[wjlizard]

Well everything was going OK installing the basic 4" Iron rock kit till I removed the springs . The lower spring perches decided they were staying with the springs














Cut what was left off cleaned and ground the area...... couldn't find 3" o.d. pipe anywhere(Lowes.home depot...ect) went to Tractor supply and found a fence post slide hammer that was a perfect fit and made my own for about the same price as iro and rustys .still working on my welding...hahaha...
After this it was pretty smooth sailing iro's instructions really do leave much to be desired...OK they really suck especially for the dual steering stabilizer but I digress.the kit was much











beefier than I expected














You can definitely see the difference over stock .
The rear a-arm spacer was a bit of a p.i.t.a. but was doable I would suggest lifting the jeep as high as you can get it safely



All in all its a top notch kit and I'm very happy with it my only other complaint was the packaging when I received the boxes (2 of them) the one was so fully packed it wasn't closing so when they stapled it shut the staple penetrated the steering stabilizer box putting a small ding and scratch in the main body of the ss no big deal it will probably got worse than that the first time out.....I found out that 33"x12.5 DO NOT FIT WITHOUT SOME TRIMMING fender flares are in the near future...also added some stickers to increase my traction hahaha .....more to come

 

[lilhuck]

Nice build man I love the look of the grand cherokee wish I had one but I have a 97 cherokee xj with an rc 4.5" lift it was horrible putting it in every bolt was rusted and broke but congrats on ur build it looks mean!

 

[wjlizard]

Nice build man I love the look of the grand cherokee wish I had one but I have a 97 cherokee xj with an rc 4.5" lift it was horrible putting it in every bolt was rusted and broke but congrats on ur build it looks mean!

Thanks its gonna be a long road ahead . I gotta a lot to do before I can even drive it...rockers are rotted really bad underneath, cel is on for 2 evap emissions codes ,new pads and disks in all 4 corners,short in the brake light and the list keeps growing.almost traded it in for a XJ but I've own the WJ since new and know what's been done and how its been kept and I've run Mobil 1 in the engine since day one....Thanks again

 

[lilhuck]

Im glad I dont have emissions here but once u get done with ur build u will be very relieved and satisfied

 

[wjlizard]

Im glad I dont have emissions here but once u get done with ur build u will be very relieved and satisfied

Yes and no....if I ever finish it my wife will want her Jeep lifted and so on.....its a never ending cycle

 

[lilhuck]

Yes and no....if I ever finish it my wife will want her Jeep lifted and so on.....its a never ending cycle

Got to keep the woman happy though what kind of jeep does she have?

 

[wjlizard]

Got to keep the woman happy though what kind of jeep does she have?

She's got a 08 Hemi commander.crystal rock red metallic ( Burgundy). In memory of my JK.

 

[juanjosoto08]

Well everything was going OK installing the basic 4" Iron rock kit till I removed the springs . The lower spring perches decided they were staying with the springs

Cut what was left off cleaned and ground the area...... couldn't find 3" o.d. pipe anywhere(Lowes.home depot...ect) went to Tractor supply and found a fence post slide hammer that was a perfect fit and made my own for about the same price as iro and rustys .still working on my welding...hahaha...
After this it was pretty smooth sailing iro's instructions really do leave much to be desired...OK they really suck especially for the dual steering stabilizer but I digress.the kit was much

beefier than I expected

You can definitely see the difference over stock .
The rear a-arm spacer was a bit of a p.i.t.a. but was doable I would suggest lifting the jeep as high as you can get it safely

All in all its a top notch kit and I'm very happy with it my only other complaint was the packaging when I received the boxes (2 of them) the one was so fully packed it wasn't closing so when they stapled it shut the staple penetrated the steering stabilizer box putting a small ding and scratch in the main body of the ss no big deal it will probably got worse than that the first time out.....I found out that 33"x12.5 DO NOT FIT WITHOUT SOME TRIMMING fender flares are in the near future...also added some stickers to increase my traction hahaha .....more to come

Good project, I'm going to keep an eye on this thread for a while.

 

[wjlizard]

Just trying to be as thorough as possible and as a bias as possible so the next person has a heads up on what to expect I found a little on any of the forums about the lift or what to expect I found more opinions then I did actual facts

 

[wjlizard]

Oh and here are some before and after pics with the stock tires..........before.....



After.......



I gained 5 1/4" due to sagging stock springs and the new ones have not settled yet...

 

[wjlizard]

Update on my progress or lack there of .the wj is in the shop having issues with sentry key immobizer system as soon as I get it back maybe I can get some steel ordered and start this build again.next on the list rocker guard step combo and fender flares

 

[Gluckmysock]

nice build, looks good. check your vacuum hoses for the evap codes.

I just cleared about ten codes on a 3.9 magnum that resulted from 1 vacuum line dry rotted and splitting at the intake and another just completely dry rotted. this on a 2002 dakota with 43K.

 

[wjlizard]

I know exactly what your talking about. Chrysler used some of the crappiest vac line I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. I think it may be the perge valve sticking cause the code pops up at start up and this happens intermittently could be the first start of the day or could go a week before I see a pending code. Any other thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

[Gluckmysock]

I'm not really sure when the ECM checks for emission codes, sometimes a certain amount of criteria have to be met before it will show a code, might explain why the codes seem so intermittent.

 

[wjlizard]

Well she's inspected...computer problems are 95% fixed ( doors just randomly lock by themselves and rear turn signal will flash and for no reason stay on solid then flash again) but just got enough cash to order the fender flares I'm leaning towards notch customs w- max flares over bushwhackers . The whackers look cooler but this ain't gonna be no mall crawler.next I'll start pricing steel for new tube rockers I'm planing on using 2 x 8 rectangle tube so it doubles as a step.after that will come the bumper and snorkle .can anybody tell me if a snorkle for an xj will work on a wj with a little modification of course without looking like to much of an after thought the reason is I found xj snorkles for200$ while wjs are 600$ ....I don't see the 400$ difference.

 

[ldub100]

I am building a set with 2x6x.187 rectangular tube and they stick out a good two inches on my XJ. You will have quite a bit of weight hanging out with the 8" width so plan on using at least 3 if not 4 supports into the uni-body.

 

[wjlizard]

Those look great.I'm gonna use angle to support the tube and run it the entire length of the rocker so it thoreriticly sure do two fold support the tube and strengthen the sub frame I hope I'm no engineer

 

[wjlizard]

I failed to mention that I will be completely cutting out the rocker panels they are almost completely rotted through.angle will be welded to the side of the sub frame and the tube will be welded to that and the top of the toe kick just underneath of the doors found a thread by gooleing extreme rocker guards I think it was under California kings forum there was an excellent build thread there.these will become an intergrated part of the body and sub frame structure and replace the rocker panels

 

[wjlizard]

Fender flares are ordered should be here by the end of this week.I ordered the notch customs w-max flares..their customer service is exceptional!!! Now if all company's would treat their customers this way

 

[wjlizard]

Well got the flares last Thursday on time and packaged well got a chance to get the fronts on this weekend.well this was not as easy as I had hoped it was gonna be and come to find out the mounting system for these is not the best the mounting studs are bolts covered in a high strength body puddy of some sort( but not strong enough) I had 2 of the studs break off the flare .I will assume as my fault for over thightening them .the fit and finish is pretty close only minor body work is needed just worried that the first big branch that hits these things is gonna rip them off.their torture test video should show them hitting the flares with a sledgehammer attached to the vehicle. I don't doubt that the flares themselves are pretty much indestructible just not the mounting system.over all I like them but only time will tell how they hold up























Undercoated the insides of the flares and the entire area of the fender covered by the flares and back side of the fender as per instructions... marked out the bolt holes drill them marked out my cut lines ... cut...ream the holes cause they no longer matched up( forgot the wife was in a fender bender a few years ago) when I cut the bottom lip off the fender, it relaxed(once again not notch customs fault)throwing off my holes.then mounted them primed and rattle canned them ( its going offroad so no sense in making them perfect)