Hey folks, so this is my first Jeep build. got the jeep back in january after some guy cut me off and totaled my '99 ford escort. managed to get way more in insurance than i expected, and used it to get a 2001 XJ with 98K, new head gasket, new water pump and housing, new a/c compressor and condenser. only problem I found were some sagging rear leafs.

after much research and asking more than my fair share of questions on this and several other forums, i settled on the 3.5" OME ultimate kit from DPG offroad, along with some other odds and ends to make the rig how i wanted it.

here are some pics of the pile of parts. in the back you'll notice a pair of axles...i found 4.10 gearing, Dana 30 front high pinion, Chrysler 8.25" rear, but when i went to prep them for install noticed one of the axle u-joints on the front was shot. i had to get the lift done that week before a move and starting a new job, so i left the axles in my dad's garage until i can get around to completely rebuilding them, and installing them eventually.

 

day 1: decided to do the front first since it is widely regarded as the harder of the ends. and sure enough, ran into some trouble when i (1) snapped the head off the axle-end bolt of the trackbar (which i was supposed to reuse with my JKS adjustable trackbar) and (2) had a tough time drilling out the frame-end hole to the 9/16" required for the JKS trackbar.

before anything else, we marked all four fenders with respect to the center of the wheel hubs, using a level for a third reference point/straight edge. basically, we held one end of the level with an edge on center of the wheel, and moved the other end until the bubble showed "level," and marked it there. these would let us later reference how close our reassembly came.
--NOTE: because my rear springs were sagging to begin with, the rear marks would definitely be off after reassembly.--

pulled off wheels, calipers, brake lines, rotors, shocks, coils, stock coil spacers, sway links, and lower control arms, and attempted the trackbar.

every part was marked with its side in sharpie, and hardware went into buckets corresponding to system (brakes, suspension, steering).

used a half-inch drive breaker bar for a lot of the larger bolts, being careful not to over torque and snap the heads off (most of them).

rented a spring compressor in case, but ended up not using it...myself pushing down and my dad lifting up on the other end of the axle gave me the clearance for both removal and installation.

(1) axle end of trackbar was solved easily with a 3" cutoff wheel and a jigsaw with metal blades. took the remaining bolt pieces to a hardware store and replaced with stainless steel.

this finished out day 1, as it got dark fast and the trip to buy the cutoff wheel ate up about an hour. trackbar was last part of disassembly.

 

day 2: trackbar problem (2) after using the cutoff wheel to remove this end as well (easier than trying to pull the nut that i didn't need anyway), my dad and I started trying to drill out the hole. we work our way through 2 sizes less than 1/2" (i believe they were 5/16" and 3/8"), the 1/2" bit refused to bite in and make chips. as did the brand new 9/16" bit. we tried 3 or 4 more of varying sizes, but all we managed to do was get a 5/16" hole through the stud, and make no progress in the frame mount.

this took up part of day 2 (spent the other part reassembling the front brakes and bleeding them, mounting new springs and lower control arms) and part of day 3.

i bought crown extended brake lines and crown adjustable lower control arms. the brake lines went on just like the old ones came off. the lower control arms we preset to 16 and 3/16", based on this chart:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4863845/...lication-Chart

and my thought that if 3" of lift requires 16" lower control arms, and 4" requires 16 and 3/8" LCAs, then 3.5" of lift must be in the middle. probably not how the professionals do it, but after reassembly the center marks on the fenders were within 0.25", so we called it good.

for the coil springs, i double checked that the new spacers were a true 1.75", which they are, so i pulled the stock spacers the protects to body from the coils, and set them aside in case i need the 0.25"-0.5" of lift from them some day. after sliding on the springs, i took a single hockey-puck bump stop extension and, instead of pre-drilling a hole, used some quick-set JB Weld, slid it through the coil, and adhered it right to the perch.

 

That's kinda funny

I was working when a guy walk into the shop and asks
Who owns the green escort?
He backed into it with a utility body p/u
Took some pix
Next day got head lite assembly at JY 30 bucks
BFH on hood bondo and primer couple home made brackets for fan shroud
2 weeks later ins co sent a check for $1875
Drove the car a couple months got my XJ for $1000
Gave it to my son in law
He's still delivering Chinese food with it!

 

day 3: after hitting the problem hole with a grinding stone, we decided to tell our mechanic we would bring it in after everything else was done, and pay him to finish cutting the hole so i could mount the trackbar.

no sooner did we visit him and head home, then i was cleaning the hole and cutting the stud off (so he wouldnt have to deal with it)...and it suddenly popped out of the hole. and the 1/2" slid straight through. two passes with a 9/16" bit and we had the trackbar lined up, ready for mounting.

before centering the body with the trackbar, we installed the shocks, put on some new rotors, reinstalled the calipers, and installed JKS adjustable, quick disco sway links.
--NOTE 1: we drilled out the old sway link studs instead of removing them, since we had to anyway to fit the JKS components.--
--NOTE 2: after the front was done it was necessary to put the OLD rotors back on, as the new rotors were for the older Dana 30 High pinon axle in the garage, not the newer dana 30 that is staying on (for now). the slight difference in geometry caused new rotor to brake against the calper mount when wheels were fully torqued on.--

to center the body, we reinstalled everything else, put on the new wheels, and removed the jack stands. with front wheels on the ground, we roughed the trackbar and pushed the bolt through, measured out the offset needed by measuring to two equal points on each side and splitting the difference. then we pulled out the axle-end bolt and set the trackbar to reflect that change, and my dad turned the steering wheel to "walk" the body until the holes lined up again.

front was DONE.

I'm out of time tonight, so I will post ALL the pics then write up the rear another time.

 

annnd the "finished" product...