JACKED88

As yall know I just ordered my 6+" front lift parts from Rough Country. (6.5" coils, adj upper and lower arms, adj track bar with drop bracket, 2" drop pitman arm) Question ..... could somebody please give me some approximate eye to eye measurements for my arms and track bar? A starting point so to speak. I need to git everything set up close enough to be drivable up to tha auto dealership where my son works. Once there he'll do a front end alignment on it. As with most repairs I'm sure there's tha hard way :wall: and my personal favorite tha easy way :thumbsup: to do this installation. With that said, any tips or advise on it would be appreciated. EDIT ..... Never mind on the control arm measurements. According to R/C's installation instructions, tha lowers should be set at 16 1/2" and the uppers should be at 15 1/2". They didnt give a measurement for tha track bar so I could still use some help on a measurement for it. Keep in mind it'll come with a drop bracket.

Thanks Pete. I have no doubt that your right. I must have been readin about that on tha Cherokee Talk forum. I kinda bounce back a forth for one site to the other so I'm not surprised I got some of my info mixed up. Good to know thats at least one thing I don't have to worry about while trying to get my front axle set up properly. Damn good thing cuzz I couldnt afford to buy anything else for it right now anyway. :ack:

:rotf: Tha previous owner put those under it. I was told they were out of an F250 4x4. Might have even been a diesel. :nuts: Talk about a rough ride. Their coming out as soon as my R/C order arrives. (6.5 springs, upper & lower adj control arms, adj track bar, 2" drop pitman arm)

Parts are ordered. :thumbsup: Damn my stuff is gonna be sweeeet. New tires and gittin my front end set up properly are gonna make a big difference. Now I just need to sell that XJ and buy a 4x4 tranny and t/c so I'll actually have a 4x4 truck instead of this wanna-be look-a-like. :thumbsup: No doubt its better that I'm gittin the front end set up properly prior to hooking a front drive shaft up to it. So whats tha deal with dropping tha t/c? I assume its for drive shaft angle. Whats needed and or involved in doing it?

Tha price was right so I broke down and bought a set of 285/75/16 Dakota M/T's from Pep-Boys. I've only had on for a few days but so far I like um. They ride smooth and have virtually no road noise. Got all 4 with road hazard for $546 bucks out tha door. I didnt pay their $13 bucks a tire for mount and balance plus another $10 for 4 valve stems. That was a carry out deal through their commercial tire sales. I also claimed "farm use" and didnt pay any taxes. Not a bad deal. And they look good too.

I'd like to go long arm but its not in my budget right now. Hopefully tha setup I'm lookin to buy will be a vast improvement over what the previous owner installed under tha front of this truck. (F250 front springs with 3" steel spacers) :shake: Other than installing some Pro-comp ES3000 shocks, thats all he did. No other parts were replaced. Have you ever dropped a bowling ball on tha ground? That's about what my front suspension feels like when I slowly drop off tha curb in front of my house.Needless to say I desperately need to get my axle positioned correctly. Surely by doing so and installing the 180lb springs it'll considerably improve my ride. I'm aware that all this won't give me a stock smooth ride. I am however expecting a major improvement over how it rides now. It damn sure couldnt be any worst. Thanks for the positive input on R/C's parts. For a DD and considering my style of off roading they aughta be fine. I'll probably place my order tomorrow. Thanks again. Robert

In a nutshell ........ are they any good for moderate off roading??? No rock climbing, nothing hard core just getting from point "A" to "B" and back again. I'll be going through a few holes and ruts but nothing a stock truck couldnt do with tha help of a little lift. I've talked to R/C and they've offered me a pretty nice deal on the following; adj track bar with drop bracket for 6.5" lift, 2" drop pitman arm, 180lb 6.5" springs all for $250 shipped. (Regular prices for those parts total $312.85 + shipping) upper and lower control arms. $249.95 + shipping. (Regular price for um is $359.90 + shipping) Everything delivered to my door for about $530 bucks pending shipping cost on the control arms only. Regular pricing; 6.5" springs = $129.95 Track bar w/drop bracket = $129.95 + 2" drop pitman arm = $52.95 + Upper control arms = $179.95 + Lower control arms = $179.95 + Total = $672.75 + shipping (even with combined shipping .... at least $750 bucks) $750 - $530 = $220 discount. Not bad. But only if tha parts a worth a sht.

Well, here it is. Now I gotta decide which way I wanna go with it. Re-sell or part out. I'll have a better idea what to do with it once its running and driving. I'm leaning towards fixin it up just enough to re-sell it. As you can see tha body is straight and rust free other than surface rust due to tha failed paint. For tha most part the interior is in pretty good shape other than some cracking in the leather on the passenger seat and driver bolster. As in my previous post, I got tha motor started but havent been able to drive it since its still in need of a fuel pump. Considering tha brake peddle almost goes to tha floor, gonna pull tha wheels and check tha brakes and lines. Hoses don't look to bad but wouldnt count on um to last under hot driving condition. Same goes for tha belt. After installing a fuel pump and driving it around tha block a few times I'll change the oil and flush the radiator. Gonna wait to change tha trans fluid till I run it a few miles and see how its gonna act. We all know what happens when ya start changing fluid in a trans that hasnt been serviced properly. Most times your better off leaving it alone. Especially if tha fluid is a little off color and has a slight burnt smell like this one does. (worst come to worst, whats the newest model AW4 thats a direct fit/swap with an 89?) More later as I git deeper into it. Pete, I don't know if tha p/o replaced tha u-joints or not. I'll do um when I install tha tranny and t/c out of this XJ into my truck. (assuming parting it out is what I decide to do with it. Otherwise I'll do um when I buy another trans and t/c with tha money I make sellin it)

Finally picked up the XJ today. Got it home and off tha trailer, stuck a battery in it, bumped tha starter enough times to turn tha crank about 4 or 5 revolutions, then went ahead and cranked it over for about 5-10 seconds a couple of times, dumped some gas down tha t/b, cranked it over again and tha damn thing fired right up. Kept feeding it enough gas to keep it running for a couple of minutes. Although running rough due to just squirting gas down tha t/b, it actually sounded pretty good. No smoke and didnt hear any knocks. So far, so good. :thumbsup: More later when I'll include a few pix of it.

Well, at least I'm not hearing anything terrible about um other than tha need to keep um rotated and to find tha sweet spot for front to rear air pressure to reduce wear. Thats a lot easier to do when you know how much weight is on each axle. I don't know who got it stuck in every bodies heads that all of your truck tires should be run at tha same pressure. :dunno: For example ........ If tha front of your truck is twice as heavy as tha rear ....... Daaaaa ...... your front tires need close to twice as much pressure as tha rear to carry the additional load. Right now your truck is likely under inflated in tha front and over inflated in tha rear. This is true on all vehicles but especially on trucks where tha front to rear weight ratio varies as much as it does. Back when tires werent as wide as they are today it was harder to notice tha difference. But with today's wider tires you notice premature center or outer wear all too soon. Just don't forget to inflate and deflate when you rotate your tires. Here's a pretty nice list of tires I found while surfing for reviews on various tires. Sorry but it happens to be on a Tacoma site. http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/wheels ... tires.html

285/75/16 Thats just under a 33x11.50 but not by much. Thats as big as they come in a 16. Those Wal-mart tires are A/T's. Looked at um yesterday. Forgot tha name on um but their one of Goodyears Wrangler tires. Not a bad looking tire just not as aggressive as I want.Those Dakota's look pretty damn good standin next to my truck. Definately not an A/T. That pic of it doesnt do it justice. I really like um for tha price. Considering thats a carry out price, mounting and balancing won't be a problem since one of my sons works at a new car dealership with top of tha line equipment.

ANYBODY EVER RUN THESE??? Their Pep-Boys Definity Dakota M/T's Been readin some pretty good reviews on um. Thier made by Cooper and have a 40k mile tread life. Priced um out at $550 for a set of 4 out tha door with road hazard. I know the ole saying that you git what you pay for but for about half tha cost of most other larger sized MT's, I'm thinkin they might be worth a try. Their sold at Pep-Boys. That price is a carry out price through their commercial sales. Pep-Boys offers a buy three git one free deal on um but my truck won't qualify for tha promotion. In order to qualify for that promotion, you have to buy all their other b/s (mounting, balancing, valve stems and road hazard protection plus a $99 dollar front end alignment in which can't be done on my truck as it is now. So much for gittin one FREE. :shake: Anyway, just like to know if any of yall have run these. My budget is tellin me to go for um. :thumbsup:

. Those pix are deceiving. It doesnt look as good in person. Although tha body is straight and pretty much rust free other some some surface rust due its badly oxidized clear coat and paint, its been sitting for YEARS and would require more money than I have to invest to make it road worthy. Keep in mind that tha last time it ran was 4 or 5 years ago when tha fuel pump went out. Before that it hasnt been driven on tha street since sometime back in tha 90's. First things first. Let me git it here and try to git it running before I condemn it to a parts donor. Anybody got an extra fuel pump layin around??? If so, throw it in a box and I'll send ya a few bucks for it. What can I say??? I'm a cheap bastard and don't wanna have to buy a new $50 dollar pump and install it in whats likely gonna turn out to be a parts donor.

I've decided my growling isnt coming from tha rear end. I'm convinced it has something to do with either tha drive shaft and or the trans. The growling is at its worst when I let off tha gas at highway speed when in overdrive. While off tha gas if I downshift out of overdrive the growling virtually goes away. I say virtually because I can still feel/hear it just not near as much. Question ..... could this growl and or vibration be caused by running a stock length drive shaft with a 6 inch lift? I'm thinkin tha drive shaft may not be engaging enough spline length on tha trans and therefore creating the vibration when there isnt much torque being applied to tha splines. In theory, by downshifting I'm creating more torque on tha splines and reducing the growl/vibration. :dunno: Another possible cause may be that my rear end is in its stock position. It has not been adjusted to compensate for the additional drive shaft angle created by tha SOA 6 inch lift.

Yall remember that 89 XJ Limited I talked about in this thread and wanted as a parts doner or to repair and re-sell? About once a month I've stayed in contact with tha seller via email and my persistence has finally paid off. He's agreed to sell it to me for $200 bucks. I'm supposed to go pick it up it in a couple of weeks. :thumbsup: Looks like I'm gonna be back to square one facing tha decision of what to do with it again. :???: I'm thinkin I'll git it running first and take it from there. At least that way I'll know what does and doesnt work. Particularly tha transmission and t/c. More later.

Stock MJ rear bumpers suck for towing. Do not buy one of those little receiver hitches that bolt up to tha bottom side of your bumper unless you intend to weld your bumper brackets to tha frame. Without welding, the 4 bolts that hold your bumper on will not keep tha bumper from twisting downward. Especially true if you have a lift and run a drop receiver. The additional leverage of a drop receiver increases the twisting effect. I tried and you can not tighten those 4 small bolts that hold the bumper on tight enough to stop this from happening. You will likely end up twisting you bumper to a point that tha bolts shear off resulting in your bumper coming off your truck. At that point your bumper and trailer will be on their own and likely headed for the other lane on into tha nearest ditch. Either way it won't be pretty. Welding or a frame mounted hitch is your only safe option. As you can see in these pix, my bumper is twisted downward a little. Since then I've lift it back into place and put a couple of tack welds on tha bumper brackets. I had to be able to pull my trailer and atv so I did what I had to do. I'll build a receiver hutch later but for now this is working OK. I do however keep tha trailer and tongue weight to a minimum and try not to hit tha brakes very hard. Did I mention how much I hate tha frickin dent in my bumper??? :( Looks like crap!!!

I've always thought of that as a vac "bank" so to speak. Knowing that motors loose vac while under hard exceleration and high rpm's, It hold/saves enough vac inside of it so everything thats vac controlled doesnt loose vac while under hard exceleration and or at high rpm's.

Hockley is a little town about 15 miles from where I live. I aughta send him an email and see if he wants to hook up one day. Wonder why he's sellin his truck???

If thats been proven to be tha best way then thats tha way I'll do it. :thumbsup:

:doh: I forgot to take into consideration the alignment of tha teeth to tha hole not really being optional once its bolted on. Maybe before tha gear is bolted on you could rotate it around on its bolt circle and check for tha best alignment of teeth to be ground. I agree on that notched pin not looking as strong. On tha flip side I can't say I care much for having to grind a quarter or more of one of my gears/teeth off either.

Thank you. Great pix. I would have scared to death removing that much material off one of those teeth had I not seen it for myself. Couldnt you do tha same thing by remove half as much material off of the front of one tooth and tha back of another? In doing so make use of the space in between tha teeth for additional clearance.

Yes, you can. running a front locker with full-time 4WD should be no big deal. ==================================================== Thanks. Thats what I though. Based on that article I read, I just wanted to be sure instead of finding out tha hard way.

I don't git it either but we're obviously missing something. I've read it has to be done on several diff builds and on least two gear manufactorers web sites. All I can figure is it has to do with properly setting up tha ring and pinion gears. I think they have to be set up before you can install tha spider gears or a locker. Its a c-clip axle. You have to put the shafts in to get the c clips in, which means the carrier needs to be installed in the axle at that time, so the gear has to go on it first. I forgot to take a picture today, :doh: I'll snap one tomorrow for you. :thumbsup: CRA-P!!! I was wrong again? :wall: That makes twice ............. this year. :rotf: How tha hell do yall put multiple quotes in one reply??? :dunno:

My concern about metal on metal was for the exact reasons you pointed out. It wears out. I git your point about tha r&p gears basicly doing tha same thing but somehow I see tha frictional forces applied to tha clutches and or cones somewhat differently. Hence tha reason they wear out faster than a set of r&p gears. Since that post I've learned a little more about tha True Trac and understand a little better how its design and tha way it operates would prevent it from wearing out like either of the other two LSD's mentioned. As for flat clutches, I would have thought they'd last longer than a couple of years. Paticularly in my case since I don't do hard core offroading. Wasnt it a flat clutch design we ran in all of our 70's muscle cars and trucks that practicly lasted for tha life of tha vehicle? :hmm: ====================================================

I don't git it either but we're obviously missing something. I've read it has to be done on several diff builds and on least two gear manufactorers web sites. All I can figure is it has to do with properly setting up tha ring and pinion gears. I think they have to be set up before you can install tha spider gears or a locker.