Swank's XJ Cherokees

Does that mean I get a buddy buddy discount?

You were the guy that turned me on to this stuff.

All this is going to do is make me want to find an '02-04 Grand Vitara to lift and wheel.... oh, for the purpose of a "winter vehicle"

Just. Like. This.

That's pretty rad. You should do that. Tell the wife it'll keep the hardest miles off your nice car and it'll last longer and all that. Will save money in the long run.

Swank Force One wrote: Does that mean I get a buddy buddy discount? You were the guy that turned me on to this stuff.

Who knows. I can ask, most of what he does is one off stuff.

dude... You're a friggin GENIUS! She loved the'01 we had. It was her favorite vehicle besides the truck.

For the pipes through the firewall, go to Home Depot to the electrical department and find a small brick of duct seal putty. It never hardens and E36 M3s cheap too.

Swank Force One wrote: Do we need a GRM Badlands meet?

Yes, count me in. The Badlands is a good time.

RossD wrote: For the pipes through the firewall, go to Home Depot to the electrical department and find a small brick of duct seal putty. It never hardens and E36 M3s cheap too.

Will it get 100% air-tight? I'm less worried about air than i am water/saltwater from winter.

Thanks for the tip!

beanco wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: Do we need a GRM Badlands meet?

Yes, count me in. The Badlands is a good time.

Wish i could get the truck setup before winter. I like playing in snow.

Ok so (dumb?) question... because i'm not super familiar with this sort of thing.

Looking at the IRO 6.5" kit, and it seems an SYE and possibly a different driveshaft may be recommended.

Does anything change when lifting a Cherokee when working with a manual instead of an automagic transmission?

http://www.4wheelparts.com/buyers-guide-reviews/lift-kit-how-to-pinions-u-joints.aspx

The distance between the transfer case output flange/yoke and the pinion flange/yoke increases with lift and you may run out of slip-yoke travel as the suspension travels up or down. One cure is a long travel slip yoke, but often a longer driveshaft that puts the slip yoke in a position where it stays engaged is enough. With many lifts, a new or modified driveshaft is needed. You can have that done locally at a driveshaft shop or via mail order. Ready-ma,de shafts are sometimes sold as an upgrade for specific suspension lift kits. A new driveshaft gives you the opportunity to upgrade to a larger, stronger u-joint and a longer-travel slip-yoke or CV (constant velocity) driveshaft.

So it's a one or the other type deal?

http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=IROR&Product_Code=IR-X6CPK&Category_Code=XLK

I'd just check the "Custom CV style driveshaft box," and NOT the SYE box?

In reply to Swank Force One:

id suggest sye

an sye moves the slip from the transfer case output onto the driveshaft. you may want to call but i think they're offering a few different SYE kits and also the option of a driveshaft, which i assume you'd have to make some measurements for.

You're not getting 6.5" of lift, and still expecting any kind of suspension travel without a SYE and CV shaft in the rear, or a ridiculous spacer that lowers the transfer case, a lot. What's the point of the lift if you're going lose ground clearance to a lowered transfer case? I don't understand mall crawlers that well though.

The CV shaft option in their kit would be in addition to the SYE, and I'd stay away from the "Hack & Tap" style unless you're going to pull the transfer case apart and chuck the shaft up in a lathe.

Their price for SYEs is pretty much on par with all the other folks, JB Conversion's "Shorty" SYE is $300, most of the others, i.e. Advance Adapters, Tera Flex, Alloy USA etc are all $200 and on up.

There's a lot of off the shelf options for a CV drive shaft, but a lot of folks modify an XJ front shaft for use as a rear shaft once they go with SYE.

I'm not sure I'll need it yet, only 3.5-4" of lift and minimal offroading, but when I swap the NP242 in and put the RE lift on SWMBO's XJ, if warranted, Tom Woods will get my money for the SYE and drive shaft.

• Lee

Got it, thanks guys.

Makes sense.

Tom Woods all the way. I got a driveshaft from them for my TJ Rubi back in the day, it was artwork, fit like a charm.

Also, I like XJ's with a baby lift and 31" or so tires on them better. Anything higher seems to just F everything up and complicates things. Better money spent elsewhere. If you can't get over 90% of the mallrats/trails on 31's, you're doing it wrong.

beans wrote: Tom Woods all the way. I got a driveshaft from them for my TJ Rubi back in the day, it was artwork, fit like a charm. Also, I like XJ's with a baby lift and 31" or so tires on them better. Anything higher seems to just F everything up and complicates things. Better money spent elsewhere. If you can't get over 90% of the mallrats/trails on 31's, you're doing it wrong.

Blue jeep already has that. I crave more. Especially now since it looks like a Land Cruiser isn't happening anytime soon, the red one will now be the one that we take up to the Arctic Circle. I'd rather overbuild than get up there and be like "Well.... E36 M3."

Arctic circle? Id like to subscribe to your newsletter.

We did an almost 8000 mile loop in a Miata.

Figure the next level of crazy is go as far north east as we can, then drive as far northwest as we can.

In an XJ.

Could be fun. (I'd really like to drive to Iceland but well... I don't think that's feasible.)

Or vice versa. Go to AK, take the Dalton/Dempster as far as I can, go east.

I know there's got to be access in canada.

I read a story in Rovers North years ago about a guy taking his Rover across a huge chunk of it.

I want to do that but with an older box-'burb that's been swapped to a D-Max/Allison with a 50-gallon fuel tank

We go 3 or 4 times a year to the Badlands, let me know, I will tag along. Top 1 is my daily bottom one is for beating on.

BBC

Oh man i like the beating rig!

Nothing much to report other than that nothing new has broken, the heat works ridiculously well, and it needs windshield wipers.

Will add "Upgrade headlight wiring and grab some H4 housings" to the list. Light output is seriously terrible.

Curious to see what gas mileage is like. I've put about 300 miles on it so far, 189 on the current tank. (First full fill up.) At 189 miles, it exactly on the half mark. The blue jeep with SWMBO would need a fill up right about now.

I'm guessing this thing will sit right around 20mpg mixed. Plenty good for me.

LED headlights!

I've got some ebay H4 fauxjector housings if you're interested.