JJaycXj

Im trying to make a street mean Xj and one of the 1st thing i want to do is lower it i have seen threads before but they never answer the question cuz they get way off topic lol is there a lowering kit for xj's or whats the best way to do it?

prerunner1982

The best way would be to have a drop front axle bent, otherwise you may have a problem with the axle contacting the oil pan. If you can't do that then you could cut a coil off of the coil spring and extend the bump stops down to keep the axle from coming up too far. The rear is a bit harder.. since the springs are ontop of the axle you can't just throw in some blocks.. You would probably have to take some leaf springs out. You could try a flip kit but I think that would bring the rear down way too far and would be hard to have the front match. A rear flip kit would drop it about 6"s...

Good luck.... You are going to get a lot of people talking about how it is a waste of a jeep and stupid and blah blah blah.. don't listen to them. Do you thing, there is nothing wrong with a street XJ... there is a 2wd Comanche by my house I would like to get and drop. They are a bit easier in the rear since the springs are below the axles.

96_xj

i THINK TJ coils in the front will drop it and then you could always get new OME coil springs(1-2" lift) and then go spring under the axle. With the OME leaf packs you will also get a nice ride. Once you have it lowered you need to measure for shocks off the shelf shocks wont work so you need to provide them with measurements so they can point you in the right direction. Also get new motor mounts that raise the engine and inch or two(usually heavy duty replacements) You want to make sure you keep clearance from the axle and the oil pan.

If you have a 2wd i would highly suggest making new shorter upper control arm mounts on the axle. (maybe just cutting your old ones off and then shortening them)

and then after that make sure you fold over the inner pinch seam in the front wheel well so you dont slice your tires.


anything after that will require custom work to the body.

if you have a 4wd i would get a low pinion from a 00-01

superj

I don't know if there is a kit but if I had a 2x4 cherokee I wou,d make it a street machine. Light to light they are quick

offroadnut36

If you have a 4wd I say convert it to 2wd, dropping it would be hella easier, and you would only have one pinion angle to worry about.

JJaycXj

that makes alot of sense but i also heard that zj springs are shorter? can anyone confirm this? after i dropp it i plan on doing an engine swap to a 5.2 or something

JJaycXj

i know thats why i want to do it everyone i race is like wow that thing is quicker than i thought!

93gc40

ZJ springs are the same or in the case of V8 models longer. You might check the Jeep Speed section over on NAXJA, some of theose guy might know more about lowering. Only thing I could sugest is TS coils for -1". Also you should get a 2wd front axle, is bolt in without a pumpkin in the way. Could also heat the coils to flaten them, an remove a leaf or 2 in the rear. There are sure to car springs that will fit.

JJaycXj

what car springs? i think one of these cherokees would look sick lowered people underestimate the XJ they can be pretty sick.

mopar440

Best way to lower an XJ= buy a Honda...

Agree w/ above... convert to 2WD, get rear end from a Comanche, cut a coil or two off the front springs, bumpstop it and get some decent shocks... swaybar the thing well, and do a killer 5.2 or 5.9 (poss. a new gen Hemi ;-) ) might be kinda cool, as long as you don't go too over the top with it...

93gc40

I agree a Xj would make a mean stop light racer. Get a throtle spacer tap it for nox or do a turbo. Build a Stroker add a cam. 300 hp/tq not out of the question
I have heard that a T-Bird springs will fit, but don't know which ones or if they lower or lift. you can search, I have seen threads with spring demensions. Just a matter of reasearching some that would be shorter with the same bottom and top ring size.
The big hurdle would be the front drive axle and transfer case. But it is easier to convert to 2wd than to go from 2wd to 4wd.
You take the tail cone off the T-case bolt it to the tail of the tranny and add a new drive sahft, replace the front axle with a D30 tube axle, and basically thats it. Would shed 200-300lbs, and loose the rolling resistance of the front axel.

Mattpar

you could do a spring under(6in drop), then use a more arched spring to lift it back up a few inches,..

Whats for goal for the drop, 2 front 4 rear? do you want it to lay unibody?

jmm0122

Haha. I think its funny that you race your xj. Thats whats up. Good luck with your build.

mudd_digger_88

are you high why would you want to slam a jeep just dont seem right but it is yours to do wat you want do it lol

Ritter4.0

If you are really serious about lowering your XJ, and don't mind a good deal of fab work, then go on NAXJA and PM a guy with the username "gradon". He lowered his, so he would be able to either tell you how, or link you to his build thread.


Other than that, all I can say is slash your tires, or get a smaller tire/wheel combo.