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1994 XJ first lift! Need a little guidance

primegreen

NAXJA Forum User
Location
California
Hey guys, I'm just getting my feet wet here. Been lurking for a while, have owned a Cherokee for about 6 years and I've made the decision to go for a lift. I've tried to do my best research before posting here, but I'm sure there's something I missed so I'm wondering if you guys could help me out a bit.

My jeep right now has 29" tires on stock everything (only thing I did was remove fender flares). I've kept up maintainence pretty well, it has about 100k miles and runs very strong. I replaced driver side floor pan, gonna need to get to the passenger side and rear soon. Other than replacing stuff like distributor, rotor, plugs, O2 sensor, , NSS, CPS, engine and fuel gaskets, etc, rust is the only real issue so far (this was a NJ jeep, I've since moved to Los Angeles.)

So I'm gearing up for a lift! I thought about doing 3" with 32s since this is mostly a daily driver that sits in traffic most days and trails on weekends, but after reviewing everything like gear ratio and mph, I think it just makes more sense to go big and regear than inch up and feel sluggish. As long as I'm opening everything up so to speak, I figure I'd go ahead and replace a few things while I'm down there. Also I WILL be trimming fenders a little bit. So here's a list of everything I have planned as I compile parts:

Rough Country 4.5 inch X-Series lift
SYE and CV driveshaft
New 4.56 gears for D30 front and D30 rear
New ball joints
New ujoints and axel hubs
39 tooth short speedometer gear
2" bump stops
Steering stabilizer
Heavy duty tie rod + tie rod ends and sleeve
Sway bar bushings
New differential gaskets, oil pan gasket, oil filter adapter gasket, rear main seals, etc (I switched to Defy synthetic blend about 5,000 miles ago so I have some oil leakage, nothing major)
Brown dog ultra flex rubber motor mounts
New transmission mount

And of course... 33s!!!

So how does this all look? Am I forgetting something? I really would like to do everything at one time. Don't wanna run into problems later. I'm sure I'm missing something so I'm counting on you guys!
 
Everything sounds good but the lift. If your going to spend all that money, then spend a little more on a good springs that will last!
 
Welcome to the group.
YMMV on the rough country kit. I have had good luck with them but more than a few have not. If you wheel it hard chances are you are going to need new rear springs in a year. Mine have held up great with daily driving and light wheeling.
If your are going in that deep you might as well up grade the steering to 1 ton
While you have the axles out for the re gear go rear disc brakes. The ZJ swap is cheap to do if you take your time and check out the parts before you pull. bigdavid also sells them if you cant or don't have the ability to go to the wrecking yard.
 
This is going to be mostly a DD with weekend trail use. No rocks. As some have advised against the RC lift, what are better options? I don't think the RE super-ride would be high enough but maybe it would...
 
Other than the lift looks good. Id look at OME for a good lift that rides well. Few things to add just because I didnt see them noted. You'll need new carriers for the gears. Would also look at adding a lunchbox locker to the rear, possibly the front if you can swing the cost. I think those alone are better for offroad performance than a lift, but thats just my opinion. Longer brake lines, pretty sure they are in the kit. Would honestly look at swapping out the rear. Again would cost more but D30 rears arent the greatest. If you are going to put money into might as well make it last. You could look at getting a ford 8.8, most can be found cheap with 31 spline shafts, factory lsd and disc brakes. Enjoy!
 
This is going to be mostly a DD with weekend trail use. No rocks. As some have advised against the RC lift, what are better options? I don't think the RE super-ride would be high enough but maybe it would...

Depends on budget, zoneoffroad will get you a good start in the similar price point. Then all you will really need to add is the adjustable track bar and long brake lines.
Or you can call up dpgoffroad and get one of their ome hybrid kits at double the price
If you can swing you wont be disappointed with OME springs and shocks
 
Better springs yes, probably better shocks also. You will still need and adjustable track bar.

A sye should be used. It depends on your xj if you can get away with a t case drop or not, some folks have gotten away with it some have not. I didn't and used an advanced adapters SYE, mainly because it was cheapest at the time and I had a 10% off coupon for summit.
 
yeah i plan on doing SYE with the lift install, not gonna mess around with seeing if i can get away with it. although now i'm thinking of swapping in a 8.25 for the rear. with the 8.25 pinion, would i even need a SYE?
 
This is going to be mostly a DD with weekend trail use. No rocks. As some have advised against the RC lift, what are better options? I don't think the RE super-ride would be high enough but maybe it would...

Honestly, I'd go 3", 31s and get a 8.8 in the rear with 4.11s. Probably wouldnt need a SYE at 3" but wouldnt hurt. I DD mine for years started with 31s and 4.11, combo was great, once I moved to 33s ,4.11s just didnt cut it and the ride of the 33s while not terrible I would have rather stuck with 31s for DD duty. If your not looking to get in the rocks but still want to tackle some obstacles 31s will do awesome, especially if you get lsd's in there.
 
It's about proper driveline angle, phasing, and removing the slip-yoke from the t-case.

A shortshaft SYE Kit will also have a stronger outputshaft than you're OEM outputshaft.

gotcha.

i think im gonna pony up the extra cash for the zone lift. the RC comes with a drop pitman but zone doesnt, and the zone website doesn't 'recommend' a drop pitman but i'm pretty sure i'd need it with 4.5 of lift, wouldn't i? the only xj pitman they have is an 'extreme' one. is that the right one to get?
 
Honestly, I'd go 3", 31s and get a 8.8 in the rear with 4.11s. Probably wouldnt need a SYE at 3" but wouldnt hurt. I DD mine for years started with 31s and 4.11, combo was great, once I moved to 33s ,4.11s just didnt cut it and the ride of the 33s while not terrible I would have rather stuck with 31s for DD duty. If your not looking to get in the rocks but still want to tackle some obstacles 31s will do awesome, especially if you get lsd's in there.

the reason i'd go 4.5 with 33s is because i already feel a slight loss of power with my tires and if i'm going to go through the hassle of regearing i'm gonna take the big step and not worry about tire size in the future.
 
gotcha.

i think im gonna pony up the extra cash for the zone lift. the RC comes with a drop pitman but zone doesnt, and the zone website doesn't 'recommend' a drop pitman but i'm pretty sure i'd need it with 4.5 of lift, wouldn't i? the only xj pitman they have is an 'extreme' one. is that the right one to get?
You don't need a DPA at 4.5".
I do suggest a steering upgrade. I know where you can get both the lift and a steering upgrade....;)
 
The difference length of d35 and a 8.25 driveshaft are less than an inch in length.
A 97 up 8.25 is a straight forward bolt in swap compared to some minor fab work of installing a 8.8.
For what you plan on doing a 97 up 8.25 will be plenty strong enough and a swap you should make if you have the d35.
For your steering at least do the ZJ tie rod at a minimum.
 
31's and an 8.8 is less than an ideal combo. You'll be digging ditches as soon as you get off the pavement.

I wouldnt say "digging ditches", yeah its bigger and I agree maybe not the most ideal. If I was scrapping the 30 I'd go 8.8 over a 8.25 or 44 just my 2 cents though.
 
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