New Member - XJ nut

[sickholski]

Hey everyone,

My name is Ryan Cicholski. I am from west Michigan and joined to discuss the Jeep XJ project that I have been working on for 2 years. It is my daily driver, I’ve replaced a lot of necessary items, most notably floor pans as well as installed frame stiffeners. Goal is to put it on coilovers. I have a well-built D30 all set up for coilovers, just want to make it party on factory-ish axles. I am a full-time college student, so time and money aren’t on my side but I’m doing fine. Still need to buy/build a long-arm kit, would prefer to build so if anyone has any tips on how to figure out the right length for control arms and setting up 14” coilovers let me know. Also need to buy the coilovers, towers as well as bump stops and then I’m about ready to fab it all together. Look forward to meeting you all.

 

[Tree trunk]

Hi there!
My dad has an xj with everything that is on your list. I set up the front suspension so I can give some pointers

First, don’t plan your build around shock length…. I’ve done that way too many times and it rarely works out….
For example I bought some 14” coil overs to stuff into this xj and we ended up having to limit the shock travel to 12” anyways.

My dad bought the Clayton off-road long arm mount. Then he bought the ruff stuff DIY long arm kit for the xj. As far as length he just built the links to the stock axle location. Then pushed the axle forward an inch or two.

As for mounting coil overs… it was a bitch and a half. There are a lot of moving parts In The front of the XJ especially with 35’s and stock width axles.

I would say before you mount coil overs. Get the links in and get the steering set up first. You can run on coil springs for as long as you need.
After you are all squared away then you can take some measurements and find out exactly what size shock length you need.

 

[troysladeck]

Welcome! That Marc’s old axle isn’t it! Lol

I just put on a rusty’s long arm kit on my jeep and highly recommend it. It’s their jeepspeed kit and built super well and decently priced. Its probably a good idea to buy a long arm kit (at least the control arm mounting brackets) instead of building because unibodies suck and need all the support they can get. Some companies offer the crossmember only though, like Ironman4x4fab and stinkyfab, which means you could build your own links.


As far as coilovers it may be hard to fit a 14” shock especially since the axle mount is already in place on your new axle. In my opinion you don't want the shocks to limit your uptravel.

I’m doing coilovers soon too and just bought the CFM industries boxed towers and will post up on here when I get around to installing them

 

[sickholski]

Hi there!
My dad has an xj with everything that is on your list. I set up the front suspension so I can give some pointers

First, don’t plan your build around shock length…. I’ve done that way too many times and it rarely works out….
For example I bought some 14” coil overs to stuff into this xj and we ended up having to limit the shock travel to 12” anyways.

My dad bought the Clayton off-road long arm mount. Then he bought the ruff stuff DIY long arm kit for the xj. As far as length he just built the links to the stock axle location. Then pushed the axle forward an inch or two.

As for mounting coil overs… it was a bitch and a half. There are a lot of moving parts In The front of the XJ especially with 35’s and stock width axles.

I would say before you mount coil overs. Get the links in and get the steering set up first. You can run on coil springs for as long as you need.
After you are all squared away then you can take some measurements and find out exactly what size shock length you need.

View attachment 46029View attachment 46028Nice Walker Evans wheels! If you ever want to sell them, let me know. Appreciate the reply, I value your wisdom.

 

[sickholski]

Welcome! That Marc’s old axle isn’t it! Lol

I just put on a rusty’s long arm kit on my jeep and highly recommend it. It’s their jeepspeed kit and built super well and decently priced. Its probably a good idea to buy a long arm kit (at least the control arm mounting brackets) instead of building because unibodies suck and need all the support they can get. Some companies offer the crossmember only though, like Ironman4x4fab and stinkyfab, which means you could build your own links.
View attachment 46030

As far as coilovers it may be hard to fit a 14” shock especially since the axle mount is already in place on your new axle. In my opinion you don't want the shocks to limit your uptravel.

I’m doing coilovers soon too and just bought the CFM industries boxed towers and will post up on here when I get around to installing them

Yes it is Marc's old axle, I know him pretty well, he's just halfway across the state from me. I appreciate the reply. Are you doing a 12" shock?

 

[Tree trunk]

My hot take…. And possibly an unpopular opinion.
Use a lift coil spring and stick a 2.5” or 3” bypass behind the spring.

If I bump up shock diameter to a 2.5 I will have to limit the shock travel even further to keep the coil over from crashing into the frame at full droop. I can’t move the shock outboard any further because it gets into the tire at full compression when flexed on the driver side.

The 2.0 is fine for cruising around the trails at low speeds. Any fast paced runs over heat these shocks in a hurry….. I find my self on the bump stops often lol

Something to consider