Originally Posted by Big David

If you have to ask, you aren't ready.JMHO.

Originally Posted by N20jeep

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.

Originally Posted by ktmracer419

and if flex is the main reason you are doing it, your prioroties arent exactly straight. .