hey yall,
I'm looking into a ~3 inch lift for my 1997 4x4 5 speed XJ, and other than a transfer case drop, what other mods would be necessary to compensate for this fairly unsubstantial lift?
thanks,
Walker Lilly

SYE is a much better choice compared to a tcase drop

track bar may need moving

brake lines wouldn't hurt

possibly longer lower control arms

no case drop. Well, at least not the 1 inch drops most companies sell...you could probably make your own quarter inch drop with washers and it would work IF you get vibes.

Tapered Shims on the rear axle may also help.

I am running a 3" lift with stock everything else and don't have any problems.

Yes , an SYE is the BEST method to compensate for a lift, and pinion alignment ..
But as in my case, I didn't have the money or time to go with an SYE...I chose to go with linkage drop hardware,and it was pretty simple, and seems to have worked for me...

I had to move my track bar over, and needed new brake line for the rear, as the bend you have to put in it for the lift kinked it.

Same here 3"zone products lift with rear main leafs. I changed my rear break line out for one from a 90ish (92 I think) dodge dakota and the fronts I just moved down 1.5" by drilling a new hole for the tab and using zip screws to reattach. I have zero driveline vibration up to 70mph don't know after that lol. I'm also not running a front or rear sway bar and it hasn't made to much of a difference in cornering but I don't drive it like a sports car it gets drove like a lifted 4x4!

You can use the factory caster adjustment shims to avoid buying longer lower control arms. For the front brake lines you can either drop them or buy YJ lines. The rear Dakota line works very well, a J Irish said. You could drill a new hole for the track bar or just leave it be for now. I wouldn't drop the tcase, it probably isn't needed, if you have driveshaft vibes it is likely because the ujoints have taken a set; replace them and it would likely go away. The rear swaybar serves no purpose but to add weight and complexity, I would throw it in the trash.

Personally I'd recommend planning to upgrade a few things as time/money permits. A proper adjustable track bar, new longer LCAs, and a SYE would go a long ways, plus some decent shocks (Bilstein is a good choice) and some longer front swaybar links would make it a whole new rig. I also did the UCAs on my MJ since the bushings were dead in them anyways.

You don't need anything special for 3" of lift so you'll be fine with the lift and just driving it! I would replace u-joints on your driveshafts though and that's about it. I had a 4.5" lift when I started and didn't do SYE or anything at that point and was fine. Now have over 6" and have done more mods and a SYE but I wouldn't have ever done anything on 3".



Good luck buddy!

Just another option... Rusty's makes a dropped crossmember for a decent price. I ran this for a few years before I could afford a SYE.