Lift kit help

Hey there, I have a '92 xj with 3 inch suspension lift, I want to redo the lift to get 4.5" minimum. I want a low budget lift due to being a college student. Any suggestions? Should I buy a brand new lift or a boneyard lift?

assuming that you have 3 inch coil springs in the front, the cheapest solution for the front is to add A 2" spacer.

Do you have a shackle or add a leaf or blocks in the rear?

Keep n mind that a lot of jeeps get vibrations in the drive lines when going over 3-4 inches of lift. You may need to lower you tcase or get a double cardan type drive shaft for the rear and do an sye on the tcase.

what parts do you currently have on your jeep? motor/trans/Tcase/rear axle would also be beneficial to know too. not all lift kits are created equal and we cant read your mind. knowing what your working on will help to piece together parts you should look at buying and ways to cut corners.

why exactly do you need more lift? think itll help on the trail? want bigger tires for mall crawling?

FWIW, i have the RE 4.5" superflex kit and love it. but i have added shackle relocation brackets, BPEs front and rear, control arm drop brackets, and an SYE to be happy with my suspension. right now the rear sits more around 5-5.5 with some rake in the front. there is still a lot to do to it in order for me to be happy.






from one college student to another...
save your pennies and buy a gas saver to daily drive. keep the jeep for weekends and tinker in your free time. youll be happy when a seemingly simple project turns into a nightmare because you can still get to work/class. youll have to suck up your pride and come to terms with the fact that other jeepers look at you funny if you wave. but the car will pay for itself in gas saving in a year... dont ask me how i know.

Motor: 4.0 I6
Trans: AW4 transmission
Rear axle: Chrysler 8.25

I want to fit 33" tires under it, I do a lot of hunting, fishing, wheeling on the weekends and want something that can both look good and can be used off road.

Yea, I got 3" coil springs and blocks in the back.

that's fine if you'd like to move up to 4.5" lift. In order to safely and comfortably go down the road you'll want adj. Track bar, sye CV shaft on rear. Make sure your brake lines are long enough. Understand that getting taller coils or adding spacers will further contribute to your axle being pulled back resulting in steep control arm angles causing poor ride quality/handling. Really any lift over 3" gets expensive to be done right. Are we planning on gears for 33's?

Do you need to re gear for 33's?

should you? yes.

but plenty of people get by without it. youll find that your driving habits greatly change. it is recommended to install a trans cooler too, regardless of if you gear or not.

Awesome, thanks a million for the help.

ditch the rear blocks run full springs, keep it at 3" and trim to fit the 33's

ROBZ95Xj said:

ditch the rear blocks run full springs, keep it at 3" and trim to fit the 33's

Click to expand...

x2

you could definitely save money by staying where you are at. especially if you are happy with the current ride and have no driveline vibrations. if all you have are springs and blocks, id still look into some new parts.

for the front id recommend:
- adjustable trackbar
- lower control arms (with a cartridge joint at the axle end)
- brake lines
- sway bar links
- shocks

rear:
- shackle relocations
- full leaf pack (or bastard pack it if you like, just ditch the blocks)
- shackle relocation brackets
- extended shackles
- brake line
- shocks

if you want to go higher, just add coil spacers, upper control arms, and control arm drop brackets to the list. your looking to completely redo the rear end, so you could easily buy parts for your current 3" lift or go 4.5".

I'm lookin to make an s10 bastard pack for the leafs, What make/model s10 should I use? And what coil springs would fit and raise it up a tad, I'll still put spacers on to.

why would you put new coils on and still add spacers?

get the coils you want or add spacers to your current ones if you want more lift...

My coils are old and need replaced

i agree lets definitely say goodbye to the blocks. I'd be looking at an adjustable track bar if you don't already have one. Your not gonna be a happy camper when you buy new 33's and they wear horribly uneven because your front axle isn't centered correctly. You'll need a t case drop at minimum...ideally you should get an sye and CV shaft with shims for the rear to have a happy drive line angle. X2 on gears, transmission cooler, shocks, and brake lines. As stated above if your in need of coils just get the correct height the first time...no need for pucks if getting new coils

I'll probably stick with the 31's for now, saw some pics. They look good with the 4.5" and 31's

So what I have so far:
Rear- s10 bastard pack, new shocks, extended brake lines

Front- same cool springs, coil spacers, extended brake lines, adjustable trackbar, new steering stabalizer, adjustable lower control arms, new shocks.

Misc- transfer case drop

Am I missing anything?

ROBZ95Xj said:

ditch the rear blocks run full springs, keep it at 3" and trim to fit the 33's

Click to expand...

x3.

I've only got 2.5" of lift on mine and I've already got minor driveline vibes. Going to 4.5" is almost guaranteed to give you some, and it's unlikely that a t-case drop is going to fix it all. (*Standard disclaimer that all Jeeps are different so you can't know anything for sure until you do it.) Or, if you drop your t-case far enough, you're just eliminating a bunch of the ground clearance you gain from your lift (and you better armor it up, too, depending on what you're likely to hit with it). More than likely, you're going to have to go all the way to installing a Slip yoke eliminator which = $$$$ you don't have.

Trimming is free, and it doesn't require any additional driveline tinkering (outisde of optional regearing for the 33's).

ALL of that having been said, I only have 2.5" lift, am a total n00b, and everything I set forth above is conjecture based on primarily book learnin' and not actual experience, so feel free to ignore everything I just said.

Not at all, all advice is appreciated. I have a 3 inch on mine, no vibrations what so ever.