6.5" lift kit and whatelse?
 

Am going to be putting in a 6.5" rough country lift in my 01 and I bought 35s with offset rims.
After I get all that installed I was looking at regearing both axles to 4:11 ratio.

I was wondering whatelse needs to upgraded after that currently don't have a ton of money after this lift and regearing but what else MUST be done?

SYE
Brake lines
Track bar
Shocks (if the kit doesn't come with them)
Axle shims if necessary
Bumpstops
Sway bar end links (quick discos)
And a few things I'm probably forgetting.

Not to mention, you may want to look at 4.56 or 4.88 gears for those 35's.

Any reason you're stuck on 6.5"? It is quite a bit of extra work going over 3"

Also, any reason you're stuck on RC? Lots of threads on here addressing quality issues.

SYE for sure for that size lift. What all does your kit come with?
New rear drive shaft stock one will no longer reach/work

Everything that is included

FRONT
Lifted coil springs
Adjustable upper control arms
Adjustable lower control arms
Transfer case drop kit
Adjustable track bar
Power steering pitman arm
Sway-bar quick disconnects
Brake line brackets
Hardware

REAR
Lifted leaf springs
Adjustable lift shackles
Brake line brackets
U-bolts
Hardware

SHOCKS
(4) Premium N2.0 series

Looks like you just need a SYE and you should be ready to go. Possibly a new front drive shaft as well depending if it extends out far enough. And if you are worried about stopping maybe get a rear disc conversion as well. Other than that you pretty much got it. And as said before gearing will need to be done for 35's because you can't really expect good movement out of 3.55's

Is 4:11 ratio good for 35s I have been told by a ton of local xj owners 4:11 would be good

This....
http://www.seriousoffroadproducts.co...-NP231J-T-case

Is this a long arm kit or short arm? If its short arm you might want drop brackets. For 35s id go at least 4.56s.

I run the same lift with zero problems. If it's your DD, add a pair of control arm drop brackets from RC and they will really smooth out the ride. Forget the tc drop and install an SYE. You WILL need a longer front drive shaft.

35's with a manual transmission 4:56 gearing
35's with an automatic 4:88 gearing

4:11 gearing is usually for 31's and 32's, but works well with 33's if you have a manual transmission.

Agree with the 4.88s and 35s if you have an aw4. That's what I got and I love it.
At that hight and larger tires I would recommend better brakes(disks in the rear, ect.) and heavy duty steering. You will want to re gear ASAP if you go with 35s.

As others have said, if it's a short-arm lift get the control arm drop brackets so you can avoid the "pogo stick" effect and resulting rough ride. And another vote for 4.56-4.88 gears. I'd go with 4.88. I'd also think about getting a dual steering stabilizer for those big meats, and maybe think about a heftier steering box and tie rods / drag link down the road.

Less obvious suggestions...

If you're going to change gears, go ahead and do your lockers now if you can. You'll save about $350 to $400 in labor (if paying someone) or lots of hours of your own labor later by doing it all at the same time.

Buy two or three cans of PB Blaster and soak every suspension bolt every two days for about two or three weeks before you try to do the lift. Especially the rear leaf spring and shackle bolts.

Have a bench grinder with a wire wheel to clean all the bolt threads before reassembly.

Buy a bottle (not a little tube) of anti-seize compound and slather it on damn near everything during reassembly.

35's will put lots more strain on your front end. If your ball joints have more than about 5-7 years on them, I'd suggest changing them while you have everything else apart.

If you have a female in your life under the height of 5'9" that will ride along with you very often, get rock sliders with steps or some other way to get up in the Jeep :) Especially if she'll ever be expected to put on a nice dress or skirt and go out on the town with you.

Buy a small step stool to use when washing the XJ so you can reach the roof and top of the front windshield.

Get a taller jack for changing flats.

Someone suggested rear disk brake conversion, which is great. Short of that I'd at least get some quality drilled/slotted rotors and quality pads on the front with 35" rubber rotating.

If you have a roof rack (or plan to get one), be sure to check your projected final height compared to your garage door height if you have one. There have been people that put a tall lift on only to find out they couldn't back out of the garage unless they took the rack off. Or they found they could no longer park in the garage at all. You're adding 6.5" of lift from the suspension, and another 3" of height over stock sized tires (~35" minus ~29", then divide by two). That additional 9.5-10 inches of height can sneak up on you :) It could be even more than that at first until the springs settle a bit.

6 inches and 35s isn't the best route to go with a small budget. Like stated already, sye will be necessary. If anything is worn out up front the 35s are just gonna make it way worse. CA dps I would highly recommend! I would also reinforce the frame area if the steering box. Better to do it before it starts cracking from turning 35s.

Couple of guys said you will need a longer front drive shaft but I think that's wrong... When I got my 6.5" LA kit I needed a longer REAR driveshaft and am still using my stock front one.

It takes pretty deep pockets to go that tall your looking at

$600 for steering
$250 for sye and d.s.
$200 for control arm drop brackets
$100 for shackle relocation brackets
$1000 for gears installed go with 4.88s

That's just the start. My advice from someone who had that lift and ended up piecing together a 5.5" r.e. kit with long arms. Do it right from the start you can't expect to buy an entry level 6.5" lift kit and everything be okay.

Alright so I need
-4:88 ratio gear upgrade
- cv driveshaft REAR
-Slip yoke eliminator
- control arm drop brackets

Eventually after those upgrades I will upgrade the steering.
I might be broke and it costs a lot but I will save to pay for the parts even if it takes years.

I'm guessing you already bought the lift, so it's probably too late, but...

Can I ask what your thought process was in deciding on a 6" lift, rather than a 3" -4.5"? Those that are telling you you'll spend big bucks aren't lying. And honestly, outside of hard-core rock crawlers, I've never seen the need for anything over 4.5" in something with as short a wheelbase as an XJ.

you might read through this other post I made about what it costs just for the core must-have components of various lift and tire combos. This will not include all the extras on suspension and steering that have been mentioned.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/ne...3/#post2899951

even for hard core crawling, a 4.5" lift is great. completely versatile, stuffs 35's no problem, and keeps you somewhat low. I always recommend that height. tall lifts are for show ponys and mudders. nothing wrong with being either of those, but being honest about the purpose will help us recommend more useful parts. the taller you go the more of a pain in the butt it's going to be

for instance, stock steering SUCKS even on a non-lifted jeep. I could not imagine that at 6.5". so steering would be my first upgrade. caster just keeps getting worse the higher you go. there's people who are afraid to take a sway bar off but I'm way more afraid of the guy with wonky caster and crappy steering.

as others have said, rising lift height definitely has a direct relation to rising cost

Not sure why all the 6.5" hate but I love my 6.5" LA lift.
And as a lot of buddies of mine will attest to, the over all height of my Jeep is practically identical to a Jeep with a 4.5" lift.
The real difference is on the underside of the rig... That's where I've got a couple of inches more clearance than a 4.5" kit

And to say that 6.5" is too tall or tippy is completely wrong and I doubt they've ever been in a Jeep with a properly set up 6.5" kit.
I would recommend upgraded steering... I have the Curry HD system and it rocks... You could also go with a grand Cherokee kit to save money.

Congrats on your kit... You're going to love it.

I'm running a 6.5 LA. No complaints,

it's still rough country dude..

and I don't think anyone's hating on a 6.5. we're all just saying that the taller you go that more upgrades become necessary as opposed to simply recommended. and that means mo money

i dont consider 6.5" a tall lift. yeah it is expensive but if i were to build another jeep, it would get the same height lift.

I didn't specifically say a 6.5" lift is tall either. I just generalized about tall lifts.

as you well know, exact lift height doesn't really matter at all. as long as you're not lifted to the moon or trying to run 1" of uptravel in pursuit of lowcog, no one really cares. but for the bolt on crowd there is an extra bump in upgrades with every 2" higher up you go it seems

but if you're doing it all at once it doesn't really matter. and it looks like that's the direction the OP is headed. I just want him to get some good steering in at the same time as everything else

I have a 4.5 RC lift I love it idk why people hate on RC so much I mean sure back in the day they were horrible! But they've come up a lot. But one thing I do really hate about RC..... is on the 4.5 kit the leafs are too short. But guys let's face it every kit has their problems idc what brand it is.

Now you have my curiosity up. I was aware that years ago they had problems with the rear leaf packs being too short, but I was under the impression they got that fixed back in 2012. I ask because I have a new 4.5 X Series kit in my garage waiting to go on. How long ago did you buy your kit?

thanks for reiterating my point (previous threads where I've said this before). I'll say again. there's a reason RC is the cheapest kit out there. if it's not the leafs it's the bushings wearing fast. you cannot have quality and cheap in the same lift kit. RC sucks. you won't have any complaints if you had a clayton or a T&T kit. but it'll cost you. and for good reason too. they're really high quality kits

there's nothing wrong with not being able to afford a great kit. but buying a cheap kit and saying it's pretty good is not favorable either

I'm gonna have to agree with you on this one, you get what you pay for. Some things are okay to buy from them, like coil springs or shackle relocation brackets. But for a while I had that wimpy piece of steel rc wanted to call a track bar.
Went through three of their heims in 3 months. Had horrible costomer service, and sent me the wrong part.
There will be issues with rc lifts. I would stay away from them when buying things with bushings or joints in them.

Again, just as I asked the previous poster, when did you buy your lift? I'm trying to establish if those of you that have had problems bought your lifts recently, or if these were from 2012 and prior when they had known issues.

My lift is from about 2010. Rear is an add a leaf though. The track bar was brand new in 2013. Heim went bad in about a week. Got rid of that stupid thing within 3 months.

Back to the original thread
You all have your points I have my idea on what I need now yes plenty of you were hating on the 6.5 I have a 2.5 right now and on the trails round here higher is much better can't do majority of the trails right now and I am limited. Ok so rc is a cheap brand lift but to me it's worth it to at lest have the lift.
Ok it's expensive to go over 6 but it's not like I can not just wait to get the rest of the parts I don't NEED the lift in tomorrow or anything.

RC hate... What's new? Lol
I've had the RC 6.5" LA lift for almost 4 years and I've put it through a crap load of hard wheeling... And guess what? No issues with any of the joints and bushings.

I'm positive that my preventive maintenance has had a direct influence on this, but that goes with any lift.

One thing I highly recommend is that once you install your lift, you make sure to retighten everything at least 3 or 4 times. New bolts stretch like hell and become loose, and this leads to play and premature failure.

Also, if it has a zerk fitting... Use it. It's super important to make sure each bushing or joint that can hold grease, has plenty of it. I'm not talking once a year or once every blue moon, I personally grease everything at least every other time I go wheeling. As you know, offroading is the hardest thing you can put your vehicle through. Subsequently you need to do maintenance on it.

Take care of your lift and it will last a long time.

Thanks will do

Upgrading the steering would a one ton jcr offroad kit do the trick with these 35s?

I'm sure it would do the trick... You may want to research on it before you commit to buying it... IIRC some guys have had a couple issues with it... Don't quote me though.

At 6.5" you really need to go with an OTK Kit.

I have the Curry HD kit and it works fine... Chromolly and super heavy duty.

this kit does nothing for your steering angles. sure it's heavy duty, but helping with drivability should be the main concern with a 6.5" lift kit.

like seriousoffroad said, OTK something or another is what you need. I like the ruffstuff crossover. anything that flips the drag link OTK really. if you can't/don't have access to a welder maybe look into the IRO kit because it gives you crossover but doesn't involve relocating the track bar. not ideal, but may work. lots of options out there

If you really wanna do it right you should go with otk and a over axle track bar mount.
You COULD get lucky and have good steering angles if you factor in the perfect combination of track bar bracket(frame side) what steering you go with(drag link angles will be different between Jcr and iro) and lift height.
The easiest and best way in my opinion would be to go with otk and an over axle track bar mount for ease of adjustability and more steering options.

Haha maybe so, but my steering angles are just fine... I've never had any problems or DW... Just been lucky for 4 years I guess. ;op

Not sure what height lift you're using, but lucks got nothing to do with steering geometry. And if youre at 4.5"+ then the factory angles (that currie maintains) are in need of an upgrade. buying a $450 kit that does nothing for your angles.. Well I'm glad you're at least not getting DW. OTK/Crossover is far superior

I personally wouldn't do anything but otk I have the ruffstuff 3/4" heim kit and most of there panhard kit and jks extended sway bar mounts. I had all of the links professionally tig welded and did the rest myself. This replaced a h.d. kit that kept the factory geometry. It drives like a totally different jeep I have maybe $350 in parts, got it all on sale weekends and $75 for the welding I didn't do.