Currently my Jeep has around 2". Not sure exactly since the PO did the lift. It fits 31" tires but they rub when turning and grind the wheel wells if there's articulation.

I'm looking at the RE lift kits and I want to go to a 5.5" lift kit eventually but am considering a 4.5" for now. My question is if I can buy the separate parts to go from 4.5" to 5.5" without having to buy the whole new lift kit? And perhaps go for a long arm kit? I've never done a lift myself so I'm not sure what can and can't be done.

I assume the coil and leaf springs would need to be replaced, probably the control arms, and then the sway bar links. Maybe a drop pitman arm? I'm not too sure. Any help is appreciated. =) And if there is already a thread for this, just link it. I searched around and google thought I was talking about phones and stuff.

Just save your pennies and get a long arm kit. 2" on 31s is a decent setup to run for awhile before making the jump. And this has been covered a million and a half times

I went from a 3 1/2 to a 4 1/2" using spacers and boomerang shackles till I go to a long arm kit next spring but going from a 2" to what you want.

NAY!

Haha so I appreciate the advice but those weren't exactly the answers I was looking for. Sorry if I sound rude. :s

Ignore my current lift. All it consists of is longer coil springs and an add-a-leaf. The PO was too cheap to even bother fixing the track bar which led to my front axle being slightly off-center.

I'm just trying to find out what would consist of going from 4.5" to 5.5" with the Rubicon Express lift kits. Or any lift in general. I really do want a long arm kit so would it be better to just jump all the way to the 5.5" long arm kit right off the bat? I don't want to go with a budget system since I know the consequences of cheaping out but it's kind of hard to afford dropping $2300 into a lift kit.

And my tires are 235/75R15 right now. Basic street tires. I don't want to waste money on new offroad tires until I can get 33s.

Bump stop and steering stop spacers for now and save your $$.

You can go from 4.5-5.5 easily with coil spacers in the front. The rear is going to depend how you lift it. Most kits dont come with relocation brackets and you could add an inch plus adding those after. In all seriousness if you want it good and right just fix what you have so its functional and plan and save.

In the short term it sounds like you need bump stops and maybe some fender trimming.

Also wheel spacers or wheels with less back spacing.

It already has bump stops. As for steering stops, I've never heard of those. Where would I even get them?

And my tires rub on the sway bar when turning. The fender thing is just in the back during articulation.

Yeah I just wanted something I could get sooner and upgrade later rather than wait until way later to do it. My Jeep did alright on the rubicon trail but wheels were leaving the ground a lot. =p Mostly turned back because my friend had a non-lifted Ford Ranger that couldn't even back off of a rock. Had to pull him off.

The rubbing can be the wheels back spacing or could even be the stock lower control arms.

Yes, you want a long arm kit.

You also want 35's.

33's look silly on more than 4.5" of lift, especially with trimmed fenders.

There are 1,000's of threads on this exact topic of moving up in lift size. Google around.

You want a good quality kit, you can even piece parts together and get a well performing rig with a hodgepodge of used and new parts for good prices as well.

At 4.5" and above you will need a SYE, new driveshaft, brake lines, put your sway bars in the trash, longer shocks, adjustable track bar, and long arms. There was a huge difference for me going from short arms to long arms. They make an XJ, IMO.

Steering stops are on the knuckles. There is a threaded boss or a nut welded to the knuckle (I can't remember what) and there is a bolt with a nut welded to it threaded into the knuckle to limit your turning radius. If you are rubbing on the control arms just add a washer to that bolt threading into the knuckle. It looks like it is welded on but it isn't. Just unbolt it.

Well I read around quite a bit that it's sketchy to run 35's on a Chrysler 8.25 so that's why I said 33's. Guess I'll add a Dana 44 to the list. Haha.

I already put in an SYE when I rebuilt the transfer case.

I run 35's with a lunchbox locker, stock shafts, ZJ disc brakes, and Yukon 4.56 gears in my 8.25 and play plenty hard in the rocks. It'll be fine unless you hammer down on it.

It's fine for 35's.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease about that. Figured an axle swap would be more trouble than it's worth.

On a side note, that electric fan switch write-up you have is awesome. I wanted to do something like that to help when the Jeep is idling. Just trying to figure out how to do it with an illuminated switch.

Staying out of the loud pedal and solving trails in other ways means you can get away with bigger tires than perhaps someone else who believes in the mantra " when in doubt power out"

Let us know if you figure this out. I could only get the switch to illuminate when off. I guess it's due to the switches function, it closes a ground loop rather than triggering a relay or accessory.
As for idling and crawling the HD fan clutch works good for stabilizing coolant temp. Moves more air and the AC can run at idle without the temp creeping up. Works great for me driving in deep/soft sand.
NAPA part # 272310
Advance # 215149

It's funny I actually found a possible solution while looking at alarm systems. One of the alarms I found requires a polarity inverted to be used with the XJ electric locks.

So maybe something like that? It's a huge mess of wires so it might not even be worth it.

It's odd though because I thought I remember using an electric probe and it was the positive lead being switched at the fan itself.