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Concidering 5.5 RE lift. Opinions?

4

4WDlifeform

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Beaver Falls, PA
Hi all. First post on NAXJA. I have looked around, the site is awesome! Lots of good info out there.

I am planning to buy an XJ soon. Im beginning to consider lift kits, and weighing some options. I used to have a 98 Explorer, on 6.5" and 33's. Ford+lift=:explosion So, starting over the right way!

I am very attracted to the RE 5.5", with the drop brackets for the LCAs. Any one have any experience with this kit?? I have found it for around 1500. Is it worth saving the extra 600 as compared to the long arm kit?

Afterwards, I think I would like to jack it up just a bit more... I'd like to get a 2" longer shackle to let the leafs flex more and angle the axle, then space the front coils to level it out, and possibly prepare for fabricated bumper weight. I have done alot of research with going this high, looking at alot of things.. like transfer case and driveline mods. Im just looking for a good opinion on a way to get up to about 6 inches or so.

Thanks!!
 
Personally, I would get the 4.5 rear springs and do a longer shackle and shackle box relocation to get the 6 inches.

If you are a street pounder or mild wheeler the drop brackets are great, but if you are in the rocks a lot I would get the long arms.
 
I have an RE4.5" lift. Can't comment on long arms or drop brackets. No experience with them. So far I am happy with the way it performs but am not happy with the front bushings or RE's warranty. :smsoap:
 
I've been running the complete RE 5.5" short arm kit with drop brackets for about 8 years now. No problems. I'd consider myself a satisfied customer. :thumbup:

Rides nice on the street, flexes great off road. Some will tell you it's too high with the low COG movement going on right now. Also folks will debate all day long on the pros and cons of long vs. short arms. All I can say is that I've never regretted my decision, even though those long arms look pretty dang cool reaching out from under your belly like they do... ;)
 
RE is the best on the market.

As for the comment on drop brackets above, I call BS, and I can because I have them! I wheel the crap out of DB's in the rocks with NO issues and the street manners are better than stock. Nothing wrong with LA's if its a good quality kit and its installed properly. I will never regret going with DB's though.

My lift is a mixed bag of good stuff but it works! Flexes great! The heart of any lift though is the springs and the RE's are great.

Right now I'm running: (REAR) RE 4.5 SF with HD Offroad engineering shackle relocation boxes and TeraFlex 1.5 shackles for about 6" in the rear. (FRONT) I have the 4.5 SF with ACOS, RE DB's, JKS johnny jointed LCA's, Rokmen johnnie jointed UCA's, JKS johnny jointed trac bar, for about 5.5" lift and a smooth ride with great handling characteristics. I live in the mountains and can carve up a KYA curvy road with ease on 35's.
 
xjtrailrider said:
RE is the best on the market.

As for the comment on drop brackets above, I call BS, and I can because I have them! I wheel the crap out of DB's in the rocks with NO issues and the street manners are better than stock. Nothing wrong with LA's if its a good quality kit and its installed properly. I will never regret going with DB's though.

My lift is a mixed bag of good stuff but it works! Flexes great! The heart of any lift though is the springs and the RE's are great.

Right now I'm running: (REAR) RE 4.5 SF with HD Offroad engineering shackle relocation boxes and TeraFlex 1.5 shackles for about 6" in the rear. (FRONT) I have the 4.5 SF with ACOS, RE DB's, JKS johnny jointed LCA's, Rokmen johnnie jointed UCA's, JKS johnny jointed trac bar, for about 5.5" lift and a smooth ride with great handling characteristics. I live in the mountains and can carve up a KYA curvy road with ease on 35's.
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X2, good stuff. Besides that my 4.5 leafs are to stiff and dont flex, not to mention they seperate.
 
I am running a 5.5 RE with drop brackets, I am running a set of very soft Deaver rear springs, It works very nice off road & very good on road if it was my DD. I am also running a set of 35's km2's. Way happy with my XJ!
 
I have a mixed short arm Rubicon lift with the drop brackets. I like it so far. Rubicon makes good stuff and they have great support. The only problem you might come across is the adjustable slot for the lower control arm. I had to move my control arm all the way to the rear of the slot so it does not move on its own. I am checking with Rubicon to see if there is a cam bolt or something I need to add to solve this problem.

Overall, I don't think you can go wrong with RE.

KJ
 
JRW7072009 said:
I install tons or RE kits on all models of Jeep and cant say I have had any customers not happy with them. Some people complain about RE not warrantying there joints and bushing, they are repairable parts and are going to wear out eventually as will any other brand of lift kit.
Click to expand...
Yeah but not after 5000 miles. It's only my weekend wheeler. Thats absolutely insane.
 
Thanks guys for the replies! I should be out tomorrow hopefully looking at some used car lots. Cant wait!

As for the type of wheelin, I would have to say my most experiance is light to moderate trail. I have not wheeled in areas with extreme rocks, so i think the DBs are the way to go for me, and put the 600 or so ill save into other mods. a little off topic, but my explorer had torsion bar drops that hung pretty low, and more near the center of the body... I have never hung up on those, so the RE drops should be perfect for my application.

Thanks again to all who replied!
 
Never had any issues with mine at all. Its a heavy duty lift and you can wheel it pretty hard.
 
I'm considering the same kit for the Spring, but I'm worried about the "Made in India" springs that people seem to be getting now with their kits. Anyone have any more info about this?
 
-96JeepSpeed- said:
X2, good stuff. Besides that my 4.5 leafs are to stiff and dont flex, not to mention they seperate.
Click to expand...


i thought the leafs were supposed to separate for a little added droop, which explains the leaf clamps they come with. my 3.5" leafs do the same. but i love my RE 4.5" kit as a whole, and yes it is worth the money to save for all the upgrades you can to do it right. but like already mentioned, my LCA bushings are cracking and tearing after about one year.
 
HQuakers said:
I'm considering the same kit for the Spring, but I'm worried about the "Made in India" springs that people seem to be getting now with their kits. Anyone have any more info about this?
Click to expand...
\
i just installed some made in india packs in my 94 about two weeks ago. the only issue i had was the center bolts were too big for the hole on my leaf spring perches, so i had to grind them done a bit

as for the price of the RE 5.5" being around $1500 id double check your figures because remember you are gunna need some sort of new drive line whether that be a hac-n-tap with a CV drice shaft or a completely new drive shaft it can get exspencive. i went with the hacntap which for my year cost 189 plus a used cv drive shaft cost 45 plus the spicer adapter flange which was another 50
 
I havent priced any of the other mods that much just yet. Like i said in first post, I meant to start this thread to compare the 5.5 bracket drop to the 5.5 long arm. I realize there is a lot to do to follow up on, especially with drive line. I do plan to do full t-case build, and rear drive line though:D and even concidering swaping in the ford 8.8 when i do the lift as well :lickout: its gonna be quite the project, but I cant wait!
 
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