88 XJ build

[ChadXJ]

Hello everyone, i bought a 88 jeep xj awhile back with the intention of building it into a hard offroad rig but have recently decide to go into a different direction with the build and make it my expedition rig. Im on here mainly looking for advice on the build and some trip planning.

It will mostly be myself and maybe my dog or dogs in the rig with me. Right now im having some trouble on what size lift i will need on my rig. Most of the trips i will start out doing will be mainly Arizona, Utah and California and spending two to three night on the trip.

 

[Emorphius]

I am running a 4.5" OME/DPG Offroad hybrid lift and couldn't be happier. With my flat flares it clears 33's just right. Of my various setups over the years, this is my favorite by a long shot. Dirk is awesome to work with. If there were 2 things I will change about it in the future it would be to go with Bilstein shocks instead of the OME, but that is subjective to the end user, and I would have gone with the HD front springs for the ZJ.

 

[91AzXJ]

Depends on what type of off-roading you intend on doing and how big a tire you want to run. If you plan on doing fire roads and trails, you could get by on 31s and a 3" lift. If you intend to do moderate trails and rock climbing, 4-6" with 33's would be in order. If you go 4" plus, you need a slip yoke eliminator (SYE).

 

[BNJeepsta]

There has never been, nor will there ever be, a reason to have 6" of lift on an XJ. It's just not necessary and will hinder your off-camber performance. An XJ with ~3" and 33's would perform considerably better than one with 6" and 33's. A Cherokee with 3.5"-4.5" of lift, long arms, lockers and armor will take you anywhere any expedition rig would ever need to go and still have very good road manners if quality parts were used. As far as the SYE is concerned, every jeep is different. I've had 4.5" with stock driveline and no vibes and I've had a 2" budget boost and horrible vibes. I would, however, strongly urge anyone with a lifted Cherokee to get an SYE for the added strength and reliability. The OME/DPG lift is nice but, wayyyyyy overpriced for what you get. You can buy all of the parts you need seperatley for a lot less money. Don't get me wrong, Dirk is a good dude and treats you well but, why pay extra when you don't need to?? If you are looking to drop a ridiculous amount of coin on a "complete" lift kit, I would go with the Metalcloak 3.5" duroflex kit. Much better than the DPG stuff.

 

[Emorphius]

BN makes some good points. I wanted to run 33's and be able to run more than just fire roads and I pull an expo trailer (in progress) into the mountains. If you are building a crawler that runs 35" or larger, and aren't running full width axles and massive body surgery, then a 6" lift comes into to play. Not what you are looking for that by the sound of it. Not advocating a 6" lift on an XJ, that's excessive in my opinion, but to each their own. Metalcloak makes for a very sweet setup, but OME practically invented the aftermarket over landing suspension. Their engineering is unparalleled and products have been real-world proven over several decades from Australia to Dakar to global expeditions. Not knocking Metalcloak or any other quality manufacturer, there are plenty out there that make fantastic products, but there are times when a proven pedigree is worth the investment, in my opinion. Can you piece together the DPG kit on your own? Of course. Is it worth it to get it as a kit from someone with great customer service that ultimately saves you valuable time? In my situation at the time, it was. Again, to each their own. I had driveline vibration with a budget boost 97 XJ but don't with the current 4.5". Get the best you can afford for the type of driving you intend to use the vehicle for.

 

[kayak15]

What size tires could I easily clear with the Metalcloak 3.5" kit and Rustys Off Road flares? Would like to get at least a 32x11.5


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[SilicaRich]

Can you piece together the DPG kit on your own?

Give Dirk a call. Just mention that you are interested in an OME and he will run you through a little process and ask you what you do with it and what you to do with it in future. I called for my TJ thinking I was just going to end up buying the generic 2" HD OME kit and ended up with an entirely custom route with ZJ front coils and LJ rears for the same price. Also, the premade kits listed on the website are completely adjustable, meaning you may or may not need everything in the kit and Dirk has no issue removing what you don't want and subtracting the cost. He will only make a consideration if it's something that maybe needed for geometry reasons. He is very informative but be careful. Before you know it, you'll find yourself on the phone for an hour with a PhD in suspension for your particular model.

 

[mtbxj87]

Every body's needs are different. Run it stock for a while and see what you'll need.
Recovery and self reliance comes before lift and tires.

 

[boykinjw]

X2 on contacting Dirk at DPG, I'm running one of his OME setups and love the ride and road manners. It will also flex really well, but I was looking for more at a suspensions ability to handle increased loads for the gear I would carry, ride well, and perform well offroad. I also think the guys at Iron Rock Offroad have some good lift options and I may eventually go with a long arm setup from them. Currenty running IRO lower control arms with DPG OME setup.

 

[Cottontail]

There has never been, nor will there ever be, a reason to have 6" of lift on an XJ. It's just not necessary and will hinder your off-camber performance. An XJ with ~3" and 33's would perform considerably better than one with 6" and 33's.

The only time I would use the word NEVER to describe a mod to an XJ is in regards to the "Angry Eyes." That you should NEVER do! Regarding the necessity of a 5-6" lift, "never" is your opinion. I am at 5.5" with 265s, which are essentially a 32" tire (on 16" rims). If you go with 33s on a 3" lift you'll have trimming to consider - front fenders, rear fender cut and folds, as well as potentially rubbing on the control arms. I'm very happy with this height, and have not had any issues at all with off camber performance....and I do plenty of it in the southeast.

I will caveat that with the mention that when you go as high as 5-6" you have a lot of other things to consider - drive line angles, drop brackets, shackle relocation, control arms, adjustable track bar, etc. It's not just a matter of popping on the lift and tires and rolling out.

What size tires could I easily clear with the Metalcloak 3.5" kit and Rustys Off Road flares? Would like to get at least a 32x11.5

When my XJ was at 3.5" I was running 31" MTs. You could clear 32s I guess, but depends on your definition of "easily." I think you'll have issues with it at full lock and/or full stuff.

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5.5" lift with 265s

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3.5" lift with 31s - the week I installed the lift

 

[kayak15]

Thanks Cottontail. I get where your coming from. I want absolutely no tire rub and easy maneuvering at any angle so I will stay with the smaller size tire in most situations. Probably going to start with a 2" kit and 30" tires since the Jeep needs new shocks and tires anyway. Then later upgrade everything to 4.5" and 32" tires when I do bumpers, sliders, etc. (Buying a 99 XJ Limited from a friend in the next couple of months and planning a trip by the end of October)


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