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[Rolex44]

I've bought a Grand Cherokee WJ  and the ride is awful. It rolls about like a boat and I can feel the smallest road bump. The suspension clearance between tyres and wheel arch seems rather big, it's 5" at the front and 6.5" at the rear? Is this normal guys? tyres are 235/65/17.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Just want to do an update, I replaced all 4 shocks and the steering damper shock and the ride difference is amazing. Feels like a new Jeep. Doesn't roll so much and can't feel bumps in the road. Bought the parts from jeepchryslerparts on Ebay, costing just £100 for 4 cheap silver finish shocks and another £34 for the steering damper. Well worth the money.

[General Confusion]

Has someone disconnected the front anti-roll bar?

[Rolex44]

Hi, Haven't looked but why would anyone want to remove it?  It has been well looked after, has a service history and only done 92,000 miles

[General Confusion]

Some people mistakenly disconnect them for better articulation off road. Or do you have a sway bar link broken?

[carljh]

have just measured my 53 plate overland, rear 3.5 inch, front 3 inch from top of tyre to wheel arch. so looks like its had the 2 inch spacer kit fitted.

[Rolex44]

Thanks for the info, I thought it looked unusually high. I've also noticed it has the original anti roll bar, I've read the Adecco 1" improves the handling immensely. But they are only available from the USA, the only one I saw being sold in the UK was £395!! there is one on Amazon USA for $130, I'll have to find out what the shipping cost is. Might try changing the shocks, the tie bars and new rubber bushes for the antiroll bar.

[gregwho]

Ive got a WJ 2.7 03 and love it, except for the ride quality which is something ive been working on fixing for quite a few years now.

As you mentioned, I read the same stuff about the upgraded rollbars and shocks etc, so I went ahead and bought a load of stuff from the states (from a guy called Nick at Kolak Performance, I can dig out his contact details for you).  This included front and read addco bars, upgraded rollbar bushings, new drop links front and back, new set of Bilstein shocks all round and a upgraded steering damper.  I can say the biggest difference came from the drop links and the rear rollbar.  I also found out once I had the front bar that the 2.7 has a different setup underneath compared to the petrol models which makes the front addco bar not suitable.  Suffice it to say I have a brand new front addco with new bushes sitting in my garage waiting for ebay.  Let me know if you're interested in having it.

I wouldn't recommend getting shocks from the US, as I've found out that they run theirs much softer than ours.  My brand new Bilsteins had less resistance than my 100k miles originals, which kind of sucked.

The last thing I did was speak to Greg at 4playjeep and he recommended replacement bushings, and that a lot of the information on the internet is wrong, particularly about the upgraded bars.  The body roll issue comes from the factory bushings having a fault in them, and that to fix it, you upgrade with high quality poly bushes.  Greg supplies but also fits these (if you want) and he has two WJs himself that don't roll now with the upgraded bushes.  I want to do the upgrade, but sadly due to finances this has gone on hold for now.

Let me know what you decide to do, and especially if you go for the upgrade bushes and what difference, if any, it makes.

Good luck

[Rolex44]

Thank you for taking the time to reply and provide an insight to your modifications and I was coming to the conclusion to replaces the rear droplinks, the anti roll bar bushes as they do look knackered and also change the rear shocks and this was the easiest and cheapest way to begin. The rear anti roll bar is awfully thin, it's corroded badly which I am surprised about. It looks no thicker than my index finger and I'd say it was inadequate for the job. I also have an old Volvo S80 and that has thicker anti roll bar.
As for the unwanted parts you have, I'll give it a miss since it didn't help much in your case and anyway I am considering just changing the front steering shock which runs across the front. Plus add front and rear view cameras as I can't see anything at the back through the rear windscreen nor the front corners!

I might try out a post 2005 model of mercedes ML320 and see if I prefer them now that they have got rid of the rust problem and the awful interior.

[gregwho]

Sounds like a good plan, and for the small cost increase I would recommend doing the front drop links too. With the difference in height between front and back, could you have mismatching springs/shocks? If you have got the budget 2" lift, you could try taking it out and see if it firms things up a bit too... unless you need the ground clearance!

How are you planning on showing the video feed? Ive bought a double din radio fascia and a 2din that will give me back camera but haven't fitted it yet (requires a bit of dash hacking). What kit were you thinking of getting for cameras etc?

A great site with useful info on the WJ model (sadly no details on the 2.7) is wjjeeps.com in case you haven't seen that before.

[Rolex44]

For the head unit http://xtrons.co.uk/head-units/android-car-dvd.html?p=4 do a number of units which aren't quite double din and they also have some single din with a motorised 7" screen with 2 video inputs. I think a head unit for a Merc can also be used

Or you can buy a 4.3"/5" monitor there are some with a remote control and stick it on top of the dash
For the rear camera, to use with a number plate holder with built in camera http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152118044890?_trksid=p2057872.m2748.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

you can buy wifi adaptors to link the camera to the head unit instead of hard wiring.

As for the front, you can buy a gopro type of camera with wifi and screw it on in the centre on the front bumper or behind the radiator grill. use it with phone, or if your head unit is android you can connect it using built in wifi.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261777620004?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

if you are going for this gopro, you will need a micro/mini usb power cable adaptor from 12v to 5v for the camera.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152019581667?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=451216584813&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I think I will wait until I've sorted out the handling before I spend money on the cameras and a new headunit. I'm getting on a bit and don't need a constant noise in the car while I'm driving

[Rolex44]

Here is a monitor wireless camera kit if you don't want to use a number plate with a built in camera http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18-IR-LED-Wireless-Reversing-Camera-7-LCD-Monitor-Car-Rear-View-Kit-Bus-Truck-/160987179847?hash=item257b956b47:g:3dwAAOSwI2dXFhM5

or this with a remote control and buttons on the monitor
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2CH-Input-7-Inch-TFT-LCD-1080P-Video-Play-MP5-Car-Rear-View-Monitor-DVD-Monitor-/252033496816?hash=item3aae5df6f0:g:mRUAAOSwyQtVrhoE

If you want to say a few pounds for any product buy from a Chinese supplier rather than a UK based, it only takes about 2 weeks for stuff from China to the UK.