89cherokee.oef

I have it bookmarked actually. Haha. I've been doing light reading but I need to sit down and read it. I was planning on fabricating my links and buying the shocks or coil overs accordingly but from what you're saying I should do my coils and tires first? I was thinking about doing 36" tires. I figure with the front and rear cut up it should handle a bit of up travel to tuck. Another question, do you run limiting straps AND bump stops?? My goal is to have pretty much the ultimate weekend warrior that can do serious stuff but I can still take the kids camping and stuff in. Other than camping trips and to and from the trails it will see almost 0 road time.

brendancfarrell

I never used to run bumpstops until I put a hole in my oil pan with my upper control arm. Now I run bumps.

As for limiting straps, I'd run them, but that's because I don't want to constantly max out my shocks when I'm crawling. It's not that great on them.

To run 36s, you can do a lot lower lift than your 6.5" plan. I have 35s now and I've got plenty of room under my fenders and I never rub, except the rears cause I haven't been able to bump them, but that's only while flexing. You can probably get away with 12s front and 10s rear, sit around 4-5" of lift and still get that crazy droop and decent drivability.

I like my rigs with minimal lift, built axles and crazy articulation haha. I'll always try to talk someone out of a crazy high lift just for bigger tires

89cherokee.oef

That seems like a good idea to run both. And once I get hands on and tear out the axles and stuff I'll get more of an idea. I think I was more in the mindset of traditional lifts and that's why I was thinking 6.5 to run 36s. If I can manage less I deffinatly will. When you make your own links where do you go to get your ends and what type of rod ends do you use??

brendancfarrell

Barnes 4wd for heims and Currie for Johnny joints.

Atmos

ruffstuff fab parts and heims. for suspension I like to run 1.25 heims all around, but you can also throw some bushings into the mix to save on cost, as well as 7/8 heims. but I want something I never have to replace or service, so 1.25 heims everywhere makes sense

you gotta be doing a little more research from your end man, you need to at least know how a 3 link works before trying to build one. the problem with double triangulated front is clearance. you'd have to stretch the front way far and mount the links almost outside the frame rail to make it work. tough gig but Ian from Xtreme4x4 proved it possible will full hydro steering. a front 3 link is the only way to go with conventional steering

if you haven't looked at N20's build on pirate you gotta find it. what's your budget anyway? You're quickly talking yourself into a >$10,000 build

brendancfarrell

One does not talk budget when building everything custom. It should be known that if you are redoing everything under a jeep, it will be well above $10k in just parts minus axles.

As for RuffStuff, I have no personal beef with them but I used their diy steering kit and the heims were the wrong size and so were the misalignment spacers. The return process to get the correct stuff took awhile.

That being said, I do prefer heims over Johnny joints. Mostly use the 7/8s unless it's for steering. I'd use a 1 1/4" shank for my arms.

Other than that, he knows he needs to research this. I already told him what all needs to be looked at and that he will be learning as he goes. Projects like these are always learning experiences.

89cherokee.oef

I wanted to get a better idea of what needed to be done in a broad spectrum of things. And I have all the time in the world to plan, save and pinch the pennies I need to get it done the right way the first time. I've been doing light research but at the end of the day I'd rather good advise to get a direction to go in and really focus my efforts on planning there. You're definitely right I do need to do more on my end before I do anything on this build. I do already have a Ford 9" with disk breaks and Detroit locker and a dana 44 with the same. So I'm looking into the next steps of the process as far as suspension systems go. I think I'm going towards 3 link in the front seems to be a trend I realized before I started the thread and from what everyone has said is far easier and just as effective.

Atmos

how many years ago was that? they're a pretty dialed in company nowadays but then again I've never done shipping with them

oh I didn't know you had it handled man sorry for butting in? lol

Atmos

getting it done right the first time? delusions of granger my friend haha. the D44 already puts you off that track of "done right the first time." unfortunately it's true what they say, D60 is where you should be headed if you're serious about reliability. you'll save a lot of headache. a D44 worth it's salt is going to need RCV's and by that point, D60 was already more cost effective

panhard 3 link is the only way to go if you still have a steering box. radius arms suck, 4 link is pointless, double tri 4 link is not feasible

89cherokee.oef

"Dilusions of granger." Hahaha I like that. I think everyone who has started, wanted to start, or sat at work and day dreamed about the places their jeep will be able to go all have those same delusions. Lol. I'm inexperienced and perhaps a tad naive, but I have a least a tiny insight into the amount of work and large margin for error this project includes. So I'll revise, get it as close to right the first time as possible. Haha.

Atmos

we were all there once, that was me not too long ago. I've got a few threads just like this one floating around. pirate4x4 is a wealth of knowledge, they've got a great TOTM on 3 links and 4 links. I'm not sure what kind of financial spot your in but I think you should definitely put together a budget, that always really helps with my builds. my current jeep I set the bar at 10k and came in around 8k, but that was without a roll cage (big mistake, cage it before it ever rolls out of the garage).

what kind of wheeling are you into? a 4 link is a big boost in comfort and clearance but it's not always necessary. don't overlook leaf springs and a traction bar. having 14" of travel front and rear is definitely a cool factor but a jeep can still go anywhere with 10" travel leaf springs in the back

my jeep is 60/14b 5.5" lift 3 link on 37's with a couple other goodies and that's about it and I've driven it through **** that EricsXJ will never touch (even though his is way more built). This build is sweet but it hasn't really taken me anywhere that my last jeep on 30/8.8 and 35's couldn't take me. there's nothing really special or magical about a really built Cherokee except the price tag. Just consider that before dumping $15k on a dream build

SeriousOffroad

Build what you want, the way you want.

brendancfarrell

Hahaha not at all Atmos. Just bein smart.

I got the stuff last year around mid to late summer last year. Quality stuff, just not the easiest to deal with.

And I agree with SeriousOffroad, but it is still got to talk to others who have done it to get some ideas and a starting point.