Don't know. Never had a 96ish XJ to compare. It stops like it should in my opinion. No worries whatsoever. Honestly never really thought too much about it..
Ha! I posted in your build about the Crown steering. Best price I found was 4wheelparts of all places. (When I bought mine)
Lots has happened but I'm waiting for more to happen then I'll update. Gonna be a big week hopefully!
You'll like that crown HD steering. Very beefy and very high quality.
Have you tried swapping out your track bar to get rid of the wobble? Quality piece like Iron Rock Offroad double shear?