My shopping list, what do ya think?

[cal]

The only thought i gave to steering wast the Steering brace from rusty's, but i knew better upgrades would follow..........

What do you suggest?

Not using that steering brace, to begin with. The local JV guys have kinda discovered that throwing a brace around the bottom of the steering box leads to broken steering box bolts. The unibody is going to flex either way, you're just moving the weak spot to somewhere that cant handle it.

What kind of budget are you talking about?

I'd probably do the RE trackbar mound and brace, a custom or TNT trackbar, JCR Offroad 1 ton steering flipped over the knuckle with the JKS OTA axle end mount, and lowering to 6.5", because thats a really steep angle for steering.


If you want to go that tall, you want to look at some form of higher draglink with crossover steering. Consider a Tera knuckle or a WJ conversion, if you stay on the dana 30. That will raise the draglink up a lot higher and help with the horrible angles.

This is about 6.5" of lift.

 

[Kyle]

Was going to do the Over the Knuckle set up down the road somtime, but i till need a brace dont I?

No, i would forget about the brace.

-Kyle

 

[jeeperguy21]

Not every single Rustys product is bad. I get so tired of people that spend so much of their time scaring people away from them. Rustys is a great place to get skid plates for your XJ, the coils are a quality product and you won't have any issues with them, and they are also a great place to get some other odd and end things that you have on your list such as brake lines, pitman arm, steering brace, etc.

As far as the trac bar goes, from what I have heard/read (correct me if I'm wrong) the Rusty's trac bar that you want to avoid is the one with the tie rod end, not the HD trac bar w/ body mount. I have the latter and is seems like it is a solid product. I have wheeled my XJ on some pretty rough trails since I've had that on there and had 0 issues. Perhaps I'm lucky, perhaps it's not such a hell-fire and brimstone product as some claim.

With regards to you manufacturing your own long arms, that's great. My friend and I made a custom y-link long arm setup for his XJ a couple of years back, and wow, what a job it was. I would also have to say that if you are qualified to make your own long arms, you should definitely just manufacture your own trac bar, but make it so that you mount it on top of the front axle instead of in the stock position at the bottom, especially with 8.5" of lift. You might not have really thought much about that, but it will improve the handling of your XJ.

As far as the rear leafs are concerned, I doubt there is a huge difference between the two company's leafs. If it were me, I would go with a small leaf as possible, and then the longest shackle that you can find to even up the front and rear. It will make your XJ ride smoother the flatter the arch of the leafs, and it will also flex better. You're hearing this from a guy that has experience with this. I have 8" lift leaf springs from Big Offroad in back and every time I go down a rough road I wish that I had a smaller arch. Too late for me to do anything about it now though. Anywho, I wish you the best of luck. Be prepared for long days while you build your setup and I hope to see some pics of your progress.

 

[cal]

Not every single Rustys product is bad. I get so tired of people that spend so much of their time scaring people away from them. Rustys is a great place to get skid plates for your XJ, the coils are a quality product and you won't have any issues with them, and they are also a great place to get some other odd and end things that you have on your list such as brake lines, pitman arm, steering brace, etc.

I agree with you here, except that we are talking speficially about suspension components in this thread..

As far as the trac bar goes, from what I have heard/read (correct me if I'm wrong) the Rusty's trac bar that you want to avoid is the one with the tie rod end, not the HD trac bar w/ body mount. I have the latter and is seems like it is a solid product. I have wheeled my XJ on some pretty rough trails since I've had that on there and had 0 issues. Perhaps I'm lucky, perhaps it's not such a hell-fire and brimstone product as some claim.

The problem is with welds breaking, not TRE's - and he uses the same welder on all of his products. :/

 

[Kyle]

The problem is with welds breaking, not TRE's - and he uses the same welder on all of his products. :/

X2, i have seen countless welds break on the Rustys tracbar and frankly more then about 3 is too much for me. I just dont consider his product to be up to the standards that i like my XJ to be at. Granted SOME of his products are decent but definitly not others

-Kyle

 

[Saint]

Yeah im considering fabbin' up the trac-bar, really not sure i want to fab so much of my lift though (long-arms, and now steering)

Im pretty sure i might just go rusty's coils and RE leafs out back, and as far as the little odds and end go since i will be placing an order from both now i could just flip a coin, but i here the customer service from rustys suck so...........

You guys are great:worship: keep the info coming....

 

[Saint]

Oh wow! :dunce: I just noticed RE doesnt sell thier leafs as a pair for that price, LOL! and i was trying to save money.......

 

[Gravesdiggerxj]

If it were me, I would go with a small leaf as possible, and then the longest shackle that you can find to even up the front and rear. It will make your XJ ride smoother the flatter the arch of the leafs, and it will also flex better. You're hearing this from a guy that has experience with this. I have 8" lift leaf springs from Big Offroad in back and every time I go down a rough road I wish that I had a smaller arch. Too late for me to do anything about it now though.

true. but no one needs 8in or more lift on a cherokee.

 

[Kyle]

Oh wow! :dunce: I just noticed RE doesnt sell thier leafs as a pair for that price, LOL! and i was trying to save money.......

i would still go RE, but maybe thats just me. Again for what purpose are you wanting to run a 8" lift? especially in AZ.

-Kyle

 

[Lowrange2]

true. but no one needs 8in or more lift on a cherokee.

DAMNIT! I DO! I mount my spare tire to my cross member.

 

[jaburk]

OK, ok!!!1 rusty trac bar is out, where to get one then?

You need to check out T&T Customs:
http://www.tntcustoms.com/webV5/xjtracbarsystem.asp

With the height your looking at, you might also check this out:
http://www.tntcustoms.com/webV5/ubolteliminators.asp

 

[Del00XJ]

Want my Rusty's springs? The s.o.b's still haven't settled. A c*** hair under 10 in the rear and a tad over 9 in the front.

 

[Saint]

i would still go RE, but maybe thats just me. Again for what purpose are you wanting to run a 8" lift? especially in AZ.

-Kyle

For the soul purpose of flexing 35s with no problems...............

And i live in the mountains, not the flat Az that everyone knows..............

 

[cal]

For the soul purpose of flexing 35s with no problems...............

And i live in the mountains, not the flat Az that everyone knows..............

6" of lift, 35's.

Flex is flex, mountains or no. I don't think you mountain guys are going to find much harder terrain than the california deserts offer..

 

[Kyle]

For the soul purpose of flexing 35s with no problems...............

And i live in the mountains, not the flat Az that everyone knows..............

well its clear that you have made up your mind, but throwing in my 2 cents especially living in the mountains i would go with a less amount of lift (4-6") to help preserve your cog.

4" and 37's and i wouldnt say hes very limited in the articulation department.
http://www.cherokeeforum.com/showthread.php?t=513

-Kyle

 

[Saint]

well its clear that you have made up your mind, but throwing in my 2 cents especially living in the mountains i would go with a less amount of lift (4-6") to help preserve your cog.

4" and 37's and i wouldnt say hes very limited in the articulation department.
http://www.cherokeeforum.com/showthread.php?t=513

-Kyle

No,not really, Im not that set on 8 in. i could do 6.5,

But, it would be cool to mount your spare to your cross member..........:rof:

And as far as the cali desert is conserned, i have been there, Have you been to the White mountains?

 

[cal]

No,not really, Im not that set on 8 in. i could do 6.5,

But, it would be cool to mount your spare to your cross member..........:rof:

And as far as the cali desert is conserned, i have been there, Have you been to the White mountains?

Where in the cali desert have you been? There are a couple of them, and they aren't all the same.

Not that it makes a difference.. it doesnt matter where you are planning to wheel, you can do 35's on 4.5" easily, and if you want to keep more uptravel, 6-6.5" is more than enough.

In all reality, next time I have to buy leafs, I'll probably lower my rig to 5.5".

 

[Kyle]

No,not really, Im not that set on 8 in. i could do 6.5,

But, it would be cool to mount your spare to your cross member..........:rof:

And as far as the cali desert is conserned, i have been there, Have you been to the White mountains?

cant say that i have unless the white mountains refers to the sierrias in which case yes.

-Kyle

 

[Saint]

Allright so with the parts from my first post needed, what would be the Ultimate 6 or 6.5 in lift (running 35s) Lets see a list.........

 

[boomhauer]

Rusty's...well the coils are good (he doesn't make them), his skids are pretty good.
Leaf packs my recommendation would be Alcan or Deaver. I have Alcan packs that I had built to MY specifications for what i want my rig to do, for the same price you'd buy generic springs for. You want flex? Lots of thin leaves for progressiveness and flex.
Shocks go elsewhere such as Doetsch Tech (i run the pre-runners) customer service is spectacular, Bilstein, Edelbrock etc.
Track bar i'd go with and have a TandT Customs.
SYE, my PORC is great, but they are all pretty much the same, just find the best price.
A set of JKS ACOS will become a close good friend.
C-ROK Steering box plates
Rocky Road makes a great 1.5" lift shackle.
A pair of stout diff covers from Blue Torch Fab or whomever you wish.
I'd truss the diffs.
The steering has already been addressed well by the other fellas.
As far a building your own long arms, there are just too many good products out there to waste your time unless you are saving a boatload of cash, which i doubt.

Regarding height, i know you have your reasons, but that is higher than Tommy Chong at a Led Zeppelin concert.
If you tell us why you want to be so high, maybe we can talk you out of something you may (will) regret.
A recommendation; 5-6" coils with a set of ACOS and 4-5" leaf packs with a 1.5" lift shackle will get you 35" tires.
Before you spend your money, really think about what you are going to use your rig for. At the height you want, i'm assuming you want to run some serious rubber. What tire size is it you are after? Axles and shafts have to be addressed. Are you staying with your stock diffs? Tell us more so we can help.
HTH -B