Pete M

I don't' have a fancy mansion :( (not yet at least :D ) just a tent, but here are some pics from the 3000 mile adventure to wheel in Moab/Colorado/Illinois. no tow rig. brought everything I could except a water pump (guess what I needed)

yeah, I meant the plain-jane factory WJ control arms. :thumbsup: (and technically you won't need them with 30s, but they are a good upgrade in strength and ride quality over the factory MJ design) rarely are shackles made for MJs. usually they are made for XJs and XJs have shorter factory shackles so their lift variety won't lift MJs as much. eye-to-eye measurements are needed to ensure you get the boost you want.

-the front lift pucks will be simple chunks of polyurethane, so any brand will do. -for the shackles the popular thing is 2" drop shackles for late 90s Chevy trucks (same width and bolt size as MJs). because of the design of the chevy suspension, longer-than-stock shackles will drop the truck, but for us they raise it up. can be had at any local auto parts store. rubber bushings are preferred. -front tow hooks will need the brackets that go behind them for strength. will look like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/84-01-Jeep-cherokee-tow-hook-pair-black-86-92-Comanche-MJ-Heavy-Duty-brackets-/201842556060?fits=Make%3AJeep%7CModel%3ACherokee&hash=item2efec0fc9c:g:qpgAAOSwCU1YvZJt&vxp=mtr I am also a fan of 30" tires since you have a 4banger and it's a daily driver. the bigger the tire the harder your engine will work. since factory jeep rims are plentiful you could even keep your current tires as-is and get an offroad set of muds for the weekend. :D

TJ or XJ axle? either way, I would take it back.

spring are springs. if it isn't sagging badly, I'd say they are fine and it's the shocks you're feeling. a 2" lift can use stock shocks so i didn't add them to the list. but if you need them, get some good ones. :thumbsup: at 3" you start to need more and more of the other parts to accommodate the change in geometry (longer arms, sway bar links, brake lines etc). a 2" lift keeps your stock handling characteristics (and the addition of the WJ arms can even improve it :yes: ). you don't need a giant lift to go offroading. but you will want to protect your sheetmetal because accidents happen that a taller lift just won't prevent (I'm at 5" and 33s and smashed my rockers on a simple hillclimb because I didn't have the rocker guards yet :( ). You will need an extraction point front and rear (proper tow hooks and a hitch work well). armor and hooks are far more important to me than a lift.

pics of what ya got?

2" budget lift consisting of 1.75 or 2" pucks up front and lift shackles in the rear WJ lower control arms 31 inch tires alignment rocker guards extraction points front and rear done. :thumbsup:

so clean lookin'! :drool:

just throw some stars on the blue and you're golden :D

just wait 'til you're rationalizing the purchase of a 2nd MJ. :D (or 4th :peek: )

did they weld on new perches or just swap in an XJ axle? XJ perches are closer together than MJs and that can do weird things to the suspension. also welcome to the addiction :thumbsup:

dare to be different! :D

I bet it's in the DIY thread on bolt sizes. :thumbsup: not everything is there yet, but that one should.

The warranty is pretty much a bumper to bumper, $100 deductible warranty. It is for mine and my wife's lifetime and 1,000,000 miles. It cost us an extra $2500 and was worth every penny. It does not kick in until we kill the factory warranty. http://www.jeep.com/en/service-contracts/maximum-care/new-vehicles/index.html I'm pushing for my folks to get that with the Durango they want to buy. Nothing gives piece of mind on an overly complicated modern whip like a never-ending warranty. :yes:

that's sexy right there :drool:

full droop happens most often on a lift in a shop.

you're always welcome to stop by and chat :cheers:

minimal gain while having the threat of an inverted shackle binding up after full droop. you need flatter leafs to get less lift. :thumbsup:

It's now officially a Jeep again! . :MJ 1: .

yes it does. :D possibly my favorite possession.

a spring over gives about 6" of lift.

added some punctuation for you. periods go a long way towards making your thoughts readable. :thumbsup: what's the gear ratio in your new axles? what size tires are you looking to run? car-part.com can help with junkyard searches, though the part numbers changed over the years so you'll need to plug in various years and models even though it'll all swap.

that's what we're all here for. helping keep the ol' trucks runnin' :D

it'll be worth more up north in the rust belt.

it'll be far more noticeable with a stick than an auto. I went up to 30s in my 88 (4.0/stick/3.07s) and disliked it. it was definitely driveable (was my dd at the time), but it always felt sluggish, especially off the line. would I have traded back to the tiny tires with which my truck came to me? no. definitely would have kept the 30s :D (but after my dana 35 blew up I went to 3.55s for a bit more kick)