hey everyone. im new to the jeep thing and would like to lift mine. i would like to keep it between 2 and 3 inches no higher. i have about a grand to spend. would like to hear some suggestions from anyone will to give theres. i dont like spacers and i like it to be heavy duty so im not swaying all over the place when i hit a bump in the road. also not lookin to go huge with tires like to keep in uder 30inch at mad a 30x9.5 tire..... as for the rear end question. all i see is guys wantin the 8.25 rear. why is that. me and a couple of my buddies all have there 8.25 rears and we all need to replace them. any suggestion.

 

Why do you need to replace the 8.25?

And I have a bit over 3" of lift, no sway bars anywhere, and my Jeep rides just fine.

Coil spacers wont destroy the feel of the truck. A poorly or cheaply done lift will, though. But if $1000I is your budget, you should be fine...depending on that 8.25....

 

most people want a 8.25 from a 97 and up. mainly cuz they had 29 spline shafts as opposed to the earlier 27 spline shafts or they just want to get rid of the D35. if you can try and find a XJ D44, it would cost more than a 29 spline 8.25, but there are A LOT more parts, and they are a little bit cheaper, and its a little stronger. for the lift, look into Rough country, Rubicon Express, or Zone for a cheap 3 inch lift, 2 inch lifts are usually just spacers and shocks

 

Yea, more info on why y'all are ****in up your 8.25's please! Also if ya don't wanna lift much, get 2" longer springs for front, 2" drop shackle for rear and 2" longer shocks all around. Pull rear sway bar and make front disco. Then take the remaining 600 and get a locker.. Forget dropping 1000 on a BB sized lift... Unless you get the OME lift for 900- top of the line, and not enough lift to mess with driveline/steering components... Idk...

 

The C/8.25 axle is a dam good axle! The reason guys with Cherokees want them is because the 91-96 27 spline shaft C/8.25 is stronger than the D/35 and can safely handle 31s wheeling hard. The 97-01 29 spline shaft C/8.25 can handle 35s, and is almost as strong as a stock D/44 and alloy shafts make it stronger than a stock D/44.
My suggestion would be, state why you need to replace your C/8.25, because most of the guys realize they are an inexpensive and strong upgrade from the turdy-5.

 

i need to replace the rear cuz its bad. grinds and wines like a mother f*****.same with my buddys rear. stronger is better but i dont need more strength really. i dont really mud or clime. just like to trail ride in the woods and once in awhile i get it all muddy, mild wheelin id say. its mostly my daily and family vehicle. reason figured id go with a mild lift cuz i dont like to scrape on rocks and trees also a little easyer to wash under the thing. ive been lookin at skyjacker, ome, rough country and rancho lifts. another reason i figured id lift it is cuz it needs shocks all around and rear springs sag. i also plan on puttin all new bushings where there not included with kit... so i guess my ride will still be fine... i just want to see who has what how the like it and what the do with it

 

this seems to be a good deal. if anyone has it please give me some input
http://www.jeep4x4center.com/rancho-...j95973kcs.html

 

You might want to look into a Rusty's offroad 3" kit. I had one on my old 96 Cherokee and liked it. Their shocks are not the greatest but for the price its hard to beat.

 

I would advise whatever lift you do get. Get full leafs if your leafs are sagging.

 

from i have heard and seen, there spirngs ride better than RC, but stuff doesnt hold up, i would stay away from Rustys

 

I guess it's just a hit and miss because I've had no problems in the past with my 3" kit I had.

 

more like there track bars break and then people crash on-road, or they come close to doing that

 

Just got RC 3" lift springs a couple months ago on the womans DD. The springs bend rather than "flex". I have a couple of RC products and am very satisfied with the service and quality. You get what you pay for.

 

Any axle will go bad driven with water in the diff (mudding/river crosses) without fluid changes afterwords. Hope you and your buddies are changing the fluids, raised your breathers ect. if not that could be why your group is having issues...

Any who. I would just track down a good 8.25 as they are cheaper then rebuilding and easy to swap. just get a matching ratio diff.

as for the lift, I would either go cheap and do spacers/shackles, or buy a nice complete lift with full packs.

 

thanks guys. im really likin this forum so far seems to be a tight knit "family" on here. Gorillaxj as for the diff thing i know on my jeep there has never been water in it. i bought it from a customer of the shop i work at and we have sevriced the thing sence like 30k miles and its got 165k on it now. the kid was **** he did fluid changes(diffs,transmission,transfer,coolant) like every 10-20k miles even though he never took it orr road.... back to the lift. even if i didnt need new springs in the rear the only way i would do it is a full leaf pack not to into the ad-a-leaf thing idk just dont think its right to have one fresh leaf and the others having 120k plus..... been doin some more diggin and i think iv narrowed to either a rancho lift or a skyjacker.... http://www.jeep4x4center.com/rancho-...j95973kcs.html this is the rancho one. anyone have it or input on it.... how do you get 21mpg's out of these things the best i get is about 18.5 and thats really trying hard