• Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Critique my lift and combo, please!

Porch951

Porch951

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Albuquerque, NM
Thought i would get some opinions on here about a small build i'll be starting on this month...

The background is: 1993 Cherokee. Bought as a 2wd for $1200, converted to 4wd with a '98 Trans/transfer case + axle for $200 more.... (so note, i have the later style transfer case). My goals are: cheap, reliable, able to fit 30x9.5x15's. I do not want to regear, i have 3.55's, and i don't want to deal with a SYE.

After looking around at different lift kits and not finding what i like at a reasonable price, i found this:
http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/home_brew_budget_boost.htm

So here's what i'm thinking:
Front
ZJ v8 front springs + 1" polyurethane spacers ($20/set + $15 spacers)
Rear
Additional leaf as from the link above ($30/set)

+ Bilstein shocks (good?) ($250)
+ Ebay lower control arms ($100)

That puts me at probably $450 for the entire setup...i'm thinking that would give me some really good ride quality and much better shocks than any of the kits would.

Other plans are: 30x9.5x15 Maxxis Big Horn's and eventually a locker for the rear.

Any thoughts, especially on the lift "kit"?
 
That'll be quite a bit of effort and time running around procuring the parts. Hope your local wrecking yard is close and fully stocked. It seems like a decent set-up FWIW, most likely better than the standard budget boosts in ride quality.

I'd say go for it if you have the inclination. Post-up and tell us how it all went when you're done, including how much time the parts acquisition and modification took as well as the install. Let us know if it's really worth the extra effort.

Good luck.
 
Because of the 98 tranfer case you may very well need a SYE kit.
 
stick with the older trans-case, youll have less of a chance of getting vibes. In all honesty for tha coinage get a 3" and run 31's. you wont need to regear, youll still get good gas mileage, use ur old tcase and you wont have vibes. i have a buddy running 4.5" with 33's and no vibes.
 
98RExj said:
stick with the older trans-case, youll have less of a chance of getting vibes. In all honesty for tha coinage get a 3" and run 31's. you wont need to regear, youll still get good gas mileage, use ur old tcase and you wont have vibes. i have a buddy running 4.5" with 33's and no vibes.
Click to expand...

i second that i had a 94 at 4.5 no vibes, got a 99 and lots of vibes at 3, got a SYE and it took care of that.
 
Love2Ride450 said:
He can't use his "Old t-case" as he was only 2wd before...
Click to expand...
Yep lol.

Fubar: The local u-pull lot (the OP is a friend of mine) has all the parts that are needed for this swap at any given time, so they shouldn't be hard to gather.
 
Im about to undertake a lift very similar to yours with the bastard pack in the rear, but im going to go ahead and order new springs for the front so I dont have to deal with spacers. so hopefully it still rides pretty smooth. let me know how it turns out
 
Thanks for the responses guys!
Yep, no "old transfer case" on this jeep. Wish i had gotten an earlier transfer case, but unfortunately the price (and mileage) on this guy were right at the time! I guess i'm just going to have to do the lift and pray i don't get vibrations :eyes:

I'm sure i'll spend more time putting together this kit, but sometimes time is easier to find than money, lol. I'm mainly concerned that i'll end up with a good result! If not i'll just save up and buy a good kit...

Schnoz, do you have a good source for springs?
 
the 79 & earlier F-150 coils work good, we used 78 2wd springs to replace the 2" bb & GC v-8 coils & gained about 1" more & got rid of that friggin spacer clunk.2x on going to 3" & 31", you're going to wind up doing it anyway, so just do it now & you'll be lots happier with the results. it seems like you're not intimidated by building your own suspension so go for it. 31"Bighorns are less than $20ea than the 30"s. they sure ride rough at low speeds though. I had a set & only put 1500mi on them before I swapped them onto my sons rig & replaced them with a set of all terrains.
 
my critique: dont be so cheap, you get what you pay for.
31's.... 3"+, BFG AT LEAST... less than that isnt worth doing.
oh and get parts designed for performance, not bean counters.
 
Porch951 If it was me I'd opt for some new 3" lift front coil and rear leaf springs then you could easily do 30's and do little to no mods..

I am curious which ebay conrol arms are you looking at..? I am looking for some control arms to compliment my 3" RC lift..Now if it's an action for just one set no worries I don't want you to post the link..Just curious if you found some from an ebay store that has multiple sets where I could look at a set as well..:)
 
Talk to Jason, GRIMUSXJ99 (I think), on here, he works for Rough Country. You can get a decent set of adjustable arms from them for a good price and he generally gives a discount to NAXJA members. That may mean actual red letter members, but even without the discount, pricing is good and the arms are nice. Then you also have arms that can grow with you.
30's don't take much to fit. My 96 came close to fitting stock, many people can fit them stock. If you do spacers, go with poly. I ran poly spacers for a few years and no clunking. I actually had two stacked on each side (for 3" total).
On 30's with stock gears, I've been averaging 18-20 mpg highway, my speedometer is dead on accurate compared to radar and GPS, and the odo only reads .8 miles for every mile I drive. I've already lifted bigger and will soon have bigger tires so I'll see what happens there. The inchitis will strike...
 
I don't know if you have finished up your lift or not but I ended up getting my springs from a local shop called the 4x4 store. they were 4" instead of the 4.5" I was going to originally do but I figure it was ok since I will only be running 31" tires when I can get around to finding the lca's I need and the other pieces.
unfortunatly(sp?) I just had a pipe burst in my bathroom so most of my jeep fund just went to a old fat dude that stunk to fix it.
I did go with the rough country shocks though, I ordered them off ebay through the top gunz store and paid over the phone, The gentleman even threw in my shock boots for free. I didn't remember the naxja discount until I already ordered them
 
If your rear (leaf) springs are already sagging as old xj leaf springs tend to do, you should just get new packs rather than AAL's. Many of us have used the quadratec HD packs wed to existing main leaves to get to two inches of lift, which would be about right for your 30's.
 
I think you're on the right track, but in my mind is a little overboard. You can fit 30x9.50's on stock wheels with absolutely no rubbing. I have them on my jeep now, but after getting new cragars opted for a little lift. I went with a 2" spacer up front, 1" block in the rear, and 1.5" shackle. Rides like stock. Also, you won't need new shocks with so little lift - unless yours are totally blown already. Have you looked at FitchVa's site? He has an excellent writeup on a cheap budget boost that could be just what you're looking for... Without shocks you should easily be able to accomplish your lift for under $100.
 
I've pretty have the exact setup minus the control arms. Take a look at ironrockoffroad.com I got rough country add a leafs for 2.25" of lift and some poly spacers which gave me 2" in the front. Those grand coils should def balance things out. People will say this setup might run a little stiff and harsh, but just last week put on bilstein 5100's and it rolls smoother and tighter than stock. (top gun customz as mentioned before had direct replacement bilsteins for 2-3" of lift) I would also consider the possibility of a t/case drop. I have the 242 t/case and there was def vibes approaching hwy speed. Sure it's easier buying a full kit, but it seems there's always a compromise on crappy shocks, too small of add a leafs, etc etc. If your lift doesn't have to be on tommorow, take your time and gradually accumulate your parts. The stock shocks and control arms did okay still with the bastard lift, but I'd put my money into good shocks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

89Mock
Gauge Cluster Swap: Mechanical to electric speedometer
Replies
3
Views
3K
kastein
kastein
I
Bought Son 2000 XJ, Need Help with RC Lift
2 3
Replies
45
Views
6K
Tim_MN
Tim_MN
W
Newbie with an XJ
Replies
8
Views
181
RCP Phx
R
R
Which steering box brace? Bearing or not?
Replies
7
Views
375
75SV1
7
E
Steering Redo.... Questions before I dive in.
2
Replies
28
Views
1K
RCP Phx
R
Back
Top