Smith89

I just bought a 95 cherokee and was planning on doing a 4 inch budget lift on it. A friend told me 1 ton f150 front springs and 1 ton dodge leaf springs would work. I was planning on using s10 blazer leaf springs, but was told the dodge springs were more durable. Is any of this correct?

TheJerm

The setup your friend told you will make it ride like crap and not flex at all. I piecing my lift together and I'm about ready to install it. My setup is

Rusty's 3" coils (plus some jy spacers to raise up alittle) - only 100 bucks new

bastard pack - can use s-10/dakota/blazer/anything that spring under axle and is 2.5" wide.

YJ brake lines - parts store for like $15

JK shocks are good for 3-4" lift on a XJ. BPE and spacers will make sure it out bottom out.

Reweld my front swap bar to make it longer and just unbolt it when i want to

edit:maybe a t-case drop if needed

razor02097

shackle based budget lift $120
AAL kit from autozone $30
GM spring isolators from JY $5

TOTAL = $155

Total lift 2.5" - 3" front 2.5" - 3.5" rear


Be cautious about lifting on the cheap as you might be straining your factory shocks.

93gc40

As a general rule there is no such thing as 4" budget lift. Yes you can make it 4" higher for cheap. But you CAN't make it 4" higher and and a dependable daily driver for cheap. When you lift a XJ over 3" you are getting into the area where you have to address driveline modification, trackbars, control arm, steering.

razor02097

kind of the lines of my thinking...



you could add a block on the rear and another GM spring isolator to the list in my first post to get to the 4" mark but you might run into a lot of issues...

TheJerm

4-4.5" is the limit where things get expensive. You can get away with the stock tracbar and contol arms at 3.5" and maybe alittle more without too bad of alignment issues. The big thing is if you get vibes after you lift, yea you can do a t-case drop but thats a temp fix and a SYE is needed which isnt cheap.

blocks and shackles lifts are cheap but arnt the best mostly because the rear springs on XJ sucks and wear out easily

razor02097

Equipment= blocks < shackles < springs
Choice=____worst.......better........best
Cost=______least.......more.........most

pootie tang

I agree, but then again it depends on how much is your budget. Are you just trying to get the 4" with all the correct components at the lowest possible price or are you just trying to lift it 4" with the least amount of components?(which would probably not be the safest thing, especially if it's a daily driver)

TheJerm

Well I said this above and I'm aiming for 3.5-4" lift. So far I have invested 230 bucks in it and the only thing i dont have is the t-case drop with costs $15 at most. I think thats a pretty cheap lift. Yea you can buy a lift in a box for lots of $$$ or you can be creative and do it yourself. Some people like name brands which isnt bad but i dont have the money either so I building my own lift and i know the problems i might run into. There are ways to cut corners to lift cheaply and still be reliable, its called being creative and not afraid to do things differently

Smith89

Its not a daily driver. It's just for the mud.

razor02097

regardless of how you lift or drive it, there will always be modification pitfalls. Using a large block can cause severe axle wrap which can bind the drive line and possibly damage your transfer case. The very least you will have to winch it out to reconnect the slip yoke.

We aren't trying to hammer you for lifting on the cheap, we are here to share our experiences and potentially save you a lot of money.

That said IMHO I would stay 3" or under if you plan on keeping everything else stock.

Destro

Well my rig is lifted 4.5" with a budget lift- 3" lift coils and spacers up front- relocated brake line front.

Rear is a Dakota bastard pack for 4.5" of lift, YJ brake lines.

RC 3" lift shocks

RC adjustable track bar, but this wasn't added for 6+ months. Tracking sucked before, but it was fine on the road. I was lucky in that even this high I did not have any vibes. TC drop wouldn't hurt but I am planning on SYE so am just skipping the TC drop (was ready to do the drop if I had vibes).

Only a couple hundred into the lift- (under $300 even with track bar) and been daily driven for over a year now, and I go 70+ MPH on the freeway every day.

Cheers!

Smith89

Thanks for all the input. I'll keep it all in mind once I get some money comin in. lol Also I saw a Jeep on here with triangle shaped doors. Does anyone have this picture? I can't find it again.

uberxj92

i have a 92 xj laredo, ford 150 coils($25), spring pucks($30), dodge 2500 truck control arms ($50 for all 4), stock track bar, built my own disco's ($20), JK pitman arm, bastard spring pack ($50), shackles from autozone ($40). clearing 33's with only light rub & i am at 5.5" with no vibrations & solid at 80mph, good flex & decent ride.
remember all jeeps back then were basically hand made & no 2 were exact.