MrSimon

I've wheeled the LWB for a while. Its not that bad and there have only been a couple times when the extra length caused some problems. Its funny you ask about updates because the truck is currently at the fab shop getting a complete custom tube bed made. I'm pretty excited to see how it comes out. I'll make sure to post plenty of pics when its done. Should take about two or three more weeks.

Got to do some wheeling on Saturday. It was hot out, but we had a blast. I love my truck more and more every time I drive it!!

1) Lockers!!!!!!!!!!! I just can't say enough how much better wheeling is with lockers 2) Armor/skids. Keeping your vitals from getting bashed into oblivion is pretty important. 3) Reliability. Ok, its not really a mod .... but I've spent a lot of money to get my truck running really well and to make it reliable. Its the best money I've spent on the truck so far.

Thanks guys. The pics were taken at Rausch Creek Offroad Park in PA. If you haven't ever been there, schedule a long weekend and go - its worth it!! My long arms and crossmember are the basic Clayton stuff. The skid plate is really very simple - just a few pieces of steel bent up on the edges and welded onto the crossmember. If I drop the crossmember, the whole skid comes down too - makes working on stuff super easy. I'd like to take credit for it, but I had a local shop build it. Really, its pretty cheap - some steel and about an hour of labor. Maybe $200 for the whole thing.

The truck is working great .... I like it more and more every day! Here are some recent wheeling pics:

4" coils, adjustable UCAs and LCAs, drop brackets, 31s

I purchased an XJ recently in PA too. While tranfering the tags, we were told that I was paying less than book value and that I would be taxed for the full amount. I couldn't believe my ears. I told the lady, "are you telling me that the State wants to collect sales tax on an amount HIGHER than I catually paid?" She said yes. I said forget it, turned to the seller and told him I wasn't buying it. We went to leave and the lady said we had another option. There is a separate form that the seller had to fill out stating why the price was lower than book value. He just wrote that it had cosmetic defects. No problems. I was really angry about the whole thing .... but what can you do.

You refer to all XJs as potential donars!

I have a freshly rebuilt AW4 that just came out of my 87 MJ a week ago. It has a brand new torque converter and everything inside was completely re-built. It cost me a LOT of money to have done, but I just did an entire engine swap and used the tranny that came with it. I'm looking for $300. I know it seems high, but if you knew how much it cost to have this thing re-done, you would realize $300 is a bargain. Heck, I'll even throw in the NP231 that its matched to. I'm in Downingtown, PA.

The MJ is coming home from the doctor tomorrow .... with a new MOTOR!!! Whoo-Hoo. Well, its new to me .... came out of a 99 XJ with 70k miles on it .... should have a LOT more power than the old dying RENIX. I'll post pics once I get it home.

Set back ..... blew my engine. But, I was lucky enough to find a very good condition 99 XJ right around the corner from me. Its got 74k on the clock and is super clean .... except for some front end damage where the kid hit a pole. I got the whole thing cheap. After I swap the engine into my MJ, I should be able to part out the rest of the XJ and make my money back.

Its been a long time since I posted an update on my truck. A lot has happened since then. Clayton Long Arms Rock Krawler Steering Clayton track bar and bracket 4.88 Gears D44 Rear with full Detroit locker and disk brakes ARB locker in front Alloy shafts front and rear 33s Trimmed front fenders (need to trim the rear so it looks balanced - its level, just doesnt' look it) OBA (still not completely hooked up - its a pain) Custom belly pan I had a lot of the work done at a local shop - I don't know how to do gears and there is no way I could make such a cool skid plate. The truck is running and working pretty good right now. I'm really looking forward to a good season of wheeling!! Here are some pics

I thought I was the one guy too. Apparently they sold at least two sets.

This is all very interesting. I have a JCR bumper on the back of my MJ and was planning to buy a drop hitch and tow my small fishing boat with it this weekend. I'm now a bit concerned. I like JCR a lot and have a bunch of their products .... but I must admit, I'll be a bit annoyed if I can't tow a small boat with the bumper. People have been bugging JCR for years to build MJ parts. So they did. They spent a lot of time and money developing a very nice rear bumper, and some top notch MJ sliders for both long and short bed trucks. After all that development I bet they sold ..... maybe a dozen rear bumpers? Frankly, I bet they are pretty frustrated right now. People beg and beg for products .... then when they make them, people aren't willing to pony up the cash to actually buy it. Lets face it ... as a general rule, the MJ crowd are a bunch of tight wads. Most of our trucks cost about a thousand bucks. Buying a bumper for $300 isn't going to appeal to too many owners. So, they found out that their fancy new MJ bumper has a design flaw. They know full well that even if they fix the design and produce more bumpers .... they ain't gonna sell. I'm not surprised one bit that they discontinued the bumper. Personally, I wish the bumper was better designed to tow with, but I won't hold that against them. I'll just pay a local shop to fab something up that makes it work for what I want.

I did a SOA with an 8.25. It wasn't that hard. Start by cutting the spring perches and shock mounts off the axle. Buy new perches (longer than stock) and shock mount tabs from Mountain Offroad (M.O.R.E.). Put the truck on stands, slide the axle underneath on a floor jack, play with it until you have the right pinion, tack on the perches. Pull it out, burn in the perches. Burn on the shock tabs so they don't stick down below the axle. I got about 5" of lift. No need to mess with the driveshaft, the lift will compensate for the larger yoke and everything will fit nicely. As a matter of fact, this axle is coming out in a few weeks. I'd sell it for $100 if you come pick it up in Downigntown, PA. Open carrier 3.55s. New brakes and hardware.

Sorry, shipping would be too expensive.

You still need a 23 spline 231? I have one sitting in my garage that I'll let go for $50 if you can get it. I'm in Downingtown, PA .... about an hour west of Philly.

I had my bench reupholstered at a local shop. It cost about $250 and that didn't include the padding. The guy said that because the padding is molded to fit the frame it is very difficult to redo. I'm not sure I buy that, but my padding was fine so he just reupholstered it and it looks nice.

A while back I saw a pic of a really nice custom bed. It had wooden planks as the bed that looked all shiny - kind of like what you'd see on a nice old sailboat or something. Anyone know the truck I'm talking about?

I have a posi-lock cable just sitting in my garage. $75 shipped if you want it. Just let me know.

Don't forget that control arm drop brackets are an inexpensive way to make 5" of lift ride like stock ... you don't need long arms. I originally put a 3" kit and 31s on my truck. It didn't look lifted in my opinion ... it just looked the way a truck should look coming from the factory .... which is fine .... if thats what you want. I re-did my lift to get 5" (SOA, CA DBs, and kept the 31s) and I love the way it looks, rides, and handles off-road. If I had it to do over again, I would have saved a LOT of money by skipping the "3 inch kit stage" that so many people fall into.

Thats why I think its better to go SOA and run 33s. The cost savings of doing the SOA vs. new leafs allows you to get a 5" lift for the same price.

Since there are three different people in this thread talking about their set-up, I'll give my canned answer: It depends!!!!! Your budget and what you want to do with your truck are HUGE variables in how you lift it. You can spend $250 and get an acceptable 3" lift. Get used 3" springs, used fixed lowers, build a bastard pack, and pick up some junk yard brake lines. You will be lifted, and it will work. It won't ride or flex all that great, and your geometry will be off .... but you can slap some 31s (33s with trimming) on there and hit the woods. Or, you can spend $2,000 and have a 3" lift that rides like a Cadillac and flexes like crazy.

Couple things .... that pinion angle is too steep. You need to flatten it out by getting adjustable uppers and lengthening them. Getting adjustable lowers and shortening them would work too, but I'm pretty sure that would pull your axle too far toward the rear of the truck. You need adjustable arms, upper and lower, for 6" of lift. You should also get drop brackets. They will greatly inmprove your ride quality and geometry. They will also fix your issue with the lowers hitting the shock bucket. If you don't' get drop brackets, do this to your shock buckets: