I bought an XJ

i'll either go bilstein 5100 + some 2.5" lift, or just go for an OME

the nice thing about going the bilstein route is I can do the lift later when time and money permits

RossD wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote: My gripe about the XJ interior is it makes you feel like you're in a car, when you are actually in a 4x4 truck that is much more prone to rolling over.

My title for my old XJ called it a wagon!

Mine says "Carryall"

mine says CHEROK

Taiden wrote: i'll either go bilstein 5100 + some 2.5" lift, or just go for an OME the nice thing about going the bilstein route is I can do the lift later when time and money permits

You'd ideally want a different shock for lift vs. no lift.

The Rancho RS9000XLs i bought have different part numbers for lift vs. no lift.

What's your budget if you want to lift? There's so many options it makes my head spin.

If I were going to lift I would do it right once. Right now I'm thinking of just doing wiggly bits (tie rods, steering stabilizer, etc etc) + Monroes, and then go for the 2-3" lift when budget and time permits.

The fact is that I don't need a lift. That's why I wanted shocks that gave me flexibility to go stock or raised, but everyone seems to agree that this just isn't a good idea. That would have been nice because i could go for a really nice shock for now and then do the springs later.

Should have bought the xj in july, i could have told you how to lift it for under $300.

Well, there's a guy locally who has a complete lift kit in unknown condition for about $250, but I'd rather just do it right the first time.

Tomorrow I find out what my gas mileage is... I'm not looking forward to that.

Here's what was said in one of my previous threads:

J308 wrote: I'm working on my XJ so I'm going to bump this up. Here is the reco I got from the Cherokee Forums for 2" lift with 30" tire height: Old Man Emu Medium Duty 2" Leaf pack $125 Rustys 2" Front Coil Springs $99 Bilstein 5100 series 2" lift shocks $320 *Not sure on the best source for these, as Quadratech only has 4" Bilsteins listed, haven't called them but I'm sure they can get them. I'll also need different bumpstops according to documentation online, not sure which. That brings me to ~$550, which I don't feel bad about considering these are new OME leafs and new Bilsteins. I'm going to replace balljoints, UCAs/LCAs, and TREs:

CF member "GS Audio" said: Oh....an let me help the XJ owners looking to do a full overhaul like I am doing. Here's the parts list (with ZJ upgrade parts): All Moog p/n's for a 96 XJ Sport Upper BJ - K3134T Lower BJ - K3161T Tie rod - DS1238 Tie Rod (end) - ES3094L Tie Rod (end) - ES3096L Track Bar - DS1235 Tie Rod Sleeve (qty 2) - ES2079S Tie Rod (ZJ upgrade - replaces DS1326S and ES3095R) - DS1312 Best source to confirm your specific model is this Moog site: http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/default.asp

I can then do tires in 30x9.50 (if I were towing, I'd compare to 235/75's, because I'm really not sure what would be best) on my current steel wheels and all the commenters are in agreement that I'll be in good shape for a DD. Keep in mind that if you go over 3" of lift you could have vibration issues, etc that require even more components. Also, read a little on the ZJ to XJ rear disc conversion, seems easy enough and my local pick n pull has literally 10+ ZJ's with these parts untouched, so I'm definitely going to tackle it. One last note out there, OME is known as one of the best riding leaf packs, and they may make a HD version that would be better for towing. Just thought I'd throw it out there. FYI, I've found the best info on CF and NAXJA, less wading through the Wrangler discussions. Good luck and keep me posted how it works out.

Someone quoted me $299 shipped for 5100s and $350 for OME coils and leafs. $650 doesn't seem bad. He suggested new leaf spring bushings and all that jazz as well.

I think I met someone locally who will help me do the work too, which would be a huge bonus.

Sooooo this thing is awesome quirks, bad suspension, and all. I'm not looking forward to the gas mileage though. I love the automatic (never thought I'd hear myself say that).

I just added the cheap 30 dollar autozone helper spring to my leaf spring. Measured to the center of the hub (the way Keith told us to) it was 17.5 inches, now it's just under 19. Success!

Joey

Taiden wrote: I love the automatic (never thought I'd hear myself say that).

Ditto. The XJ's auto box is one of if not the least offensive I've sampled.

ValuePack wrote:

Taiden wrote: I love the automatic (never thought I'd hear myself say that).

Ditto. The XJ's auto box is one of if not *the* least offensive I've sampled.

I've heard that several times now!

Joey

My only complaint with it is that it's a little reluctant to kick down out of overdrive.

But that's also a plus, since it doesn't hunt all the time on the highway.

That wiggly bits list, does it include quantity? I'm not at all familiar with the steering setup on this. I'm used to a steering rack with single outer tie rods.

Also, I know moog is the best, but mevotech is less than half the price. I plan on putting less than 50,000 miles on this Jeep so Moog may be overkill?

Taiden wrote: That wiggly bits list, does it include quantity? I'm not at all familiar with the steering setup on this. I'm used to a steering rack with single outer tie rods. Also, I know moog is the best, but mevotech is less than half the price. I plan on putting less than 50,000 miles on this Jeep so Moog may be overkill?

I think the wiggly bits list is the quantity, yes.

Moog isn't necessarily the best anymore... they're riding on their name.

I use a lot of Mevotech stuff on my cars. No ugly surprises yet. (Well... the ball joint boots on my MX6 only lasted about... 25k miles, but they're also at pretty extreme angles and i imagine that car in general puts a lot of stress on the fron end.)

And how the heck do you align the rear end?

I don't think you do, unless something is broken.

Fair enough. Seems like my possible trade e30 for clean 5spd xj fell through so that means it's time for me to spend lots of money on this one haha