Roundeye has gone square. (( XJ inside))

[Roundeye]

I got Cherokee fever, so I went in search of a cheap beater XJ. I looked at several basket cases, then found this one

. 1987 with 5 speed. It was competely stock with 249K mi. on it. straight body, no rust, runs great. Only $1500.!!!! So I whipped out the saws-all, die grider, pry bar and hammer, yanked the air dam, fender flares and bumper ends, cut the fenders and tapered the bumpers..........presto!.......trail ready! I put the rims and tires off of my TJ on it. (Man, the TJ rides good with the stock tires back on it!)

So now I have something to beat on. I'll post some action pics prolly' after Sunday.

 

[XJNick]

That's cool. I wish my garage looked that clean.

By the way, Everyone has a little XJ in them :mrgreen:

-Nick :!:

 

[Robert_Strausberg]

what lockers work the best????

Wow! Nice job! Looks great! Bet she is equally great off the pavement. Let us know!

-Rob

 

[Snitty]

I wish my garage looked that clean

i wish i HAD a garage

 

[Tug-n-pull]

does in deed look nice. And like I always said it is hip to be square! However the clean garage scares me a bit! tug :wink:

 

[K-Phat]

Wow that looks like a great rig. I've always said nothing looks tougher than a moded XJ :wink:

 

[avyoung]

It is a lot more fun to wheel when you don't have to worry about beeting the body. Have fun and take that extra hard line with a huge rock on the side just so you can add a little character to that jeep.

 

[Sound_Man]

Long Island Jeepers? Bueller? Buellerrrrr......?

Yes it does look good! My 88 XJ has been going through the same changes. When you are ready to work on a new set of stops let me know. I am fabing a set now for mine. Those TSL swampers are gonna eat up your body if you dont. I had to not only cut a lot of metal I went the little extra and put on the bushwacker cut-out flares. In the rear this causes some issues as you cut it out but this can be solved with some ceative metal work. Before you start to cut that back end talk to someone that has done it. I will be glad to help you out. You have almost the same set up that I have.

This is what I mean about stops for the rear.

That rear tire is on the flare and I cut about 3" off the top of the wheel well.

I wish my paint would have stayed as good as yours did. I am painting mine now.

Did you replace your control arms? Did you get quick disco's? Did you pull the rear sway bar off and trash it yet?

Yes I am a nut for the XJ and modding it and as you can see have done a lot to mine. I will be more than happy to help you out with yours based on the experiance I have had with mine.

 

[OutOfStep]

Looks great, nice seeing an XJ with aggressive tires

 

[Roundeye]

Did you replace your control arms? Did you get quick disco's? Did you pull the rear sway bar off and trash it yet?

Why should I replace my control arms? Also, Wouldn't trashing the rear sway bar lead to severe body roll off road with the front disconnected?


I already cut the rear as far as I could without getting into the spot welds. I rolled the lower areas in with a hammer to avoid cutting my tires.

BTW....A 4" lift and quick disconnects are in it's near future.

 

[Sound_Man]

Why should I replace my control arms?

As the front end gets lifted the with the stock control arms the front axle and everything attached to it will start to move backwards. This changes the shock angle steering linkage angles and can/will cause a lot of problems for you with articulation and handeling. By replacing the control arms you can get the axle back where it belongs. Then all you have to worry about is a SYE kit or a longer drive shaft or both. I had to do both or the front axle would come apart. You also need to keep the diff pointed back at the t-case or you will get vibration problems.

Also, Wouldn't trashing the rear sway bar lead to severe body roll off road with the front disconnected?

The rear sway bar will only let you get 3" of articulation while it is connected. The leafs in the rear are sturdy enough to stop any severe amount of roll in the back end. Also with the rear sway bar on you can only lift the rear about 3" before it starts to bind and pull the axle back up into the bottom of the chasis. This is a pic from the other side with the tire burried in the wheel well.

As you can see I have a lot of travel and articulation with the rear end.

I already cut the rear as far as I could without getting into the spot welds. I rolled the lower areas in with a hammer to avoid cutting my tires.

I had to cut past those spot welds to make room for my tires and the travel that I want them to have. The real trick in it is to cut the inner walls of the wheel well and fold the outer/fender back over onto the the inner well then weld it back up or seal it and rivit it back together. If you don't the back windows will crack or pop out (mine popped out) when the body starts to flex real hard.

BTW....A 4" lift and quick disconnects are in it's near future.

JKS makes a really good set of disco's that you can adjust to fit. I strongly recomend them for any XJ. I went with 3.5" old man emu springs in the rear and 2" shackles, 4" BDS springs and a 1.5" spacer in the front. I am really happy with the ride and the way it handles on and off road[/img]

 

[graewulf]

I would so front sway bar discos.. you will gain about 5" of flex by doing that, and you still have the bar for highway.. easy to biuld them (under $5). i've posted info before on how to do them.

 

[Sound_Man]

Here is another reason to replace those front control arms.

The lower control arm will stop the downward travel of the axle and bind on the shock mount. I have seen these get bent and crack as well.

 

[mingez]

Welcome to the XJ family!! Looks great! Very nice for 1500!!

 

[Roundeye]

What if I go with just a 2" lift? Would I need to replace the control arms then?. I don't want to sink much more $$ into it. I'm just gonna beat on it anyway, so I can't see spending alot on mods. I save the real $$ for my TJ.

Besides, it does well as it is now with stock height. I have not gotten any rub like it is now. I cut the front fenders pretty good, so I should have room to flex even with a 2" lift, no?

 

[Sound_Man]

Honestly I am not sure how much flex you will get from a 2" lift. I am not sure if it will articulate down far enough to bind on the shock mounts. You might want to try it and see how it does and if there is an issue look for a set of control arms. If you have access to an RTI ramp or a good rock you might want to drive up on it with it stock until you get a tire in the air to see what happens. I never did that with mine. :?

I replaced my control arms with BDS control arms and it was under $200 for the lower and right at $200 for the upper set. I know it is a little chunk of change but it does make a difference. :lol: