W1zardofozz
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- North Carolina
Hey all, I have a '97 Jeep Cherokee Sport on 35's with a mostly custom lift and 4.10 gearing. I've put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this thing and have even invented a few new swear words in the process. I know what all I want to do to my xj, but I've hit a wall for my next upgrade. I want to completely redo my suspension, and do a Ford 8.8 swap plus install a locker in the rear.
My thing is, I don't know which I should do first. On one hand I want the higher, long armed lift to give me better flex and ground clearance. But on the other I want a stronger axle and a locker for much better traction going up obstacles.
As it sits right now I have a 4.5" lift in the front that's sagging pretty bad to the driver side (a little over or under 1.5" of sag), and a 5.0" lift in the rear with a God awful shackle angle and Rusty's shocks all around. it's rough. Like if I hit a bump the wrong way I'll need to schedule an appointment with my chiropractor. However, it flexes pretty well for a small lift with 35" tires and that amount of sag.
The plan is to raise it to 6.5" using Clayton coils and IRO long arms in the front to bring my axle slightly forward and improve flex further. Along with that, I want 4.5" leaf springs in the rear with a shackle relocation, extended shackles, and spring perches to maximize flex in the rear. This will all be tied together with Fox racing 2.0 or Bilstein 5100 shocks
The plan for the axle swap is to buy a Ford 8.8 and install a locker, slip yoke elimination kit, and get better shafts to greatly increase strength and traction on places like The Daniel and Dickie Bell.
Backyard fun
Poser Rock at Uwharrie (pre 35" tires)
With my buddy (pre 35" tires)
Only ten of these stickers were made in this color
Glamour shot with my daily while I was doing front-end work on the jeep
My thing is, I don't know which I should do first. On one hand I want the higher, long armed lift to give me better flex and ground clearance. But on the other I want a stronger axle and a locker for much better traction going up obstacles.
As it sits right now I have a 4.5" lift in the front that's sagging pretty bad to the driver side (a little over or under 1.5" of sag), and a 5.0" lift in the rear with a God awful shackle angle and Rusty's shocks all around. it's rough. Like if I hit a bump the wrong way I'll need to schedule an appointment with my chiropractor. However, it flexes pretty well for a small lift with 35" tires and that amount of sag.
The plan is to raise it to 6.5" using Clayton coils and IRO long arms in the front to bring my axle slightly forward and improve flex further. Along with that, I want 4.5" leaf springs in the rear with a shackle relocation, extended shackles, and spring perches to maximize flex in the rear. This will all be tied together with Fox racing 2.0 or Bilstein 5100 shocks
The plan for the axle swap is to buy a Ford 8.8 and install a locker, slip yoke elimination kit, and get better shafts to greatly increase strength and traction on places like The Daniel and Dickie Bell.
Backyard fun
Poser Rock at Uwharrie (pre 35" tires)
With my buddy (pre 35" tires)
Only ten of these stickers were made in this color
Glamour shot with my daily while I was doing front-end work on the jeep
