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There's no such thing as a 4.5" XJ lift for $500.
At least... There shouldn't be.
Put that $500 lift on. Pretty soon you'll realize you need:
Adjustable track bar - $175
Adjustable lower control arms to correct caster- $200
SYE - $125
New rear drive shaft - $75 (a JY front unit) - $350
Control arm drop brackets to keep it from riding like a pogo stick - $180
New rear leaf packs when those AAL's fail within a couple of years - $300
New brake lines - $60
You can save yourself hundreds, and lots of time and hassle by spending a few hundred up front more on their X-Series 4.5 lift which includes many of the above items. You'll still need a SYE, and you may opt for the control arm drop brackets, but you might as well do this once.
Others will say if you want to do it once, buy Rubicon Express. And they wouldn't be wrong. But not all of us can afford that. I spec'd out a "comparable" RE 4.5" lift on a feature-for-feature basis and it came to about $1300 vs. $829 for the RC X-Series. Some folks trash RC, others love them. You'll get mixed reviews across the board. Back in 2011 and 2012, they had some issues with the rear leaf packs being too short (front to back, not height) and not properly meeting up with the rear shackles at a correct angle, but it seems they got those issues resolved back in '12.
As has been suggested, you'd be be better off putting a 3" lift on it and getting flat flares to clear your desired tires. Far less expense and initial and "down-the-road" issues to contend with, smoother ride, etc.
In either case, those 33's are going to be pushing the limits of your stock 3.55 gears. It will roll, but your off-the-line / acceleration, uphill grade, and towing power will suck the big one. Look online at pics of XJ's with 3" or 4.5" with 31's. They can look really good, and not cause as much power loss. The reason I bring this up is, even with you doing the work yourself, new gears will cost you about $600-$1000 for parts. Add another $200 - $250 an axle for shop labor. You can run 31's and get by for quite awhile without regearing, but 33's are gonna be a burden on stock gears.
This isn't mine, but here's an example of 4.5 with 31's immediately after installing the lift.
Hi, maybe an amateur question but looking for some constructive criticism.
I've been debating between the rough country 4.5" lift on 33's or the rough country 6.5" lift on 33's. The 4.5" is like $500 and the 6.5" is almost $900, not that the price really matters between the two.
This cherokee is my daily and will be driving 40 miles to and back from work, I understand the 4.5" is still a good daily lift but what about the 6.5"? I do plan on making it my weekend outing, I don't plan on doing a whole lot of flexing or major rock crawling, but I do like the 6.5" lift, I just feel as I will regret the 4.5" over time.
Inputs?
Think twice about RC lifts. The price is tempting, but I can speak from personal experience, don't let the low price fool you. To do a lift over 3" will cost you a significant sum of money, rule of thumb is for every inch higher, plan on more money. I'm looking at the prices for the kits you posted and I'm guessing here, but that's for their short arm lift, no? Avoid a short arm lift over 4.5". At 4.5" do a long arm, you'll thank yourself later. Also at that height you'll need an SYE, shocks, tires gears....IF you want to do it right.
Originally Posted by Dumajones
The fun of working on getting your lift for the jeep. I remember those days..
1; Determine your desired lift height and tire size along with the purpose for the lift. what kind of wheeling you're going to be doing.
2; Research, research, research. Determine which manufacturers met your requirements.
3; Formulate a parts list, and continue researching to confirm your choices.
4;Cost out your build based on the parts list above. You need to know what you are getting yourself into.
5; Start looking for the deals either from a retailer, eBay, Craigslist, or whatever source you identify. We have good vendors here on CF
6; Don't be impatient. Haste = lost $$$ and/or inferior lift.
7;When you've finally collected all your parts and you're ready to install, it's best to have some expert help. Jeeps like to throw you curve *****.
***For this entire process, the only notable mistake that I made was ordering my shocks(yeah right lol). I thought I had the correct shock lengths based on my research but they came out too short ($250 mistake). If you can wait until you have the lift on your vehicle, take your measurements then instead of guessing beforehand. The shocks that come with a lift will get you on the road but you will need to flex the jeep to see the true length shock you need. You will want better once you start wheeling. Good luck
This is EXCELLENT advice.
Originally Posted by macgyver35
There's no such thing as a 4.5" XJ lift for $500.
At least... There shouldn't be.
Put that $500 lift on. Pretty soon you'll realize you need:
Adjustable track bar - $175
Adjustable lower control arms to correct caster- $200
SYE - $125
New rear drive shaft - $75 (a JY front unit) - $350
Control arm drop brackets to keep it from riding like a pogo stick - $180
New rear leaf packs when those AAL's fail within a couple of years - $300
New brake lines - $60
You can save yourself hundreds, and lots of time and hassle by spending a few hundred up front more on their X-Series 4.5 lift which includes many of the above items. You'll still need a SYE, and you may opt for the control arm drop brackets, but you might as well do this once.
Others will say if you want to do it once, buy Rubicon Express. And they wouldn't be wrong. But not all of us can afford that. I spec'd out a "comparable" RE 4.5" lift on a feature-for-feature basis and it came to about $1300 vs. $829 for the RC X-Series. Some folks trash RC, others love them. You'll get mixed reviews across the board. Back in 2011 and 2012, they had some issues with the rear leaf packs being too short (front to back, not height) and not properly meeting up with the rear shackles at a correct angle, but it seems they got those issues resolved back in '12.
As has been suggested, you'd be be better off putting a 3" lift on it and getting flat flares to clear your desired tires. Far less expense and initial and "down-the-road" issues to contend with, smoother ride, etc.
In either case, those 33's are going to be pushing the limits of your stock 3.55 gears. It will roll, but your off-the-line / acceleration, uphill grade, and towing power will suck the big one. Look online at pics of XJ's with 3" or 4.5" with 31's. They can look really good, and not cause as much power loss. The reason I bring this up is, even with you doing the work yourself, new gears will cost you about $600-$1000 for parts. Add another $200 - $250 an axle for shop labor. You can run 31's and get by for quite awhile without regearing, but 33's are gonna be a burden on stock gears.
This isn't mine, but here's an example of 4.5 with 31's immediately after installing the lift.
As is this. You can get good deals if you hunt. There's lots of good deals on used parts out there, and you can even do your own out of the JY if you want to take the time. Here's a few pics of my ride, most of it came from the JY and work I did myself...
I'm at around 6.5" of lift. I built my own leaf packs in the rear, using XJ leafs and leafs from a 2001 Durango. Front is F-150 coils with spacers. Adjustable control arms (RC, short arms, HATE them, blown through too many joints, they are gone as soon as my stroker build is done)...I have 35's on custom DIY beadlocks that I built myself, and running 4.88's. If you plan on running 33's, you'll want to gear to at least 4.56's....4.10's if you run a manual trans. I guess what I'm trying to say is you gotta pay if you wanna play. The best advice I can give you is READ READ READ...learn everything you can about lifting, gearing, tire size choices, and go from there. It is overwhelming, but it will pay off in the long run. Good luck.
go with rubicon express 5.5 short arm lift with drop brackets. listed as 5.5 but really gets you 6.5 inches. rides very smooth too.
good quality perfect mid-entry level lift that is fully upgradeable to their long arms in the future.
it may seem a little pricey compared to rough country or zone, but for good reason.
rubicon express has lifetime warranty on most parts.
Good looking lifts and great advice for a noob, I know I could be doing a lot more researching before I posted so again I appreciate the advice that's coming in
Lmao hit of jeep! Ya my bro had a couple wranglers and my other brother has a wrangler now, not to be offensive but wranglers don't do the trick for me, love the iconic wrangler, but seems too short wheel base and less room, I've never been into 4x4 anything but probably 7 years ago I thought a cherokee was cool as hell, kept it on the back burner but never thought I'd come through
Just keep taking hits of jeep. Then all you think about is wheeling, I think the Jeep drug messes with our minds somehow. Cause now when I see a big snow bank, I always think can I go over it, or through it.. lol
Well I'm about 5' 9" in kind of curious what other people feel about dailying there's on a 6.5" lift getting in and out, I personally want the 33's just because I'm don't care for too meaty of a tire
I'm 6'0" and not a fan of getting in/out of mine with 4.5" lift + 33s. The sliders with nerf bars always gets my pants dirty.
I did plan on getting nerf bars for my fiancé and child so this is also something to think about
FYI. Nerf bars leave a large gap between it and rocker/doors. Your foot can slip off the bar and entire leg can get caught in gap.
Rock sliders weigh 90 lbs. Offer protection and the steps are effective for entering/exiting, and are tight against rocker/door panels (see picture, sliders with tube step).
Last edited by SteveMongr; Dec 4, 2014 at 06:48 AM.
Reason: added picture
I've kept the nerf bars that came on my Jeep, just until I can afford sliders with steps. They did come in handy last trip when they took the beating instead of my XJ.
I say go big if you can afford to do it right. I'm at 3" because my parents wanted me to warm up to driving a lifted vehicle before going all out. I eventually want to end up between 4 and 6.5" but I need to save some cash...but if you're a bigger is better person, be honest with yourself. If you feel that you'll want to lift higher down the road, go big the first time. I honestly wouldn't mind jumping in and out of my jeep. Sounds like fun to me haha
^ As you go taller, stability exponentially gets worse due to the narrow track width (axles). In an evasive maneuver, a taller lift can easily cause the jeep to roll or flip.
I used to have a 3 inch lift with 31s and it did really well on and off road, then went to a 6.5 long a arm lift with 35x14.5 and I love it.feels stable to me and does awesome off road.oh and I beat on it like it's a red headed step child. If you don't drive like a idiot you won't have any problems. It's a jeep not a slammed euro that rides on rails . Here's a pic of my red b!tch
lol
