Lifts - Opinions please?

Okay I really hope this is going in the right place on here. I'm still very new to this forum and it's totally different than all of the others I'm part of.
My Jeep
1990 XJ Laredo
4x4
4.0
D30-Front
D35-Rear
NP231
Auto Trans - not sure what model
35" Tires
3.55 Gears - I got 4.56 at home just awaiting install.


I'm planning on putting a lift on my XJ after I get back from my current tour of duty in Iraq. atriot:
I've been looking around and I'm on a pretty tight budget because me and my wife are buying a house. I've been really eyeballin' the Rough Country 4.5" Long Arm because it comes with a SYE and Driveshaft so there's no problem of "Crap, I got this lift but now I need an SYE and drive shaft." My Jeep currently has some stupid homebrew lift that came when I bought it. I really dislike the lift. It has alot of problems. I really would like opinions on the lift and if you guys could tell me of obvious problems with the lift and what I can do to solve them. Thanks a bunch. I actually drive an extremely beat up XJ here in Iraq.

You should probably describe your current set-up/issues and post up some pics.That might help diagnose any current issues you have.

THe kit that's shown on Rough County's web page shows an add-a-leaf insted os full leaf pack. Not sure if that's what's in the kit your getting. The front suspension looks like a good design. You might want to think about swapping to a dana 44 rear axle before doing the suspension. It's stronger and they're fairly easy to find. Drive-line length is different from a D35.

Ahh, I see that rear full packs are an option...

I had a 1990 Laredo with a 4 1/2" R/C lift, and 33s. A bit tight as I didn't cut the fender wells; a 6 1/2" lift would have worked better.

Going a different route with my 2001 model...

Well with my current lift. I get axle wrap, death wobble, and my coils do this little bowing thing. They bow towards the front of the Jeep. My sway bar linkages are stock ones that were cut and then welded back together with like 2 extra inches of material. I have blocks in the rear and I'd really like to get rid of them. Plus I really want a long arm kit. I have cut fenders. With my 3" I clear 35's rather well. My avatar is my Jeep before my 35's.

new leafs should fix the axle wrap, but DO NOT REPLACE THE BLOCKS WITH ADD A LEAFS! and long arms (or adjustable control arms for a short arm kit) will fix the coil bending.

the death wobble could be twenty differant things, adjustable control arms will allow you to dial in the castor, are you still running the oem trackbar? at 3", its at the end of its misalingment range, which causes the oem joint to wear out rather quickly.

axle rap is basically because your leafs are shot or just poor quality, so get new quality leafs, deathwobble could be a bumber of things ranging from TB to camber to draglink/steering box. The reason your coils are bowing is because your control arms are a bit short so invest in a good set of control arms with dropbrackets or maybe a longarm setup.

An XJ won't have bad camber unless the ball joints are bad (maybe), the hubs are on crooked (maybe) or the axle is bent.

Well I kinda got the death wobble figured out. I want the long arm set-up. I'd like to know if there are any major problems with the RC 4.5" Long Arm kit. I not getting an AAL, it's gonna be a full pack. What do you guys dislike about the RC kit and what do you like about it.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1066401

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1062551

I thought about the Serious Long arm but it's outta my brice range because I would still ahve to buy a SYE and driveshaft. Also I'm not sure if it's a full kit, it looks to be just a conversion kit.

You have a 231 do a hack n tap and it's cheap. I don't know much about there longarms just here people bitch how fast the joints wear out. There customer service is great. When you order call and talk to Jason he is a good guy and don't forget to get ur 10% discount for being a member here.

Be patient and piece something together. You'll end up with a cheaper setup that could end up performing better. I'm running Deaver coils I bought used from a member here ($100), Bilstein 7100 shocks ($700 total) and Rock Krawler 3 link ($700) that I bought new, RE3.5 leafs that came with my original kit, JKS boomerang shackles ($100), and RE H&T SYE with driveshaft from DPG ($400). It performs awesome, much better than it did with an off the shelf kit.