I want to say you do a great job answering questions. Speaking of that, I have a few myself:
1. When I drive my Jeep and it hits a bump, it will shimmy and shake. Obviously, this is very dangerous, so I have to get it fixed. The Jeep also has a very light feeling when steering. It is equipped with a 2-inch economy lift and 28-inch tires on 15x8 steel rims. I think it has a stabilizer on the tie rod. The stabilizer looks stock, so it is a likely suspect, but I want to know what you feel it might be.
2. How can I make my doors removable? I would like my doors to be removable just like a Wrangler, and since I only have two, it sounds easy.
3. Would it be possible to put that bolt-in rollcage that you displayed in an earlier issue, cut off the top, and install a Wrangler Unlimited soft top in its place?
4.If I install a 6.5-inch lift and Bushwacker cutout flares, could I run and wheel with 35-inch tires?
5. With this lift, would I have to install a slip-yoke eliminator kit? How about my economy lift? How bad would axlewrap be?
6. If you had $10,000 set aside, what would you do with this vehicle?Mike StarnVia e-mailMan, that's a lot of questions.
1. A steering stabilizer only masks problems. Ideally, you should be able to drive without one. However, you could try replacing your old stabilizer with an inexpensive aftermarket one and see if that helps. Check all your steering linkages to make sure they're tight and the tie rod ends aren't junked. Also, check your track bar on the front axle, mostly the tie rod end that attaches to the mount behind the steering box. If it's worn, it could let the front axle move from side to side. Finally, make sure your tires aren't overinflated (for 28s, run 'em around 28-32 psi) and that your alignment isn't toe-out. You want 31/48-inch toe-in (where the center of the tire treads point toward each other). Also, if your cheapie lift came with cam bolts for the control arms to rotate the pinion angle up, it could have removed caster causing the Jeep to wander and make the steering feel light. You want about five-degrees positive caster (bottom ball joint in front of top ball joint). If all these come up with nothing, jack the tire off the ground, grab the top and bottom of the tire, and try to wiggle it. If there's any play, it's either your ball joints or your unit bearings.
2. Unbolt 'em when you don't want them. Bolt them back on when you do. Otherwise, learn how to fabricate. There's no kit, but Rusty's Off-Road (256/442-0607, www.rustysoffroad.com) and a few others have XJ tube doors.
3.You could do the Rock Hard 4x4 cage (308/750-4690, www.rockhard4x4parts.com), but I'd weld it rather than use the bolts if it's going to be a structural element. Since the XJ has no frame, if you cut the top off you've got to really reinforce the chassis or it's gonna collapse. Do the cage, but you'll also want to add some T&J Performance (714/633-0991, www.tandjperformance.com) chassis stiffeners and tie the cage to the unibody frame with some plates and tubing. The top won't fit perfectly, but a bikini top will keep the sun off your head.
5. You'll need a SYE and a CV driveshaft. Axlewrap probably won't be bad at all if you go with a quality kit that uses good rear springs with a military wrap on the front spring eye and you don't use lift blocks. For your 2-inch kit, you can install the T-case drop brackets that probably came with the kit, or you can buy them through Rubicon Express (www.rubiconexpress.com).
6. Check "Project JR" on www.jpmagazine.com. That's how I'd build it. Basically, a 6-inch long arm, Currie 9-inch rear with Truetrac limited slip, 33x10.50-15, 4.88s, some power parts on the 4.0L (cold air intake, header, after-cat, throttle body), SYE and rear driveshaft, and front hub conversion for 5x5.5 pattern. Lately, I've done the cage, the 4.6L stroker, and the nitrous.