Hey guys, i just bought myself a 1996 Jeep Cherokee with the Country trim, and this thing is BONE stock, so obviously I have a lot of ideas floatin around. I'm a college kid and this is my daily driver/back-and-forth-to-school-mobile. My biggest blunder right now is the lift. I'm thinkin somewhere between 1.5 - 2.5 inches of lift, just not stock. Problem is, rear leafs are sagging, the back looks about an inch lower than the front now, so im wondering if I should try to level it out with blocks/shackles and then get spacers in the front, or AALs, (like if i got a 3in lift AAL then a 1.75in coil spacer so its about level) or get new stock leafs and then shackles, since i havent really found any 2in lift shackles. idk, just a couple of ideas. aside from the lift im thinkin a new intake, headers eventually, exhaust (flowmaster 50???), fogs, all that good stuff. Ill get pics soon, any comments and suggestions welcome! Thanks.

 

sounds like a good place to start.. good luck with it.. try quadratec for some ideas on price.. that usually gives you an idea on where you want to start...

 

AALs will sag very quickly, just do a search and see all of the threads talking about it here. Do yourself a favor and get the full leaf packs. As for leveling it out, you could do shackles to fix that, but if the spring is fatigued then it will sag more. Try to source some used stock springs, and then add a shackle to them, and that would actually give you a little lift. Spacers can be bought for the front rather cheaply, and you can find them used around here sometimes. HTH!!

 

x2 stay away from aal if yours are already sagging look for replacements are you ever planning on going higher or not if you are you might not want spend alot of money on new leafs just get a good used set with shackles and put spacers on the front

 

for 485 bucks you can get a 4.5" lift from rough country! comes with new coils,shocks, add a leaf for the rear,transfer drop kit, new rear shackles that are adjustable, for a few extra bucks you can get a new leaf pack for the back instead of a add a leaf. and if you do get this lift you will also have to relocate the track bar in the front 3/4" all you have to do is drill a new hole. and it also comes with extended sway bar links. its a good deal if you not going to go out and doing serious off roading. And it comes with directions. you can do it i n around 4 hours. easy,easy and its a decent lift. you can run up to 32-11.5 tires. you can run 33.12.5 if you trim and roll you fenders.

 

i see that its only $485 for a 4.5 inch lift. but you're still adding AAL on a jeep that already has sagging leafs on it. not a good idea. if you snap one of those leafs you're screwed, blued and tattooed on the side of the road somewhere. i think i paid maybe $700 for my rubicon express 3.5 lift with coils for the front. lower front control arms, brand new 3.5 inch leafs for the rear, shocks, brake line for the rear. front sway bar end links, and a few other things. as far as the header goes...you really dont need that. if you're going to put an exhaust on it...you can spend a little over $150 and get one from www.4wd.com. it sounds good and costs a lot less than most others out there. i'd also take that pinch bent B-pipe off there and get one mandrel bent for you...that'll help just as much as a header and it'll cost a lot less.