Gadzooks

I wish I could tell you more. Coming from camp samurai, I just don't have the knowledge yet to really tell whats what under there. So how can I tell if I've got aftermarket control arms or drop brackets? school me

My camber seems fine. The truck flexes out suprisingly well. Maybe I'll take some pics? I totally agree, there is no way I'm spending that much cash on my stock axle set up. The Previous owner was DD'ing this thing so I'm assuming once i replace my ujoint the spinning front driveshaft won't be an issue? we'll see

Gadzooks

pics

Gadzooks

more pics to enjoy

tsconver

what shape are the control arms? If they are rectangular with a bend in them they are factory. If they are round or square tubing then they are aftermarket. Post some pics of the control arms, can probably tell from them what manufacturer the lift is.

Has the TC been lowered, takes some picks of the crossmember while you are at it.

Also measure the hub to fender height to see actual lift amount. Measure from the center of the hub to the top edge of the fender.

No one makes drop brackets for a WJ, they are either factory arms or aftermarket.

From the pics looks like a lot of trimming has been done and it looks like factory arms from the side.

Is the DS a double cardan on one end and a single ujoint on the diff end? Which ujoint is failing, the TC end or the dif end?

BuckB91XJ

Yeah, bro, your stocker control arms look like "C" channel steel. All kinds of after market control arms I've seen to date are round thick much beefier than stock material. That is one BAD A$$ looking Grand. We will school you just fine about Cherokees. You've already made the first BIG important step. You moved up from Camp Sami to Camp Cherokee. Even if it's a Grand, it's all good. Just ask away with any questions you have.

tsconver

actually WJ control arms are not c channel, they are rectangular tubing. I think ZJs might have been c channel.

tsconver

by the way fill in some more info, is it a V8 or the I6? If it is the I6 and you are running 33s be very careful the rear D35 with the I6 is about at its limit with 32s and could bust on you with the 33s if you are not careful with the skinny pedal.

Gadzooks

Tonnes of good info here. Thanks already. Control arms are round tubing, I'll post some pics up soon. The driveshaft is newer than stock, got it out last night, it failed at the center ball, middle of the double cardan t-case end...I've been told to watch this, and grease it as often as possible. T-case and mounts look stock. In fact t-case looks as if its positioned with a slight downturn towards the back, creating no angle for the rear DS but a slightly more severe front angle.

Grand Cherokee, v6, H.O. Detroit in the rear, selec trac. cat back chip, yukon gears. Yeah I'm really stoked to be driving this thing, such a nice comfy ride, not near as bad on gas as I had anticipated (especially now with no front DS), I'm just concerned about this DS imploding often.

seed

if your t-case is not dropped i would suggest doing it,it is cheap and easy and it really needs to be done

Gadzooks

alrighty, where do I start?

tsconver

Be careful with that locked rearend and wheeling. If you have the I6 then you have the D35 in the rear and they are weak. Mine is a D35 and is locked as well but I only run 31s with it. If you are easy on the skinny it should be fine but you are at the limit that most reccommend for a D35, most will say to stay under 32s or risk breaking axle shafts alot. If you do not let it hop it will be fine but carry spare rear shafts to be safe.

As far as a drop for the TC, IRO and Kevins sell 1" drops that should get you some extra pinion angle. But if you have a double cardan on the front and keep it lubed you should not ned the drop. I lube my ujoints at each oil change. One of these days the CV on my front will finally fail and I will get a double cardan for it then.

Are the control arms adjustable or are they fixed length? If they are adjustable you can tweak them to rotate your front diff to get a better angle.

I would do the drop as a worse case, why lose the inch or so if you do not have too.

seed

yea might lose a little clearence but probably have less broken parts

Gadzooks

Thanks TS. Thats exactly what I wanted to hear. I've got great clearance now, I'd hate to start lowering things unless absolutely necessary. I do have the double cardan, gonna take er in and get it fixed up, then just grease it as often as possible. The control arms are adjustable and tweaked as is to provide the best angle available. I'm hoping this one was just a fluke, I'll try it once and if I blow another shaft then I'll do the tcase lowering option.

Again, super helpful info on here. I am loving this Cherokee and the smiles on peoples faces when they see a cherokee on 33's roll by! Might move to bigger axles one day, but I'm pretty easy on the skinny pedal, especially with this automatic. I've run 33's on samurai axles locked front and rear and 5 spd and never had an issue, so I'm sure I'll be fine for the time being. But on that same token, is the front dana weaker than the rear? would you absolutely rule out running a locker in the front? for fear of breakage? I'm not going to heavy wheel this thing, mostly slow rock crawls.

nick_n_ii

The more I see WJ's being wheeled the more I want to build one..

Gadzooks

Whats the diff between ZJ and WJ?