GRIMM

Hey I was curious with the 4.5 inch lift and your 32s how was the power? was it really bad and gas mileage go down alot? and see any rubbing at all?

sanchezcruz_20

I didn't feel like addition of a lift and larger tires really had too much impact on the engine's power around town. The 4.0 has decent low-end torque/power so it does pretty well cruising around town. I did however feel like the engine bogged down just a little on the highway, it would downshift often to maintain speeds especially climbing hills, etc. After I installed the 4.56 gears it really increased the Jeep's peppiness and made a huge difference on the highway. The engine was back to it's power band and more.

Gas mileage has suffered, predictably. The increase in wind resistance alone is substantial on the highway to impact gas economy, not to mention turning larger higher resistance tires. I'd say I lost a cool 4-5 miles per gallon.

Rubbing? I had no rubbing issues whatsoever on the road with my setup. Off road is a different story, but that is corrected fairly easily with some fender trimming and proper bump stopping.

Let me know if you have any other questions and welcome to the forum.

sanchezcruz_20

Well I had some time to work on the Xj yesterday, so I wanted to do a little follow up on the front pinion angle. I put her up on the jackstands and made the second adjustment. I didn't take any pictures since the whole procedure was exactly as illustrated on page 26.

Since my initial adjustment involved 4 rotations of lengthening to the UCA's and resulted in near elimination of vibrations I had planned to do another 3 rotations of lengthening. However, when I got everything unbolted and started adjusting the UCA I decided that 2 rotations might be a better second adjustment. So that's what I did. Bolted everything back up and went for a ride.

Vibrations are now totally gone and the drive line is smooth both in town and on the highway. There is still no detectable change in steering or handling. Adjustable control arms are a good thing!

Next on the list is to finish up the fenders by trimming the rear.

That's all the news I have for now.

AUS XJ JEEP

Just read and caught up on your thread... Awesome description/Pictorial on the drive line adjustment both front and rear...well done bud !

eggdashure

sanchezcruz_20

Hey quick question on your drop brackets. Did you perform an alignment after installing them? I tossed on a set of DB's a month ago and I can't seem to get them aligned correctly. I've noticed in your pics that the drivers side "main bolt" (the one that goes through the old CA location) is different on the passenger side and drivers side. I have a similar issue, my passenger side bolt is farther back than my drivers side. Did you correct this with your CA's?

sanchezcruz_20

I installed the drop brackets at the same time as the lift and had the Jeep aligned at a shop afterwards.

I'm not sure what you mean by not being able to get them "aligned correctly". If you're talking about the bolt locations, I don't think it's absolutely crucial to have the bolts in the exact same location on both sides as there is a slot for adjustability. IMO, it's more important that the steering is professionally aligned with an alignment machine. As long as the front end can be aligned properly, the bolt location within that slot shouldn't matter.

As far as using the control arms to adjust for the bolt's location within the slot, I personally did not compensate for that. I left the lengthening/shortening of the arms to the alignment techs and they were able to get everything into spec.

Are you having a specific issue, i.e. fitting things back together?

When I get home from work, I'll take a look at those bolts to see if they look like the pictures above, since those pictures were before the alignment....

eggdashure

Sort of. The passenger side upper CA has to be pushed back at the rear connection. It really pulls hard on the bushings. Not sure why since the drivers side slide in perfect...

The bolt hole that once held the lower control arms to the frame. The bolt that holds the DB's in place is different side to side. On yours, the drivers side is pushed almost to the front of the hole, the passenger side is more centered. I'll take some pics of mine if you are curious.

I am planning to slide under the Heep soon and take some measurements and use Go-Jeeps instructions to align in. Appreciate the response!

Schatty

i just went through evey page and i have to say i like it alot, just an idea you could beadline the rockers its easy, cheap and looks really good

NJ-XJ-4Play

Wow, it's taken me 2 days to completely finish this build up thread. Great work man! I look forward to seeing more

RoyalXJ

i just spent the last 1/2 hour reading thru your thread. you do very nice work. great looking rig man

Drewjharper1900

Amazing build! Cant wait to get my jeep this summer and start working on it.

If you dont mind me askin, how much was the install on your ring and pinion gears?

sanchezcruz_20

Thanks bud. I will think about the bedlined rockers, it looks sharp on your rig!

And there will be more.... especially now that it'll be getting warmer soon, which means being in the garage will be more appealing.

Thanks for the props man!

Thanks.

Don't mind at all.... the shop charged me $300/axle. That is an average price for my area. That price included the lube AND installation of the aussie locker.

goodbyexj

i went with RE long arm and i wished i went with a short kit like yours, too bad RE is messed up right now

sanchezcruz_20

So the other day I got off work and walked out to the parking garage. As I approached the Jeep, I hit the unlock button on the remote keyless entry. Opened the door and proceeded to put the key in the ignition. The key did not slip in, so I looked around the steering wheel to find this:





WTF! Somebody tried to steal my rig!

But, how did they get in? I guess it's possible that I left the door unlocked.

So, I shut the door and that's when I heard a rattling of metal inside the door. At that point, I got back out of the Jeep to take a look at the door although I knew what I was going to find:





Could they have used a MORE BLUNT instrument to punch the lock!

I'm not sure what their intentions were, steal the vehicle or strip it down but either way they must've been spooked because they didn't take it. Perhaps they were spooked by the security which patrols the parking garage.... obviosly infrequently enough to deter theives from attempting.

Anyway, everything seems to be functional, except my rig took a nice hit in the aesthetics department. Guess I'm in the market for a replacement door and some steering column trim/plastic pieces.

Coincidentally, the break-in occurred on the same day we had a blizzard here in Detroit, perhaps they were just desparate for a 4x4??

MTLXJ

Man ****ty buzz. I would be so upset if this happened to me jeep.