My 2000 Jeep Cherokee needs some work to keep it going. It has some saggy leaf springs in the back, a horrible shake in the front (maybe death wobble), and needs new tires. I figure since I need to sink a bunch of dough into it, I might as well put a lift on and make it look better.

Does anybody have a recommendation on a cheap 2-3" lift I could use? I'm leaning more towards the 2".

I don't wanna go to big cause the wife will ***** anytime she has to ride in the thing. She wants me to trade it in but I've had it for 10 years and can't do it.

I was thinking about a budget lift from Rocky Road.
http://www.rocky-road.com/xjbudget.html

What size tires for 2"?

Also I pull a pop-up trailer and have flat trailer I use to haul stuff, rocky-road.com has stock leafs ($99/leaf http://www.rocky-road.com/xjspring.html) and Old Mam Emu ($167/leaf). Any recommendations? Will stock be fine? Maybe AAL on stock? Is the OME leaf worth the extra cash?

As for the DW, I replaced the tie rod ends (needed done anyway) and rotated the tires from front to back. DW is still there. I'm going to replace the track bar next. I'd like to get a balance and alignment but it doesn't make sense if Im getting new tires and replacing front-end parts. I'm thinking about just replacing all the steering components. Is that a stupid idea? Any recommendations?

 

I recommend doing like me and reading, reading, reading. This forum is HUGE and you'll find all your answers. I did (mostly) for myself. It takes time.

 

I would focus on curing the DW first.
I would bet your axle end track bar mount has wallowed the hole out, but there's other usual suspects.
Also, I would suggest new V8 grand cherokee coils, and replacing the rear leaves. Then 4 new shocks. This would add height, but would also completely refresh your tired suspension. Plus, and you can tell her that the new springs don't sag like the old ones did, which is why it looks higher.
Then align, because the lift will cause a small amount of toe in.

I'm only on 5 years of mine. And my "mine" I mean my wife complaining about my XJ. Don't let her win...

WeatherWarrior is right though, search around, you'll get a much better idea of what's out there.

 

I had OME leafs on my 87 XJ that I sold years ago, and I will be switching out my stock leafs with blocks for OME HD leafs for my 99 within the next 2 months.

 

i doubt that it would be death wobble at stock height, prbly tires need to be balanced or rotated, or changed completely, maybe a steering alignment too

 

That is one thing I've been wondering about. Do the OME leafs that are listed as 2" need any thing to het the 2 inches? Would the shackles that come with the budget lift not be needed with the OME leafs then?

Excuse my ignorance, I'm a pretty good mechanic but not really familiar with lift components.

 

It has a lot of the symptoms of DW like shaking out of control at 50 mph, steering wheel going crazy, and it's triggered by hitting a bump. I'm not convinced about the DW though. I was thinking it could be balance or alignment. I didn't want to do either until I get the lift and check the front end out real good.

Then I started thinking maybe I should just go get all the steering components, replace them all, do the lift and leafs, get new tires, then do the balance and alignment.

I could do without replacing the steering though. I just don't want to put new tires on without figuring out the shake is. Guess I could and if it's still there then start replacing pieces one by one.

Just trying figure out a plan.

 

How are your u joints? Like deuce said, I would fix any wobble before lifting. This thread has good info : https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/wou...-wobble-22695/

 

OME make differant springs for the rear of the XJs,2inch light duty,2.25/2.50 medium duty and 2inch heavt duty.Those are all based on how much weight you carry.I have the 2inch light duty on mine with the 930coils up front and an extra .75 thick poly spacer to give me 2.5 up front.

 

How much lift will this add?

I was hoping to put enough lift to get at least 30-31 inch tires.

The wife hates my jeep and I haven't even done anything to it. I just told her I'm gonna replace some stuff to keep it running. She might not even notice a 2-3 inch lift.

We're trading her 2009 VW Tiguan in for a 2012 Passat tommorow so she'll be staring at that thing for a while and stay off my back.

She's reason I've been driving the same Cherokee for the last 10 years.

 

I would get a set of factory leafs, a 1.5" shackle + 1.75" front spacer for now. It'll be a better height cosmetically, cheap, and keep the wife happy. Then when you go to the 3" lift she may not even notice! I would put on a set of 31's and trim the inner fender up, but keep your stock flares.

As far as the shake: there is good info from other guys it in here so I won't beat the dead horse, but just check everything that connects axle to body.

 

Damn I've been lurking and reading death wobble posts for a while but that link was the most useful post I've seen yet. Thanks man.

I replaced the front u-joints about 2 years ago. I'm counting on them still being good.

So far I've replaced the u-joints, shocks, tie rod ends, and switched the back tires to front. No luck yet but that post gave me some info to use.

 

So the 2" LD leafs are all that is needed to get the 2" in the back right? No other components needed?

What are 930 coils?

 

I have 2" OME leafs, the soft version. And 2" coils up front. Simple, replaced my sagging springs, and I'm happy with the height. The ride is quite a bit better than stock imo. And you can run 30's or 31's, the latter requiring a little trimming. I don't carry alot of weight, but even with 400lbs in the back seat, the soft springs barely squat.
I started, however, with a 2" budget boost from RE, with shocks. The guy I bought it from gave me his factory leafs that were better than mine. Total investment was 50 bucks, and I'm still using the shocks!

 

Sounds like you should sell the wife. Even after modding the hell out of your jeep you'll come out ahead