No Jeep People at Work

[Cranky_Joe]

Spent the weekend putting in 6" spring lift from BJ's. My two brothers, and a brother-in-law came out to "help". I wish I had a crew that when I was working in manufactering! It's good to know I CAN get good help. :)
Anyway got the lift done with only a few minor issues (see later Q's). Pics are here: http://www.joesrealms.org/cherokee_02.shtml#FrontSprings though not any good profile shots, cause of the issues (again, see Q's).
So I'm dieing to talk with the guys at work, and nobody is interested. There is only one "Jeep guy" at work and he sold his Wrangler a year ago to get a mini-van (kids). He still talks Jeeps, but it like the life went out of him. He's still interested, but has no enthusiasm. Where to turn? These forums of coarse, but I don't have time to type all the details.

Ok, the Questions:
I twisted off the stud on the spring mount plate that the sway bar connects to. Actually, my brother twisted off the passanger side stud, I twised off the drivers side stud (we are brothers after all). Anyway, What to do? I did a few searches last night in the Tech forum and found conflicting info. Also, the front drive shaft did not fit through the cross over pipe, so we removed it pending research.
How critticle is the sway bar with an all spring lift?
If important, where do I find another set of sping plates?
Will the front drive shaft fit through the stock cross over?
Generally, any tips or advise on the lift?Thanks for any input.

[Elliott]

Ditch the sway bar, you won't miss it.

[Gambler68]

You don't need the swaybar when lifted, but you can make extenders for the links if you want it. BJ's sells some quick release arms for it, but I don't think they are extended any. I don't see why one couldn't make square tube spacers to drop the sway bar down some (between the frame and where they bolt on). I run 4" of lift and 33's and drive aggressively and have no problem with mine gone.

[Bob Barry]

You can get replacement spring-plates from a donor-truck. The earlier ones used separate plates that were sandwiched between the springs and the u-bolt plate, if you want to go that way.

You'll have to revise your exhaust; no two ways about that.

I prefer to run with a sway-bar, but you can run without one. You can get extended links, if you want.

[Chrome]

I'm running a 6 inch suspension lift/3 inch body lift and drive like a mad man without the sway bar. I just see them as useless weight. :fsj:

[aerocorey]

BJ's sway bar links are extended. They're real nice, I'm running them but thinking about ditching the swaybar and front track bar for good.

[Cranky_Joe]

Thanks for the info. I pulled the links off tonight. Still haven't driven it with the new lift. I have an intermitant short in the headlights and because it was getting dark, I did have time to take a spin. :mad: It must be an old Jeep! :o:drivin:

[Mack_T]

Hehe no Jeep people at work, it may be better that way sometimes.

There's a "jeep" guy at my work. He think's he's a Jeep guy. He is very, uh, emotional about the problems that old FSJ's have. Interesting things have come from him, like how Add-A-Leaves don't lift your vehicle; that a FSJ Cherokee is much smaller than a FSJ wagoneer; how his Jeep never started on cold mornings, and he's still waiting for me to call for a ride when it's cold out in the morning. Ughhh it's very difficult to talk with the guy.

As for the sway bar, you might like the ride without it. When I did my AAL lift, I left the swaybar disconnected for a while. The ride was sure tolerable, however living in Nor-Cal near the coast, we have many twisty roads, and the sway bar is quite nice for keeping up with traffic out there.

Good luck,
Clay

[jeeping1974]

i'm in the same boat. i'm the only one at work that loves jeeps. heck most of my friends have jeeps, and with the exception of kali they don't know jack about jeeps but just love them and think they know how to build them.

[steven79]

sway bar might help at top speeds in a fast turn but most of the time you don't need it. on you head lights it is probly the dimmer switch on the floor going out, replace it and your lights should be good to go.

[Stuka]

I Had to redo the Y-Pipe on my cherokee, I routed it back as shown in the following photo:

http://stuka.fsjnetwork.com/fsj/6-inch/redone-exhaust2.jpg

As for the sway bar, if you drive on the hwy/freeway a lot, I advise putting it on. You can get some spring plates from a junk yard, or from here on the forum in the want ads section. It really helps when driving at speed, especially if you need to make an emeergency manuver.

[Cranky_Joe]

Hey Stuka, Nice photo. I'll probably take it to the shop to show them what I want. Have you had any issues with cooking the oil? What's the clearance between the oil pan and the pipe? It's hard to tell from the photo. Any problems with the pipe hitting the oil pan?

[Stuka]

The item above the exhaust there is the T18, the oil pan has tons of clearance. Here is another photo (dont mind the dirty engine, was taken after going on a rather dusty trail ride):

http://stuka.fsjnetwork.com/fsj/6-inch/redone-exhaust1.jpg

[Cranky_Joe]

Hey Stuka thanks for the clarification.
I don’t mind the dirt. Don’t look too hard at the pics on my web page; you might see something worse on the underside of my rig! I haven’t cleaned the engine since I bought it last summer, and the PO let the loose valve covers blow oil all over. :o He also lived on a dirt road and drove it all the time. Now I have an engine compartment caked with oil-mud. It keeps the rust to a minimum, but sucks to work with. I scraped ¼ inch of the stuff from the front axel when I put on the new steering stabilizer bracket. :eek:

Thanks again!

[Cranky_Joe]

I finally got the Hulk out of the garage. :D Drove it home and found a few issues, hopefully minor.
I changed the ball joints (upper, lower, both sides), tie rods, tie rod ends, and drag link before I did the 6" lift. Hadn't driven it since before that project was completed. I didn't dial in the front tire alignment, but eyeballing it, if they are out, it's not by much. So knew to go slow and take it easy.

First thing I noticed is that the steering wheel is now 1/2 a turn off. I din't move it when everything was apart and adjusted the drag link to the old position. I don't know steering geomatry or trig, but it seems like it should be about the same. Obviously not, so now what's the process for fixing it? Another issue is that the steering wheel turns more to the right than the left by about a turn and a half. What the heck is up with that? Again how is that fixed?

I also noticed that there was a minor vibration (shake) over 40mph. I slowed down and kept it under 35 after that. It's most likely from not aligning the tires, at least that's what I hope it is. I didn't drive far. The garage is about 5 miles from my house. I was more worried about weird tire wear, than the shake 'cause it was minor.

I updated my website with "complete" pics. They are at the bottom of the page and can be found at http://www.joesrealms.org/cherokee_02.shtml
:drivin::fsj:

[Stuka]

You need to make the drag link longer. Basically get the tires straight, make sure the steering wheel isnt locked, then adjust out the drag link until the steering wheel is straight. The reason it is off is the drag link is now going upto a higher mount location, which requires more length.

If your jeep is a QT, then its probably your front u-joints being worn out. Could also be rear u-joints. Without the lift, its not to noticeable. With the lift, it becomes more noticeable.

[Cranky_Joe]

Stuka, I have the drag link as long as I can make it! It took everything to get it where it was centered. Maybe I went too far? I may have to take it to a professional. :eek:

I had the Rear U-joint replaced less than 100 miles ago. The front drive shaft is out of it, due to the crossover issue discussed earlier in this thread. Thank for the info though, I wouldn't have thought of the u-joints.

I don't have QT.