Lift Setup Question....

OK I'm new here first off, but I have owned XJ's for a little while. So here is my question, what do you think of this setup for a '97 XJ which is a DD and sees mild off-roading?

Rusty's 3" leaf packs
RE 3.5" springs
Rancho RS5000 shocks
Skyjacker lower control arms
extended rear brake lines
trac bar bracket
t-case drop
...and 31"-32" tires

What do you think? I am I missing anything? Anything wrong with these parts?
Any help would be great! Thanks!!

you will have some rubbing with that lift and 31's (a lil) and a lot with the 32s. atleast i did with mine.
chris

If it were me I'd ditch Rusty's leaves for something in the RE or Skyjacker flavors...and go for some better shocks like Bilsteins or Edelbrock IAS. If you're trying to save money then your trade off will be the harsh ride. Being that it's a DD I'm offering my advice.

Ditch the rancho shocks, they suck. They ride way too harsh. Skyjackers shocks ride better but Old Man Emu shocks will probably give you what you want for a dd. I would go with some new upper control arms too, and you will need to do some trimming for 32's.

TDeaton13 said:

trac bar bracket

Click to expand...

bad plan

good luck with the lift
you may need more than a t-case drop with a 97 be prepared for that
a SYE (Slip Yoke Eliminator) is the right way to do it...

welcome to
keep asking questions and people will help you out

XJ Ranger...I know that I should just get the SYE but I'll see what happens first. The t-case is just tempoary. But why is this such a "Bad lift plan"....please suggest something that would be better. I'm open for any help I can get.

I think he's referring to the track bar bracket as a 'bad plan'.
I'd agree. There are better solutions, one being the JKS adjustable trackbar. Yeah, it's not as cheap. You won't regret it later though, when you actually enjoy wheeling it hard, rather than repairing or replacing substandard parts.
Why not run the RE 3.5 kit? Swap in JKS disco's and Bilsteins - good to go.
Talk to some of the known good vendors - such as www.fullsizeXJgear.com

Spend the money once.

Ron

TDeaton13 said:

What do you think? I am I missing anything?

Click to expand...

Have you budgeted for gears? If you never plan to go larger than 32" tires, then I recommend 4.56 gears. Stock gearing and 32" tires was no fun for me, even though I knew it was temporary.

I have about the same setup you are looking at, except I have rusty's shocks, if you want to call them that. This is what I would do if I could start over again

Buy the RE kit......


Now if you not looking at going that route here is what I would change in what you have listed.

Rusty's newer 3" leaf packs will give you about 4-4.5" of lift. You'll have to compensate that with bigger springs upfront or use some 1.75" spacers.

I'd buy some better shocks, IE Old Man Emu or something not as expensive. Sorry I don't have much experience in the shock dept.

Do not get the track bar bracket, get an adjustable track bar with a heavy duty mount, you will regret getting the bracket.

You need to look at regearing very soon after the lift is installed. I wish I had budgeted for that in the very beginning. I have 3.07 and will be installing 4.10's very soon. A year after the fact and it sucks, I don't even know what 5th gear is anymore

Get adjustable lower control arms, it will be worth it in the end. The upper you don't need for that size lift. If you get inchitis, and you will, you'll need them later.

31-32" tires, you'll need to trim with the 32" I have 31's and don't have a problem with rubbing.

Just my 2 penny's worth...

Alex

If I was to use Rusty's leaf pack what size spring up front would I use to make sure it sets even or is the coil spacer the way to go? And also how much does a actual trac bar run? I know just the bracket is like 65.00, is the extra money worth it even if its only going to see mild off roading?

Thanks!

Well I'll let you know soon

I'm about to buy the RE 4.5" coil springs and install them. If needed after that I will buy some extended shackles to make it sit level. The level game is something you'll play with if you do not get a complete kit like what RE sells, or skyjacker etc.....plus the kit will settle some after you go offroad and flex it a bit.

I went the route to throw the spacer in and my front springs are starting to sag, the font end is kinda sitting almost where they were before I added the spacer, not because of the spacer, because they have rusty's stamp on them...........

A good track bar and bracket will run you 200ish. You might be able to get one cheaper, but don't go to cheap :gag: You might not need to get the heavy duty bracket with very mild offroading, just remember you get what you pay for.... :lecture:



Alex

TDeaton13 said:

If I was to use Rusty's leaf pack what size spring up front would I use to make sure it sets even or is the coil spacer the way to go? And also how much does a actual trac bar run? I know just the bracket is like 65.00, is the extra money worth it even if its only going to see mild off roading?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

yeah i was refering to teh track bar reloation bracket.
i just bought mine from RR for 100, and its working great. A track bar mount puts more stress on the frame mount (longer lever arm=more force)
see my recont post on track bar ideas for lift:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33915&highlight=track+bar

there was a website that someone mentioned in annother more recent post that sold the ajustable track bar with TRE for 85 and a HD trackbar for 120 but i dont recall the post, nor can i find it.

CW said:

Ditch the rancho shocks, they suck. They ride way too harsh. Skyjackers shocks ride better but Old Man Emu shocks will probably give you what you want for a dd. I would go with some new upper control arms too, and you will need to do some trimming for 32's.

Click to expand...

In regards to the Rancho 5000's:

Wow, i'm suprised you say that. I had some Procomp shocks before my Rancho's and I thought the Procomp were like driving on rocks. The Rancho's made it feel like I was driving on some spongy passenger car shocks, almost like a caddy. I dunno what your experience was, but I thought the RS5000's were a nice soft ride.

In regards to the rest of the list:

I had no issues with fitting 31's after my 3" lift.
I hate the Tracbar relocation bracket, it gives me bumpsteer & it has broken in half before.