WJ Owners: What do you dream of owning

[Booner]

That's pretty much my thought on it too. I was thinking Clayton long arm lift being the only real difference.

I'm not sure which 4x4 system to go with. I like the NV242 in my XJ but am intrigued by the Quadra-Drive system with the Vari-Lok axle differentials. It's not totally hard core but probably plenty of traction aiding devices for how the vehicle will be used. It also means not having to build axles... the AL D44 should be fine for the intended usage.

Comments from people in the real world that have Quadra-Drive WJs?

I drive a 98 ZJ 4.0 242 w 3.55s and front and rear Detroit TrueTracs. With a 3.5" BDS lift and 31-10.50 Hankook MTs, it is very capable off road (for a mallcrawler :elkgrin. My son has a 99 WJ Limited 4.7 with QuadraDrive. It is completely stock at this point (with factory skids) but it is unstoppable. He has kept up with Jeeps that were locked front and rear and had no problems. As far as durability, his WJ has over 235K on it with original engine, tranny, t-case, and axles. I plan on replacing my ZJ with a 2003-2004 WJ V-8 soon :sombrero:.

 

[gprsdlyt]

...and a total cure for my occasional death wobble!

im playing with something now. ive got 2500 miles of test going on so far. had and issue at 1200. fixed and doin good after another 1300+ with no signs of the previous problem.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

Comments from people in the real world that have Quadra-Drive WJs?

Not real world, personally, but my searching has me thinging that the WJ QD is nothing more than mediocre limited slips that work when they want to. Nothing like the new QDII.

That being said, a good friend has an '02 Overland and he goes through some suprising stuff.

 

[wjtoy]

The quadra-drive system works well. It does need to be maintained often or constant turning in parking lots get tiresome with the clutchs grabbing. Off road it acts like a limited slip and has helped in numerous situations. I run close to a 31" tire with no problems but I have heard the QD system has issues with tires over 32". Overall I recommend it!

 

[BigDaveZJ]

The QuadraDrive works well in slick road conditions on road with smaller (stock to slightly larger) but it's not a huge advantage after that.

I'll probably get a WJ as a DD at some point. I really like the ZJ, but finding a low mileage one is damn near impossible and having owned 2 w/ 150k+ on them I'd rather start with something lower in mileage. And the WJ just has a more refined feel than ZJ, without really losing anything offroad.

My mom has owned 2, the first one pretty much saved her left. A box truck ran a red light and my mom t-boned it just behind the cab at 35ish MPH. WJ was totaled, she walked away. She looked at a bunch of other vehicles (4Runner, RX300, etc) and came right back to the WJ.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

That's pretty much my thought on it too. I was thinking Clayton long arm lift being the only real difference.

My impression of the Clayton LA kit is that if you're not running 35"+ tires, the arms hang down to low.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

My impression of the Clayton LA kit is that if you're not running 35"+ tires, the arms hang down to low.

I ran Clayton's with 33's for a couple years on my ZJ. Occasionally yeah I might hit the arms, but it's been a rare occurrence that the arms actually kept me from going up something. The only time I really hit them where it kept me from going up something on 33's was the far left line on the stairs obstacle at Chinamen's. And that's been so dug out now guys with 40's struggle.

 

[FishPOET]

My impression of the Clayton LA kit is that if you're not running 35"+ tires, the arms hang down to low.

I have been on Clayton's & 33s for a few years. They do hang low. They will bang the rocks but they slide and flex and I have never got hung up on the arms.

 

[theksmith]

i have no idea what anyone is referring to with the long arm 'hanging down low", the front arms attach at the tranny crossmember on the "frame" side and at the stock mounting locations on the axle side... the same as nearly every long-arm kit for xj/zj/wj? some companies like IRO do make "bent" arms that increase your ground clearance at the center of the arm, but other than that, the only way to increase clearance would be to weld new mounts onto the axle flush with the tube.

i've had 33's with claytons for a while and never ever have the arms been a limiting factor or cause any "hang-ups".

 

[Root Moose]

I have a feeling the "hanging low" point is regurgitated marketing noise as compared to the TNT Customs style long arm kit. The TNT long arm setup for an XJ has the body side mount almost entirely above the bottom of the frame rail and combined with the bent arms it is very high clearance. I have this on my XJ and it is a nice piece of kit. The only bother with it is that you have to drop the whole belly pan that the front suspension is attached to in order to do maintenance on the transmission. PITA but you'll get real good at backyard alignments.

TNT doesn't make an equivalent kit for the WJ.

Here's a picture of the Clayton kit in profile [ http://claytonoffroad.com/product_info.php?cPath=19_80&products_id=176 ]. The body side mount does hang below the frame rail but we are talking an inch or two of lost clearance at two distinct points and not the whole rail.

With 33s I don't see it as a big deal.

Also, note the angle of the arms in the image. With a 4.5" spring set (vs the 6.0" in the image) the arms would be more parallel to the ground for better ride and clearance relative to the long arms while giving a lower door step in height. Yes, the entire vehicle is lower but the benefits outweigh the negatives IMO.

It's the little things that us old farts are sensitive to... and it depends on what you are trying to build.

If I go this route I'll do the Iceland flares/bumper, 4.5" Claytons and 33s.

I'm not terribly impressed with the IRO long arm kit. Looks kludgey to me.

I haven't seen either of these WJ kits in the buff so take what I'm writing with a grain of salt.

 

[theksmith]

the TNT kit for the XJ is nice, it's what i always wanted to put on my XJ, if they ever make a WJ kit, i'm sure it will be real competition for claytons.

here's a pic that does illustrate what you're saying, if things where designed completely different, they might could mount about 1.5" higher at the "frame" side:

you'll notice they still site even with the bottom of the trans mount piece and the cat, so when you put on a belly skid, they are even with that:

the one thing about "bent" style arms is that i woul make sure of is that even if they are that style that they don't bend up above the drive-shaft, i have used my clayton arms to "slide" down a sharp ledge more than once without problem, and if they where too much higher then it would have been my front driveshaft going into the ledge.

anyway... sorry to hijack the thread... back to the "What would you own instead..." posts!

 

[Root Moose]

the one thing about "bent" style arms is that i woul make sure of is that even if they are that style that they don't bend up above the drive-shaft, i have used my clayton arms to "slide" down a sharp ledge more than once without problem, and if they where too much higher then it would have been my front driveshaft going into the ledge.

This is a good point. It was one of the reasons why I switched to a high pinion front axle on my XJ (MY01 came with low pinion).

anyway... sorry to hijack the thread... back to the "What would you own instead..." posts!

You can get nice Gwagens and FJ70s around here for ~$15k-$25k. Great machines but they are not what I'm looking for. I like the fact that the Jeep stuff blends in and doesn't make you a person of interest. Then there is the difference in buy in cost and the cost for modifications. But that's just me.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

i have no idea what anyone is referring to with the long arm 'hanging down low", .....

anyway... sorry to hijack the thread... back to the "What would you own instead..." posts!

No worries, I've gotten what I wanted from my original post.

For the record, I'm not a Clayton hater, but I do love the TnT setup for XJ's, even though I don't have it.

In fact, my JK control arms are mounted below my XJ's frame much like the Clayton setup and my belly skid even things out pretty well also. The fact that I'm using JK arms helps though since they're not too long, just longer than XJ arms.

I like this setup so much that I might do it on the front of a WJ also... we'll see... :snorkel:

 

[BigDaveZJ]

TnT did make a couple WJ long arm kits, my buddy Keith was one of the prototype rigs for it. I don't think they ever really went to market with it though.

 

[Root Moose]

I wonder if it is like the YJ long arm kit. It's not advertised on the web site but if call them up they will sell it to you.