teamsmith

Have you tested the coil packs by pulling off the boot and turning the key?

This is such a great build. I am inspired by so many of these stories but I have to say, this is most ambitious and successful I have read recently. I realize I need to dream bigger. I'm also reminded of a quote by F Scott Fitzgerald, which I believe was in reference to Lindbergh's solo flight. “Something bright and alien flashed across the sky... and for a moment people set down their glasses in country clubs and speakeasies and thought of their old best dreams."

I just did an approximate 2" lift and put in new stock length links which looked to work fine. Now you guys have me rethinking everything. I guess I am effectively pulling the SB down instead of pushing it up? I seem to recall that I had quite a bit of thread sticking up above the SB so maybe I can stack some spacers under the lower bushing, although it sounds like that probably won't be enough.

Jim, What did you end up installing? I finally got around to putting my parts in: V8 ZJ Upcountry Coils (CC784), Bilstein Shocks, WJ LCA, and new sway bar links (stock length). I've put about 100 miles on it since the install but I'm not sure what I think of the ride. The front is definitely a lot more stable and I'm not getting thrown around on a bumpy road like I used to. Also alot less squeaking (mainly due to my formerly busted sway bar link) The steering feels very light, like I'm riding high in my suspension(which I guess I am with these beefier springs). I don't feel as planted to the ground as I used to This install raised my front to right at 20" from center of front hub to bottom of factory flare, which I think is about 2" of lift and it makes the front dead level with the rear. I am still riding on the stock shocks which may be affecting my perception of the ride with the soft rear and stiff front. I'm leaning towards a set of shackles for 1" and a set of matching bilsteins. Then I just have to replace the front/rear axles, replace the leaking ba10 transmission, rewire the interior for lighting, and fix the a/c. I currently have a 20 month old. I am aiming to have all this done by his 16th birthday. Maybe that is ambitious.

That sounds like a country music song. At least your dog didn't die

I think it will make sense once you have it off. The donut slides onto the collector with the flat side down. The beveled side mates to the down pipe which has an inverted connection to seal against the donut. While you're under there you should look closely at the collector to see if you might have a hairline crack where the tubes come together in the collector.

The new Grands have the VM though, right? I read quite a bit on the WK motor. It is apparently long lived and dependable if you can keep the EGR/DPF (diesel particulate filter) from clogging or remove it all together using a tune from Green Diesel Engineering. This motor is a mercedes, made in Germany. I understand this motor was discontinued due to emissions restrictions that went in around 2008 or 2009. Here's a good write up on the model https://conflictedracer.wordpress.com/2013/09/03/2007-2008-5-wk2-crd-faq-jeep-grand-cherokee-diesel/ I have a WK2 diesel made by VM Motori. It's the same engine that Maserati has in their diesel sports sedan Ghibli (ooh la la :brows: ) except with one turbo instead of two. It is a pretty fancy motor with a lot of bells but I do not look forward to the day when they stop ringing. My engine has the DPF and DEF (diesel water) injectors that sprays a fine mist of fancy water into the exhaust to cut down on emissions soot- or at least that's how it was explained to me. There are tunes that delete all of this but it voids the warranty. In fact, my truck came with a card that stated they have special monitoring software that will record any changes made to the ECU or air/fuel mix parameter changes. Any detected change will void all warranty coverage. If you can find a low mileage WK diesel or one with good service records showing that it used the correct spec oil I would strongly consider it and factor in about $400 for a GDE tune and DPF delete.

Just out of curiosity, what makes the 00 an 01 not backward compatible?

I agree the top ones are the most helpful but having the longer ones sticking out of the sides helps to set the approach angle. As many times as I've had to pull my transmission out to tinker I've daydreamed about setting up a DZUs fastener type setup for quick bolt/unbolting of the bell housing.

thanks for the tips. I'm halfway through installing WJ LCAs (installed on passengers side) and my LCA bracket and shock mount has become well acquainted to my sawzall. I'll get the drivers side installed soon. I'll also do the flex test to make sure I have enough exposed shaft in my shock. After reading more about it, I feel better about having more down travel than up. Previously I had assumed I wanted it to be in the middle of the stroke at rest. Also this gives me more room if I decide to go a little higher up front. Thanks again

Bonkers, Thanks for all the hard work. I remember that green one at the top; supposedly it sold for $16k on expedition portal.

How do I know if I need a new trackbar? I seems that my axle is still fairly well centered under the truck:

I have this shifter movement as well, I also thought it could have been the mount... maybe it is this a sign of transmission wear? My ax15 has a bit of this too... It could be shifter wear; seems to be the worst in 3rd. It's not motor mounts either as I replaced those as well.

I got the other side in tonight. My hub center to bottom of flare measures 19 5/8 on both sides, which is just over 2 inches over the reported 17.5 stock height. It makes it level with the stock rear which I like. My nagging concern is that I put in shocks that are about an inch too tall. They have 9 inches of travel but only have 3 7/8 of clean rod sticking out at rest, leaving me with 5 inches of down travel. I took it for a short ride over a bumpy road and the ride is so much smoother, the truck doesn't jump all over the road in response to the bumps. I do get a sense that the steering is a little more vague than before. Once i get the other wj lca installed i will take it in for an alignment. Also ill probably need an adjustable track bar.

I do love this build and enjoyed reading how you made so much progress so quickly. I was looking forward to see it drive over K-cars and the previously mentioned flame throwers. I struggle with the simplest of tasks compared to what you get done in a weekend.

Eagle, apparently what I have purchased is the ZJ upcountry springs which is supposed to give 2". Apparently the regular ZJ springs give are the same as the XJ upcountry and the ZJ up country springs give an inch more than the regular xj upcountry. Of course I've only read this about XJs, but assume its the same for MJs. I have my old isolators which are about 3/4" thick uncompressed Edit: Upon further review; I see that I stand corrected. Apparently these springs will give 2" lift on a 2WD model MJ, but only 1" lift on a 4WD. I guess I'll throw the old insulators up in there and be happy with about 1.5" lift.

I think it's awesome that you're building Hammerheads' truck from Playstation's Twisted Metal. When are you going to mount the flamethrowers on the hood? To follow the 'madness' theme of this build; I think a giant water cannon with a 100 gallon reservoir in the bed would be awesome for one of those mud bog resorts. Driving around shooting people with water, hilarious.

Thanks for the link. I only went through about 8 cut off wheels for the passenger side bushings. I still have the driver side to do but I'm trying to put new springs (2" lift) and shocks all in one go. I see that you're in Cookeville. If you ever come off the plateau and head this way, shoot me a message.

So I spent more hours than I care to admit this past weekend wrestling with a 2" lift. So far I have one side more or less installed (I still need to do some more cutting on the WJ LCA) but I'm not seeing the lift I expected. I'm using Moog cc784 which is reported to be the ZJ V8 Upcountry springs and which is supposed to give 2" of lift over stock--- I read it on the internet so it must be true. ;) However, with one side installed, it's only about 1" higher than it was with the old springs and the shock is not extended as it should be- it should have 4.5" of rod sticking out but only has about 3.9", telling me I'm about 3/4" low. Also, at full droop I'm only able to get 21" between the top of the shock bucket and the hole where the shock stud goes through but my shock is 23". Quesion: With only one side installed, will I see the truck rise up once I install the otherside and then the rear? Is the lower 3 corners holding the one with taller spring down? Same question as above but for the shock, will I get a longer 'full droop' on this side once the other side's lift is installed? Should I stack the new spring insulator on top of the old to give me about another 3/4"? If I'm really going to get 2" of lift I don't want to go any higher but I'd also rather not pull it all back apart if it turns out I'm going to come up short. Wrestling with the spring compressor has been such a pain to deal with, all while fearing for my life, that I would rather not install, uninstall, reinstall, repeat.

I recently replaced my ba10 mount with the crown model. everything lined up fine. I think I paid more for it at 4wd.com than what was posted above from amazon. I was hoping that it would stop the 'shifter jump' that occurs when I step on the gas (shift lever moves slightly when I accelerate) but that still persists. At least it looks cleaner underneath. 88- I don't know what that plunger thing is; my new one didn't have it and neither did my old. If you can easily transfer it over to the new one; might as well, right? My BA10 is still shifting well with only a very minor leak that seems to be coming from the lower seam in the casing.

So I read more closely the many threads that spell out how I need to trim the bracket on the axle and the back of the lca itself. The fact that I beat everything in with rams and hammers may explain why I'm not seeing the lift I expected, the linkage is bottoming out on the arm. Question: With everything back together, what do you think about me pulling the lca with the tire still on the ground (assuming I have room to maneuver the bolts)? Wouldn't this keep the axle to frame alignment in check for easier reinstall?

Well I finally got it wrestled in there using a mechanical jack. Unfortunately, the control arms hit the top of the axle bucket, even on level ground. The lcas are new moog models and have a welded seam along the top that sticks up a good bit. Maybe the OEM models don't have this seam? I'm not sure what I'm gonna do but its not driveable as is. Also the springs I put in (zj v8 upcountry model) only raised the side by about an inch vs the other side. I had read on naxja that these should give a full 2" over stock which what I based my shock selection on. As it is there's only about 4 inches sticking out of the cylinder for up travel. I may now bite the bullet and swap for ome as so many have said all along.

That is why I use the Jeep's mechanical bottle jack. Works upright, sideways and even upside down :) It is also helpful if all of the control arm bolts are loose. When I get back out ill look for a mechanical jack or similar. Are you saying I should loosen the uca on the side I'm working or the driver side control arms as well?

The pipe wrench isn't moving it at all, just putting a big gouge in the axle tube. I'm gonna go hunt for some kind of internal expander type deal and see if I can get it to shift, I only need about 1/8"

Thanks. I just picked up a big pipe wrench. I tried to use a bottle jack (I have two) but they don't seem to work sideways, maybe they're low on fluid.