You've looked into everything.. Lifting blocks for the rear end.. Coil spacers.. It's just not doing it for you. Why? Because MJ's come stock with the leaf springs UNDER the axle. If you were to put blocks between your leafs and axle while under the axle, you'd DROP IT the height of the block. A lowered Comanche probably won't go over too well. Mike K at AutoColorado.com provide us with this nice list of steps on how to do the Spring Over Axle lift on your MJ. The SOA consists of moving the axle to the underside of the leaf springs, plus adding 4.5 inch Grand Cherokee lift coils to even everything out. If this interests you, read on...
First, lets start with what
you'll need for an ideal setup for up front.
-Rubicon Express 4.5 inch ZJ coils $150
-Rubicon Express adjustable Trackbar $135
-Rubicon Express adjustable upper control arms $180
-Factory ZJ lower control arms
-Factory YJ (1987-1995 wrangler) front brake lines $35
-Swaybar Disconnects $60
-JKS Bar pin eliminators $45
This should set you up for the front. There are three major components
to a Cherokee/Comanche front suspension. The coils set the ride height, the
trackbar centers the axle and controls side to side motion, and the control
arms set caster angle and control front to back motion. Caster angle is
hard to explain but is very important in that you will fall into the
infamous death wobble if your caster is off. The Rubicon Express 4.5 inch ZJ
coils are a
perfect match for the rear Spring Over Axle as far as height is concerned. The ZJ lower
and RE
adjustable upper control arms should set caster perfect. The RE adjustable
trackbar works well but you will need to take off the bracket where the
trackbar mounts at the frame and drill out the bracket with a 1/2 inch bit
to fit the new trackbar.
For the rear you will simply need to go to your local 4wd shop and pick up a
set of leaf pad mounts to weld on. Then the brakes are the only other
problem, you will notice a short line and a long line attached to the axle.
Go to a junkyard and pull another longside line to replace the short line.
For the rear lift:
-Leaf pad mounts $20
-Custom junkyard brakeline $2 (or free...)
-One zip-tie
-Rubber hose $0.75
-Customized driveshaft $135, or transfer case drop kit (much less expensive)
Lifting the Front:
1) Gather all tools and remove shocks.
2) Raise and support vehicle on both sides with SOLID jackstands sitting on
solid ground or on car ramps (added lift).
3) Disconnect swaybar endlinks (not the bar itself).
4) Remove TracBar at the axle.
5) Remove TracBar at the frame mount.
6) Remove brakelines.
7) Remove coils either by pry or by compressor.
8) Remove lower control arms.
9) INSTALL new lower control arms (factory ZJ).
10) Remove upper control arms.
11) Adjust the new control arms to look approximately the same length as the
factory upper control arms.
12) Remove TracBar frame bracket from frame, place in a vice, and drill out.
13) Re-INSTALL TracBar frame bracket
14) INSTALL new upper control arms
15) Compress new coils using a coil compressor.
16) INSTALL new coils and carefully de-compress.
17) INSTALL new brake lines (anytime it is accessible).
18) Put on new tires/wheels, lower the front of the vehicle.
19) Bounce on front end several times (will align body over suspension).
20) Attach TracBar at the axle and adjust to fit in the frame bracket.
21) Check all bolt tensions and attachments, make sure front is stable, tape
measure align until able to take to a reputable alignment shop.
Lifting the Rear:
1) Remove shocks.
2) Take note of brake proportioning valve location, remove metal rod, and
zip-tie the valve in the factory-level position.
3) Raise and support vehicle properly using jackstands.
4) Remove rear driveshaft.
5) Remove rear breather hose from axle.
6) Remove rear leaf plates and u-bolts.
7) Remove wheels and tires.
8) Disconnect short metal brake line from axle and brake line "Y".
9) Disconnect long metal brake line only at the "Y" but remove the clip
retaining it onto the axle.
10) Remove clip holding the "Y" rubber brake line onto the frame.
11) Raise and support axle using a jack under the differential.
12) Slide axle out from under the vehicle with assitance from friends to balance the axle
and the jack to roll the axle out.
13) Place axle back under the truck, this time in the new position below the
leaf springs.
With the new leaf pads in place, attach u-bolts and plates. This will allow you
to line
up the axle in the same position as factory using marks from the u-bolts that
will be
present - Do NOT tighten.
14) Attach the long side brakeline from the junkyard XJ in place of the
short side brakeline on the Comanche.
15) Wrap the brakeline around the axle accordingly and re-connect the brakelines
leaving slack in the lines to allow for droop/flex.
16) Reinstall tires/wheels and lower vehicle.
17) Using a jack under the pinion, angle the pinion to point at the front
bumper. Factory is straight, and pointing at the t-case will weaken
u-joints and give excessive vibes, point somewhere in between.
18) Weld leaf pads to axle.
19) Tighten u-bolts.
20) Take measurements from t-case to pinion for custom driveshaft to be made.
(NOTE: You could also
use a t-case drop kit for step 20.)
21) Take shock
measurements.
22) Attach breather hose
23) Make sure shock mounts are as far forward as possible to give a longer
shock.
24) IMPORTANT!!!!! see where the shocks will hit the crossmember and grind
away to give room, otherwise you will fold your new shock in half (I know).
25) Check all bolt tensions
With this lift, you will be able to clear 35s, but I wouldn't recommend it because you will run into axle problems.
Here is a before and after shot of a Comanche with a fresh SOA
Mike K's Sprung-Over Comanche at AutoColorado.com!
