mike55

i just got a 1986 jeep cherokee for free from a friend and i was wondering if any one had any suggestions to lifting it 2 to 3 inches as cheap as possible i am not looking to put much money into it cause its kind of a roach but a little extra ground clearance would be nice

boardmanXJ

probably the cheapest way is a "bastard pack" what you do is go to the local boneyard pick up a set of chevy s10 leaf spring packs. take your xj springs off and unbolt the pack. take the longest spring in the cherokee spring pack and cut the eye bolt holes off. then take the longest spring from the chevy spring pack and add it to the cherokee pack. itll lift it about 4 inches. if you want less lift, just reuse the whole s10 spring pack. for more lift use chevy blazer (thicker leaves) spring packs. for the front, you can use V8 ZJ springs and coil spacers or f150 front V8 coils. there is a certain year for the f150 springs but i dont remember what they are. im sure someone will chime in with the exact year. goodluck!

JeepCoMJ

search. your exact title has come up many times.


the answer: cheap and lift don't go together. period. cheap+lift=junk.

boardmanXJ

also a very good point CoMJ

JeepCoMJ

I should say that the term "junk", which I used, can be loosely applied as meaning "problems"

dans01classic

The Cheapest Right way to get a decent amount of lift is the Rustys 3 inch add a leaf kit. $370 and you wont have problems! Whats that saying..."Do it right or regret it!

JeepCoMJ

except that you get less than what you pay for with rusty's.

until recently, they've been known for absolute crap parts. they're getting better, but I can't say they've dug themselves out of the hole enough that I would spend any money on their products.

rough country has never had anything bad said about them, except the quality of their old style shocks...and is comparable in price to rusty's.

littleredXJ

Most of the "2 inch budget boosts" are pretty good for the money. I got one from rocky road outfitters for about 100. Just spacers and shackles. 3 inches is about as high as you can go on a budget. After that you run into allignment issues and driveline issues which all cost more money to fix

posjeepxj

Cheapest way i know of is hit up forums and or craigslist and post WTB USED CHEROKEE LIFT PARTS. I am always buying and selling crap trying to tune mine in and i know alot of other people are cause that were i get most of my stuff

dans01classic

I've got a Rustys 3 inch on mine and all the parts were great. A couple of my buddies run some of the fastest times in the sanctioned NC Mudslings Using all Rustys performance parts. Their top truck is a cherokee called Crusty with a 6 inch I believe and a built 4.0. I cant speak for the old stuff by my stuff is good.

all_balls_offroad

What do you do about the front if you replace the leafs?

jay_sco

?? It's right there, in the 6yr old post that you quoted! Or here https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/bud...herokee-58797/ or you could just buy springs seperate.

all_balls_offroad

That's my bad I realized it was an old post I didn't read your first post right but i got it now

Big David

V6 T Bird coils are suppose to be good for 3 inches.

all_balls_offroad

If it is alright to dig this post back up how high can i go without doing anything but suspension and shocks?