i will have to figure out how big to make my bump stops.

while i am doing this i am also leaning towards the serious off road long arm kit and the currie antirock front sway bar setup, and also a 1 ton otk steering kit, brand undecided as of yet.

i am also sure i will need to do something with my track bar, and probably a track bar relocation kit, and i assume i best wait on that till everything is installed?

currently in the rear i have a 3 inch lift pack and the HD leaf spring reloaction brackets dropped my brake line brackets, front and rear fenders are trimmed, and i installed a home made sye kit to use an xj front driveshaft for front and rear axles. all that is left for the rear suspension is shocks, which i will measure when the front and rear are installed where i want them. i could use some recomendations on shocks as well.

i dont trail with it too much, but i do go through lots of snow, and this year i got stuck in 4 foot snow drifts, and i will have no more of that !!

after the front suspension is done i will be working on building a stroker and working on axles, i am hoping to find posi carriers for front and rear for it. will these make me act all squirlly in ice and snow?

also last question i can think of atm, running 34 or 36 tires, will i be able to compensate gear ratio with engine power? currently have the stock 3.55 in it now.

i am sure there is more i have missed, i just wanted some second opinions on my rational of thinking, and anything i may have missed i may need while i am gathering parts

thanks for any input this site has helped me enormously in getting my xj's to the state they are in now.

RD

Coil springs with JKS ACOS would be the most adjustable option. Coil spring spacers are less expensive, and come in many different sizes. Depending on your goals for the rig and regular usage, Control Arm Drop Brackets will be a less expensive alternative to long arms. Long arm suspension is a better choice if that fits your budget and off-road performance requirements.

You will need to re-gear the axles with larger tires. That would be the best time to install the lockers of your choice. Front auto-lockers do have some odd behaviors when driven on snowy/icy pavement. I prefer a rear auto-locker and open front or Limited Slip front for Minnesota winter daily driving.

my main concern with the lockers and such would be snow and ice behavior, but that is a ways down the road, unless i run into a deal somewhere.

my front springs and long arm will hopefully be ordered in a week or two, just trying to decide on which ones to get. i do like the looks of the serious offload long arm kit.

are there any issues with using an adjustable coil spring spacer compared just using just the 1 spring? i sort of have that feeling i am doing a bit of guess work when looking at the 5 1/2 re springs.

Cant go wrong with the serious kit for a radius set up.

Lsd's work great for daily and snow/ice. I have them on my rig and never had any issues with snow. If anything it makes the rig feel more planted.

I would go with the adjustable spacers. Takes the guess work out and you can always adjust them if needed. No issues with them compared to spacers though.

is there any difference in dependibility or flex if i use a straight coil with no adjustable or non adjustable spacer at all?

No it will be the same regardless.

ok, serious long arms ordered and decided to go with some HD frame stiffners, you guys got that here fast, thank you very much, they look awesome, i am glad i did not try to make my own.


next big purchase is the antirock sway bar kit. should i hold off on ordering this till i get my adjustable spacers and long arm in so i can measure my arm length needs?

also will be ready for steering as well. i am leaning towards the 1ton otk. looks like i will be relocating the sway bar link brackets, and track bar, i am trying to do everything all at once and try to keep downtime to a minimum. will i need to measure out my track bar and order it after everything is dialed in? or will an adjustable one get me there?

have played with some gear calculators and am thinking 4.56 gearing with 34, or 33 inch tires, still undecided on what wheels i will be running. i like the idea of front and rear lsd's and have been looking at the auburn ected i wish they made one for the 8.25

Good choice!

For trackbar an adjustable should be fine.

4.56 for 33s ia a great choice. I will be doing that with my MJ. I ran 33s on 4.11s on my xj and always wanted more.

I don't like the track bar. I'm going to hack mine off and do panhard bar when I do my steering