Darren

Thanks Ben. Got my seats in and I'm pretty happy with them. I didn't realize just how bad my bench was until I drove this with the buckets. They're a lot more comfortable to ride in. I also washed it and threw an old deck in it so I can have some tunes.

I searched the ends of the earth for a decent bench seat, but no luck. So I picked up some XJ seats from a naxja member up in Auburn. They're a little dirty but I think they'll clean up pretty good. I took the covers off to run them in the washing machine. Then I got started with the process of removing the seat brackets from the sliders on the XJ seats and the MJ bench. Then put the MJ bench brackets onto the XJ sliders. I figured it would take me about 2 hours. Ended up taking about 4. What a Pain in the @$$. Everything had to be completely disassembled. The MJ brackets on the XJ sliders. My assistant

The only reason I see to go to sliders would be departure angle. Which if you are running a full size short or long bed is pointless in my opinion. Shackles are simple, cheap, and they work. I think your money and time is better spent elsewhere.

Eraser wheel in a corded drill.

Just curious why are you against cutting the spring? I cut 1.5 rings from my 2wd coils, and from my seat the spring rate feels the same, maybe very slightly stiffer. I put a wet towel on the springs and used a cutoff wheel to cut them so I wouldn't transfer heat into the spring. Doing this allowed me to lower it gradually until I was happy with the height. It was also free, and I didn't have to source springs from another vehicle.

http://hdoffroadengineering.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/xj-front-frame-stiffeners

Line-X looks killer. Beautiful truck man, I love it.

Why do you need them? The MJ chassis feels stiffer than the XJ from my experience. I would run a set of front stiffeners if I were building an MJ for wheeling. Strengthen up the unibody and mounting for the steering box and trackbar bracket. They're cheep too. Liquid Iron industries and HD Offroad Engineering both sell them.

A 2" drop is a lot on these trucks. A 2" drop from my 20 year old springs would have put my upper control arms into the oil pan and motor mount. If you look at my build thread (George) you'll see how much work I put into a ~3.5" drop upfront. These trucks come with tall motors, a compact engine bay, and a beam axle. That's not a good combination when in comes to lowering a vehicle.

SEM products. If you want perfect and lasting results.

I've run Detroits, ARBs, and E-lockers. I liked running a Detroit in the rear. I didn't like running a Detroit in the front. If I was going to build an MJ I would run a Detroit in the rear and a selectable in the front. Having said that, I would just repair your ARB. Having a selectable rear can be nice if you drive it on the street often. Also ARB makes a good product and I wouldn't replace it just because it needed servicing.

lol. For sure!

I don't know why this got posted 3 times.

Do it, it only takes a minute.

I was going to run them on an XJ I had with 2.5" of lift, and they were too short up front. Not near enough down travel.

Thanks Earl. I'm really happy with the look. It's subtle and not flashy, which works well on a 20 year old Jeep truck. Chrome 20's would have looked way out of place.

Then I loaded up the only girl that will ride in the pile and took it for a spin to try out the new parts. The truck handled awesome and the thicker swaybar sure helped keep the front level. Ride quality is as good as stock which is what I was going for. After driving it, I'm really happy with how well the truck works. I went a little easy on it though because it was wet out and I had my daughter in the truck, but I can't wait to take it for a spin when it's dry so I can push it a little harder. Some pictures from our drive today.

Okay, so I put a new thermostat in as well as a new idler pulley and harmonic balancer because the old one was starting to spit the seal out. While it was down I also scored some parts. I picked up a set of Crown Vic Police interceptor wheels and tires. 235/55/R17. Got the set for $140. The bolt pattern is the same but the Crown Vic has a smaller hub, about 2mm smaller so I had to open up the center of the wheels a little. Then I painted them because it's hard to pick up chicks if your rims aren't shining. The fronts cleared everything fine but the rear didn't clear the MJ frame rail so I needed spacers. The Gresham Boys happened to have some they were willing to part with. While I was in Gresham I also traded NW-ZJ-SCOTT my MJ shackles for a 5.9 ZJ swaybar and poly bushings. A big thanks to the Gresham Boys for all the help and the parts. Even though they are completely evil and total jerks, they've been a big help getting my truck squared away. Sitting on its new shoes. A before and after.

Got the new rear main and oil pan put in. If you have a stock height (or in my case lowered) XJ or MJ it's so much easier to do with the front end removed. I also bought some new shocks at NAPA 11" collapsed and like 17" extended. Everything in place I was so excited to drive it but when I turned the key it was dead. I had left it in the on position when I was checking clearances. Getting a jump from the Brendamobile. Then I finally got to take it for a spin. Drove great an handled great! No clunks or rubbing from the suspension that I can tell. I am very happy with how it turned out. My only complaint is that I don't think anyone will notice it's lowered. Maybe that's just because I'm running a stock tire still. Overall I got this done for less than $100, most of that was the shocks. The only thing that went wrong on my test drive wasn't suspension related. I'm writing this from the side of the road waiting for my motor to cool. My thermostat failed, lol.

I got the lowers boxed in and made some stubby swaybar links. I also threw a coat of primer on it tonight. The next two days I'm going to put a new rear main seal in while the axle is out, then get everything put back together. Hopefully, I'm ready for this thing to be back on the road.

Get a firestick. They're great quality and very affordable. Buy directly from their site.

I'd be interested to see how you mount the ZJ seats.

Also for those who are wondering here are some ride height measurements. Keep in mind I'm currently running a 235/75R15 which I'd consider pretty big for this application. Center of front hub to bottom of flare: 14.5" Ground to pinch seam below rear of the door: 13" Ground to door handle: 36.5" Ground to tailgate handle: 35" For comparison my Wife's stock 01 XJ 4x4 running a 30x9.50R15 (The Brendamobile) Center of hub to bottom of front flare: 18" Ground to pinch seam below front door: 16.25" Ground to door handle 39.75" I'd love to compare these numbers to any other "low" MJ or XJs out there. So if you too have dropped your junk, grab a tape measure and post the results.

So I blew up the last two pairs of 2" blocks. My souloution...... ....a 3" block! So the other blocks were cracking do to the curve in the perch and of the leaf. Also the 2" inch block just wasn't low enough. So I scored these blocks from Mnkyboys wrecked XJ and ground the blocks to match the contour of the perch and leaf. Worked great. So this will be my ride height for now. I'm really happy with it now that the back is down another inch. I've got plenty of up travel front and rear and didn't make any unibody modifications. All I have left to do now is box in the lowers, paint the front end, and pick up some new shocks for up front. Then I can go cruising for chicks. Before; After;

Nice running 4.0s can be had in my area for 700-1500 all day.