Jeep Cherokee Forum

Jeep Cherokee 1984-2001: Suspension Modifications

Your suspension has the hard job of keeping your tires on the ground, putting your engine's power to its best use, while simultaneously keeping your truck from hitting rocks and your teeth from clattering together. Let's go over some suspension upgrades for the Jeep Cherokee XJ.

By James Hodgson - October 1, 2015

This article applies to the Jeep Cherokee XJ (1984-2001).

There are a lot of reasons to investigate suspension upgrades for your XJ. Maybe you want better ground clearance. Maybe you want a better ride on the road. Maybe you're just sick of carrying a heavy wallet around all the time and you want to lighten it up a bit. Whatever your motivations are, this article can help you do all three, often at the same time!

Keep in mind that there are literally millions of combinations and permutations of suspension modifications. There is certainly one that is right for you, but even you may not know what that is until you dive in. Broadly speaking, a mostly-complete list of the things you can upgrade in your suspension are the springs, shocks, and control arms. Of course, you can also go nuts with differentials, the driveline as a whole, and, lest we forget, you can spend a fortune on the engine as well.

For now, let's just stick with the suspension bits. Keep in mind that these prices are approximate. I have tried to represent a number of different manufacturers here and they vary widely, not only in price, but on what they include with their kits. Okay. Let's do this.

From Zero to About 2" of Lift

DIY Cost – $250

Professional Cost – $500 parts and labor (maybe more)

Skill Level – Easy; you just need the right tools.

Because of the price point, this small amount of lift could be a good choice for someone wanting to dip a toe into the world of suspension upgrades. In the front, the lift comes from placing those two rubber pucks on top of your stock coil springs. In the rear, the leaf springs height is raised by introducing those two extended shackles into the system. This should clear around a 30" tire and give you a little more aggressive look and some ground clearance without too much of your wallet taking a hit. Recommended for drivers who want to suspend their Jeep without breaking the bank.

Up to 3" of Lift, "Add A Leaf" Kits

DIY Cost – Around $300

Professional Cost – $600 on up

Skill Level – Easy; you just need the right tools.

Moving up in the lift world, we come to what are called "add a leaf" kits. Those two curved pieces of steel at the top of the photo get added to your existing leaf springs to make them even springier and lift the body up about three inches. In the front, you'll add the longer coil springs to lift that end of the truck, and you'll get four shocks to add to the system as well.

This system is another low-cost and low-impact option for getting your truck in the air. Rusty's claims their kit will help an XJ clear 31" tires.

Kits like this one are a good option to lift your truck, get better ground clearance, but still retain a lot of the stock on-road feel. If you are looking for a truck that can handle more rough terrain than stock but still rides more or less like stock, a kit like this one might be your best bet. Recommended for drivers who want more handle in rough terrain.

Up to 3.5" of Lift, Leaf Replacement Kits

DIY Cost – Around $500

Professional Cost – $800 on up

Skill Level – Moderate; having the right tools will really help.

Moving on up the price scale, we come to a leaf replacement kit. The kit pictured is from Rubicon Express, who do not have any problem at all asking for money for their kits, so this kit in particular will be a little pricier than a leaf replacement kit from, say, Rough Country. But you also get some interesting components, like a hose to extend your rear brake hose.

Of course, if you open your brake lines you will need to bleed the system into the rest of the job, but if you've never done it before, it's not hard, and it's a good thing to be able to do trailside in a pinch.

This kit contains, as you can see, replacement leafs for the rear of your truck, replacement coils for the front, as well as some lower control arm bits and sway bar linkages.

At this point, we are getting into the rage of lift where some choices need to be made about "short arm" vs. "long arm" suspensions. Basically, the question is whether you want maximum trail performance or you want on-road driveability, but the question goes deeper than that as well. Recommended for drivers who have a bigger budget.

Over 4" of Lift, Short Arm Kits

DIY Cost – $700 or so

Professional Cost – $1,200 on up

Skill Level – Moderate; having the right tools will help.

Kits like this one are probably just about the last stop for your highway driveability. Any more performance or lift than this and your truck's going to be a lot more comfortable on the trail than on your drive to the office, but if that's what you're building, then by all means go ahead! Recommended for drivers who will be doing a lot of off-roading.

Over 5" of Lift, Long Arm Kits

DIY Cost – $1,500+

Professional Cost – The sky's the limit (lots of custom work)

Skill Level – Hard; it will require cutting, welding, and grinding.

Okay, now we're really spending some money. The "long arm" kit completely alters your suspension system with the single goal of improving off-road performance in mind.

What makes these kits a hard DIY is that usually they're going to require some cutting, grinding, and welding on your car to install. If you haven't already got a good bit of welding time under your belt, this might not be the kit to start out on.

And then there's the cost. Kits like this one range from $1,500 on up, and I do mean way on up. But in return, you get to drive over stuff that would stop lesser trucks cold. Recommended for drivers who have mechanical skills and have a bigger budget.

Pro Tip

As mentioned in the article, having the right tools helps, especially pneumatic wrenches. But then, you're pretty strong, right? Maybe you can get by with just a breaker bar!

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