WJ questions

[mojeepn]

We just got our 99 WJ yesterday, so *plug* if anyone's interested in our 89 XJ search for us on the classifieds.

Here's my questions though on these WJ's. It's a limited and way posh, but it's got 78k miles on it, so I think the ride could be a touch better. Anyone try those OME springs? Like them? Were they a dramatic improval in ride? Mine's not bad, just could be better.

Second, when we looked under the hood, we saw how tight it is in there, so am I correct in assuming no one makes a header for the 4.7?

Lastly, I saw a report that stock compared to stock, that the WJ was the best offroad vehicle ever. Can't remember the name of it, but how true is that? What I mean is, we don't do really hard core stuff, so with how it sits, on that 1-5 scale of difficulty, how much can it do stock?

Thanks o wise offroad guys.

Monica

 

[crimsonride]

They are a three link in the rear so they flex alright for a stock jeep, I don't own one so I can't say how they do off road. I can say though that they can be very problematic if you lift them. They're super prone to wobbles and shimmies and the likes. I wouldn't count on finding a header either.

 

[nvrstuk]

Probably going to be tough finding a header. My wife has a '99 wj limited as well. We just hit the 60,000 mile mark and it has an 8" rockkrawler lift on it. The wj did fantastic off road without the lift. It has excellent flex, and the quadra drive works well in low range with a heavy foot. Compared to other mid sized SUV's, It definetly takes the top spot. As far as trail ratings, It could probably do anything from 1-3 in that range purely stock without risking much body damage other than scraping bumpers. Sorry, can't help you on the OME springs.

 

[addifan]

I would talk to Mike_Lib he is the WJ pro on the board.

 

[onetuff76]

I think borla has headers for them if I remember right.

As for death wobbile I don't think WJ's are as prone to it as XJ's

 

[Brett]

As for death wobbile I don't think WJ's are as prone to it as XJ's

Trust me, they are the worst of all the coil sprung Jeeps. Jeep recommends that the WJ never be lifted due to the fact that it is right on the line of getting death wobble from the factory.

When Chris and worked at Mepco, the WJ was the one vehicle that you could always count on to come in with death wobble. It's extremely hard to cure on lifted Grands as well. Usually, you have to redesign the suspension or go to a long arm setup to take the edge off it.

my $.02

 

[95jeepgrndchke]

When we lifted my brothers 4 inches (in my garage 12 hours ) it was a wobblie son of a b!tch I couldnt belive how bad the body roll was, it wheeled pretty good for haveing pucks and 3" springs, what t-case do you have in your WJ?

 

[iwakunijeeper]

When we lifted my brothers 4 inches (in my garage 12 hours ) it was a wobblie son of a b!tch I couldnt belive how bad the body roll was, it wheeled pretty good for haveing pucks and 3" springs, what t-case do you have in your WJ?

Well it didnt help that when we drove it right after that neither of the swaybars were hooked up and working properly... After I fixed that it drove fine I drove it from cali to utah I think four or five times at 80+ miles an hour and never even needed two hands on the wheel.... damn I miss that thing Anyways back to your questions, The OME springs do help a lot if you are looking for a better ride I loved mine. You could get DW but I highly doubt you will with just the OME springs and come to think of it I have never heard of anyone getting it with just OME springs. As far as wheeling I think that they are awesome for the not so hard stuff that you really wouldnt want to take a 25,000$ vehicle on anyways. If you are looking for a hardcore wheeling machine you definitely bought the wrong vehicle. Mike_lib knows a lot about this but I am pretty sure that he will agree with the fact that it is not the greatest starting platform for a wheeler but for occasional use it is awesome. Last thing if you want to get any parts for it I would recommend the following two people
Kevin at KEVINSJEEPPARTS.COM
and Nick Ianuzzi AKA Kolak@aol.com
Kevin makes some of the best offroad protection you can get and Nick owns a company named Multitronic I think and he specializes in grand cherokee performance that is who I got my lift wheels shocks and misc. stuff from .
Both of them are very honest guys who are dedicated to customer service. Well good luck last thing I ran my setup for close to nine months with never even a hint of DW..

 

[mojeepn]

We'll, I wasn't looking for extreme. I was just trying to get a feel for what extreme for a WJ is, but really, we paid a bunch of money for it and I think I'd have a heart attack if something happened to it. Anyway, though thanks for all the help guys.

 

[iwakunijeeper]

We'll, I wasn't looking for extreme. I was just trying to get a feel for what extreme for a WJ is, but really, we paid a bunch of money for it and I think I'd have a heart attack if something happened to it. Anyway, though thanks for all the help guys.

That is what I figured, I would really recommend the OME springs though they are a dramatic improve in the ride like you are looking for. Make sure that you check all of the TSB's on your year because I know that there were a lot of them and you can have a lot of the problems that will arise fixed for free. Anyways congratulations and good luck.. P.S. You will love the jeep especially the 4.7 if you have any other ?'s I researched mine for about a year before I bought it so I have a lot of info on them..

 

[crimsonride]

If it were me, I would still lift it, just no more than two inches. And with that you'll probably still get wobble sometime down the road. But since I can't leave well enough alone, I would get OME springs or tera pucks,. They're cheap and easy to remove in case you want to revert to stock. Then, you've got 16" wheels to deal with but that's okay thanks to the new Rubicon. Just stay in touch with the local shops and see when a rubicon comes in to get built or watch the board and you can get a good deal on a set of those 31" MTR's that are coming on them, they match up with the lift real well and look great.
My sister's WJ has the 2" kit without any problems and so does my friends, neither of them ever see a dirt road and I think that helps. I'm just wary of them from how many of them we saw come into the shop with problems.

 

[Mike_Lib]

My $0.02.

Don't lift it at all. Enjoy the nice comfortable highway ride.

If you're dead set on lifting it then be prepared for little quirks unless you really spend some time and $'s to dial everything in.

 

[mojeepn]

Not dead set at all. After a bit of discussion last night, we've decided that we like it just how it is, so we're not doing anything to it.

 

[utahxjer]

I would keep that baby stock. And wheel the 89' XJ.

 

[crimsonride]

Not dead set at all. After a bit of discussion last night, we've decided that we like it just how it is, so we're not doing anything to it.

Good decision.

 

[tweakeyjeep]

Probably going to be tough finding a header. My wife has a '99 wj limited as well. We just hit the 60,000 mile mark and it has an 8" rockkrawler lift on it. The wj did fantastic off road without the lift. It has excellent flex, and the quadra drive works well in low range with a heavy foot. Compared to other mid sized SUV's, It definetly takes the top spot. As far as trail ratings, It could probably do anything from 1-3 in that range purely stock without risking much body damage other than scraping bumpers. Sorry, can't help you on the OME springs.

This WJ pulled me all through the B in Bountiful right after that huge storm in December. My tires wouldn't grip, so not only was this WJ making a path through the deep snow, but it was pulling my YJ behind it.

The suspension on this thing is awesome. I've never experienced DW and it rides very smooth!