5.5" RE lift

[badbowtie87]

Im thinking i should have researched a little better before getting this lift. I bought the 6130 re lift with the HD trackbar, bracket, 5.5-7.5 re monotube shocks, longer breaklines, 4.5" leafs, 1.25" shackle, Drop pitman arm, and 1" spacers for the front springs. I bought it this way since im building my own long arm setup and figured i could just sell the short arms later. But what i have been reading on here is that at 5.5"s of lift i am going to have major steering issues. How poor is this thing gonna drive when im finished and what exactly will i have to do to correct this. Is there more than just one way to correct it? Thanks for your help.

 

[FIREBLADE]

No real problems on my setup. That doesn't mean that I don't want to upgrade the steering to something better. Only way to tell is put it on.

 

[badbowtie87]

Yeah im in the process right now. The rear is finished but i still need to do the front. Not to mention the slip yoke an lengthening driveshafts.

 

[badbowtie87]

oops i meant slip yoke eliminator

 

[outlander]

I have that lift on mine and Mine drives poorly at speeds over 35.Likes to wander and The steering wheel doesn't return to center...my caster is off.

I wish I had paid the xtra money for adjustable arms so I can adjust my caster.I'm running one stock shim on both sides and my caster is still off.I'm looking at getting my knuckles cut and turned to get my caster set right....

So you're doing the front now?It's alot of work!!!Been there done that,don't want to do it again anytime soon...

 

[Jeepin Jason]

Steering should be fine, depending on how much lift you get out of the kit. The drop pitman arm might actually cause problems with bumpsteer though

jeepdeepfreak... get your rig aligned. There is absolutely NO reason you need adjustable lower arms to set your caster. The RE DB's have more than enough caster adjustment in the LCA mounts. One stock shim per side is nothing... even on a 3.5" kit with short arms in the stock mounts that wouldn't be enough shim to get the caster right.

 

[groovyone]

Related question, I am looking into putting the RE XJLA 5.5" lift on my 98 Cherokee and I am trying to figure out what I will need outside of what is in the kit.

The XJ has a 3" Rancho front suspension lift with spacers and I think it just has shackles for the rear. I do not know if it is the stock driveshaft (although I think it is) or if it has a SYE kit installed. My main concern was the brakelines, but I see that they are included in the kit.

What other parts am I overlooking, or are recommended for this swapout? Shocks for the 4.5"-5.5" are on the way.

Is there a pretty standard longer driveshaft to swap in?

Thanks in advance for the help. I am familiar with Mustangs, but am still getting the hang of this Jeep thing. Finally got it off road this weekend and had a blast!!

 

[Jeepin Jason]

SYE and driveshaft is all you'll need, other than the lift (and shocks).

 

[team08]

Mine drives fine with short arms, although it does seem to put some use and abuse on the TREs. I aligned it myself with the tape measure method and I've had it on for a couple of years and have made a couple 10 hour trips on the highway with no problems. I'm currently looking into upgrading my steering and there's a ton of information on this forum about different options.

 

[outlander]

Steering should be fine, depending on how much lift you get out of the kit. The drop pitman arm might actually cause problems with bumpsteer though

jeepdeepfreak... get your rig aligned. There is absolutely NO reason you need adjustable lower arms to set your caster. The RE DB's have more than enough caster adjustment in the LCA mounts. One stock shim per side is nothing... even on a 3.5" kit with short arms in the stock mounts that wouldn't be enough shim to get the caster right.

I know one shim is nothing(come drive my rig)lol
Nope the one shim is all that will fit...the lower adjustment threads are maxed with one shim.If I took it to a shop for an alignment they would just look at me like "sorry"The only thing they could do is set my toe in-out...this is why I need to look into adjustable arms or have my knuckles turned.

Team08:how many degrees of caster did you end up running?How many shims?What year is your xj?

 

[badbowtie87]

Well i figured i would run into a few issues since im basically trying to get 5.5 inches out of a 4.5 kit. Hopefully when i get my radius arm setup built plus do that offroad only steering everything will be kosher, i hope. Oh yeah i guess i forgot about regearing. Maybe some 4.56's since im gonna run 33's.

 

[smokeeaterXJ]

You could always get new steering to help out with all that. Mine rides straight but my wheel isnt completley centered. I just ordered the JCR 1 ton steering upgrade. Its gonna be awsome! U might run into some problems with ur tierod and draglink hitting your mounting posts for ur discos. With stock steering.