zj build
 

so its been forever since i have been on cherokeeforum, life has gotten in the way. i used to have a 94 xj that was very mildly built but i wheeled the piss out of it. it threw a rod on the way to work a few months ago so i bought an 02 powerstroke in expectation for it to be a tow rig for my new trail rig. was searching for a zj because i wanted a v8 and full coil suspension. found a halfway decent deal on craigslist. already had a 3" lift but the lift was shot. talked the guy down to 1000 bucks. brought it home and the wife loved it so it became her daily driver. slowly but surely the control arms started to go and the shocks were toast. so i figured if i was going to replace the arms and shocks i might as well go with a new long arm kit. and since the fronts were long arms i might as well go with long arms in the rear. well the kit came in yesterday and my plan was to put it in this weekend but i had my wisdom teeth removed today and the DR said that would be a very very bad idea. so next weekend the lift goes in.Attachment 233114

Attachment 233115
my wife pretending to be a pirate with the x-flex joints
these long arms are huge. its the rough country 4.5 zj long arm kit
ill get more pictures up tomorrow

this is what it looked like when i brought her home
Attachment 327671

anybody ever seen the rear 4 link redone like this? Attachment 327672

its a weird set up. ive never seen anything like it. the upper control arms are on that contraption that is bolted to the diff cover and ubolted to the axle tubes. have you guys ever seen or heard of anyone doing this? im guessing they wanted to go for a true 4 link instead of having a 5 link with the trac bar but i think its kind of a jenky way to do it

its been slow and its been a pita. mainly because i had to replace the front d30. but i got the front long arms in and set up. only issue is that the upper passenger CA is hitting the exhaust. not a big deal its just rubbing. i have the rear all torn apart right now in the driveway. the previous owner welded 1/8" plate to brace the upper CA pocket in. what a pita to cut out. im going to try keep up on the pictures but working alone is hard to work and take pictures. pictures coming soon