need advice on build up - Great Lakes XJ

Jeepguy

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Date: Mar 20, 2008

need advice on build up	Permalink

hey everyone, so i finally have some $ to spend on the xj but could use some advice here is what i have 95 sport 4.5 inch rough country lift and 31 inch swampers everything else is pretty much stock. I now i want to run 35 to 37 inch tires and i want a better quality lift preferably a long arm kit (i will be driving it daily) i want to swap in a better rear axle or poss. swap both axles i want aleast a locker in the rear for now i am really stuck what to do about the axle swap cause i dont have easy acces to a welder (i could prob. come up with one but i'm not sure) and also i am on a budget of about 3,000 to 3,500 any info or advice welcome tell me what you think THANKS Lucas(aka)jeepguy __________________ My Pics and Specs

aci4369

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Date: Mar 20, 2008

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Well to save money on the lift you could go the route that LeadNotFollow went. I think that he is running 35's on 5" of lift. So if you want to fit 35-37's I would suggest keeping your coils and just buying spacers for the front. Then for the rear you could buy new leaf packs (of a nicer brand) and a long arm kit.
This is the direction that I have been leaning towards for myself. I am going to get a long arm kit first and then full new leaf pack (have AAL right now).

Spacers: .75" and 1.75" are the same price $38 (Don't know how high you are planing.)

http://motionoffroad.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_24&products_id=6

Leafs: 5.5 for $328

http://motionoffroad.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_26&products_id=124

I don't know how high you want to go but if you want 6-6.5" you could get shackles. Or get shackles and keep you old leafs (but you said that you wanted to upgrade to nicer lift.

Shackles: The middle priced ones are $100. Should give you an inch or a little more.

http://motionoffroad.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=13_27

Long arms: 3 link setup for $560

http://motionoffroad.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12_56&products_id=33

So you put that all together:

Spacers in front, New leafs, Long arm kit.... $926
Spacers in front, Shackles in rear (keeping old leafs), Long arm kit.... $698

Either way that keeps you under $1000 for the lift. Then I would think that you would have plenty of money for the rest of your build (not sure about tires). One thing to keep in mind, depending on what your last lift came with and how much higher you plan on going you might have to put some money in things like breaklines, drive shaft, steering.

Hope this helps.

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LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW

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Date: Mar 20, 2008

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1st off you need to decide what size tires you want to run. I run 35's on my XJ and probally will never go any larger than that simple as I don't see a need to. Plus going larger than 35" tires requires a lot more things and in the long run is much much more expensive.

I run 35's with 5" of lift and absolutly love it. You won't find me going any higher anytime soon. I have not trimmed much and prefer the lower COG (center of gravity) over a larger lifted rig. Just bumpstop correctly and call it good.

As far as the lift goes depends on what your wanting to do. I run the RC 4.5" coils and have been very very happy with how they have performed (one of the only RC products I've been happy with). Just run a .75" coil spacer and your at 5" of lift. For the rear it depends on what you currently already have. Remember that a flatter leaf with less arch will flex much better. So say a 3.5" leaf with a 1" shackle compaired to just a 4.5" leaf with a stock shackle, the 3.5" leaf will flex and ride much better. To get to 5" of lift I'd run a RE 3.5" leaf pack with a 1" shackle. It will net you right at 5" of lift as the RE packs run a bit more lift than advertised.

As far as longarms go you can go all out or you can go with something a little more budget minded. As Andy mentioned Motion has the RK longarms for $560 and are a very good quality setup. Plus it's a 3 link so your going to get better offroad performance. Either go longarms or upgrade to adjustable uppers AND lowers as far as control arms go. 5" in my opinion is the breaking point for shortarms and anything over that needs longarms.

You will also need a new adjsutable tracbar. Go with the RE heavy duty unit with bracket and be done with it. It's proven (I run it on ALL my rigs) and is a very high quality part.

Don't forget about things like brake lines, disco's, etc. Don't overlook these things!

Spend the rest of the money doing other important things like lockers, armor, recovery, maybe aftermarket bumpers etc.

If I had a budget of $3500 this is how I would spend the money (just my opinion).

LIFT

Coils - Already Have
Coil Spacers - $38 LINK
RK Longarms - $560 LINK
Brakelines - $120 LINK
RE Tracbar/Bracket - $266 LINK
RE 3.5" Rear Leafs - $328 LINK
Shackels - $75 LINK
Crossover Steering - $250 LINK

TOTAL LIFT - $1637

AXLES
Aussie Front Locker - $250 LINK
Aussie Rear Locker - $250 LINK
RockCrusher Front Cover - $75 LINK
RockCrusher Rear Cover - $75 LINK

TOTAL AXLES - $650

ARMOR
C4x4 Rock Rails - $210 LINK
Skid Row TC Skid - $132 LINK
C4x4 Front Winch Bumper - $475 LINK
C4x4 Rear Bumper - $275 LINK

ARMOR TOTAL - $1092

GRAND TOTAL $3379

Use the few extra bucks and find a XJ Dana 44 to swap in so the 35's don't destory your rear axle.

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aci4369

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Date: Mar 20, 2008

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Man I thought that I would be helpful, and post all that crap and then Adam blows me out of the water... haha. jk. On a side note how do you do the LINK thing? __________________ '99 XJ, 5.5" lift, 33" MT's '11 Dodge Charger I miss the days that they made toys that could kill a kid. Support our Troops My Pics and Specs My Build Thread

dogwonk

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Date: Mar 20, 2008

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I think you were both very helpful! It is nice to see it all laid out like that... even though it isn't for me. __________________ '93 XJ Sport - BUILD THREAD CLICK HERE '90 XJ Laredo - TOTALED!

Jeepguy

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Date: Mar 20, 2008

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hey thank this is some great info the links are great what you guys have down looks pretty awsome i like the idea of using some of the old lift to save $ here are a few more ? i will prob. have quite a few along the way you guys are going to be alot of help
how about shocks?

any help on a xj dana 44 (the only ones i can find are like 675.00 shipped)

is anyone running the ausie locker in the front ? any prob.

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aci4369

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Date: Mar 20, 2008

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Sorry the info I gave is all that I am good for.

Just kidding. I have never had a locker so I don't know.

44- Best bet is to go junk yard diving and cross your fingers that you find one.

I don't have any input on shocks either. I know that it will help your ride a lot if you upgrade them, but I think that you get what you paid for when looking at shocks. But once again if you don't go much higher than what you are at right now, you might be fine with the ones that you have. I think you said that you have RC lift though and they have the stigma of not being very good. evileye

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'99 XJ, 5.5" lift, 33" MT's
'11 Dodge Charger

I miss the days that they made toys that could kill a kid.

*Support our Troops*

My Pics and Specs

My Build Thread

LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW

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Date: Mar 21, 2008

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I run a Detriot in the front of my XJ. I hate it! It's not because of the auto-locker it's because the Detriot does not work all the time. I think it's more of the fact I have the vac. disco and I've "jimmy rigged" it to work.

Several on here run the Aussie's. From what I've seen wheeling with those members who do have the Aussie's I've been very very impressed with them. Bob (rjontzen) runs one on his daily driver MJ and loves it. So take it for what it's worth.

As for shocks as Andy said you get what you pay for. I ran the shocks that came with my 4.5" RC lift for quite awhile. I upgraded to OME (expensive) and it's been a night and day difference. It really depends on what your using your XJ for. If it's just for trail use than go with some cheapo shocks and spend the rest of the $$ on other things. If it's a daily driver than spend the money on some higher quality shocks. I'd personally just get a mid-grade shock if it's your ocasional driver and wheeling rig and spend the rest of the $$ on other (more important) stuff...

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LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW

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Date: Mar 21, 2008

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Oh and as far as the rear axle goes what axle do you have in it now? If it's the Chrysler 8.25" than if you simply put in alloy shafts (29 spline over the 27 spline you currently have) than it will have no problem holding up to the 35's.

If you have a Dana 35 rear axle I'd try to find a Dana 44 out of another XJ. They can be found in the $300 range but you have to look and it will take awhile. I've purchased 3 XJ Dana 44's and never paid more than $200 for on; but I've been patient and have spent a lot of time looking.

Another option is to find a Ford 8.8" out of a Ford Explorer. Motion Offroad sells a conversion kit to put it in your XJ and it requires very minimal welding. Nice thing about the 8.8" is that it has rear disc brakes. They are a little easier to find than the Dana 44 is (I know of one in northern indiana for $200 with new rotors on it) and are typically a bit cheaper. Brendan on here has recently swapped in the 8.8" into his rig and seems to like it a lot.

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89eliminator

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Date: Mar 21, 2008

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when i was in the process of lifting my Jeep, i was always looking for deals on craigslist and ebay. i found a guy on ebay that had an AW-4 with 231 t-case for $75, and i went and got that. found another guy that had a HP Dana 30, Dana 44, Adj lowers, front diff bash plate for $400.

i am also considering the Aussie for the front. Rjontzen has one, and he always performs well off road, and says he loves it on road. I have a detroit locker in the 44 and love it. dont really notice it on road unless you hammer on it in the corners.

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Topic: need advice on build up