fixitman

Do you have a 3" lift on your xj and want to go bigger but dont see the point in buying a whole new lift kit?

i recently bought my xj and right away put a 3" lift on it for 255$ then realized i really wanted more ground clearence, more flex, and to put bigger tires on. but didnt want to waste the lift i had just put in and spend a ton of more money on a new lift kit so heres what i did...

Parts List:
2" spacers and shackles---ebay 89$
5" adjustable trac-bar---rustys 189$
Control Arm Drop Brackets---ebay 189$
sway bar quick disconnects---rustys 45$
3/4 to 1" Transfer case drop---home made or ebay 20$
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http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/84-02-Jeep-XJ-Cherokee-2-Spacer-Shackle-Lift-Kit_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2 Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3 a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem 120400598792QQitemZ120400598792QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5 fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ebayphotohosting
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/84-02-Jeep-XJ-Cherokee-Control-Arm-Drop-for-Lift-Kit_W0QQitemZ110372231108QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors _Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item110372231108 &_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A1205|65%3A12 |39%3A1|240%3A1318
http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchan..._Code=SUS_TRAC
http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchan...y_Code=SUS_ACC
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Things you should know
1.)shocks from most 3" lift kits will work great for 5" of lift, i have RC shocks and have more than enough articulation and shocks never bottom or top out.
2.)stock brake lines will work just fine but will have to be relocated
3.) I HIGHLY recommend using the rough country control arm drop brackets rather than longer or adjustable arms, they make alignment easier, they give much more flex, and give a much smoother ride.
4.)if you add up the costs it is cheaper by about 50 bucks to buy a 4.5" lift kit from RC and call it good....but if you lift this way you will be netting 5" of lift , will ride nicer and have way more flex, heres why
the RC 4.5" kit doesnt come with a trac bar, you the use stock one, which works fine but will make alignments difficult and if you ever wanted to go higher you would need to get an adjustable trac-bar anyways. Also the 4.5" kit comes with fixed control arms which work fine but will be at a very steep angle to the frame rails, with the drop brackets the control arms will now be back to the angle of a stock cherokee's suspenion resulting in a more "like stock" feeling to your ride. also since they start out with almost no angle on the control arms when you flex it allows much more drop of the axle before the CA's stop it.
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brake lines relocated(not my pic, i stole it from google)

t-case drop(also nto my pic)

Oath

No SYE?

chrisdm4

Drop kit= $20

SYE= $230

Guessing he went with the drop becasue it is $210 cheaper. Prob should get it but for now the drop will work. That is what I am doing.

MichaelMaxim

You said you wanted more ground clearance in your first post. T-case drop doesn't = more ground clearance. Hate to be the bearer of bad news!

jcherokee94

yeah but dont you need a T-Case drop for more lift?

PingPong

I reall y don't try and encourage ppl to skimp out on doing lifts properly. Yours is pretty solid, but some ppl might try and cut corners. If you would have went with the 5" kit to start with you wouldn't have had to try and do it cheap in the end.

fixitman

ya true my tc does hang down a bit but thats nothing i worry about, mainly i wanted the awesome flex and the nice ride, i know i spent more than your average lift but i built my rig exactly how i wanted it, not too tall since its a DD but good ground clearance, good tire clearance for 31"s, lotss of flex, its stronger than your average lift 4.5" lift kit and it rides like a cadillacits perfect, wouldnt change a thing

fixitman

to me it seems like most 4.5" lift kits around(for under 600$ that is) arent really that complete they just give you the basic nesesities, just the stuff to get you lifted but u sacrifice ride quality, durability and flex unless you go with the really expensive high quality lift kits like rubicon.

Drewdertuder

Great thread

okcjeeper

Well there is the option of Rusty's new crossmember that also drops the t-case 1" and you lose no ground clearance..I went that route only because I got one used for like $50..My vibes went away.

I am curious are you running stock or aftermarket control arms? My plan is to add the RC drop brackets and a set of adjustable upper and lower CA's.

fixitman

im running stock CA's with the drop...the directions said if you have 4.5"-5.5" of lift you can use stock arms but any higher than 5.5 and you need adjustable. dude i deffiantly recomend the ROUGH COUNTRY drop brackets and only them, i looked at other brands and RC one looks the coolest, is teh cheapest, and installs teh easiest.

and i didnt know that rustys crossmember drops 1" with losing ground clearance, how is this possible?

fixitman

and okcjeeper, the directions also said that you have to have atleast 4.5" of lift to use the drop brackets, is your jeep lifted? picture looks stock

okcjeeper

Yeah that's a pic of when I had 2" of lift. I have an RE 3.5 which sits at about 4.5" of lift. I plan on adding 1 more inch..

Drewdertuder

man i cant wait to get some money and lift mine highter.btw does anyone no if u can like make ur own control arm brackets cuz 189 sounds a lil much?

fixitman

yea wouldnt be too hard, get some pics of them and if u need sme measure ments let me know ill measure mine up, but use 1/4" steel and u gotta be a good welder