Suspension Questions

I have read a tremendous amount on pretty much everything xj since I got my 1996 2wd 4.0 a week ago. I plan on making it 4wd eventually but im not really worried about it now since Im DD this for a while. The only offroading I do is a trail area that opens up to some sand and a small amount of ditches that get muddy so nothing serious, just a little of everything. I also plan on going 31 a/t whenever a deal pops up on ebay or craigslist for a set with decent tread remaining and price of course.
So Im looking to lift between 2-6 inches, I know big gap but Ill do whatever funds allow. I want to homebrew pretty much all of it.

I read that v8 grand cherokee coils will give about 1in of lift. So that means that aftermarket grand cherokee coils will fit the xj, correct? Or are there certain years only?

I also read that yj rear lines are often used for their extra length but will aftermarket tj lines fit the xj? I ask because I found a deal for some longer SS tj lines.

Next area of uncertainty- bumpstops. When, how, and why do I alter or add more? I mean, what size lift do you begin to give attention to them and what do you do to them and why do this.

Now for shocks- I guess Ill do the BPE when I remove my swaybar since its free but I still havent really figured out the advantage of doing this other that using an F150 shock or something? Any suggestions on what low buck shock to get from whatever vehicle for whatever amount of lift?

And last for the moment- when and what do I start dropping steering wise? When do adj trac bars and ca's and pitman arms and all become needed and what is each need for. Ive read generalitys on the web but havent found much specifically aimed at the xj.
And along with the last subject, being that Im on a full time students budget, is there anything I can use off of, for instance grand cherokees instead of buying new adj or drop components. I think I read the grand cherokee pitman arm will work for some amount of drop but i dont really recall.

Any help or additional input not along the lines addressed above is much appreciated.
Thanks, Ian

1dayiwill said:

And last for the moment- when and what do I start dropping steering wise? When do adj trac bars and ca's and pitman arms and all become needed and what is each need for. Ive read generalitys on the web but havent found much specifically aimed at the xj.

Click to expand...

look at commercially available lift kits.... they generally fit in a couple grooves...., and for the most part, a quality kit will have whats needed
3", 3.5"
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lower control arms at a compromised angle, but you usually dont need adjustable anything and ride isnt that bad, you might want a basic tracbar (depends who you ask, it wont explode if you dont do the tracbar, and even if you do, theirs no tracbar DROP needed.... just a longer tracbar... steering is fine,

4"-5"?
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aftermarket steering is needed, your trac bar and steering link must be close to avoid bumpsteer... this is where drop trac bar brackets and drop pitman arms come into play, and you might even need to move your trac bar bracket axle side above the axle to get parallel lines..
unless you go with drop control arm brakets or long arms, your control arm geometry will be fucked, and nobody will want to ride with you due to the rough ride.

ALL lift kits require adjusting bumpstops.... AND extended brake lines!
copy/pasted from another thread....
BUMPSTOPING: is very important, you need to figure it out. basically for the front you can buy slightly longer upper bump nubs that screw into the top dong that your coil sits on, as well as add hockey puck style spacers at the bottom (either commercially available ones, like from RE, or even multiple hockey pucks bolted together into the top of the axles coil bucket)

the idea is to provide a solid rubber pad to cushion your axles upward movement at full bump.... right before it.....
a) rubs your tires in the wheelwell
b) bottoms out your shocks... smashes your oil pan... etc

if you run any sizeable lift, and havent installed bumpstop provisions, SOMETHING is stopping your suspension, possibly your shocks or tires?

also, you mention you read up... so heres some great personal sites you shoud check out...
http://naxja.org/forum/search.php YOU MUST USE THE SEARCH FIRST
http://go.jeep-xj.info/ <- GoJeep is a member here,
http://www.madxj.com/
http://www.geocities.com/JeepI6Power/index.html <-a s is 5-90

1dayiwill said:

I read that v8 grand cherokee coils will give about 1in of lift. So that means that aftermarket grand cherokee coils will fit the xj, correct? Or are there certain years only?

I also read that yj rear lines are often used for their extra length but will aftermarket tj lines fit the xj? I ask because I found a deal for some longer SS tj lines.

Click to expand...

yes, grand cherokee coils fit, some recommend them for jeeps with a heavy bumper/winch up front, theyre designed to hold up a v8, and have a diff spring rate to match.

As for the brake lines.... i'll let you checkout the madxj sites method http://www.madxj.com/MADXJ/technical/technicalfiles/ARyjBrakeHosesOnXJ/YJbrakeHosesOnXJ.htm
dodge dakota lines also work in the rear....
theory has it that SS lines are inferior to OE rubber lines.... if your flexed out, maxing out your brake lines (shouldnt happen, if you use the right line/mounting) the rubber line will banjo string, while the ss line may burst? its all theory though, so dont take my word for it

and a recomendation, i would go with a rubicon express 3.5", on craigslist a/t 31's

or maybe a ::cough::rough country::cough:: kit if you wanna continue bringing that poor student bullshit.... go get a job! priorities!

jk... welcome to naxja!

Cheap home brewed 2" lift was the question, right? 79 & earlier F-150 front coils & an aal or shackle in the back. Drop your front brake lines, YJ rear brake line, drill a new hole 3/4" over [on axle hsng] for the track bar & 31"s will fit,[ kind of]. Then you slowly upgrade bumpstops, shocks etc. This stuff works. It's CHEAP! Of course it doesn't work like an engineered suspension, but it does work. And the ZJ V8 coils aren't really worth the effort, been there, done that.

awesome info. how much lift will the f150 coils yeild? do rough country products suck or what?

no, rough country is ok, if on the milder side. good for those on a budget.
they ship terrible shocks with their cheaper lifts, but whatever.\
what is your budget, total? for lift? saving up, buying a kit, and installing everything at once, is the best way to do stuff, theres more to the lift then the coils, and it adds up. As does gas money scavenging ford bones

We used 77 F-150 2wd coils & got around 2 3/4" of lift. It gave us about the same as ZJ V8 coils & a bb, but they work much better. I suspect 4wd coils might give even more lift. The Ford springs are about 1" shorter than the Jeep springs, but they are larger diameter wire than my Pro-Comp 3" springs. After buying adjustable control arms the kid put the bb spacers back in & is now just under 5". 4 1/2" RE springs are next, then it's time for an sye. We've slowly upgraded from a bb w/shackles to a real suspension. You can do this stuff on a budget. Ignore the guys that hand out all the negative BS "Get a job, buy a $600 dollar lift kit". My son is a young single dad, raising his daughter & he could not afford to spend that kind of money & I'm not going to pay for his toy, but I'm sure going to help him do it on the cheap!

http://www.rocky-road.com/xjbudget.html

Scroll down to the bottom, look at the 2" budget boost for $110. I installed that kit with a set of new springs (the lift was an afterthought) and the jeep sits nice on 31's. I had to install new lower control arms to keep the tires from rubbing, worked like a charm.

For brake lines, I lowered the front mounts by 2" and put a new SS hose from inline tube in the rear. This wasn't a big deal because I also had to replace the rotted brake lines while I was under there.

If I did it again I'd do a 3" spring lift and use a drop pitman arm. My new driveshaft with SYE comes in the mail from Tom Woods next week - got some vibes at highway speeds, tires are all new so it's not that.

Mark