Low height

My '92 XJ limited seems to ride a bit lower than other stock XJ's. I've parked it next to my friend's and mine is clearly lower. I've never put a lift on it, though I probably will in the future, but I'm concerned that it would hardly lift it past stock height. My car also seems to take small bumps a bit roughly, even with 4 brand new rancho rs5000 shocks. AND theres a horrible squeaking sound from the back of the car that sounds a bit like the shock bushings even though those were replaced with the new shocks less than 5000 miles ago.

The criterion for checking your ride height is to measure from the center of the wheel hub(cap) straight up to the bottom edge of the flare lip. The stock dimension should be 17-1/2" in the front and 17" in the rear.

If you use coil spacers and an add-a-leaf (AAL) for your lift, then the lift only goes up from where you are. However, most lifts of 3" or more include new coil springs for the front and new leaf springs for the rear. That means any sagging in your OEM springs is irrelevent because the springs get taken off anyway.

What size are your tires? If your running 215's and the other XJ's are on 235's yours will "look" lower. As for the rough ride what is your air pressure? To high & it will give a rougher ride. HTH. JIM.

Oh yeah -- the ride.

Ride quality and shock absorber preferences are sort of like religion -- not to be discussed in mixed company because the views get so violently divurgent.

IMHO Rancho RS5000s are very harsh. I tried them in my '88 when I forst wore out the OEM shocks, and I hated them. I had them in for less than 3 months and I removed them and gave them away. After that I made the mistake of listening to my brother, and trying KYB Gasajusts. They, too, were (IMHO) horrible. I finally settled on good old reliable Monroe, and I've had them in now for well over 100,000 miles and they're still doin' their thing.

To be fair, a friend just put a set on RS5000s into an '89 XJ he was selling, and he thought they rode fine.

Another point is that as the rubber bushings in the upper and lower control arms age, they get stiff and the ride suffers -- especially as the front wheels roll over small bumps like pavement cracks, the bushings transmit the shock instead of absorbing it.

Rancho 5000 shocks are horrible around town. Sell them on eBay. That's what I did with mine and never regretted it.

I also made the mistake of buying the Ranchos and removed them after a month and sold them... Those shocks are good dont get me wrong, but they are made for the Super Duty vehicals that have a lot of weight or a long wheel base.. So far the best shocks that I have had and love are the Sky Jacker Nitro 7000, Very soft ride and have lasted for a very very long time..