comanche09

They are good for their intended use. IE Soft roader, Grocery Getter.... My company allows us to choose the Escape or the Liberty for a company vehicle. I have a KK of course. The Escape is loosely based on the old Mazda 626 car platform. The basic design is over a decade old... The Escape is going to be completely redesigned for 2012 if that matters to her. IMO <07 Liberty vs. 08 Escape, I would choose the Escape, now 08+ Libby vs Escape, Libby all the way.

I got lucky and found a traclock 8.25 Axle out of a '98 XJ Limited Upcounty. It works great too. As said above, the Ford 8.8 is much more common to find with LSD... I just couldn't bring myself to put a Ford part on my Jeep... Disk swap on an 8.25 isn't very hard.

Cool, its tough to weld thick stuff with a 115v welder, especially without shielding gas. Good job! :cheers:

I'm a Pick n Pull Addict! :drool: I pulled a nice three spoke leather wheel from an XJ this week ($9) and was tempted to pull a nice complete '88 Wagoneer header panel. -That Wagoneer also had a Superlift lift kit on it, might go back and snag it. :brows:

What kind of machine are you using? 115V? 220V? Flux Core? Stick?

Work day at the Huntin' Camp :yes:

Yes Sir :cheers:

Got em installed! :cheers: I finally ended up borrowing a MIG welder from another friend and did the welding myself. It ain't pretty but it will do fine. Ended up about only 1.5" higher than my SUA 3" Motion Offroad lift leafs. So total about 4.5" lift over stock, which ain't bad going SOA. The topper I have on now only weighs about 125 lbs. Some pics before the swap at the hunting camp, I had a 150 lb generator and about another 150 lbs of tools in the bed, only about 375lbs including the rollbar (notice the sag): Here are pics of the Waggy springs going in and final setup (cheapy shocks :oops: ): Pics of the lift: In these pics there is about 500 lbs (welding machine, 3 ton jack, tools etc.) in the bed including the weigh of the topper. Loving the lack of sag and increase in ground clearance vs SUA. It rides a little firmer, but I like that. Somewhere between a 1/2 ton and 3/4 truck. When I step on the bumper (I weigh 235lbs) the back end goes down about half what it did vs stock or 3in SUA leafs. :cheers: We'll see how she does offroad, no doubt I lost a little flex and travel, but for my uses (alot of weigh in the bed and pulling a trailer) I should be happier. :thumbsup: Total Cost of Waggy Leaf Swap: ~40 bucks :banana: Feel free to ask any questions about the swap! :cheers:

I have Mopar performance spring perches and when I did my axle swap (D35 to 8.25), I HAD to use the forward holes because my driveshaft was too long (not lifted yet). It'll work but it looked pretty damn silly IMO. It was very noticable in the wheelwell (wheel not centered). Needless to say I had the DS shortened the same week. And yes that centerhole is bigger but it does not make enough of a difference to matter once you torque down the U-bolts. And I have the big rubber insulated DS too, not a problem they just cut the other end. :cheers: EDIT: I would like to offer advice if anyone uses the Moper perches, they are taller than the stock ones and will offer MORE lift IF you are going SOA, but LESS lift if you are SUA. Something to think about if you are lifting and staying SUA.

Keeping it original is a noble goal and I support it 110 percent. However ... this is one place where doing so is to shoot yourself in the foot. The factory tape player was a horrible piece of junk and they mostly all failed within a very few years. The chances of finding one that works are probably in the single digits. If you do find one, use it a few times and you'll be right back to an AM/FM radio. For a trucj you intend to drive, I recommend an aftermarket head with a CD player. If you're restoring it for show, then keep the radio you have. Aftermarket all the way there. And get the correct adapter harness so that you do not have to hack the OEM wiring. I found one on amazon.com. Keep all your original parts. I have kept all of mine including the original front clip. That way if/when funds allow, you could return it to original factory spec.

Wow, my 88 and 89 does not have any cracks. 89 was a hardcore wheeling rig.

If the MJ is the same as the XJ, the factory rear spring bolts are 14mm. That's approximately .552". In a pinch, I have used 9/16" bolts in XJ rear springs ... those are .5625". The Grand Waggy is a derivative of the old full-size Cherokee, so I'd bet that the springs and bushings were not sized for metric hardware. Use 9/16" bolts and see if that helps. Thanks for the tip Eagle. :cheers: The Waggy bolts fit just fine, though the shackle thickness at the body mount was a bit tight I was able to persuade them in (BFH). Everything bolted right up! Judging by the way it looked fitted together, I'm looking at at least a 4" lift, maybe more.... ...Unfortunately, my buddy with the welder has been swamped with work. No telling when he will be able to get over and weld the perches and shock mounts up. May have to offer him some $$$ on top of the beer and pizza heh. Stay tuned.

You could bumpstop the heck out of it, but then you won't have much suspension up travel.

As promised, pics: MJ Spring Bolt on left, Waggy on right. I have determined that the Waggy bolt size is a non issue, they fit through the holes in the spring mounts. :brows: 2wd MJ spring on top, Waggy on bottom All the axle hardware removed, axle just sitting on the SUA spring. Waiting for my buddies welder to weld the perches and shock mounts. Will post when its all together. :thumbsup:

Please explain. How would their life be any shorter than if they were in place on the heavier Waggy? (which is also SOA) I am currently running your 3" lift leaves (SUA) and while they ride nice, in my experience they seem to not like to hold any weight even as well as the OEM's did. To be fair, I did buy them second hand.