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Well its about time I started my build thread. I'm peligro113 and I currently live in S GA. My build is called "la sapa" which means the frog in Spanish, the wife came up with the name due to its low stance and green color.
My build will be for used for DD, beach, and some camping. I will be using OME coils and leaves, bilstein shocks, jks disconnects, IRO trackbar and shackles, Moog bushings where ever required, extended brake lines, and some other crap I'm probably forgetting to list.
Well I added the CS033ra leafs, Bilstein shocks, ,IRO trackbar and shackles, and OME 2934 coils with the stock isolators.
I tightened everything down with the XJ on the ground and I ended up with 5.5" of lift in the rear and 3.5" in the front....no bueno. I would love to keep the XJ at 5.5" but I already ordered the shocks for a 3.5-4.5 lift.
I drove the XJ in this configuration and needless to say there was some vibrations from the driveshaft.
Next step is to remove a leaf from the CS033ra's which should lower the rear to 4-4.5", order some spacers to raise the front to 4.5", and install the SYE and driveshaft
preinstall measurements
left and right front 17.5"
left and right rear 17.0"
post install
left front 20.5"
right front 20.0"
left rear 22.5"
right rear 22.0"
Last edited by peligro113; May 27, 2015 at 07:32 PM.
I was able to work on the XJ Sunday so I removed a leaf from the CS033ra's packs, removed the factory isolators and installed some Daystar 1 3/4" spacers which raised the front 1" and lowered the rear 1". Happy days
On Monday I decided to install the SYE and driveshaft. I decided I wanted to leave the transfer case in the vehicle and just remove the transfer case half. The installation went really well so well in fact that I forgot to take some pictures.
I then decided to start replacing the u-joints and center bearing on the junk yard drive shaft. The first u-joint went on like butter, but the Chinese finger puzzle that is the cardan joint was a little more difficult....not to mention that I ordered a non greaseable center joint because thats what is on my XJ and it turns out that the junkyard driveshaft came with a greaseable center joint and the two are not interchangeable.
I ordered the correct one and decided to install the front driveshaft from my XJ onto the rear so I could test drive it.
The XJ drove like dream. I have a slight vibration at 75 mph but that should go away once I measure my drive line angles and order the correct shims.
I have no idea how some of you guys are able to finish XJ lifts in a day. I take my time to clean and pint stuff as I go.
It sits level but I think I am going to raise the rear another 3/4" so it sits slightly raked then when I add cargo to the rear it doesn't look like it's *** is dragging. It should be simple enough I just need to move the rear leaf bolts to the next holes down on my shackles....stay tuned.
Last edited by peligro113; May 27, 2015 at 08:03 PM.
How is your shackle angle with the OME leafs and IRO shackle?
I'll take a picture when I get home, they're facing slightly to the rear. I'd say maybe 15-20 degrees I'm using the budget shackles because I didnt want any extra lift. They have two sets of holes one is for no lift the other raises the XJ 3/4".
I have very slight bump steer after doing the lift. My draglink/track bar angle looks spot on but I still need to perform an alignment so that might be causing it.
Dude, nice setup so far. Green Jeeps FTW. You chose nice components for the lift, I'm sure you'll be happy with it down the road. Good luck with the rest of your build!
Well I really can't update my post since I am overseas, so I'll just post up what I've bought or plan to buy before I get back home.
So far I've ordered some wheels, it was a tough choice I was debating whether to buy the MT sidebiters II 3 5/8" offset, Black Rock Lobos with a 4"offset, or some Procomp 7031 with a 3.75" offset, all in 15x8. After much debate I bought the Procomps since I found a picture of a 1996 XJ with them on an it looked bad assed.
The choices
The winner
The tires I chose were the Kenrda Klevers M/T in 32x11.5x15, I wanted to go with 33's but I was afraid of having to cut the fenders I still might with the 32's but I figured I'd see if I could get away with not having to.
My next purchase will be either be some short arms or long arms, my mind is telling me that I want the long arms but my pockets are telling me no.
A couple of days ago I ordered another component for my XJ, I wasn't planning on buying a chassis reinforcement kit but I figured since I'm buying long arms I might as well make the chassis a little stronger...not to mention I had $300 burning a hole in my pocket from the BHA I receive from the GI Bill. Man am I going to have a lot of stuff to do when I get back home.
I'm finally back from overseas, time to get to work on the Cherokee. I had a little bit of free time today so I used it to install my new Putco harness, headlamp assemblies, and bulbs. The assembly was pretty straight forward. I used the Vision x 5x7 assemblies since they utilize a glass lens with a aluminum housing and they are DOT and ECE approved.
I had to bend the top tab up a little to get the lamp assemblies to sit flus
Whelp I've installed the tires but the left side rubs on the back of the fender well. I was going to buy some TNT long arms but those plans have been put on hold by an unexpected bill. I still plan to get the after I get back from my next deployment sometime in the spring. Right now i need to figure out how to push my front axle forward about 1/2-1". I still have my stock control arms since i was planning on replacing them with the TNT long arms. I'm thinking the cheapest way to fix this for now would be to install some adjustable lowers what do you guys think? I'm trying to avoid any cutting or getting rid of the flares for right now, I'll be buying some Napier flares come spring time.
peligro113's "La Sapa build"
. I have a slight vibration at 75 mph but that should go away once I measure my drive line angles and order the correct shims.
