Try a bigger forum like Jeepforun or NAXJA. Look for the regional sections and post your request there. And maybe offer up some beer, lunch, whatever. You might also want to say you'll travel to the person's location & be prepared to get up pretty early in the morning.

And by the way, you should start spraying PB Blaster on every bolt you might need to remove. Trust me ... you'll thank me for this later!

 

I did my 3" lift by myself in my driveway with 2 jack stands, one hydraulic jack and 2 factory xj jacks with basic tools + a borrowed torsion bar compressor from Oreilly. It's a learning experience, but worth the effort.

 

Oops, forgot to mention the 2 cans of PB Blaster used 2 weeks in advance.

 

I have installed plent of lift kits... and the last one I did I traveled to do.... BAD IDEA on my part. I thought I packed everything I needed... and I didnt. Long story short... the job took almost 12 hrs to do If I would have dont it at my garage.. I could have had it done in about 5-6 hours. Issue was all the bolts were rusted in.. or broke when I went to remove them. Thats whY I wont travel to install a lift kit EVER again.


If I was to install another lift, and it was for cash paymnet I would charge 5-600 bucks if nothing went wrong.. and more if Issues were encountered.


Issues we had were shock bolts breaking... control arm Bolts rust welded in the bushings.

 

i am not going to be suprised if it has some breaking stuff
Afterall - its the north east -
15 wonderful white winters
a few off road trips, 1 water crossing...
yep... gonna be interesting if they dont break off

 

Well if that is the case.. get a small torch and heat the leaf spring bolts, as well as the control arm bolts... They all have mopar lock tighton them, add rust and there is no hope of getting the bolts out with out a lot of work.

 

the estimates on the website arent for first time installers.... usually a 3 inch kits only takes me 1.5 hours tops......the right tools are your friend....lol

 

well i have a shimmer of light at the end of the tunnel...i hope...

I asked around and found a place about 20 mins from my place, they build derby cars, monster trucks and swamp buggys ( there is a 2 door caddy with a 12 inch lift and like 40" tires - yes OFFROAD TIRES - sitting outside)
Gonna stop in and see what they'd charge to put the lift on AND i might have a referral!


Not gonna hold my breathe on this... but it'd be really nice! Guess its in the hands of the big kahuna up stairs...

 

I would never let anyone touch my XJ for suspension work that is not familiar with Cherokees. Trust me - there is a lot of difference & I have learned the hard way. Even the YJ guys don't get it right. I'll travel 2 hours to have someone who knows what they're doing work on the heep.


No, I don't have all the tools, don't have a garage or even my own driveway. WHat I do have is decent knowledge & a healthy distrust of everyone until they prove themselves to me - when it comes to my Jeep.

 

it will definitely be cheaper to drive FOUR or FIVE hours to somebody's house than to pay a shop to install it... i'd do it for free, but my wife is about to pop any day now, so i can't make any commitments. aaand after the baby is here, i ain't gonna be allowed to make too much noise around the house. so, if u find someone around my area that is willing to provide nothing more than a straight surface, i can help u install it in about 6 hours. if it's a dry day. but that's only after my baby's born.

 

well, the shop seems to have a favorable reputation
Since i do not believe in co-incidents I think i was meant to be at Wally lastnight
at midnight - to see this lifted XJ (no i dont have a cell phone - couldn't take a pic) Owner walks up, and I ask about the lift. Then the half hour or so conversation AND.... how the shop is really good with cherokees.
My next venture will be around wed. of next week to see about an estimate.
Already figuring 500 to 700

 

To install a lift??!! Seems you're sold on giving money away, man ...

 

That is the going rate.. and that is if everything goes well.

 

Yeah, 500 is about the minimum a shop will charge...

 

wow ... if that's what I had to pay to get my lift installed, I'd still be stock, LOL. I'd rather spend that on quality components. But I guess I understand when you have no choices. It's slim pickings around here these days.