just purchased a 97 Cherokee sport

Hello, I am a newbie to the 4x4 crowd. I am looking at getting a lift and all the stuff needed to go with it to lift my jeep.
My JEEP is a 97 Cherokee Sport with a 4.0 (122k miles), 4 speed AW4 and a 231 T-case and a 8.25 rear with 3.55 gears. I just purchased this for 3000.00 2 days ago and have the offroad bug hitting me.. I have looked on all the sites and have to say I am confused already with all the stuff out there for this vehicle. I drive the jeep on the city streets alot and need confort and stability on the road.
Can someone give me a proven list of what I need to make this jeep offroad great and also drive in the city very well.. I was thinking of 3.5" lift or maybe a 4.5"..

What name brand lift should I purchase and part # if available?, What Shocks?, do I need a SYE?, Wheels and tires and size/offset? any tcase mods or trans mods?

I am asking you all so I dont waste time and money on junk parts and I know someone out there has already made all the mistakes and knows what works and what doesn't work..

I am trying to do all this for 2-3000 dollars if possible.

What do you think I should do to make this a good driver/offroader?

I bought a '98 Sport, bone stock a few months ago.

Added the following:

Rubicon Express 3.5" Superflex
Monotube Shocks
Rubicon Express adjustable track bar
16" take off wheels / tires from a Wrangler Rubicon bought on Craigslist
SYE and rear driveshaft
Sliders

Within your price range and it wheels great and to be honest, it drives better on the street now than it did stock. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Brent T said:

I bought a '98 Sport, bone stock a few months ago.

Added the following:

Rubicon Express 3.5" Superflex
Monotube Shocks
Rubicon Express adjustable track bar
16" take off wheels / tires from a Wrangler Rubicon bought on Craigslist
SYE and rear driveshaft
Sliders

Within your price range and it wheels great and to be honest, it drives better on the street now than it did stock. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Click to expand...

Perfect.. That is what I was looking at also, That RE kit doesn't come with upper arms, Do I really need upper arms?

Not really. If your going with that small of a lift then its not super important. I have the 4.5 on mine and love it. The upper arms will increase the amount of flex. At 3.5" you can get by with out an SYE but Id suggest getting it anyway. Ive had two XJ's now one with a Rusty's Offroad 4.5" and one with a Rubicon. Lets just say they don't call it cRusty's for nothing. Both have been my DD. Id say stick to a 15x8 rim though much more standard and easy to come by especially with the tires. Rancho RS5000 on the shocks cheap and great for what your doing.

Brent T said:

I bought a '98 Sport, bone stock a few months ago.

Added the following:

Rubicon Express 3.5" Superflex
Monotube Shocks
Rubicon Express adjustable track bar
16" take off wheels / tires from a Wrangler Rubicon bought on Craigslist
SYE and rear driveshaft
Sliders

Within your price range and it wheels great and to be honest, it drives better on the street now than it did stock. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Click to expand...

Ha, that's almost my exact build, but no sliders yet and I opted for Bilstein 5100s in the shock department.

Beware that the RE 3.5" lift will realistically net you 4.5" or more - an SYE is a mandatory upgrade at that height IMO (unless horrible sounds, vibrations, and U-joint life are your thing).

Brent T said:

Rubicon Express 3.5" Superflex
Monotube Shocks
Rubicon Express adjustable track bar
16" take off wheels / tires from a Wrangler Rubicon bought on Craigslist
SYE and rear driveshaft
Sliders

Click to expand...

Seems to be par for the course.

I also lifted my stock 2001 with the RE 3.5" Superflex. However, I choose to go the "cheap" route and got a set of almost brand new JK (needs to be Rubicon or X) shocks. They are all over E-Bay, but I went to the local 4 Wheel Parts store and had them save a set off a JK they lifted. I paid $20.

With this lift, I chose not to do the SYE and it is just fine. Nor did I get an adjustable track bar. I just drilled out a new hole for the stock one.

I went with AJ's sliders, a Warrior front bumper, and a Custom 4x4 Fabrication rear bumper.

After about a year I did upgrade to a HP front axle and a Ford Explorer 8.8 with 4.10 gears.

Sounds like you are off to a good start.

YEAGS said:

Id say stick to a 15x8 rim though much more standard and easy to come by especially with the tires.

Click to expand...

True about the tires. Wasn't aware when I bought the 16's, but there are far fewer tire choices and they are more expensive then the 15's. I do love how the Moab wheels look on a Cherokee though.

anthrax323 said:

Beware that the RE 3.5" lift will realistically net you 4.5" or more - an SYE is a mandatory upgrade at that height IMO (unless horrible sounds, vibrations, and U-joint life are your thing).

Click to expand...

Also true in my case. Mine came out to almost 5" partly due to the stock setup was already sagging. It vibed pretty bad, so I ended up with an AA SYE and a driveshaft.

Cottontail said:

However, I choose to go the "cheap" route and got a set of almost brand new JK (needs to be Rubicon or X) shocks. They are all over E-Bay, but I went to the local 4 Wheel Parts store and had them save a set off a JK they lifted. I paid $20.

Click to expand...

Really? So the JK Rubicon/X shocks are good for 4.5" lift or so? That's great to know.

I don't know about 4.5". The other guys on this post have said that the 3.5" kit will net you 4.5 to 5 and will require an SYE. I have not noticed that with mine at all and am running fine with the JK shocks and no SYE.

I believe that all Jeeps are built a little different and will take to new parts/lifts and such differently.

You should do a search on the JK shocks, as I recall when I reserached it the only JK shocks that will give enough travel are from the Rubicon or the X model. The base model, the Sport, etc won't work.

I will simply say when I put on my JK shocks and my 3.5" RE lift my Jeep sat where I wanted, performed where I wanted it, and didn't cause any troubles running down the interstate at 75 miles an hour or crawling over rocks at 1 mph in 1st gear.

I will also say...once I put in the HPD30/8.8 and 4.10 combo, all that went right out the window and I did create problems!!!

JK Rubi shocks on an XJ
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=966436

http://fitchva.com/jeep/?p=50