PartyInTheGrand

Hey new to the site, always been into Jeeps though. Okay so I just bought a 1997 ZJ with the 5.2l with 188000kms on it. Its in good shape and has a decent amount of toque.

Now its got a 7.5" lift on it, 4.5" suspension with 3" coil spacers, with 33 MTZs. and pretty much stock other then an exhaust.

ok my question is about the steering, it has a bad alinement and kinda swerves on the road. so I got to a shop and ask for an alinement, they tell me they can't do a lifted vehicle, okay so I head to a National 4WD and see what they have to say. well that alinement is now gonna cost me $800, I need a bunch of stuff (that I'm not sure that I need) and they are gonna take the 3" spacers out cause its messing up the steering.

Now does that sound like they are just trying to get some cash outta me? cause the guy i bought it from just had it to national and have 1400 bucks done to it and they told him it was good to go other then the alinement.

Will 33s fit with a 4.5" lift if the spacers do end up coming out?


Thanks in advance.

PS what are some flaws for the ZJ that I should keep my eye one.

04WJGuy

WOW!! 7.5" using coils and spacers... amazed you could keep it on the road at all. I would ask them for a complete list of what they say needs to be done and then get the list of stuff that your buddy spent money on and see if any of it is duplicated. Just remember though that at that hieght your putting a lot of strain on the suspension so depending on how long ago he did replace stuff it could be wearing out.
If you want to go back up to that hieght I would seriously start looking at longarms.

PartyInTheGrand

Yea I am looking into some 6.5 longarms atm but will 33s fit under a 4.5 coil lift? without wearing the Jeep out cause its in really nice shape and everything seems to work fine, has a winey noise in the tranny but im told alot of the 5.2s tend to do that, regardless I have a complete parts 5.2 jeep.

04WJGuy

You will have to do some moderate to major trimming depending on how much droop you have in it. 33"s are right in that area where they are either going to fit or they won't. Here's a tire chart to give you a bit of an idea.

CrazyWJ242

they might say they cant do a lifted vehicle if it doesn't have the proper equipment, our shop will do lifted vehicles, but without an adjustable trackbar, adjustable control arms, you cant get it perfect id look into your Jeep and see if you have all the necessary bits you should have upgraded... If your control arms are the right length for that amount of lift... all that goodness...

adding 3" spacers to arms that were with your 4.5" kit might be too short... especially if they bolted to the factory control arm brackets...

PartyInTheGrand

the lift is fairly new, and the tires are brand new. suck that the kid that put it in didn't try and find out if it was gonna work. wheres a good site to get a long arm kit? try get lucky and get one on sale lol.

National 4wd wont reply to my calls. so im gonna go elsewhere i think.

04WJGuy

Kevinsoffroad, Iron Rock Offroad, The Zone, Rusty's Offroad. to name a few.
The problem with lifting GC's is you can do up to 4" for a fairly resonable price. After 4" though you have stability issues, suspension geometry, etc. This can cost you up to $1000.00 per inch of lift to correct. That's probably why he cheaped out and put in the spacers than when he realized he had problems he unloaded it on an unsuspecting person.

PartyInTheGrand

well the problem is the steering, the lift is too high for the steer linkage. is there anywhere I could just find a steer linkage bolt on, extension or something? I got quoted over the phone for $800 so i'm willing to try somethings first.]


And I don't mind having over 7 inchs of lift, looks kind mean lol. and its not a everyday to town and back driver, its gonna get most of its kms around my small town and idling through the woods.

CrazyWJ242

you can pick up a new pitman arm drop bracket from rusty's, drops the steering linkage 2.5" which helps reduce some of the angles (if their too crazy) but once its shipped to ya thats $200... then maybe flipping the tie rod ends, and drag link, which can be done IF you can find the parts for like $100 plus some hours and a new alignment ofcourse...

like dan said, you can spend hundreds on fixing this, and theres a ton of different things you can do,

PartyInTheGrand

well any hours in the shop are free, use to work for local mechanic so have a good relationship with him. and I got the jeep at a pretty fair price so if I end up dumping a grand into it its still a good buy. and the only real problem now is the steering situation.