Well I am relatively new to the jeep and lifting scene. I have been looking at the Rubicon Express 3.5" superride with add a leaf (my rear leafs are not sagged) and dt3000 shocks. My jeep is a 1998 XJ sport with automatic trans and has never been offroaded in the past. I intend to use it for very mild offroading. Just looking for a lift that I can take exploring trails. Here are my questions:

1. would I need a drop pitman arm for this lift (or would it be recommended)?

2. Would I be able to get away with a Transfer Case drop and axle shims or would I need a SYE and driveshaft? I can't seem to get a straight answer (would be mostly on road use).

3. What backspace cragar soft 8's should I get if I want to use stock flares with this lift?

4. 31s or 32s?

 

I personally would not get the add a leaf unless you plan to replace it in a year of two. The Doestec shocks are excellent, been running mine for 6+ years and work just as good as new.
1. No you won't need one till around 4.5" and up.
2. Prob won't need either with that much lift but if you have some vibes a tc drop will be fine.
3. 4-4.5" should work just fine and give you a nice stance.
4. 31s, 32s will fit but rub without trimming a bit.

 

ive heard that tc drops can potentially do damage... somewhere... and should be avoided, but i also see alot of people running them... idk... just wondering

 

im running a 1 inch drop crossmember and i havent had any problems, i just tore up a u-joint but im pretty sure its been on there for a long time, so im not really surprised, if you get the right drop or just a whole cross member than you shouldnt have any problems

 

yea! mabey it was u-joint damage... sounds right... but like i said, that was one post vs. the million that dont say not to do a tc drop...

 

The bad thing about tc drops is it puts the front drive shaft at a steeper angle. If you are running a big lift or front locker this can cause problems like bad vibes or premature u-joint wear and failure. It's worse for vehicles with a lp axle. It also wears out motor and trans mounts faster.

 

xjmarc, thanks for all of the valuable input. If I am understanding you correctly you don't think that the RE lift in question would be a large enough lift to cause serious problems with front driveshaft angle and premature u-joint failure or wear with a TC drop installed?

 

I think you'll be fine. I wouldn't put in the drop till you have driven it a bit because you may not have any vibes.

 

Thats what my plan was. A friend of mine has this lift on his 2001 and did not need even a transfer case drop.

 

Just a heads up you are going to gain more than 3.5" out of that kit. Mine sits at 22" front and 22.5" rear which is about 5" over stock.

 

Must be new, my 4.5 RE lift gave me close to 6" for about 6 months then settled to around 4.

 

Its been about 6 months now. Its settled a little but still has a little ways to go. But im not complaining.