96 lift questions

Firstly, in response to my first thread, many thanks to the individuals that were helpful and to the rude people, I am sorry that what with all your free time here on the xj forum you couldn't find enough time to locate your manners.

I am hoping to lift my jeep for light off reading that's required at job sites, (i work in construction of log homes, generally far from roads with regular maintenance.)

I am thinking 32-35" tires. As I would like to add around 3-5 extra inches of clearance for the axles. And extra articulation for the rougher terrain I've encountered. Not a mall crawler.

I am also hoping to do as little mofification to my drivetrain as possible, as the reason I don't have the time to pour over posts and decipher the information is my general workweek is around 85 hours long, 6-7 days a week. Being that I have NO experience with keeps or lifting them, presumably I could read misinformation and make a judgment error listing me not just money but potentially my livelihood. As you can see its taken four days just to find time to check back about my questions.

I am not some snot nosed teenager looking to impress his friends. This is about functionality, not my Dick size.

So:
32-35" tires
3-5" extra ground clearance
As little modifications to drivetrain as possible to achieve this.
Extra articulation for the addedstability where required to get to job site.
Looking for cost effective solution without comprimising quality/safety
Still street safe as well.

If additional information is needed on my model..

It has drum rear brakes, not sure if anti lock equipped but I'm pretty sure not.
Sport model w/ high output 4.0 + 4part time/full-time hi + part time low + 2wd hi
No towing package
100% stock.




I will be as co operative as possible with friendly people, but as for you jerks with nothing better than to mock and insult me, save it.

On a slightly unrelated note, is the "high output" 4.0 in my jeep and different in hp/ft.lbs than other 4.0's or was this designation a marketing ploy?

Rule #2,stick with your original thread! It eliminates the need to re-hash the same issues over again.

It was closed by mod, too many people being immature.

Any Help on the matter I've asked about?

It was closed by mod, too many people being immature.

Any Help on the matter I've asked about?

HO's have slightly more power than a renix 4.0, yes.

if you have more money than time (great problem, huh?)
buy a proper kit, buy a proper sye/driveshaft, buy proper accessories.

you should go for 33's. because 35's require significant axle work to stay reliable.... a


--RE 3.5 or 4.5 kit
--SYE kit. (you have an np-242, full time case)
--JCR utk steering
--33's of choice

sorry to read your last thread derailed, but get over it, this is the internet =)
also, hate to break it to you, but building jeeps takes time, nobody is going to answer every question you have for you, just because your busy, i worked a 70+ hour week last week too... i still found plenty of time to browse naxja, and learn

Reality: A stock tire is 14.5" radius, and a 33 would be about a 2" ground clearance gain at the axle.

A narrow 33 on stock rims may stuff OK with 4" of lift. 33s on wide rims or rims with high offsets will require trimming or bump stopping, or both.

You will need to upgrade the axle gears to run 33's. Depending on what rear axle you have, a swap to a ford 8.8 of the right ratio would get you rear gears and disc brakes. For reliability, the front axle should get alloy axle shafts at minimum.

At 4", a SYE is a good idea since you don't seem to be the type who wants to try options and see what works.

You could upgrade the tie link with a ZJ V8 link, it is bolt on.

Running 35's gets you more axle to ground clearance, but more extensive modifications to the rig, including heavier axles, cutting of the fenders and extensive suspension modifications.

Since this will be a work truck, and you admit to not wanting to do any research or have any experience in this sort of thing; if I were in your shoes, I would head to my nearest 4WD shop and see what they recommend, and what kind of price they quote you for the work.

re-gearing the axles isn't absolutely needed for 33s. I daily drove for quite a while (as well as some off-road excursions) with the stock 3.55s and was just fine with anything I came across. Sure, it is nice having the little extra that a 4.56 would give you, but not needed by any means. My front D30 is also using stock axle shafts and I have never had a problem. If you were rock crawling, then I could see the need for alloy axle shafts.

I have 4.5" of lift with 33s and had to trim so I could get them to fit. If I were to ever do it again, I probably would have went with a 3" lift. I would probably suggest 32x10.50s with a 3" or 4.5" lift on your Jeep, since you are looking mostly for job mobility. This way trimming will be at a minimum, and mileage will also not be hurt as much. You will also have an even lesser need for re-gearing.

With my 4.5" lift, I didn't need an SYE. I just shimmed the rear axle and that was that. I still would like an SYE in the future, but for now it works without vibes.

Also, lock at least the rear axle. Whether it is selectable or auto locking, they do wonders. If you lock the front, I would suggest a selectable, being that if it auto locked while you were trying to turn, it would make things not so pleasant and might end up pushing you straight forward in some situations.

You'd be surprised how much you could get through with a conservative setup like this. I'd bet you could easily get to any job site you would ever be sent to. Then if you are still worried, equip yourself with a winch. You'll probably end up using it to get others out more often then you'll ever need it for yourself. I've used my winch on myself five times at the most,(and that was on my old tired 87 XJ, my 96 still has not been stuck) yet I've winched countless others out.

Good luck!