New to Cherokee forum, been over at Wrangler Forum for a while.

 

HO has some small changes. Nothing extreme. Some parts interchange, many do not.

Add a leaf is cheap and doesn't replace worn out springs. Leaf packs and coils are best.

For 2" check out what others do to make the XJ "up country" suspension.
3" may need track bar, lower control arms, transfer case drop, rear brake line, sway bar links.
When changing ride height the universal joints may vibe and can be replaced because of the angle change.

Stock wheels will only be a problem depending on your tire size.
265-75-15 or 30x9.5x15 shouldn't hit the fender and shouldn't hit the control arms with 2-3" of lift.

I don't have pics of 31's on 3" but there's lots here.

 

Thanks for the reply Bmoney! I'll look into the upcountry option. I've seen a bit about it but will need to do a little more research. Thinking I might stick with the 2 inch and 30's until I have a little more time and money to work with.

 

Do some searches. Get as much info as you can. Look at the top of the Modified XJ Cherokee Tech page you posted on. There are some stickies that may answer all your questions. Begin with “NKOC’s Lift Reference Chart”.

Otherwise, I beleive a 2” lift will suffice, given your stated use expectations. As Bmoney said, full leaf packs are best.

I have a Rusty’s Offroad 3.5” Advanced lift on my ‘89. Very happy with it. Fairly involved install.

For my ‘96 daily driver, I bought parts from Crown Auto that got me 2” of lift over stock height. New springs front and rear, leaf spring bushings, front spacers, u-bolts and nuts.

This is a combo put together by one of the guys at the Crown retail location in Canton, MA. It's not an official "kit", it was just recommended by one of the guys there when I asked for an inexpensive lift alternative.

Leaf Spring, Rear #4886186 2ea
Bushing, Leaf Spring #52000503 2ea
Bushing, Leaf Spring #52000504 2ea
Spring, Coil, Front #52001125 2ea
U-bolt #52004010 4ea (for 8.25 rear end)
Nut, Flanged Hex #6502697 8ea
1.75” front coil spacers (no part number given)

I purchased and picked up the parts at the retail shop in Canton, MA about a year and a half ago. I paid $327 for everything, including tax. I know they don’t ship out of state so unless you’re in MA or plan to drive there, you’ll need to order the parts from one of their distributors.

I also installed slip yolk eliminator (SYE) kits in both vehicles. Not necessary with the 2” lift, and some will advise the same for the 3.5” lift, but I consider it to be a necessary upgrade for the XJ, regardless. One huge benefit is a front drive shaft can then be used in the rear. It’s like constantly carrying a spare.

Hope this helps.

 

I went the route of the Zone 3" with full leafs because the stock leafs were so worn out (inverted), so I knew the AAL was going to be pointless and short lived. The 3" works great with 31" tires if that is the direction you are heading towards.

If I were to do it all again, I would get the Zone kit again...its been great.

 

Thanks for the replies. I think sourcing all the parts separately is more involved than I want to get for this build. A good option for down the road though when I start on a real build. I'm hoping to avoid doing the SYE at this stage and hoping that 2-3 inches would keep me out of that game but also know that Jeeps are Jeeps and each one is a little different.

I've done a bunch of searching, finding that google does a better job of finding matching threads than the forum search does. I've gone through those Lift threads, that's how I came across Zone Offroad, and have the basic understanding but was just looking for a few opinions or a general discussion as the excitement of being back in the Jeep world is pretty fresh. Although the look of dismay on my fiancee's face every time she sees me on a jeep forum just says "here we go again..."

Dexy, did you do anything in addition to the Zone 3" kit? Springs, leafs, shocks anything else? Did you install it yourself? Any issues getting those shackle bolts out?

The 3 inch kit would be better to build off in the future but but with my current schedule I sorta just want something I can set up and forget about for a year or 2 and won't have to worry about it.

How do you identify whether you have the Dana 35 or Chrysler 8.25? Seems the 8.25 is the more desired axle?

 

axle tube diameter or diff cover
2.75" = d35
3" = c8.25

Google image for diff cover shape.

 

All Jeep 4.0L engines from 1991 forward are "high output." From 1987 to 1990 the XJ 4.0L used the Renix engine management system. In 1991 Chrysler switched to its own multi-port fuel injection system that provided a small bump in horsepower, and they slapped a "High Output" badge on it to differentiate it from the Renix Jeeps. There was never any year where you had a choice between a low power and high power version.

By the time of the 1997 refresh it was starting to look silly to have "High Output" on a 190 HP motor as other engines increased in power, so Chrysler just dropped the badge. It still provided the same power.

That's not to say your 1993 and your old 2000 were exactly the same. Your 1993 has a distributor and plug wires that fire a single cylinder at a time, while your 2000 had a distributorless waste spark ignition that fired two cylinders at a time (on both the power and exhaust strokes) using a coil rail controlled by the engine computer. The 2000 also got a different head to work better with the newer ignition. There was a whole cascading list of other changes that had to be made to accommodate the newer ignition, but that's the major core change. Even so, the 2000 still provided a "high output" of 190 HP.

 

Good explanation there shaky! That makes sense. Somehow I feel like the 93 has more power than I relmember the 2000 having. Maybe my memory is just warped by 6 years in the JK 3.8 mini van motor....

Ill get under it this week and see what axle it has. Give me a good reason to clean out the garage and get ready for some work on it.

 

The bolts were a pain in the butt, but eventually got them out with a breaker bar and pipe extension. I pre-sprayed all the bolts with 50/50 mix Acetone & ATF...worked well.

Plan on the upper bolts on the rear shocks to break off. There are several youtube videos on how to popout the broken off bolts with a $15 air hammer, then drop new bolts in fished in with wire. Was pretty easy.

To eliminate a slight driveline vibration, I just had to space down the TransferCase crossmember about 1/4" with some washers (as spacers). No SYE/CV was needed.

The only other thing I decided to do was replace both the rear stock shackles with new ones, as I really wasn't happy with how corroded the stock ones were.

 

Hmm, thanks for pointing that out about the rear shocks. I had seen that mentioned before but I didn't realize exactly what they were talking about. A couple youtube videos and I got a pretty good idea of whats going on there.

 

Yeah, most instructions in the kits will say that it takes about 6 hours to install. I think that would be possible on a brand new XJ with zero rust/corrosion and multiple helpers. Reality is that you need to plan for it to be an entire weekend project to deal with the slight complications. (I had to run to the store a few times for the shock bolts, air hammer, and to get a hard brake line that I flattened accidentally. lol)