Picking up a black 97 XJ soon and I will be lifting it.. Just had a few questions, first. I'm planning on ordering this kit and was wondering if I should be ordering anything else aside from a HD SS to complete the lift (aside from new tires, of course)?

 

Yes find another brand of lift.

At 4 1/2" you will need an adj. track bar, extended brake lines, adj. LCA and UCA if possible, SYE, new rear driveshaft just to name a few. You might want to consider staying at 3" or so its a lot cheaper to do.

 

Here you go
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/4-5...eed-buy-19214/

I also found this from NewKindOfClown Hope this helps

 

Thanks for the quick replies. I'm moving up from ATV/UTV wheelin'.. And never really looked into what would be required, tbh. I was going to go with a 3" lift originally.. As I'm only going with 31" tires.. But I figured the extra 1.5" would be beneficial for more flexibility.. Does the 1.5" make much of a difference? I don't plan on rock crawling with it.. But I do my share of backwoods driving and go through heavy mud quite a bit.. I do plan on locking up the rear for this reason.

 

Depends, some will run bigger tires with little lift just gotta trim you fenders. I ran 31's on about 4" of lift on my first XJ. Lift is good to a point. If you're newer, I'd recommend keeping the lift to around 3-4", a decent sized tire (30-31) and toss in a Spartan in the D30 front axle. You'd be surprised what a little lift, oversized tire & a locker can do. Everything depends on budget and what you're gonna do with it.

I ran with CJ's & TJ's on 33-35" tires with my 4 banger wrangler with a auto locker & 31's. Kept up with them with out much of a problem.

Back in the day everyone wanted lift, now lots of guys are going function over show.... Just my $.02

Oh ya, recovery, recovery, recovery. Get your rig setup and safe before gettin too nutz.

 

4.5" is way more expensive to do right than 3 inches. 3 inches some people say you can get away without lower control arms, and you may be able to use a transfer case drop to reduce vibrations, rather than a slip yoke eliminator and drive shaft. These things are recommended if you have the $$$, but at 3 inches, a lot of people just go without.

So for a 4.5" lift, youre looking at the added base cost over a 3," plus

$100 for the cheaper hack n tap slip yoke eliminator option
$50+for a junkyard front driveshaft to use with the sye
$150ish for upper control arms
$150ish for lower control arms
Etc.

And with a 4.5" lift lots of people use 33" tires (more expensive than 30" or 31" often used on a 3 inch), and with bigger tires, many people like to regear their axles for better gear ratios for the bigger tires...

ALSO. WHATEVER YOU DO, I don't recommend an add a leaf. A couple people say they have held up fine, but if your stock leafs are saggy, the add a leaf will sag too. They also don't ride as well as full leaf packs. I hear that they usually only last a few months before lift height starts decreasing...Just my opinion. Do what you want.

 

3" lift, 31s, lockers.

 

Definitely going to make sure It's safe. Going to have my fiancee in the vehicle with me and if something were to go amiss (and god forbid something really stupid happened because the vehicle wasn't properly outfitted) I'd never forgive myself. I'm definitely investing in it.

I'll probably end up doing the AAL.. BUT. It's getting new leaf springs to start with. Like I said above.. I'm going to invest in it. I'm going to do it right the first time around and if that means waiting to take it out for a few extra months to save the cash.. That's alright by me. I'll replace most of the suspension with upgraded HD parts. I want it to be reliable.

That's looking like the route I'll be taking. The lockers, definitely. I've read that not having them vs. having them is like night and day.


I'm getting the Jeep dirt cheap. It is an unfinished project of someone else that they never really got started. It's completely gutted aside from the drivers seat, centre console, and dash. The back seats are more-or-less garbage. The tires are nearly bald. It needs a new rear hatch. Needs new side mirrors. Needs new door panels right around.. But the engine and trans are in tact and run beautifully. Only 117k original miles on it. First thing I noticed was that the suspension looked real tired. The guy was asking $1000 for it.. I'm picking it up for $750. I have 5 grand set aside for my build (not including the purchase of the Jeep) and one of the biggest junk yards on the east coast less than 10 miles away from my back yard.. So the interior will cost me next to nothing to finish. I was banking on taking about 3 grand and investing it in parts.. The other 2 grand I was going to throw towards aesthetics.. Lights, basket rack, and such.. And of course, I was hoping to have about $500 left as a gas fund, lol.

 

Have you looked at http://zoneoffroad.com/zone-offroad-...erokee/j23-j24

 

I'm at 6.5" and it is very expensive to go big. If you want to go big do it but plan to spend a lot more money.

 

I don't think I'd go that big.. Just not practical for me. 4.5 would be the biggest I'd go.. But I've been reading a lot and I'd probably be fine with 3" and 31s with a rear locker for my needs. I won't be rock crawling. Just moderate trails and mud.. Probably only rocker panal deep or so anyway. I can't wait to bring her home this weekend. I'll be making a trip to the boneyard to piece together a new interior and get mirrors / rear gate right after I get it. Gonna need crossbars for the roof racks just to have, too.

 

Wise decision to start with and the way I also decided and built mine from. You can do as much with a 3" lift as a higher one if your XJ is setup properly and many have less lift and go everywhere the big dogs do let alone the LOW COG guys.

My base kit was a Rustys 3" full leaf/spring lift because of his springs used American made and so far zero sag with them, I did opt for the HD ft coils 180# because I planned on a winch/winch bumper. For something to start with you could do the V8 GC tie rod upgrade 10x stronger than the stock XJ and a direct bolt-in. New at AutoZone (Moog) under $100 when I bought mine last year or could try a JY if you gamble on used parts for that sort of thing.

The same goes for the complete front end check and replace any worn or bad parts, there will be some for sure and they need to be addressed before a lift even. If you do not they will show up even more once you do your lift so do them before hand.

Like I said earlier you will need a set of wheels for the lift at 3" for clearance a 31" tire they need to be a 15x8" with 3 3/4-4" of BS the BS is important avoid spacers if possible just buy the right wheel. A nice looking steel wheel can be had for around $50 a lot of places.

 

Also, possibly further solidifying your decision to go 3," you can add coil spacers and lift shackles/relocation brackets later to bring it up between 1 and 2 inches for a total of 4 or 5 inches. You can save for the extra parts needed to go higher (upper control arms, sye if you don't have one, etc.) while you enjoy the 3" haha. But if you want to go this route, it makes sense to get as many of your parts in the adjustable variety as you can...Like a travk bar that extends for 3" to 5" or lower control arms for 3" to 4.5" etc, so you don't have to re-buy all that stuff when you go bigger.

 

Been looking at the $750 Rusty's kit that comes with LCAs and UCAs.. Would that be a better option for me? I believe it comes with a track bar as well.

 

All I can say is that from what ive heard, rustys is one to stay away from...but idk