jeepdreamer

I am rapidly acquiring the parts to lift my 01 and have a question about steering. I'll be running ACOS set at the least amount of lift and a set of 3.5" RE coils. I have an RE adj trac bar/bracket/and brace, JKS discos, and RE drop brackets. I'm guessing I'll be hitting near the 5"s of lift despite wanting to keep it lower. My question is will the factory steering suffice to just get me moving around the street for a little while? I plan on getting a steering up grade of some sort in addition to some LAs once I'm stationed back in the states (a couple months from now) and would prefer to wait on that if I can. Anyone have any idea or input?

jtm01xj

If you want a real cheep upgrade go to a local jy and find a 94-98 grand Cherokee v8 and pull the whole steering from end to end and pull the pitman arm as well and spend less then 30$ at most jy if not the stock should hold up for awhile i know mine did and i got 4.5 with 31s

VTJeep

You havent mentioned how big of tires your planning on running. If your going 33's + then bracing your steering box is always good. A little more info would be good.

jeepdreamer

Unfortunately, I'm still in Germany and the only GC in the junkyard here is a 4.0 not a V8. Is there a big difference between them? Just wondering if the GC just got better/bigger stuff all around versus the XJ?

[quote=You havent mentioned how big of tires your planning on running. If your going 33's + then bracing your steering box is always good. A little more info would be good.[/quote]

Oops... I DID forget that didn't I? lol! I'm goning to be running really narrow 33x9.50x15 BFG ATs. My biggest concern/worry is that I will start tearing into it only to find I have some part that simply will not work at all. If it's not 100% perfect I understand and am ok with that. Like I said, fine tuning and better parts will come once I'm back in the states in a couple months. For now I am looking for three things.
1- Get all these tires and parts out of my room and on the Jeep!
2- Still be able to DD it around base until I load it up to be shipped home.
3- Not get it deadlined (not able to drive it) due to needing to order "part X" that I should have known I need. Shipping stuff here is expensive and slow as two turtles doing the wild thing!

jtm01xj

Yea the v8 gc has thicker steering set up and has the dropped pitman arm that you need when you do a lift

VTJeep

Ok, 33x9.50's and ~5": you have adj. trac bar thats needed. What abott rear sus? You mentioned coils but no leafs.. Are you in a grand Cherokee? Either way, your going to need longer break lines and more importantly, the rear drive shaft is gonna be at a bad angle at that height. A SYE and shaft will be needed. There's a couple ways to go about it- a SYE kit or a HnT (hack and tap).

Edit- longer bumpstops and some fender trimming will be your friends.

jeepdreamer

Man... I DID forget a lot of important details, I suck! lol!
The '01 is an XJ and its currently 2 wheel drive. I have a donor Dana 30 that will be getting swapped in at the same time as the lift but the tranny/t-case will wait until I'm stateside. My rear suspension will be a combination of Bastard packs and JKS shackles in relocation boxes. The drive shaft should be long enough but I'll have to make a cross member drop to help with the angle. I'm also putting in a Ford 8.8 so the rear brake lines will be kinda butch/hand fabbed for now. I'm hoping I can stretch the fronts to work just until I get back to the states. I don't plan to flex any more than going in and out of a driveway so it may work. Though I'll know once I get at it. I just don't want to order new ones until I know how big its going to be, ya know?
I'm not opposed to trimming the fenders but am trying to keep that to a minimum if I can, Since the tires are so skinny I'm hoping they will give me some leeway. That will all fall under "fine tuning" and will be done later as long as I'm not scrubbing or rubbing just going straight down the road. Keep the advice coming... I'm all ears!

VTJeep

Do you already have the 8.8? An 8.25 will pretty much bolt in. The 8.8 will require some changes. But either way, sounds like you've got it under control. The fender trimming will be a close call. At ~5" I guess you can get away without trimming, but def get longer bumpstops. Are you staying on the stock rims? If so the backspace is like 4.5" I think, so there may be some issue with lock to lock turning, but other than that it sounds like your in the right track man!

Edit- ya don't suck! No worries man!

jeepdreamer

Thanks man... Its frustrating being so far from a Pepboys or Walmart when you need stuff. lol! Thankfully I'll be home soon and can get most simple stuff way easier.
I already have the 8.8 and RuffStuff's easy install kit. I grabbed one of the 1310 adapters off of a rotten old Ford Ranger here so I should be able to make that work. I got a pair of passenger side brake lines to make them work though I still need new rotors and calipers. That's gonna suck since they are heavy (=expensive) to ship. And the vendor on here with the screaming deals doesn't ship to APOs... I understand fully but it sucks for me!
I'm running the same type wheels in this pic (my other XJ/donor/storage facility) for now anyways. I did get a pair of 1.5" wheel spacers thinking the rear would have to have them. I'll know once I get stuff bolted up for sure though. I am just tired of seeing this pile of new/cool used parts clogging up my little room and knowing I need to get cracking on it. My CJ8 is taking most of my build time and since the XJ is my DD, I have to wait until I have absolutely no other projects going and all parts here to start wrenching on it. Still a lot I can do for prep but time seems to be the biggest hurdle.

VTJeep

Bummer about parts/tools availability/cost..

That always adds hassle, but it sounds like you've got it under control and are doing it right by trying to focus on one project at a time.. Worst case with wheels is just adding the spacers if there's clearance issues.