Cheronick95

Well first off all, hi to everyone in this group, i am new on this forum but not new to off roading.
im not sure if im in the correct category but im going to do what most other cherokee owners do and that is lift the hell out of mine. now im having a few problems with deciding how to do it. i have a jeep grand cherokee on a N reg (1995) so these have all round springs on them unlike the XJ that have leaf springs. ive looked at all the kits available i.e the ones that contain almost everything to lift the jeep apart from a guy to fit it. now what im wondering is if i can get away with just new shocks and springs, thus leaving all the other parts out.
i live in the uk and getting parts from the uk is difficult.
any advice will be great. Thanks

Deloy3

Depends on how high your going to lift it. Anything over 3" your going to have to replace a bunch of other parts.

Cheronick95

i was thinking on lifting it 3inch. like ive said ive got a land rover discovery and have lifted that but everything on this seems a little more complicated. what would i have to change with this ? also i have some pre made body lift spacers made by a guy where i work. what is involved with this mod.

dave1123

First of all, you can't lift the body because it has no frame. All lifts must be suspension only. The spacers should be on top of the springs because they will stay in position better, also reducing unsprung weight. I think 3" is the max you can go without exceeding the caster adjustment on the lower control arms and extending the shocks. You can check on the shocks by measuring the tire to wheelwell clearance on top and then jacking up the body until the tires are off the ground. This will show you the limit of the shocks. Please remember that the shocks and swaybar are about the only things holding the springs in place!

Lack of caster tends to cause the dreaded "Death Wobble" that so many people talk about. It's only one of the causes, but one overlooked often.

By the by, welcome to CF. We will help all we can, but be advised we are a little light on knowledge of diesel jeeps.

Cheronick95

Thanks for that info, I planned on lifting 3" as I thought that will suffice for tires. Is there a company people use in the uk for these lifts or do they buy from America and get it imported ? Im having trouble finding companies in the uk. All springs and shocks will need to be changed as they look like they've never been replaced ever.
Ooh and mines the 4L engine. They seemed to be more bullet proof.

dnuccio

i would go with this:
http://roughcountry.com/jeep_zj_3.html

Cheronick95

yea ive seen these but i dont believe they deliver in the uk. which is hard to get hold of things for my jeep. ive noticed on these that they dont include rear springs, and say they use the old front ones, would this work ok ?

dave1123

You are right about the 4.0 I6. It is a very strong engine because it is vertical, allowing the cylinder bores to wear evenly instead of egg shaped as in a V8, it has a cast iron block and head which is not as prone to gasket failures because of different expansion rates and has good oiling and cooling systems. I have heard of this engine going 275K miles without major repair.

On the lift, you'll have to get more info from guys that have done it. I'm not experienced with this stuff. Also, you might want to check government regulations on modifications in the UK.

dnuccio

works fine, thats why they tell you to do it

Cheronick95

So there nothing stopping me from putting +2" springs all round, and 1.5" spacers all round and that would give me what I need without using old springs ? I know I would need the appropriate shocks aswell.

Cheers Dave for the info. Just seemed everyone had not many bad points to make about the 4L, that's why I bought it.

Deloy3

The 4.0 is a great engine. I have just under 220K and I just tore down the top end recently to just change all the gaskets and see how its looking. Everything looked great. Only valve cover gasket was bad. My head gasket and cylinders all looked brand new, still nice and clean, no cracks, no nothing really, all looked brand new. I was very impressed. They built these motors to last for sure. And on another note, a buddy of mine had to junk his from an accident but before he did, filled the motor with 6 quarts of water and ran it for an hour and the motor didn't even blow. Then towed it to the junk yard

dnuccio

you could do that...you would need adjustable track bars as well

dave1123

Not very nice! Someone else may need that motor!

Deloy3

I had nothing to do with it. I know there was problems with the jeep, I know it was totaled. But I do agree, it most likely could've been salvaged until he did that.

Cheronick95

That's good to know that my zj will get that far with adequate maintenance. Mines done 73k miles and luckily the lad before had this thing serviced regular at a jeep garage which won't have been cheap.
Regarding the adjustable track bars I will order some and then get the lift put on. Need to lift it soon as to get ready for the snow.