I'm putting more lift and bigger tires on the xj

[jjpeters]

I have the lift and tires on, and I need an adjustable trac bar pretty bad, hey fella's is there any way to center the axle without drilling a damn hole, and I see on the control arm bracket on the frame the hole looks like I can adjust the lca's forward about a half an inch, tell me if it would hold or I'm wrong.

 

[Ritter4.0]

I think you might need your control arms to be more than a 1/2" longer.

The only way to recenter the axle without drilling a hole is with an adjustable trac bar, or a relocation bracket, or both.
And once you get to playing with the trac bar angle, you need to make the steering match.

You also might need an SYE depending on your tranny/axle/year combo.

An extra 2" cost more than shackles and spacers......

And I have a MT with 33"s, and for what it is, its pretty decent. But I can't wait to regear and get different axles in.

 

[1990heepxj]

http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Suspension_Steering_Axles_and_Brakes/Control_Arm_Chart.htm

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

at that lift height and the tires you want... your not going to want to run a stock trac bar to begin with. as another user said earlier, your going to eat through them. an adjustable trac bar will solve your problems and be a lot stronger. i run RE. 4.5-5" of lift, no drop pitman arm or trac bar bracket. adjustable trac bar... angles are fine for me.

and the "adjustability" on the lower control arms isnt to stretch your axel, its to adjust your caster. frame side right? at that lift height, your going to need longer control arms than stock. longer lowers at LEAST. id recommend both. again i run RE, any will do that are intended for that height range.










i thought you were prepared... :laugh3: :smoker:

 

[jjpeters]

I already have an sye, and tom woods driveshaft on, and also plan on lookin for a set of lca's, and a trac bar, and damn, those bfg km2's are a dream on the road compared to the ltb's I was running

 

[Darky]

this is the exact reason i dont post, im sure ill get beat to hell too. its sad that this forum is going that direction, jjpeters your ride sounds like its gonna be cool. peace eace:

You've been around for a year. When people post up looking for info or just showing what they've got, we post offering critique and advice. If we see something that could be dangerous - to Jeep or man - we like to warn the poster. If your stuff's put together well, there's no reason to be worry. If you are willing to accept criticism and advice, you have no reason to worry. It's mostly the people who ask for advice, then complain that they're being bashed by people who are only offering advice, even if it differs from what you wanted to hear, that get bashed. I've been around a while, and think this is a great place. However, I see a downward trend, but from the opposite side. More people with more attitude showing up, asking for advice, then getting pissed when people don't tell them, "Great job!" and offer real advice.

My jeep steers perfect and drives perfectly down the road, and does not dogwalk, I'm aware of everything I need, this thread was meant to share my progress with my jeep, XCM read the first post, I was already running a 3" rc lift. XCM calling people a douche is childish as hell, I joined naxja because I love my xj, not to be bombarded by a bunch of asshole no it alls. I'll let you guys know when I have a problem with my jeep, but so far so good.

Don't take stuff too personally. Most of the people here have been around XJs a long time and are just giving advice based on what we've seen in the past. Going from 3" to 5" is never an easy affair, just slap in some spacers and shackles thing. Adjustable track bar is a must, adjustable upper and lower control arms are a very good idea. Steering needs to be done to make sure it lines up good.
Gears are somewhat personal preference, but I'm gonna say, definiely o gears as soon as possible on 33s. I ran 33s with my AW4 and stock 3.55s and it sucked. It ran hotter, power sucked, mileage sucked. You work the tranny harder which produces more heat and heat kills trannys. Plus, the tranny cooler runs through the radiator so now more heat is finding its way into the coolant and thusly the engine.

 

[Graeme]

at 5 inches the bj...at way more angle then any bj is meant for...making the bj max out

That's what she said.

Don't listen to the guys saying you need gears for 33s. No way.

I have run 33" SS TSL's and now am on 33" KM2s and it runs fine. I have even towed my 4000 lb boat up steap hills, albeit it struggles. For longer towing I put the stock wheels back on.

For offroading, no problem. Never overheats or feels like it's struggling. I have however driven some older XJs, especially RENIX ones, and they definately have less power making them feel sluggish. I'm going to 35s now though and think it's time to gear it.

Now your steering etc...listen to the others, it's gonna be effed without a lot of parts. And you'll wear through those pretty KM2s if the stearing is messed.

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

you may say its not needed, but you cant argue its IDEAL. my 97 has 3.07s (manuel tranny) and im on 33s... am i putting any extra strain on the motor and tranny? not particularly, at least nothing worth noting. an automatic (especially when towing) is going to feel the strain a lot more. i hope you have a tranny cooler. but i can name hundreds of instances where i wished i had lower gearing. i get around town just fine, but its deffinantly something that is on the top of my list at this point in the build.

to the OP: your at the point where there will be people on both sides of the fence saying yes you need them or no you dont. if you dont feel you do, then nothing more needs to be said. if you find the vehicle lacking in instances you feel it shouldnt, thats what is for.

and anyone who says, "it does just fine in low gear," has NOT driven a vehicle geared low.

 

[pyrotyro]

hey man if it works dont mess with it

 

[1990heepxj]

my other xj was on 3.07s and 33s and was a pain in the rocks, lotsa clutch riding

 

[Graeme]

you may say its not needed, but you cant argue its IDEAL.

Oh definately not ideal...just saying, if your short of cash and/or time, you don't have to re gear.

A 33 over the stock tire is 1.18 ratio increase. Not that bad. 4.56's would give you 1.28 over 3.55....just a bit extra oomph for the fact that you're accelerating bigger heavier rubber, and you're now more of a wall to the wind on the highway.

The hell with it, I am ordering my gears tomorrow. And a drop pitman. And some more armour...damn money pit.

 

[Graeme]

you may say its not needed, but you cant argue its IDEAL.

Oh definately not ideal...just saying, if your short of cash and/or time, you don't have to re gear.

A 33 over the stock tire is 1.18 ratio increase. Not that bad. 4.56's would give you 1.28 over 3.55....just a bit extra oomph for the fact that you're accelerating bigger heavier rubber, and you're now more of a wall to the wind on the highway.

The hell with it, I am ordering my gears tomorrow. And a drop pitman. And some more armour...damn money pit.

 

[Darky]

Diff'rent strokes. I drove mine with stock gears and 33s, and thought it sucked. Put in 4.88s, and it's wonderful.