To lift or not to lift?

I'm struggling with the idea of lifting my stock 5spd 98 XJ Sport. I would like more clearance and I want to run 30 or 31's, but this is a daily driver and will be the "family car" when we start having kids in the next year. I want to keep the stock rims (if possible) and have a shop do the work for me because I don't have the tools or workplace to do the lift myself.

I've been told that the 3" Rubicon lift would be a good fit. Any advice for me on what lift kits I should look at, what shocks to run, etc and of course what kind of cost I would be looking at? I seem to get different advice from every shop I ask about this project. Thanks for the help!

Hey, I run an autotranny 98 xj. It has a 3" Rubicon Express lift and runs 31x10.5 BFG MTs with Doechtech shocks.

It is my daily driver and gets about 1200 pavement miles a month. It also does pretty good off-road. This spring I had it at Moab on Steel Bender and only had to be pulled once. http://www.geocities.com/tsgolo60
Most of these picts are from our own "moab" in Livingstone KY.

You need to talk to a shop that does off-road work & I believe you'll get the best price. The others are trying to guess at how much "shop time" installing a lift will take.

As far as the quality of lift to get, to me it'd depend on how I was gonna use it off-road. I've never had a problem with the components of the R.E. lift but basically what you pay for is what you get. This lift was not installed by a shop and I really don't know how the time added up.

I run American Racing rims, but my friend ran his stock rims on basically the same set up with no problems. Just remember, once you start it never ends!

Hope this helps! Have Fun!!

I run a 3" Rusty's and I am happy with it, but I had to take the thing apart four or five times to get everything just right, height, angles etc. If I had the money the first time, RE would probably be more complete and consistent. I am running stock tires and wheels for now, however 31's or 32's would undoubedly go on without a problem. Rusty's 3" is more like 4 or 4and a half though. Where you are 97+, you will almost definitely need a slip yoke eliminator kit with custom driveshaft to get rid of the vibes.
Also, keep in mind that once you lift it, your ride softness will never be the same and your wife might hate you, on the other hand she won't want to drive it anymore and that could work in your favor.
As far as shop time goes, when I was doing my research I found that a good basic rule was to double the cost of all your components and you have your labor cost. Do not take your Jeep to truck people, they tend not to have an understanding of the short wheelbase of the jeep and what the modifications do to the geometry. Trucks are not quite as prone to vibes and such because the angles don't change as much.
Anyhow, just my .02

I had a shop install the BDS 3" suspension system installed on my 98 Classic, 4.0, auto, NP242. Included new rear leaf package, new front coils, shocks, LCA's, frnt sway bar extensions, T/C lowering kit, and new steering stabilizer. It was billed 6 hours @ 60.00 per hour, (360) I was out the door for 1450.00 add 30 for a alignment and it is one nice ride. I've had it up to 85 MPH with no shimmy, shacke or wobble. It can be seen at BDS.com website under the "Pride and Joy" section only one in 98 section. It has AR-767 wheels and 235/75R-15 tires. I did a lot research and really like BDS and there "No fine print" warranty.

KTJ said:

Re: To lift or not to lift?

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thats like asking a starving pigmy if they wanna eat.

My '88 XJ is at stock height and I wheel with 30x9.50R15s on stock rims. I have 31s on the '88 MJ, which is now back to stock height. On the street, 31s are do-able, but not ideal. Wouldn't work too well on the trail, I suspect, but again would be do-able. Ed Stevens personal web page has a write-up explaining why/how 31s on stock rims work with a stock suspension.

There's no reason to lift unless/until you find yourself going on trails where you just don'r have enough clearance. I think a stock height XJ on 30s is a very capable vehicle. Once you get beyond 30s you really should lift, and once you get beyond 30s the stock gearing becomes rather unattractive. I run the 31s with 3.73 gears, and they should be 4.10s but I bought the gears with the intention of running 30s. The 31" tires just sort of happened.

and Ed Stevens url is?

Centrevillemx said:

and Ed Stevens url is?

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