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New to lifting, what do I need??

I'm buying cheap ebay parts, mainly because I don't have the cash, nor the place to wheel it, but I love the look of a lifted cherokee. I live in the country, and occasionally wheel in my back yard (rocks, logs, stone piles) when I get bored, but that's about it. Cops got extremely strict with wheeling lately, and after my latest wheeling mishap, I'm just going to stay away for a while. I am going to supply a list of the parts I plan to buy, I would like somebody to tell me things I will also need. (drop brackets, ect) I am also open to suggestions of any type =)

- 2" Shackles
- 2" Poly coil spacers
- 3" RC coils
- 3" RC AAL
- Hydro 8000 shocks
 
at 5" of lift, your gonna run into SYE territory allmost definately. steering will also suck.

your tracbar will be waay too short as well, pulling your front axle to one side, eating bushings etc...

wanna eleborate on the legal problems? wheeling is not a crime!..
 
drop brackets are definately a good idea, as well..

maybe only goto 3''? it'll save you the problems of EVERYTHING i listed...
(unless you got a late model, in which case you MIGHT need a sye)
 
going from 3 inches to 5 is a sh!t load more work. As stated previously your gona run into sye, CA drop brackets, Longer C/A's, longer D/S, and your prolly gona want to run bigger tires which will require gears normally about 1200+ to do front and rear at a shop with parts included, but why pay for such expensive gears on a dana 35 right? might as well upgrade to a dana 44 while your at it.

:for sye their are a number of option. I would check out AA, or Iron Rock offroad for a cheap (hack) solution.
:for drop brackets i would definitely go with Rough Country, they have really impressed me as of late.
:for longer control arms their are alot of option, maybe even a longarm kit. Iron rock offroad is pretty reputable for being cheap, if you wanna spend a shiny penny maybe look into TnT etc.
:for a longer D/S i would used a front D/S, or go with tom woods
:for gears i would prolly go with spicer, or other reputable brands alloy usa etc.

Feel free to add to this peeps!

Theirs prolly more stuff im missing (v8 grand cherokee tie rod), but you will figure it out as you go. Nice to see more people getting into xj's!!!!!!!!!
 
SYE pricing:
$80 yoke (3103-27CV)
$40 driveshaft (can pick up for cheaper in some junkyards)
$xxxx angle shims
$20 1/2-13NC grade8 bolt (length: about 1-1.5" depending on how deep you drill the hole in the shaft), 1/2 grade8 washer, 1/2-13NC tap, 27/64 cobalt drill, 13/32 cobalt drill, 1/8 cobalt drill, a few cutoff wheels for the angle grinder

Use the 1/8 drill to center punch the driveshaft end to make it easier to center, then 13/32 drill to depth, then the 27/64 - this results in a much smoother bore that is much closer to tolerance for the tap. See http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoSYEconversion.htm for the rest of the instructions...

Also, do yourself a favor and buy new bolts so you don't have to worry as much about bunging up the threads or cutting them:
Rear axle:
4x U-bolts + nuts - check quadratec, make sure you get the ones for the right axle
4x OEM part number 3420 2118 (M14-2.0x120mm grade 10.9 or 9.8)
4x OEM part number 1150 2814 (M14-2.0 grade 10.9 or 9.8 nut, you actually only need two unless your weldnuts break loose... better to play it safe)

Front axle:
If the new track bar and LCAs/UCAs don't come with them, get new bolts for these. I (or anyone else with a parts catalog) can get the part numbers for this too but it's a lot more confusing, and your new track bar + LCAs/UCAs probably should come with them... I would hope.

Also, make sure you get longer brake lines! at 5" this is going to be absolutely required unless you want to rip a brake line every time you go over a pothole.

EDIT: if you have a 96 or later, you are almost certainly going to need an SYE. I need one at 2"-2.5" lift (currently vibes like crazy, waiting to get more parts in the mail) and even the factory UpCountry 1" lift package required a TSB that amounted to a transfer case drop on some XJs. At 3-5" it's a foregone conclusion, plan on doing it.
 
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if you are trying to do it cheap and only want it a bit higher for looks i think a budget boost is your answer.
 
I would do a 3" lift. I'v had the 2"spacer lift, 3" budget lift, 4.5" bought lift and a 5+ custom lift. The 3" lift was the best of both worlds. Was cheap, I could get away with the stock trac bar, I could fit 31"s fine, things didn't seam to break like they do when your lifted higher and it was great on the street. I would do:

3" coils
shocks for 3"
make the $11 bastard pack leaf spring (do a quick search)
maybe break line extensions (can't remember if I needed em or not)
If you get vibes you can get a tcase drop, cheap and easy and you can make one if your that strapped for cash.

jeep1a.jpg

1.75 spacers, bit of trimming, 31's
jeep2d.jpg

stock, my old 3" lift 31's in my buds jeep, my 4.5" bought kit 33's
jeep3o.jpg

5+ custom/mixed lift 33's

If it's a DD do 3" 31's, have fun with it and have it not be a headache lol I've been doing more fixing then driving with 4.5+ and things got expensive
 
"at 5" of lift, your gonna run into SYE territory allmost definately. steering will also suck."

If he does the full 5" lift, what do you suggest to fix the steering?
 
I still need to adress my steering. I have the rusty's knuckle to knuckle one and plan on grabbing the go fer it tie rod end swaps and maybe a drop pitman arm if it's still not right. Like I said since 4.5 it has been an uphill battle to DD it lol. As far as sye I get away with it having an early gen xj. I have I think a 1.5" tcase drop, longer ds from a dana 35 xj with a 8.25 with shimmed 1" blocks to correct my pinion angle and no vibes/issues.
 
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My 90 is lifted 3" with 31's and is fine for DD/light wheeling. No SYE. T/C drop and no vibes. I was given a pair of 2" spacers for the front and I was going to pickup a pair of shackles for the rear to gain 2" more lift (5" total) but I do not want to run into all the problems mentioned here. That's why I asked about the steering.
 
well after 3" you will need to do something about your trac bar. Your tire will be far out to one side. For steering I would at least get a zj tierod for strength and some sort of drop pitman arm to keep angles right (drag link and trac bar should be parallel). As far as needing a sye you can never really tell if you "need" one on older jeeps till you put in the lift. Sometimes you can get away with a longer drive shaft to make up the distance on the slip yoke so long as you don't have vibes. I know xjbump (also in my local club) had 8" of lift on his old rig with just a tcase drop. Also going from 3-5 you will need shocks, 3" lift shocks will act like limiting straps with 5".
 
My original lift on my Cherokee was a RE 3.5" kit. I was able to run 31" tires without any trimming and used the original driveshafts with no sye kit needed. I also didn't need to lower my transfer case, everything stayed in the stock position. However, Cherokee's differ and some people need to lower the t-case and some don't. I had the 8.25" chrysler diff. Longer shocks will be needed and you might have to do something about the sway bar end links. My kit came with disconnetcs for the bigger lift but I am not sure if the stock one will still bolt. I am talking about the front sway bar. You have already removed the rear one? right?
 
one more thing, with the 3.5" lift I kept the stock trac bar, stock brake lines in front and the stock pitman arm. Also the stock rear shackles. All with no ride problems or vibrations. I just basically bolted on new coils, leaf springs, lower control arms and one extended rear brake line. One saturday in the driveway and I was on the trail.
 
I'm at 5.5" and I'm using a stock ZJ V8 tierod, JKS adjustable trackbar, and the original draglink and pitman arm. The drag link will be getting replaced when I have money, I might go with a full OTK setup. Eventually. Probably first will be a steering box brace and new steering box (haven't decided what kind...stock, Durango, PSC, etc) as mine is starting to weep a teensy bit from wrestling the 33s.

When you go to bigger tires, you'll also need to consider wheels or spacers. My wheels fit perfect in back - the tires tuck real nice and are still covered by the stock flares - however, up front I'm rubbing the control arms when I turn too sharp. It has taken away my beloved tight turning radius. So I'll probably space the front wheels out.

I got a hack and tap SYE and double cardan driveshaft from DPG for $400 total, if you want to avoid collecting parts or any guess work. The guys who've done the front driveshafts as a replacement rear all seem to have good luck with them though, so that would be a great way to go cost savings.

Last bit of advice...your biggest friend in here when looking for info on lifts, gears, etc will be your search button.
 
I'm buying cheap ebay parts, mainly because I don't have the cash, nor the place to wheel it, but I love the look of a lifted cherokee. I live in the country, and occasionally wheel in my back yard (rocks, logs, stone piles) when I get bored, but that's about it. Cops got extremely strict with wheeling lately, and after my latest wheeling mishap, I'm just going to stay away for a while. I am going to supply a list of the parts I plan to buy, I would like somebody to tell me things I will also need. (drop brackets, ect) I am also open to suggestions of any type =)

- 2" Shackles
- 2" Poly coil spacers
- 3" RC coils
- 3" RC AAL
- Hydro 8000 shocks


Haven't we been through this before???

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1001975


Parakeet
 
That's ok because I totally hijacked his thread anyway.

Darky, I replaced my steering box with a stock remanufactured one and it sucks. It doesn't leak anymore but the old leaky one actually performed better. I should have gone for the Durango upgrade. My .02.
 
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Haven't we been through this before???

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1001975


Parakeet

We touched on the topic, but that's not what that thread was posted for. Most people don't read every post on a thread to find that the topic has changed, so using that thread would have just been a headache.

Wheeling around here is a crime, unless done in a legal park, which does not exist in my area. I was cited by the township last year for wheeling in my backyard and just a few weeks ago for driving across the river. I don't see why it's such a big deal, especially on my own property. Now I can understand, because of the noise complaints due to my exhaust, but before this, it doesn't make sense to me.
 
My first one, which I still have it at a 4.5" lift with 32 Bfg AT's. I have stock gears, T-case drop, stock D30 and 8.25, stock drive shafts, fixed lower control arms, and stock uppers. And mine drive great. Lack a little power in the mountains but it dosent bother me. I bought the jeep like this and am slowl redoing the lift b/c it had blocks and wasent the greatest lift. Stay away from blocks though they suck.
 
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