I installed my long arm lift a while ago and I am about to go in for an alignment. I got to thinking (probably too much), and I was wondering what the distance from the front axle to the rear should be?

I have an RE long arm lift and I set the lowers to what the instructions said. I was just wondering what the dimensions would be verify the axle distance, and does it really matter as long as the front axle is straight? I know some guys n this forum have fabricated their own custom long arms, how did you guys set your distances?

 

it doesnt matter much, if you go too far forward from stock you will run into steering angle and trackbar issues. However, the further forward you go the better (mostly). Lots of guys I have seen running ~2" of stretch in the front with stock steering and trackbar setup. You can check by looking up what the stock wheelbase is and checking yours, simple to do

 

Stock wheelbase for a Cherokee is 101.4". Just measure from the middle of the front axle to the middle of the rear and that will tell you how close you are to stock.

When I build my long arms, I had the intent of stretching the wheelbase. Right now the front of my Comanche is sitting at ~1.5" and rear at 4-5" of stretch. Until the one tons go under, the steering is sitting in the stock location and have no issues with alignments and nothing hits on flex.