searched for about two days now and havent found anything on this. How much of a lift can you put on a 89 xj with out changing the control arms. i want to lift mine but dont have alot of money to spent lifting it. so i just wanted to know how much of a lift o could put on before i had to change the stock control arms on it. the lift will be a permanent thing but the stock control arms are only temporary till i get money saved up to buy all the needed parts.

 

With stock arms you go up to 3.5 to 4 inches, but that is the limit for the stockers.

 

On pre 87 XJs it is even less. 3"

 

i think ZJ lca's are longer

 

ZJ rear lowers are longer, front are the same. But you can use the rear lowers from a ZJ in the front of a XJ for longer arms..

 

Since the question is how high with the stock arms (aka, not swapped in units) I would recommend staying in the 1"-2" range if the rig is a daily driver.
Higher than that and you get into caster issues and alignment becomes compromised.

Yes, lots of folks out there run more... "I" would not do so.
Then again, I would not run over 3" lift on short arms (even adjustables).
I'm fussy

 

im running 8 inches on adjustables and my castor and all that stuff is good and i flex like a champ

 

[quote=Cherokee 4.0;280256] and i flex like a champ[/quote]

thats what she said! HA. sorry I couldn't resist.


back the the topic at hand.

 

I wouldn't go more than 2" on the stockers, and here is why. At stock stance the arms are nearly flat, when you lift an XJ the angle of the arms increase. This transfer more shock load throught the arms, because they do not deflect as easily when the angle is added. They are simply stamped steel, and I have broken them. Putting the extra stress on them by adding more angle to the arm increases this risk. A broken control arm can be a nasty situation to deal with, so for me, it's 2" only. HTH!!

 

thanks for the help. it wont be long till i can change the lower control arms but i was just trying to get an idea on ho high i could go with out changing them. is it even worth lifting it till i have the money to change the lower control arms? should i wait and save my money and get everything at once?

 

Waiting is your best bet, but I understand how hard that can be, so it's up to you on that. If you are not wheeling your rig, then I would say you could prolly put the lift on, and buy the arms down the road a bit.

 

To answer the question. 2-3" max for stock Lower control arms and trackbar. If you get Control Arm drops you can go to 4.5-5" on stock arms.

BUT if you lift an XJ, any amount, it is best to change both yous CA and TB.

 

Do the job right the first time. If you go too high without changing the LCAs you will change the castor angle enough that you will probably start having death wobble. Then you will be forced to get them anyway. Better to avoid all that hassle.