casual

hey guys. im cameron, im 19 and im about to purchase a XJ.
i just hand a baby girl..and thats leads me here. i come from a car world. the previous car was a lexus is300 w/ a holest turbo setup and the girlfriend didnt think it was practical car with a child.
so im looking at xjs. i love there looks even though its gonna take some getting used to i want one. i live the desert of california and we like to go camp/fish and just have fun. ive always been the tag along because ive only owned cars but thats about to change.
ive looked and read around alot. a friend owns a 96 xj so i know a little.

my main questions/concerns are can i have a 3.5" lift with long arms? im only gonna run 31x10.5"..i dont need/want any bigger.
my goal is to have a fun reliable rig, that can go wheeling. ive seen 4.5" long arm kits. but is there a 3.5" kit?
plz any help is appreciated. (ill stop by the intro forum right now to)

THENNING

IMO if your just going to be using it for occasionally messing around in the desert and some camping and fishing trips...there's really no need for long arms plus i myself dont know of anybody who runs a 3.5 inch longarm set up...i think youd be just fine with a 3.5 inch short arm kit just do some research theres a big market out there for them...BTW congrats on the baby girl and welcome to CF!

88Cherokee4x4

Yeahh bud you can have a 3.5" lift with long arms, that would work perfect. Now keep this in mind, you dont need the long arms, but if you want them then thats your choice. Its not a big deal, Am planning on getting a 4 inch lift, and am not using long arms. Good Luck

Gee oh Dee

A simple BDS 3" suspension setup will have you sittin nice on 31's. You would maybe need to trim fenders a little, but thats not difficult at all.

BDS 3" kit: $600 or less

alloutperform

three things 1:ntw online has great cheap starter lifts 2:welcome and congrats 3: i got broadsided buy a gmc 2500hd when i was turning left and a guy tried to beat the light in my last XJ the jeep took a hit at an estimated speed of 50 and i got out and walked away like nothing happend jeep was junk but i was good good safe reliable rigs

krawlthis

i have never seen a 3.5" with long arms. i think its over kill. but if you wanna fork over the cash for it go ahead. for casual offroading i would not do long arms but thats me.

casual

thanks on those quick replys lol.
my buddy has a 96 xj. we had great times in that thing, its been very reliable which is why im looking at them. hes lifted 4.5F & 4R on 33's

let me see what you guys would recomend though. you know more than me lol.
i wont do alot of rock or mud, im sure theres some times in the winter i will. mainly just alot of fast desert wash boards and some nice sandy hills.
honestly the main goal is to be able to hit some dirt roads at descend speeds(35-65) i know the bigger stuff ill go slower, i just want a setup thats not gonna be jolting you around over every bump.
i know its not the same..but kinda like a prerunner in the desert. to just soak stuff up and be smooth. i dont wanna go crazy just a descent setup.

let me here what you think would be the best route.

casual

alright guys ive been reading/researching more and finally decided long arms wont be needed...not even close

but i need some help here!
i need shock to go laong with my RE6030 kit...(moneys not the deciding factor)
i see RE has the option of monotubes...but id perfer to run bilstein 5150's if i can...its only a 3.5" lift so what shock would suit it best?

BlackXJ

If you have the money to go with a LA setup, do it. It will make it ride very smooth especially at 3.5". You can get the RC LA setup for close to 600 I belive (just the LA upgrade) and then you can get their 3.5" lift for another 3-500. I have the 4.5" LA from RC and it rides prettty smooth. I think at 3.5", with long arms, you are going to have a ride that is as soft, if not smoother than the stock ride, which will help when your looking to do anything bumpy at moderate speeds.

another option is RC controll arm drops. It gives a similiar ride to long arms, without the long arms. It doesnt give you the flex joints / beefy cross member etc as the long arm kit does, but will still help the ride quality (might be best idea for a newborn).

Stock jeeps are built very well. The less aftermarket stuff you put on, more than likely, the less its going to break (with minor wheeling / dd driving). When you start really going after the whole all modified trail rig setup, its going to start riding like crap, and steering / handling like crap, no matter what you buy for parts. Theres a reason you can take a bone stock XJ and wheel the living hell out of it and it will still stoutly walk out of the woods with nothing but a smashed rocker panel and broken exhaust. This is why, IMO for you, I would get a 3.5" lift with AAL, shackles, new control arms, and full coil springs, then get the drop brackets for the controll arms. This is going to give you an extreamly nice ride, as well as retaining jeeps known reliability, and less stuff to break. The reason I say AAL and shackles is because its going to be the softest ride using your existing leaf spring pack, and aftermarket leaf pack bushings tend to wear out a lot faster than OEM jeep bushings.

I have owned 4 jeeps, 1 was completely stock, 2nd one was lifted 3" with RC full leaf packs, the other was a ZJ budget boosted with 31's, and my current xj with 4.5" lift with rough country long arms, 8.8 axle, locked front dana 30, and tons of other stuff. The stock XJ and budget boosted zJ road the best, and their only downfall wheeling was that they cant do the crazy rock garden/rooty/muddy lines that there is here in new england. something for your perticular use you might not need a lot of lift at all like you said. 31's will clear perfect with a 3-3.5" lift. I have ran 31's stock before on an XJ with minor trimming / bump stopping.

Hope this helps!! Congrats on being a father

casual

thanks greatly blackxj..your advice is so useful. as well as others who have replyed here. i had a slight idea of what i should do and what would work. and you just encouraged it alot.

and when you say get AAL and shackels?..what shackels are you talking about?
if you think i should go long arm or short arm & drop brackets..if you could lend some more information. or kinda clear it up. your post stated get LA if i have the cash but then you said stay sa & get db's

would you be able to get me some links and stuff blackxj..or help me get a actual list of parts together so im on the right track.
ive got the cash in had just dont know what to buy lol...
me and my buddy are building a 4.6L strocker right now. blocks at the machine shop

but ya can you plz help me get a list together on parts. either here or through pm.

BlackXJ

Basically what I meant was, if you have the money to spend on it, long arms are of course going to be better, your going to get more flex, a burly cross member, transfercase skid plate, and flex joints. Here is a link:
http://roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_689U.html

AAL is add-a-leaf. you take your existing leaf spring packs apart and add in a "helper spring" that gives it about 2.5" of lift after it settles. Then find a 1" shackle lift kit (such as this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-JEE...Q5fAccessories)

Rough country also sells this as an entire lift, that comes with a ton of stuff, but you only really need the parts included if your going to go up to the 4.5" lift. That kit is what I have, and its worth the money. Here is a link to that:
http://roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_4xla.html

The drop brackets are going to give you a similiar ride as long arms, your just not going to have as much flex. Here is a link to those.
http://roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_control_arm_drop.html

Now, once you figure out what you want to do (control arm drops or long arm), here is a few options for lift.
This one would be the cheaper and easier option if you went with the long arm kit and wanted the 3" height. At 3" you dont need a drop trac bar, longer brake lines, or SYE. 3" is the most you would want to go though without upgrading your steering geometry.
http://roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_3.html

This kit would be good for the drop bracket route as it includes the control arms. same goes for whats said above, at 3" you should be fine.
http://roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_3x.html

You can acheive more than 3" of lift with either of those kits by purchasing a longer shackle (2", rather than 1") and getting a 1" coil spacer. With that though, your going to want a drop pitman arm, adjustable trac-bar, and longer brake lines.

Either way you go, your going to want to have it re-aligned after you lift it. Also make sure all your tie rod ends are in good/fair condition before you align it.

As far as longer brake lines, the ones off of a YJ wrangler (pre-96) are longer and will work. And the adjustable trac bar, you can re-drill the trac bar bracket I belive 3/4 of an inch over to get the axle centered. The trac bar is what centers the axle.

Also, if you go with any of those kits, and then decide to go higher than 3" of lift later on down the road, your going to need new shocks that are rated for 4-6" of lift. I would not bother going with the 2.2 as there not worth the extra money. I WOULD however recomend getting Bar Pin eliminators for the shocks. And the day you order the lift, start spraying the upper rear shock bolts with pb blaster every day or every other day. Youll thank me later for that

Hope this helps!

casual

blackxj your a great help..i knew most of the stuff you said. but for you to take your time out and type all that. its nice to see how this forum is. most ive been on have alot of groughy internet thugs lol..

im gonna pm you.

/thread