I'll be doing a 3" lift on my 01. I have a few questions though. Are extended brake lines recommended? They're relatively cheap regardless, but I'm looking to see if it's absolutely necessary. Another thing is the steering stabilizer, would I need to replace the one that I recently replaced or can I stick with it? And the last thing is a t-case drop, I've read elsewhere that it's not needed for 3" lift, then I've heard it is. Here's what components i'm looking at right now:

Rough Country 3" lift w/full leafs http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep-sus...t-kit-630.html
Rough Country quick disconnects http://www.roughcountry.com/sway-bar...ects-1128.html
Rough Country adjustable track bar http://www.roughcountry.com/adjustab...-bar-7572.html

Unsure of:
Transfer case drop
Extended brake lines
Replacing existing steering stabilizer


Thanks!

 

Yes brake lines are a good idea if you ever plan on working the suspension. You can buy the hoses from a YJ. Direct fit and very cheap.

Steering dampener is fine. You're still using the factory steering design so there is no reason to change. However it's a good idea to replace the steering while you're at it. New XJ drag link and new V8 ZJ tie rod. Do a search on here for the V8 ZJ tie rod upgrade.

Do yourself a favour and don't buy RC. The shocks die fast and the bushings are ****. It is not worth the hassle IMO. Over in another thread there's a guy who's replaced his RC springs THREE TIMES due to bad bushings. All under warranty but then again your down time and effort isn't reimbursed now is it? Check out a full 3" lift from Zone. Much better use of your money. Same goes for that trackbar. I've seen those things break and they are just dangerous. Iron Rock Offroad's double-shear setup is what you want. It you can't afford that yet just redrill whre your stock trackbar goes on the axle and use that for a month or two.

As for the transfer case drop or any driveline mods that remains to be seen as every Jeep is different. Lift your XJ first. Lots of new problems will appear soon after, some you may not expect lol.

 

I just did a rough country lift on a 1996 XJ and you don't even need to relocate the brake lines. There's a good amount of slack stock. That said, the axle is flex-y and if you EVER plan on taking off road (real offroad, not down a gravel road) then you WILL want longer lines. That one time you rip a break line, you're gonna have a bad day!

Rough Country offers good product. I am really happy with my suspension, it handles road driving better than my old, worn out 96 suspension, and braking is SO MUCH BETTER! No front diving like I used to have. Good proportioning. This is as quiet as my Jeep has ever been.

New rubber front (2x) and rear (1x) lines are CHEAP. Get the longer lines.

I am running IRO double shear TB and it's a great product so far. Real easy to install.

 

Just ran into a problem...I think. How difficult is it to install a lift if I have a trailer hitch? I'm assuming that will need to come off for the time being, but the bolts are rusted like a bit**.

 

No need to remove the trailer hitch.

 

Spray all the nuts, bolts with PB BLASTER every day for a couple weeks. I did this and only broke one rear shock bolt when installing my lift.

 

I sprayed my 88' twice a day for two weeks and only snapped my u bolts and one sway bar link. PB Blast all the bolts like you're a priest going to church.

 

Forget the RC lift another in the same price range but with a lot better springs and leafs, those are 90% of the cost of the kit, is a Rustys 3" full spring/leaf lift. Their helm's seem to be a bit on the replacement side very soon with little use as some have posted about.

A TC drop kit is recommended to be on the safe side, they are cheap.

SB Disconnects very good idea to get the full flex from your lift, the rear SB should be discarded.

An Adj. Track Bar should be used also so the stock one doesn't have to be re-drilled.

If you get full flex from your properly setup XJ then extended brake lines are needed.

 

Even though im sure you have got your answer, ill give you another opinion.
So currently what I have is a 2000 XJ 3.5in Rough Country and Iron Rock Lift.
On my rig im running Rough countrys extended brake lines, Rustys Tcase Drop and a Skyjacker Stock Steering stabilizer. Do you need the extended breakline? Yes. Do you need the T-case drop? Its not absolutely needed just yet, but you should just get it over and done with as its cheap and an easy installation and the upgraded steering stabilizer I have found is not necessary. Once you hit about 4" to 4.5" thats when your really gonna start needing everything including the above as well as an SYE, Control Arms, the Steering stablizer and so on and so forth.

Oh and do yourself a favor, dont but Rough Countrys Quick Disconnects, they are complete garbage, I ran them for a few weeks and hated them, If I remember correctly they even broke on me. Go ahead to rustys and buy the Gold Quick Disconnects, they will save you so much time and you dont need a hammer or tools to remove them like I needed for Rough country Set.

 

I'll just say that I love my Rusty's 3 inch full spring pack lift. If you haven't already bought your lift, I'd suggest Rusty's over Rough Country, at least for the coils and springs... It's the around the same price too.

 

I just put a 3" lift on my 01 from ZoneOffroad, and so far I like it.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/ed...0/#post2931036

I put on a RC adjustable track bar because Ihad seen quite a few positive reviews, then I read all these negative postsabout RC track bars and I think maybe I should have gone with Iron Rock, timewill tell.

I made a brake line relocation bracket forthe rear out of some scrap steal flat stock I had in my garage, and I relocatedthe front brake line brackets, but I plan on going with SS extended lines inthe future.

I made a T Case drop kit out of some 1.25”square tubing I had laying around, but I haven’t installed it as I haven’t hadany vibe issues. Plan on an SYE early next calendar year.

Depending on where you are at with yourregular maintenance you may want to think about other things you can easily dowhile you are at it. I did brakes and differential fluid for example.

 

Thanks

Sounds good man, thanks
Haven't bought it yet; just brainstorming around. Won't be buying it until about May of next year so I have quite a bit of time lol.

Here's what I've got so far:
Zone 3" lift kit w/full leafs http://www.jeep4x4center.com/zone-of...-zon-j21n.html
RE front adjustable track bar http://www.jeep4x4center.com/rear-ad...ub-re1620.html
RC shackle relocation brackets http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep-xj-...-kit-1117.html
RC adjustable shackles http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep-xj-...kles-1077.html
Still unsure about sway bar quick disconnects but I'm leaning towards the rusty's... http://www.rustysoffroad.com/rustys-...sconnects.html

 

I started with a zone 3" and nitros and absolutely hated it. If I was to start again Id go with Rusty's kit with the 150lb coils. If you are going to add a bumper up front go with the 180lbs. Zones are 240lbs just too much without a bunch of accessories installed up front. Rusty's kit also comes with a bracket to relocate the rear brake lines. It also costs less.

Ditch the RC relocation brackets and go for HD Offroad Engineering brackets. Do what you want for shackles there are a number of options. I like the RE ones I just recently installed.

On another note if you are planning this all out for a future build as stated. Start saving and go right for long arms. You wont regret it.

 

so tell me again why you hate the Zone kit? I have the same kit on my rig, full steel bumpers & tire carrier on the rear, and it sits perfectly fine. No sag. Rides great. I'd choose Zone over Rusty's any day...there's a reason that Rusty's kit is cheaper.

As far as brake lines go, I just disconnected the brackets for the front, and they are plenty long enough. The rear would need to be extended before the front but I haven't had a problem on or off road.

 

He said that the zone lift is fine if you plan on adding heavy bumpers, they have a higher spring rate which equals a stiffer ride, but also means less sag when adding bumpers, sliders, etc. rusty's makes great springs, they just lack on arms and steering.