BrettM

MJ leafs are roughly 57 inches. New spring/shackle hangars aren't hard to make if you really want to run some longer springs.

My MJ works WAY better in 3wd than 2wd, but only a little better in 4wd rather than 3wd (front ARB). When I was in JV I got stuck in some sand very easily while in 2wd, tires aired down to 6psi, locked rear. Putting it in low-range didn't help, but as soon as I locked the front hubs (but didn't lock the ARB) it walked right out. Of course mine is probably weighted 75% to the front, and you carry all that crap and are probably 50/50 :D

haven't had much time for it yet, but it's doing well. still on the lookout for some new doors. gonna make a roll-pan for the rear soon. rocker repair soon. paint soon.

wheelin a 2wd? brave man

the gas tank attaches to the bed, as does the e-brake cable. I think some of the hydraulic brake components do as well. I never felt like taking mine off, so even with all the hacking I did, the front 2 feet of the stock bed floor are still there:

bad idea. first of all, you would likely need a full-width rear axle to outboard the springs that much. second, you would get too much drop unless you did a drop hangar. third, it is simply much easier to build a flatter spring pack.

nothin wrong with a ratchet strap...

119 vs what? 107? A longbed MJ is 121 and I think could be made a great hauler if you were really motivated. Stroker, cooling mods for engine and tranny, t-case upgrades if 4wd, 1 ton rear axle, plate the frame both for added strength and weight, put a big fuel cell in the back for more weight, etc..... doable, but you'd have to be really comitted to the idea.

I know a guy who has towed his XJ with his 5.9l ZJ, it was doable but he said he would never do it on a regular basis.

maybe one day I'll use my new street MJ to tow my rock buggy MJ... stroker, better brakes and trailer brakes, 1-ton rear axle and a few other mods would be considered essential.

ditch that wedge, but I hope you're sure the steering box is on there strong now. Hydro-assist would be a good idea also, both to reduce the steering forces on the box, and to help the steering turn the knuckles rather than push the body around on top of the leafs. for the winch fairlead hole, make it just a hair wider than the fairlead opening, but it needs to be a bit taller in the direction the cable will roll onto the spool.

wow! it's my baby circa spring '05! I certainly considered lifting it a couple inches but there is no go-fast desert type terrain in the area... so it will be a DD and street truck, therefore it might as well be optimized for handling, gas mileage, etc.... and I can't stand to have it stock height, so it's gotta go down

simple! swap everything that is different :cheers:

call the company that makes that bumper and ask if you can buy just the latch... if you're feeling shady, tell them you have their bumper and the latch broke

yup, it's not designed for an Atlas case which is much shorter. Modify the crossmember so that it goes around the t-case, either in front, behind, or under. Or better yet, clock the Atlas up higher (will likely require cutting the floorboard open)

Eagle, to gain spring-rate without gaining lift you want to add a leaf that has the same unweighted arch as your leaf pack does under weight. I think an XJ leaf should be about right in an MJ pack.

I'm warming to the idea too... i might even regret the whole thing in a couple months, but I won't be doing anything irreversible or all that expensive, so whatever... and don't worry, the paint won't be showy; maybe racing stripes if they were subtle, definitely not flames, decent chance of a simple 2 tone... ultimately the decision is mine, but I'm entertaining ideas until I make the decision. I'm leaning towards 2 tone with the lower half being black and the upper being either dark gray or blue... I actually chopped this picture of my other MJ a couple years ago:

cool truck, but I'm not a fan of the body work that yellow makes me think more about how I should paint mine... what do you guys think? what color? racing stripes? two-tone? what colors hide small sheet-metal dents well?

I am going to make some assumptions about your wheeling in KY, I only had serious spring wrap issues with 35s on California rock-crawling trails where there is high-traction, slow crawling, and lots of torque. My understanding of east-of-the-rockies wheeling is that the few rocks that exist are generally slippery. Without high-traction situations spring wrap won't be a problem. Just do the spring over. Throw an extra leaf in if you pack a lot of stuff. Wheel it. If you notice spring wrap (and I doubt you will) add a traction bar.

Since a spring-over uses the same springs, and by flipping the perches the springs are mounted the same distance from the axle centerline -- why do you think doing a SOA conversion would cause any more spring wrap than you already have? I don't see how it be any different, unless you throw in a bunch of blocks after you make it SOA. The leverage is being applied differently and it makes a noticeable difference. SUA doesn't apply as much twisting leverage to the leafs because the point of application is inside the half-elliptical arc, whereas with SOA the point of application is outside the half-elliptical arc. That said, SOA is only problematic when you keep the rear really light or demand lots of flex. I took a lot of measures to keep my truck wieght down and therefore stock spring packs wouldn't flex real well offroad, but if I pulled some leafs to get more flex they wouldn't control axle wrap. My final solution was linking the rear with coils, but less leafs and a traction bar would have worked too. If you wheel with a fair load in your bed you shouldn't have any problems. If you don't like Rusty's you could always get some custom Alcans or Deavers, but you will pay appropriately for the high-quality that you receive. SOA and possibly a traction bar if you need it is still the cheapest solution.

I know one guy with a lowered XJ was telling me he's running cut F150 springs that are about 280in/lbs, I think stock XJ is 160-180in/lbs. He says he loves the way it rides... but it sure seems like that would be too stiff. For the rear, some of the lower leafs are broken and for some reason it already has a 2" lowering block but looks stock height. I think my first attempt at the rear will be to use just the MJ main leaf and add a whole XJ pack to that including the main leaf with eyes cut off. Thanks for the advice on the roll pan, but I think I can easily handle making my own.

high steer is next on my list, sliders are friendly, by far the best $70 I ever spent was the t-case skid. That thing is beat up. how do you beat up a t-case skid in Ohio? i haven't figured out how to do that yet in mud...

I don't like that roll pan. If I do one I'll just make it out of one sheet of metal curved to match the sides, then I'll relocate the liscense plate to the tailgate or rear window. I like the look of the 84-96, but if someone nearby was parting out a 97+ real cheap I guess I would do the conversion...

I know a thing or two about lifted MJs as well, been there, done that... I still feel a little funny about it, but this MJ is staying on the street, so I might as well build it for that purpose. Right now I'm out in Michigan, if I were still out in Cali I would certainly build it pre-runner style, and I likely will if/when I get back out there. I hate the little rice-rocket Civics that kids will spend thousands on paint jobs, spoilers and bling rims, but not drop a dime on performance parts. This MJ will have a little show, but I will make a strong point of not making it look faster than it is. here's some street MJs that have been posted on NAXJA: Image Not Found Image Not Found I like the second better, not a fan of the ground-effects on the first one.

I think it's gonna get lowered about 1.5 inches, cut the coils up front and build new leaf packs in the rear. -I feel the need for sturdy bumpers because I hate the idea of a small fender-bender turning into a big deal. I like the confidence of steel tube. -I think for the front I will do similar to what you said, but put the factory bumper caps on it to keep it looking stockish. I'd like a small grill-gaurd, but don't know how I could do it without it looking out of place on a lowered truck. -For the rear I'm still mildly considering making a roll-pan, it would be easy... my other choice would be to do another like my other MJ used to have with 2x4 tube recessed and 1.25" square tube welded to it's face and wider: we shall see... I'll definitely spend a lot of time doing nice interior stuff like LED interior lights, a big invertor hidden with 110v outlet on the dash, AWshifting unit, decent stereo, etc.