Svrider

Ok hear me out first. This is an IDEA for a jeep i have laying around, 89' xj 4.0 manual. Im Thinking Budget build verse paying full price on big kit. so please dont post links for full kits. Or Tell me it too hard/waste of time. ITs a project/idea.... a so i've been trying to research on modification to rear suspension. im just trying to get a general idea for where to start...

ill ive seen is people finding 44's or ford 9 and buying complete kits or people saying check out this link and its a kit.

so im interested if this is a good way to go? because ive got access to rip apart 97' grand cherokee. has the 44a rear end suspension "coil". Does anyone know of anyone doing it this way? or have seen it? I know i would need the top mounts, arms and such.

I dont know just an idea im thinking about... Throw me some bones please.

XJ-92

if you can fab up stuff anything can happen. i know you said you dont want links for kits but a good place to start for brackets would be ruffstuff or balisticsfab. when i do my axle swap in the summer i dont want expensive kits so im making everything except a few brackets that are really cheap from balistics

99 Purple XJ

Try to stay away from the ZJ dana 44a it has an aluminum center section its not much stronger then a dana 35

N20jeep

Can't be done

Svrider

yeah thats kinda what i was thinking after reading up on everything. Hence why i was posting, to get peoples opinions. like i said "idea" but it is a lil step up from what it already has

Sorry, N20jeep - im with XJ-92, if you put your mind to it anything can be done!

XJ-92

im also debating in my head if i want to go to rear coils with my 9in rear but if i do it wont be until the summer of 2013. if you really want it to be done just start thinking about how it could be done or just look at a bunch of people build threads that have done a rear coil and use their ideas that have worked

89eliminator

go read N2O's build thread...

N20jeep

it was just a joke, many have done coils in the rear, a few even on this forum (including me).

first off, i will assume you aren't talking about using the grand cherokee suspension correct? on a ZJ/WJ it works ok, but if you are going through the trouble of fabbing up links on your XJ then doing a parallel link suspension is a waste of time, either do a single or double triangulate link system so that you will not have to use a track bar.

now onto the d44a, i know you may have it already. but in reality it is a very weak axle, and like said above its not much better than your standard d35. at a bare MINIMUM, I wouldn't go with anything less than a 29 spline 8.25. but at the same time, a ford 8.8 31 spline axle can be found cheaply, and if you plan on keeping the dana30 upfront then IMO the 8.8 is the best option for a rear axle as it is very strong, has disc brakes, close to stock width, and a huge aftermarket.

now that all that is out of the way, well get on to the actual linking process.

first off and most important is packaging. it doesn't matter what kind of geometry you come up with, if you cant fit it under the xj then it will do you no good. so you have to decide if you want to cut into the floorboard to get the separation you need, or how low you're willing to allow everything to hang below the jeep to get the separation you need(which the lower you go, the more you will get caught up on obstacle hitting your mounts and links). so decide exactly how far you are willing to go to make everything work.

next is geometry. this we depend on the kind of wheeling you want to do (and packaging limits)and honestly i would check out alot of the builds on pirate4x4 because i feel that they have the best selection of different style geometry builds for different types of use (crawling, racing, jumping, hill climbs, ect). you can use the different types of 4 link calculators online and try to get all the numbers "right", but the best way to figure out what will ride and respond the best for you will be to ask others how theirs worked out. for me, 4" separation on the frame end and 8" at the axle end worked best. it offered me a very stable hill climb, plenty of articulation and kept the differential pinion pointing at the tcase output during the whole range of articulation. but if you have poor geometry, then you will notice poor performance from you setup offroad, which will suck.

then it comes down to materials and mounting. 1/4" thick on all tubing and steel brackets and mounts is a good safe start, and make sure your joints and size of DOM is up to the task of the wheeling you will do.
for the coil mounts and link mounts you really want to make sure you use plenty of surface area. again, reading others builds will give you a good idea of what works best, everyone will have there own opinion. remember everything has to be solid, as this will be supporting pretty heavy forces while wheeling.

now some other misc stuff

Shocks- the stock body side shock mounts are junk, and should not be used when linking an XJ. a shock hoop through the floor is a good way to fit the correct size shocks you will need. and the size of shock will depend on measurements at full bump/droop.

coils- every XJ is different, so if someone may have gotten 6" of lift in the rear by using a certain coil, that doesnt mean you will. so be prepared to try a range of different coils (i went through 5 different sets of coils to get the ones that worked best for me)

brake lines- pretty simple over all, make sure however you set it up that it does not get caught up in any of the rear suspension and that you dont break a line because of over stretching it. i personally ran my rear line down my upper control arm so it will never be put in harms way.

limiting straps and bumpstops- a MUST, they will keep you from destroying your body, loosing your coils, or blowing out a shock. get what works best with your setup.


i think that's mostly everything, im sure i left out a bunch though. just make sure you do a ton of research. you dont want to jump into this blind. and ask away if you have any questions.

N20jeep

Oh, and be ready for tweaking, lots of tweaking. It can take a while sometimes to get everything dialed in.

Svrider

Awesome thanks for the info... yeah ive def. been reading up on other peoples builds. Im trying to track down some larger axles. Ive been searching the pick-n-pulls, criags. hard to find something that hasnt already been molested or someone wanting more money then its worth.

as for the 44a axle i was saying it was just an option. because its right there to grab, free. Im not really looking to spend a crap load of money because i just want to get out there and mess around in the mud/hills. cause i dont want to break my daily. hence why i said budget build. Yes ive seen/read up on alot of coil packages from brand names. i just dont want to spend the $1600 for just the parts when i could probably eventually find something in a scrap yard or craigs for cheaper.

this was just a feeler for something on peoples homebrewed projects cause that is probably what im gonna end up doing. BUT we will see.

THE RIGHT TOOLS make it worth while, same as parts.... if you know what im saying.
Again thanks for the Info. ill take all i can get.