lift ?'s

I have a few questions about adding a spacer lift kit. I am currently runniny a R.c. 3" lift on my 99' xj. I would like to add a 2" spacer lift for a total of 5". I know that i will have to deal with my drive shaft/t-case. At 5" would i be able to use a t-case drop kit or would I have to go to a s.y.e.? I dont think i will need to switch shocks, i dont often encounter rockey or other terrain where i will need lots of flex. Also what other odds and ends will need to be replaced such as control arms, pitman arms, sway bar links, etc. ?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

couple of questions...

what year?
did the lift come with shocks, if not did you upgrade?
do you have angled control arms or straight?

angled being _/ straight being /

In my humble opinion you should go with a sye. Due to the newer age of your cherokee you don't have a long extension on the rear of your transfer case which causes driveline vibes after very little lift. Do you have any vibes with your lift as it is? And of course a t-case drop is always helpful, especially in your case.

heh, sorry, didnt notice the 99...

get a sye youll need it

r.knepp said:

i dont often encounter rockey or other terrain where i will need lots of flex.

Click to expand...

Then why do you need to lift it more? You could put 32s on with your 3" lift (33s if you're not afraid to do a little cutting) and it won't rub if you don't flex it.

And just for the record, I'm not a fan of putting two lift kits on one Jeep. None of the components in your 3" or your 2" lift were designed to work at 5" of lift. Your steering will need to be reworked at that height, your shocks won't be long enough, your control arms won't be long enough, your brakelines won't be long enough, and on and on and on. If you want a 5" lift, you need to have a plan that takes everything into account: not only taller springs, but everything else that changes with a lift. You're probably trying to add on a 2" lift to save some money, but I think in the long run it will be cheaper to put together a quality 5" lift rather than a cheap 2" on top of a cheap 3". If you want to do it on the cheap, buy used parts and get acquainted with your local junkyard.

rocklandxjer said:

heh, sorry, didnt notice the 99...

get a sye youll need it

Click to expand...

SPOBI! the key to this process is don't always assume what you've been told is right, be ready to buy the SYE or the tcase drop but try it first without it. My 5" setup in my 98 is very similar to yours i have a 3 inch rustys lift with pucks in the front and shackles in the rear, i lifted it first and have not had a problem at all with vibes, and i daily drive this jeep a few hundred miles in a week. granted there is a little noise but no vibes that make the ride bad or dangerous to any driveline components, all my vibes com from my bent driveshaft (compliments of trail 15 at windrock ), in contrast i put together a budget lift package on a 92 using bastard pack rears that came out to the exact same heigth as mine and had a hell of a time stopping bone jarring driveline vibes, on that one i had to rebuild the packs with some shims and his rig needed a t-case drop. hope this helps, but try before you buy it, you may not even need it. as far as control arms you don't need to buy new ones if you don't want to, i ran my five for awhile with stockers, if you end up keeping the stockers you can notch the top of the axle side bracket and it will flex like crazy, not that you would need it tho


edit: o yeah, switch shocks when i had a 2" bb they were stretched to the nuts with the swaybars on anyway youll really appreciate the ride with matched length shocks

For a 99 you're most likely going to need a SYE. At 3.5", my 97 barely got by with a t-case drop. Don't run out and buy it before you drive it...just bet on having to get one. Don't lift higher than your budget allows...my budget was pushing it as it was. I wouldn't have been a happy camper if i'd needed a SYE.

Mambeu said:

Then why do you need to lift it more? You could put 32s on with your 3" lift (33s if you're not afraid to do a little cutting) and it won't rub if you don't flex it.

And just for the record, I'm not a fan of putting two lift kits on one Jeep. None of the components in your 3" or your 2" lift were designed to work at 5" of lift. Your steering will need to be reworked at that height, your shocks won't be long enough, your control arms won't be long enough, your brakelines won't be long enough, and on and on and on. If you want a 5" lift, you need to have a plan that takes everything into account: not only taller springs, but everything else that changes with a lift. You're probably trying to add on a 2" lift to save some money, but I think in the long run it will be cheaper to put together a quality 5" lift rather than a cheap 2" on top of a cheap 3". If you want to do it on the cheap, buy used parts and get acquainted with your local junkyard.

Click to expand...

would that be a 33x10.50 or a 33x12.50??? and what about the lower control ams, would the be anyrubbing there? i was thinking of doing the same thing and using tj fender flares. if anyone has done this could you plz pm me.

thanks,
Paul