Hey guys. Just picked up a 98 2.5l 5speed 4x4. Its already got a 3" lift, but im looking to go for a 4.5". Anybody have any isight on this? I need to know if I'll need a SYE, or if that motor can even push it. I'm thinin about sticking with the 31"s that i've already got, will they look too small?

 

im not familiar with the motor and trans setup on those i would think that the driveshaft would be longer in the back because the motor is shorter but i could be wrong i also would nt go over 31s and even at 31s i think that motor will have a hard time they arent known to be very powerrful look at the sticky of lift tire setup on the cherokee chat page and see how it looks if you are gonna stick with 31s no need to go any higher IMHO

 

31's would probably look fine. 32's might be a little bit better, its just a matter of preference

 

getting 4.5 wouldnt be very hard since you already have 3". if you do it, an SYE is very very highly recommended, pretty much mandatory. anything over 3.5" requires one. just so youre not getting incredible driveline vibes and breaking SY's and driveshafts all the time. If you needed some time to save money you could do a T case drop temporarily until you can get the SYE and DS. I have 3" and im going to 5". im doing the tcase drop and shims until i get my SYE and DS. I have 31"s on my 4.0 now and ill be able to push 32"s pretty well. as for you with the 2.5 id stay with 31"s. i dont think it would look bad, but like capndoodles said, its a matter of preference. if you do the 4.5" and try out 32"s and like the way it drives still, then thats when it comes down to personal preference. good luck with everything

 

Ya now im very concerned as to what lift to buy. I needed shocks, so I went to summit racing down the road and picked up a set of shocks for a 4" lift. I figure either way I go, i'll be good.

Any body running the RE 3.5" superride with full leafs? My leafs are saggin bad so I cant do an AAL solution.

 

if youre looking to save some money and are somewhat mechanically inclined you could look into doing an s10 or dakota bastard pack for your leaf springs... theres a ton of threads on here about them. i hear theyre pretty good for getting about 4", and they dont really sag over time due to the stiffness.. im leaning towards this instead of the shackles, my leaves arent looking so hot after the aal either...

 

yeah thats not true at all, in some cases you will need an SYE but not all the time, ive got a 4.5 lift and a t-case drop and no vibes but thats just me, now would i get an SYE if i could, yes i would, but its not necassary in al cases

 

6.5" lift, no SYE, 1" t-case drop, no vibes, no problems so far. I did have my DS lengthened by .5" after a run in with a "small stone". I am going to get one down the road, but will run it this way for a bit longer. I have the 242, so a HnT will be the solution...

 

Motor is shorter, but all of the hard points are the same!-Drive shaft is not longer, The only main things that differ from the 2.5 and the 4.0 are the motor mounts and the upper/lower radiator supports. I had the 2.5 with a carb and although the fuel injected version is better, i don't think you will be happy with tires larger than 31s on the highway even if you were to change to 4.11 gears. If you really want to go larger
1: Sell or trade into a 4.0 xj
2: Do the engine swap 2.5 to 4.0 (Huge task but doable)
3: Plan on rowing gears
Good luck with your project - J.C.

 

4 cyl already have 4:10 gearing in them. So that wont help.

Youll get pretty much the same ammount of lift from a 4.5" kit with a 4.0 or 2.5...

Stay at 3" if youre wanting to keep the 31s and you wont have to deal with the SYE unless you really want to. My buddy ran 33s and 4:56s on his 2.5 and loved it. FWIW

 

I just found out the floors are getting kinda rotten on it as well, but i love the damn thing. Right now my logic is going like this; lift the thing the 4.5", but no SYE. Get the wheels I want and another set of 31's with new tires. If she makes it thru winter, I will have more than enough saved up for a 4.0l and in one weekend I can swap it all over, and sell the 4 banger to somebody who wants 20mpg for like $2000 bucks.

 

You don't need an SYE for the 2.5. I am running 5.5" on mine and there are no vibes at all. AND...when I got my lift, the mounts for the drop brackets did not fit the factory trans mount. Not sure if it was because mine is an 85 though.