Dustin Kunau

I have a 98 jeep grand cherokee laradeo, I want to build it into a trail/camping dig but still a dd I want a lift but I've seen everything from guys going 2.5-10" what is the happy medium I was thinking 3.5" and what should be done mechanically to make it more trail ready? I'm new to the jeep game.

dave1123

Welcome to CF!

6 or V8? What kind of terrain will you be using it in? Sand, mud, rocks? These things make a difference on what to do. Also, what is your budget?

Dustin Kunau

It's the v8 and being in foot hill's of colorado mud rock's I've never been on the trails be for but going camping and hunting that's the normal find in the terrain

Dustin Kunau

Another question for a new guy how do you know the body type of the jeep I see guys refer to them like xj,zj,wj which one is it and how Can you tell?

caronaxtr

You've got a ZJ....

Here's the break down:
Grand Cherokees
ZJ 93-98
WJ 99-04
WK 05-10
WKII 11- present

The XJ body style is the "Boxy" Cherokee. they were made from 84-01

Let us know what your budget is, height will depend on everything else, SYE, long arm, short arm, etc. do you have any idea what tire size you want to run?

love to see the Grand Cherokees get built... ask questions this is a great forum for knowledge.....

Dustin Kunau

I dont have a huge budget having a family but I can afford to sink money into it, I don't wanna go straight up crawler with it I want to run 33s hopefully and whats sye long arm short arm?

5speedZJ

SYE is a slip yoke eliminator. You won't need one of those on a ZJ
For running 33s I would recommend going with a 4.5 inch lift. Iron rock off-road, rubicon express are good quality companies, along with a few others.
Do some research on the difference between short and long arms, and why you would run either or.
33s are the size tire where you really ought to regear your axles, and 4.5 inches of lift is borderline long arm territory. Your steering geometry will also be out of whack at 4.5.

Lots of things to learn and think about, good luck!

Dustin Kunau

Thanks for the help

Bustedback

My 95 ZJ with a 4" Rough Country long arm lift and Kenda Klever 32" mud terrains on 8" wide/3.75 back spacing D windows.



My wife isn't the best with a camera, but you get the idea.

Dustin Kunau

Thank you that helps a lot now I have an idea what in looking at. Thank you.

Bustedback

People will bad mouth Rough Country lifts all the time, but quite honestly I haven't found any faults in the quality or performance of this lift. You can't beat the price of 1500 bucks for a complete system. The only things I added were longer front brake hoses, a 2" drop pitman arm, and a Rough Country tie rod. I will be adding Johnny joints to replace the bushings on the axle for the upper arms, the bracket on the right side is a little tweaked and the bushing won't stay seated.not the fault of the lift kit.

Dustin Kunau

I had a rough county lift on my 75 power wagon and loved it but what other mods than suspension should one look into being in the rockies

Bustedback

Upgrading the cooling system is never a bad idea. I have an all aluminum two row radiator, ditched the engine driven fan in favor of an electric fan from a Ford Taurus. If you do night wheelin you should consider some auxiliary lighting.

andrewmp6

I would start with a full tune up and fix any problems you know it has.If you need help finding parts i know a lot of sites from armor to light mounts.

Dustin Kunau

The only real mechanical problems it has is the dash lights short out and the heater doesn't work all the time it just had a tune up done. It needs new body molding and those things but I don't see any point in putting plastic back on just to have it break again