jeepthing07 Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 OK i have a 1989 2wd short bed I'm working on converting it to 4wd. I'm about to start lifting it. I will be springing the rear over and i want to make sure i get coils that will make it sit level. I hear the 4wd trucks sit higher than the 2wd but the leafsprings have the same jeep part number from what i have seen online? So should i go for 4.5" XJ coils or 4.5 ZJ coils ( ZJ coils sit 1" higher right?) I'm going to be buying parts from Rubicon Express. And will 34x10.50 super swampers clear control arms ok on stock wheels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 4wd MJ on the left, 2wd MJ in the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 And will 34x10.50 super swampers clear control arms ok on stock wheels? Doubt it. And do NOT make the assumption that a ZJ coil will sit one inch higher. Typically the difference is that the ZJ coil is the same length but of a higher spring rate, but not always! Besides, you don't want a forking high spring rate anyways, or you front will never flex.... Anyway, you can change the height of the leaf packs later by adding an extra main leaf (that's been cut) or swapping in flatter leaves. Coils can be spaced with extra stock isolators, or with real spacers. Basically, you try it and see what happens. Also, when going SOA the height will depend on the perches used, and the axle you have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepthing07 Posted August 22, 2006 Author Share Posted August 22, 2006 I would rather have stiffer springs on it anyways my friend has soft coils on his TJ and it feels like jello I don’t like it. I don’t plan on doing any hard offroading or rock crawling with the MJ that’s what my YJ is for. I don’t have much money to spend on this Comanche and I want to make sure I spend it wisely; I don’t want to do things twice! So I'm trying to gather all the info I can I'm open to any and all opinions. Here’s my plans if anyone thinks I should do something differently let me know Front: 5.5 ZJ Coils Adjustable LCA's all from Rubicon Express DT3000 shocks (sleeved track bar for now) Rear: Mopar Spring perches sprung over (2wd leaf packs) DT3000 shocks As for the transmission I have a 1999 4wd AX5 that lost reverse gear. I am going to See if I can fix it with parts from my current 2wd AX5. Anyone ever converted a 2wd AX5 with a 4wd main shaft and a tail housing? Seems like it would work I will be finding out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepthing07 Posted August 22, 2006 Author Share Posted August 22, 2006 I just now seen on RE's website there 5" MJ spring over kit comes with 4.5" ZJ coils and a 2" spacer. but the XJ 5.5" kit comes with just 4.5" ZJ coils... this is getting confusing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 And will 34x10.50 super swampers clear control arms ok on stock wheels? They'll probably hit. IMO, widen your stance a little with some spacers or rims with less backspacing. It'll be nicer with the heigher COG. I will be springing the rear over and i want to make sure i get coils that will make it sit level. You want it to be level like most ppl lift their trucks, or "level" level?. The rear end seems to be up 2" or so on stock MJs, so you'll have to compensate for that if you're trying to make it "level" level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepthing07 Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 And with RE's bigger lift systems they all include drop down brackets for the control arms. Is this really needed or is this just for a better on ride? It's to maintain steering alignment and to avoid death wobble. Death wobble, by the way, is a good thing to avoid whenever possible. Ask anyone who has experienced it ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 And with RE's bigger lift systems they all include drop down brackets for the control arms. Is this really needed or is this just for a better on ride? definately need something different for the control arms than regular short arms at 6+ inches alot of people don't like the rubicon drop brackets cause of the loss of clearance... but like you said. thats what the YJ is for. and the extra flex/whatnot will make up for the lack of clearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepthing07 Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 So if i go with 4.5-5" coils with a 1 inch spacer i can't just use adjustable lower control arms i have to go long arm or Radius arm? maybe i will convert it to leaf springs. :cry: ^I don't know wtf happend but my other post got messed up i dident even type that except for the quote^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 As odd as this may sound, it's not really a cheap solution... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 The whole purpose of the DB's is to correct the Control arm angles. Adjustable uppers will fix the caster problems associated with taller lifts. I know I have posted this a 100 times... RE Drop brackets work like a champ, even with stock upper and lowers, just watch out for bushing wear. Tera Flex makes a cheap and flexy Long arm upgrade kit if you all ready have adjustable uppers. It is basically a parrallel 4link setup. As Dirty said.. going leaf spring upfront isn't as easy as some ppl make it sound, especially if you don't have a GOOD welder, and some fab skills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepthing07 Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 Coils are a PITA :headpop: I don't want to drag this thread on forever but.... this truck will only see maybe a 15 mile raidus from my house and it won't be used all that much. just when i need to haul my atv or haul something in the bed and local trails. i know about death wobble my friends TJ had it. i don't want to endanger anyones lives on the road just to fit some bigger tires on it relativly cheaply. So i guess this means I'm going to have to buy adjustable uppers $200, Coils $175, and long arms $300 just to fit some 33's on a $300 truck lol ..... Jeep should have stayed with Leaf springs :mad: and btw i am a welder/fabricator so leaves are looking like a good option right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 And $200 for an adjustable track bar, or sleeve it yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 yeah, i really don't wanna deal with control arms and their wobbles and such... id much rather deal with spring wrap :brows: i could probably get a local shop to do the swap for me for the amount of a longarm kit. :roll: Jeep should have stayed with Leaf springs :mad: so true... so true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepthing07 Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 This guy on ebay is selling a 5" Comanche lift kit says it drives great... it dosent say anything about control arms at all! the LCA's have to be hitting the coil/shock mount. anyone on here used this kit? its only $459.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-Com ... enameZWDVW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 There has been much discusion on parts of this lift kit. OME coils are top of the line. It has been said that the no weld SOA parts won't work on a d44 (don't have first had knowledge, read it on this forum somewhere). All that being said, you might just have to weigh the por's and cons of the kit, and try it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 This guy on ebay is selling a 5" Comanche lift kit says it drives great... it dosent say anything about control arms at all! the LCA's have to be hitting the coil/shock mount. anyone on here used this kit? its only $459.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-Com ... enameZWDVW I woulld stay far, far away from that kit. Anything above 3 inches of lift and you MUST do something about the control arms. And I would still recommend lowers for 3". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepthing07 Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 I have been weighing my options i think i will go for a 3-3.5" lift and run 31's. the rusty 3" kit has nice price but i think i will get some RE 3.5" coils and then get some full length AAL's for the rear then later get some new adjustable LCA's. Who makes the best Add A Leafs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4play Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 This site has several kits available, most are for the XJ but a few are listed as MJ specific. Some name brands competitive with Rocky's prices from what I remember seeing. http://www.rockymountainsusp.com/jeep_XJ.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 yeah, i really don't wanna deal with control arms and their wobbles and such... id much rather deal with spring wrap. What makes you think just changing to leaf spring will prevent death wobble? Hint: It won't. Death wobble can be caused (or "induced") by a number of factors, but the one thing certain about it is that it affects solid axle trucks and doesn't happen with IFS. The reason it doesn't affect IFS is that it is fundamentally the result of a harmonic, allowing oscillations in one front wheel to be transmitted to the other. If the frequency is right (meaning "wrong"), the oscillations hit a harmonic of the suspension and become mutually reinforcing. This can happen with either coil springs or leaf springs. If the primary purpose of going to leaves is to avoid death wobble ... forget it. You're on the wrong tack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 yeah, i really don't wanna deal with control arms and their wobbles and such... id much rather deal with spring wrap. What makes you think just changing to leaf spring will prevent death wobble? Hint: It won't. Death wobble can be caused (or "induced") by a number of factors, but the one thing certain about it is that it affects solid axle trucks and doesn't happen with IFS. The reason it doesn't affect IFS is that it is fundamentally the result of a harmonic, allowing oscillations in one front wheel to be transmitted to the other. If the frequency is right (meaning "wrong"), the oscillations hit a harmonic of the suspension and become mutually reinforcing. This can happen with either coil springs or leaf springs. If the primary purpose of going to leaves is to avoid death wobble ... forget it. You're on the wrong tack. Control Arm bushings are the only thing I can think of coming from coils to cause death wobble. Are bad tire balancing effects considered DW? (Sorry if this looks like a threadjack, just a quick question.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepthing07 Posted August 26, 2006 Author Share Posted August 26, 2006 Whenever i hear about death wobble the letters XJ ZJ TJ are usually involved. i never had the problem on my YJ CJ7's. My friend had it on a 99 TJ with a 2" budget boost it turned out to be a bad leaking steering stabilizer. I didn’t think something as simple as a stabilizer could cause death wobble. i have ran leaf sprung jeeps without a stabilizer at all with no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 A stabilizer can mask DW though, or what ppl call DW. As Eagle stated DW is caused by many things, but mostly worn out bushings, and bad wheel bearings cause what alot of ppl refer to a DW, I just call them bad vibes. A steering stabilizer wil fix bad vibes where as if you truly had DW.. it takes a lot of work and trail and error to find the cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 this is true death-grip-shake-hate-evilness-rodeo-ride... not vibes. i havent done much with it but a balance on the front end. and checked balljoints/wheelbearings. (done with my hikack now ;) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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