do it myslefer..gonna need some help

so i was planning on having my local offroad shop do my lift for me ( 4.5 RE with add a leaf , SYE , CVDS) but there charging me over 1200 instalation and being 17 i dont have that kind of mney. so me and my dad are going to install oursleves. any pointers would be greatly appriciated. i have a 97 cherokee sport 4dr . i had a few questions like when do i measure and how for the driveshaft, but any pointers and previous mistakes would be awsome. thanks in advanced

I haven't installed that particular lift, but I can give you some pointers from my RE 2" kit with add-a-leaf, and from my front-and-rear axle swap.

PB Blaster everything you think you may need to unbolt! Everything! Buy it in the gallon jug; you'll need all of it. You'll want to buy stock in the company by the time you're done.

I assume your kit has new upper and lower control arms? If it does, don't unbolt all four of your stock ones at the same time. Do one side and then the other, or do the uppers and then the lowers.

Make sure you get new u-bolts, and make sure they're the correct size for your rear axle.

Since you'll have your leaf packs apart anyway, it might be a good idea to paint your leaves with some slippery graphite paint, and/or put some leaf liners between them; that will give you noticeably more flex in the rear.

As for driveshaft measurements, call Tom Woods. He'll walk you through the measurements. Or you can just read his measurement guide: http://4xshaft.com/MeasuringGuide.pdf.

That's all that I can think of for now.

Do to where you live,Id do the actual install in about 2 weeks.In the mean time start soaking all the hardware with a good rust penetrant(NO WD-40).Then after the first week start trying to loosen all the hardware!It may take some time working the bolts(a few days) but be patient.

i cand help you with the DS and the SYE, but with the lift ill let you know some things.

being that you are from NY like myself, i dont care what year you have, your going to have seized everything. First things first, get like 3-4 bottles of PB blaster or liquid wrench or things of the sort (de-seizers)

the front end wont be too bad, if everything is PB'd not much should break especially since you have a newer model. but the rear is what really holds the build up. have a sawzall and a torch ready. the front side leaf bolts will most likely be frozen in the box. you may have to cut and/or torch them out. the rear bolts will be a 50/50, and i think the RE kit comes with 3.5" springs and a shackle, if so, be prepared to have a fussy top shackle bolt.

i hope they come with brake lines, because your going to need them at 4.5"

the only thing about the front is getting the front end to push up far enough to bolt up the control arms, a lot of times that front axle is kind of resistant about going into the right places... pretty much get every jack, jack stand, clamp, tool, everything you can find, youll probably need.

like i said though, if you do not have a torch, sawzall or angle grinder, you might want to think of getting one of each. (note: by torch i dont mean welder, i mean a propane canister with a torch top, but a welder might come in handy if you have to cut into anything)

Good luck, hope it works out!!

Travis

edit: dammit, you beat me to it mambeu

xeleventy million on the PB blaster, all my bolts were seized good and tight

by the way, that shop wanted 1200 for the install, what bastards, when i was scoping out shops to install i found one for 600, i decided to do it myself anyways...

thanks everyone for the help. one more question, with the 4.5 lift it says option shocks.. what are the best win tube or monotubeand 3.5-4.5 or 4.5-5.5???? heres the link if your confused http://www.rubiconexpress.com/Products.aspx?Cn=188&Pn=2020&Vid=E6338698

i THINK the mono tubes are the higher quality shocks. if it were me id go 4.5-5.5 just because lifts always net higher, and if you get inchitis you can go up an inch or so. besides, the odds of dropping to max out the shock are greater than compressing it...

like everyone else said...use the pb blaster on all bolts for many days (or weeks) in advance. however, pay special attention to hiting the bolts which hold the upper part of the rear shocks and the captive nuts in the body/frame chanel for the front rear leaf spring bolt. for the captive nuts, stick your finger up through the hole in the body/frame chanel to feel the captive nut and then spray your pb blaster through the hole up onto this nut.

after spraying for a week on my '95, it still took the breaker bar with a 4 ft pipe on the end to turn the front rear leaf spring bolt. i'm sure it would have busted without the previous week of spraying.

good luck!

do i need the shocks. what are they actually for since it says optional

its one of those you dont need them, but you do things. they just say that they are optional so that if you have shocks you can get the kit at a discounted price. that 775 will jump a bit after shocks are added. and yes, you need them. no way around it. although if they wind up adding a lot of money to your order you can order some rustys shocks, there not the best (by any means) but they are cheap, and they get the job done.

as a matter of fact, it will jump to exactly 1065.90 witht the shocks too, apparently they cover shipping?? i dont know

if you opt for the rustys it will be like 930-950. dont know if that makes a difference.