Sinking Creek 4WD Association

i was wondering if any of the xj guys out there or anyone who knows anything about them would give me some advice on the best but less costly way to lift it about 6 inches thanks for any feedback i can get.

Kevin

The cheapest way to do it would be to fab everything if you have the skills and means. However, since you're asking, I'm assuming you are looking for how to do this with pre-made parts.

When I built my XJ I scoured the net for QUALITY used parts. There's a ton of junk out there, namely anything with Rusty's name on it, but there are some other things to watch out for as well. You can definately piece together your own kit with used parts and save a few hundred bucks.

My data on XJ's is a bit old since I've been away from them for about a year and a half(for example full-traction had just released its long arm kit, and it seems to have gotten rave reviews and is used by a large portion of the jeep speed guys, but I don't have any comments on it). Here is the setup I ran and would recommend for 6", having run a few different combinations:

Long arms(I assembled my own "kit" using Rubicon Express TJ long arms, a clayton's crossmember, and RE adjustable upper control arms)
RE ZJ 4.5" coils(provide about 6" of lift and are a little stiffer than XJ coils which make for a more controlled ride at that height)
RE XJ 4.5" leafs w/ a 2" shackle. A 6" leaf with stock shackle won't flex worth a shit. The 4.5" leafs work nicely with the longer shackle swing of a 2" shackle.
Bilstein 5100 12" Shocks(I ran 14" in the front and the droop was retarded and unnecessary and packaging that long of a shock at full bump was difficult). You could probably get away with 10" shocks in the rear. If you're getting that much travel out of the rear leafs you're doing well.

You will obviously need such things as extended brakelines, extended diff breathers, bumpstops, and so on.

I must ask, what size tire are you trying to run? 6" of lift is a lot of lift and not really necessary for anything smaller than 35's. I ran 33s with 4" at one point.

Here's a gratuitious pic of my absurd front flex:


and an overall shot:


Feel free to ask me any questions. I ran a bunch of different setups on that truck and would be happy to give you my impressions of different products/combinations of parts.

Arya Ebrahimi wrote:Here's a gratuitious pic of my absurd front flex:

that's not "flex", that's "broken".

35s is what i was thinking on running i just saw a few things about 35s on them and they seemed to work pretty well but any input you have im all ears

When bumping up to 35's your definately gonna need more than a suspension if you are going to want to wheel it anywhere. Lockers, possibly new rear axle depending on whats in your cherocar.

Good Lord Ary, I had forgotten again that you had a Jeep, that pic on coal hill just doesnt seem right.

Oh, and I agree with Clay.

Damn Jeeps.

I did the same thing as ary, pieced together my own by looking for quality (maybe I'll go with decent here) used parts, I have patience and it helped, took me over a year to get everything together but for less than $1500 (including shipping and a few new tools) I got:
6" skyjacker coils
4.5" RE xj leafs & quick discos
Rustys 6" shortarms (yea well), shims, and 1.5" shackles
Rock krawler shocks/ hd trackbar (both brand new $150 shipped from CA )
35x12.5 dunlops on soft 8 rims
RE hack n tap
yj brakelines

non lift but still in the 1500- rustys diff/ tcase skids, big daddy tie rod.

You can peice together a spring pack using a combination of XJ, CJ, and dakota springs. I tryed a few different combos on mine. Sawzall is your best friend, and a low center of gravity. IF you can find a d44 out of an old xj, it'sm a good upgrade. The d30 is harder to upgrade, there are no boltins I know of. I got 32s a d44 and a lunch box locker in the rear with about 4 inches of lift. It goes just about everywhere i want it to.

Im not set on 35s that is just what i have read about the most so basically what i am really looking for is to build my jeep enough to ride through decent mud holes and crawl but this is my everday driver. Also a guy at work told me tonight that he knew a guy that used ford F-150 springs in the front and S-10 springs in the back to get a few inches of lift i was wondering if anyone knew anything about that. Thanks again for all the help

XJ-Wheeler wrote:Im not set on 35s that is just what i have read about the most so basically what i am really looking for is to build my jeep enough to ride through decent mud holes and crawl but this is my everday driver. Also a guy at work told me tonight that he knew a guy that used ford F-150 springs in the front and S-10 springs in the back to get a few inches of lift i was wondering if anyone knew anything about that. Thanks again for all the help

s-10 springs should net you around 4 inches of lift, and I *think* the ford coils are supposed to be around 3

just do a body-lift.

affende wrote:just do a body-lift.

Edit:
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetai ... toview=sku

how do you do a body lift when there is no frame?

tsmall07 wrote:

affende wrote:just do a body-lift.

Edit:
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetai ... toview=sku

how do you do a body lift when there is no frame?

affende wrote:

tsmall07 wrote:

affende wrote:just do a body-lift.

Edit:
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetai ... toview=sku

how do you do a body lift when there is no frame?

seriously though

So say i was to go to the junk yard and about 4 4x4 S-10 springs and it would give me around 4 inches of lift so saying that what length of shocks should i get for the front and back considering that i would like to have a long arms in the future after i have ran the stock arms to get use to wheeling. So that would be plenty to clear 33s i assume and thanks again for everything guys.

Kevin