Tyler Steez

Hey guys, I have a 99 cherokee sport that the previous owner hacked up. they did a 2 inch lift using lift blocks with a worn out add a leaf in the rear and coil spring spacers in the front. they didn't change out the stock control arms or put on an adjustable track bar to recenter the front axle. they just did it the quickest and cheapest way possible.

I've recently replaced the tie rod, tres, and drag link. I have an adjustable track bar being shipped as I type this.

I'm going to replace the rear leaf springs since they're completely shot with a backwards bow. I'm open to keeping a 2 inch lift height but can't seem to find any 2 inch lift leaf springs. I really don't want to go any higher to avoid driveline vibes. I also don't wan't to do the s10 bastard pack due to the added hassle of going to a parts yard and putting the pack together. this is my daily driver and I have a Trans Am that I'd rather put the extra time into. I don't do any off roading whatsoever, this jeep is just a daily driver and a new england winter defeater.

Does anyone know where I can get 2 inch lift leaf springs? is there any other way of lifting the rear 2 inches correctly or should I just bring this jeep back to stock height? thanks.

Tyler Steez

Just saw 2 inch lift rear shackles, would it be frowned upon if I ordered new stock leaf springs with 2 inch lift shackles?

mikesignal

You will be fine with the shackles......OME makes a 2.5" leaf. It's actually 3.5, but you can remove one leaf to make it 2.5". I don't think there are any 2" leafs available. I think OME used to make a 2", but it was discontinued and replaced with the ones in the link below.

4BangerDanger

Rancho makes 2.5" leaf springs. Or OP could go with the Crown HD leafs which will be ~1.75".

Tyler Steez

1.75" leafs sounds like a good compromise. didn't even cross my mind.

are these the one's you're referring to?

texastaz38

I saw "New England". Consider the condition of the spring eye mounting bolts and pockets before ordering springs. PO may have gone blocks due to issues in removing factory bolts and springs. Just a thought, especially if your not wanting to tie up a lot of time in it.

Happy Jeepin'

4BangerDanger

Yep, that's it. I bought a pair of those this past fall. So far so good.

Tyler Steez

I gave it a thorough look over the other day, everything seems to be fine, all the rot and rust is mostly contained to the front floor pans due to the previous owner trying to wire in a lightbar and pushing one of the grommets through the firewall and never sealing it back up. will be welding in new metal this summer most likely.

I bought it from a guy who got it from some girl who did all the of the bad stuff to it. Based on all the girly jeep stickers I had to heat gun off of it I think she just wanted to be a part of the whole lifted jeep scene without actually doing it the right way.

EZEARL

Read this and see what you think(came from here):


This is review is meant as a informative guide and counter-poise to anyone considering this particular part. The CC782 coils are meant as a heavy duty replacement for Cherokees with the 4.0L engine ...primarily Cherokee XJ's (they will work in ZJ's with the 4.0L) ...so you should ignore - absolutely and completely ignore - ANY review where there's no mention of the engine displacement of the vehicle they were installed in.

The CC782's are actually THE replacement for Cherokee XJ's with the Upcountry option (or even if you want to upgrade your suspension **to** the Upcountry option; you will also need the Crown Automotive 4886186AA Leaf Spring Assembly). As a commenter to the "other" negative review mentioned, Moog is a quality aftermarket (and OEM as far as that goes) supplier of replacement parts, with a well deserved reputation in the Jeep community for producing great products. (Just read the Cherokee forums.)

I replaced the worn out coils (and leafs and shocks) in my 1996 Cherokee XJ Sport a few weeks ago; with 150K on the odometer, the original suspension was almost completely worn out (although the front & rear bushings on the rear leafs were still good, I did replace those too, with poly bushings, entirely for ease-of-installation reasons). Based on extensive research I did pre- the purchase, I finally spec'd the Moogs as the coils most likely to duplicate the factory Upcountry option (which I will detail later in this review).

I was not disappointed. Using the factory method of measuring lift (which is done under load: i.e., with the full weight of the vehicle on the tires, and measuring from top-of-axle-to-frame), the Moogs gave exactly one inch of lift over stock. Factory height should be 6.75 inches +/- 0.5 inch, and my measured height was 7.75 inches; this is also the exact Upcountry option factory height. Do note that my measurement includes a Warn Trans4mer 60766 Grille Guard and Warn 39653 Brush Guards, which adds about 70 plus pounds to the front moment arm ...which is a round-about way of intimating that if you do NOT have a rather heavy brush guard hanging off the front end, your height will likely be 1/4 to 1/2 inch higher than mine.

Ride quality is entirely subjective: a kind of "one man's ceiling is another man's floor" sort of thing. That said: the ride is quite firm, turns are absolutely flat & controlled, and there's no way that anyone could interpret the above combination of coils & leafs as "wallowing" lol. Coupled to heavy duty shocks (I used a set of Tenneco monotube shocks that are OE spec'd for Jeep JK Rubicons, modified suitably to fit my XJ), I have no complaints.

---------
UPCOUNTRY OPTION
---------
If you would like to duplicate the factory Upcountry option in its more important parts (i.e., the suspension) in your Cherokee XJ 1991-1996 (and probably earlier and later years), you can purchase everything here at Amazon. You will need the following:

Moog CC782 coil springs (sold by the pair) - .Moog CC782 Variable Rate Coil Spring
Crown 4886186AA leaf springs (sold each, so order two) - . Crown Automotive 4886186AA Leaf Spring Assembly; For Use w/LT/ZGW/ZVW; Heavy Duty; 4 Leaf;
Zone 2100J 0.75 inch spacers (the Crowns have a little too much lift: these restore the correct front-to-rear ratio) - . Zone Offroad Coil Spring Spacers 3/4" (pair)
Monroe Sensa Trac 37083 front shocks (adequate and a good value, order two) - . Monroe 37083 Sensa-Trac Light Truck Shock Absorber
Monroe Sensa Trac 37027 rear shocks (as above, order two) - . Monroe 37027 Sensa-Trac Light Truck Shock Absorber
Energy Suspension 22109B rear polyurethane bushings (easier to install, GREASE POLY's THOROUGHLY!!!) - . Rear Leaf Spring Bushing Set Black 1984-2001 Jeep Cherokee XJ # 22109G

...and there you have it. YMMV, but on my 1996 Cherokee XJ Sport, the replacement parts above (except shocks: but I would have used those; I just got a great deal on the monotubes) gave me the equivalent of a 1.75 inch lift, and a brand new HD suspension at a bargain price. If you're reasonably handy with tools, you will save a bundle of money, and be inordinately pleased with the final result.

jedijeb

Rancho makes a 1.5 inch leaf spring pack, put that with a 0.75 inch shackle should be good to keep the rear at about 2inches.

EZEARL

http://www.autoanything.com/suspensi...1&AID=10375065

http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/10456.html

Those will work but I'm wondering what the rest of the suspension components a their installation are like. He shouldn't need an adjustable track bar or new control arms (unless they're shot). He says the axle needs recentered? What about shocks?

mikesignal

those Rancho's say they are sold individually and without bushings.

EZEARL

Just posted it because it was already mentioned and I have the site saved. There are other options for the OP.

mikesignal

yea, it's all good--just thought they were expensive for only 1.5" and no bushings.

Tyler Steez

shocks and front springs will be replaced when I do the leaf springs. I'm currently in the middle of replacing front ball joints, u joints, and all the other components up front.

I know my front axle needs to be re centered because when I did the tie rod ends I did the backyard alignment just to get it close and the driver side wheel stuck out to around the fender flare while the passenger wheel was well behind the flare.

I may be wrong about the control arms, I'm just going off what I know about my Trans Am's torque arm style rear end. when I lowered my trans am I had to get an adjustable panhard bar to recenter the axle under the car as well as adjustable lower control arms and lower control arm relocation brackets to keep the lower control arms parallel to the road as they should be. currently the front lower control arms on my jeep are about 30 degrees off from parallel if I remember correctly.