Warren99

I've seen one of these on a street truck before. Not sure if its factory or aftermarket tho. https://www.facebook.com/groups/339415879775306/permalink/1695390534177827/?sale_post_id=1695390534177827

Not in a huge rush yet but I need a shifter for an AX15 and NP231. It's my understanding that you can't use the shifter from an auto. I need the whole bracket, which I think bolts to the transmission and the body. As of right now I have an AX15 and np231 both from a YJ, and I have to use the 4wd shifter from there, but it won't work with a center console which I might be getting soon.

I have my eyes on a 87 chief that I know has a 44 in the rear, and a skid plate + 2 little tow hooks in the front. In the build sheet there is a "AWE UP COUNTRY SUSPENSION GROUP". It didn't look like it was lifted but I'm not sure. If I get it and this still hasn't been 100% answered, I'll get a better look at some of those things and post in here again.

I have the same issue, but I ain't gonna make a guess so I'll be watching for an answer too

Everytime I see a stock height MJ I kinda wish I at least drove mine around for a bit before lifting it. Even though it was the most base model truck you could get for 89, everything was there.

Ok I just didn't know if one design was from 87 and the other from 88 or something. Doesn't seem like it from my "research" on google images

God I wish I had money, something just like that (all original body/graphics, metric ton packaged, etc) would be perfect to swap a built 1.9 tdi into and just use as a daily.

Ohhh ok. And whats the deal with Chiefs? I've seen some that have regular paint but extra trim on the lower body, and some that don't have extra trim but have the black lines on the hood, and "Comanche Chief" under the door.

I know about the metric ton package for long beds, but can a short bed have a dana 44 in the rear? Just saw a 87 what I think is a Chief, with a dana 44 in the back, but its a short bed.

Awesome man, I took the same route a few years ago when I bought mine for $600. Still doing things to it today. I learned a lot from it, and by the looks of things there's plenty to learn on yours

Before I got around to the shims I rebalanced the tires on our machine and funilly enough that sorta got rid of the wobble, there was still slight wobble but the actual major stuff was only when braking hard . Regardless, I just need proper control arms like some have pointed out, even if I fixed the caster, the current ones I have are angled pretty far down, the axle is backwards in the wheel well and the UCA are still stock. So that leads me to long arms. Should ride better and fix all the issues. Ideally I'd like something that bolts on, which is why I'm looking at brands that use a new crossmember. https://rustysoffroad.com/collections/xj-cherokee-84-01-mj-comanche-86-93-long-arm-suspension-upgrades/products/rustys-xj-cherokee-4-link-long-travel-upgrade#.Yougf3bML1s I like these particularly since its still a true 4 link and not radius arms. Any reason I shouldn't be able to use this? Anything I might not have taken into consideration?

I have roughly 5" of lift. LCAs are roughly 16" and uppers are maybe 15"-15.25". The graph is 5"= 16.62 lower and 15.21 upper. So I think I'll experiment with shims on the lower and see where that gets me.

The replacement heim should be here tomorrow. Once I put that in and move the drag link to under the pittman arm I'm expecting the wobble to be gone. But after that I wanna look into getting the proper control arm lengths. I see the chart but the only problem is I have no idea what the actual lift is I have on my truck. What is the best way I can get an actual measurement of it?

Ah ok, it looked factory to me, glad I asked lol

This is an 86 so its obviously a long bed. I'm assuming that the factory roll bars are the same between long beds and short beds correct? And that is a factory one right?

No I couldn't find the chart, but yes if you look closely the tires are ever so slightly pushed backwards in the wheel well, but before I upgraded the steering and track bar, all 4 tires had even wear, and I can flex pretty much as much as possible and theres no scrubbing. So once I get the caster and wobble sorted, fixing the length isn't super high on my priorities list. But please help me find the chart for future reference.

Alr thx. We found one heim joint with visible play, the rest were fine. After I replace that one I’ll test it. Then I’ll move the drag link under the pitman arm, test drive, and finally use shims to fix my caster.

Are the shims special things you need to buy to rly work properly or can I just use a washer or make some of my own?

The drag link can be moved to under the pitman arm, the manufacturer (trail forged) just said most applications r better for the top but that it needed it can be moved to the bottom. My dad could have sworn he saw some play in the heim joints even tho they are brand new, so tmr we will check again and if there is they will ship us new ones. I’m assuming that should fix the wobble. But even after that I’m gonna look into shims for the lower control arms to get the extra caster I need. Like I said I’m pretty sure when it was alligned the guy said it was like 2 degrees, which if it needs to be around 7.5 then I wanna fix that. Is putting shims on the lower control arm frame brackets straight forward or is it different/impossible since they are different from Cherokees?

Ok thanks I’ll have a look

I have no idea, I got the "lift" from a beater cherokee that was being parted out. The only new components, not including the axles were springs, lower control arms, and their sketchy welded sway bar links.

I'm trying to stay as cheap as possible, could I just get control arms without the need for the drop brackets?

The truck isnt sitting on super level ground but here's the control arms from the side. Notice how much the springs are curved from the bumpstop, another reason I think the control arms could be better. All of the next pictures are just showing the new tie rod, drag link, and panard bar.

The actual lift amount I'm not sure. The only lift we did in the back was relocate the perches so we could put the axle under the leafs, and it perfectly matches the front. And from bolt to bolt, the lower control arms are about 16 inches.

Yea I meant caster idk why I kept saying camber lol. The stabilizer felt great still and is securely connected. Everything is brand new except the steering box itself but it doesn't have any play, has a slight leak though. I only have 31s on mine, which paired with 3.55s lines up the speedometer perfectly.