Lifting Questions - 93 XJ

I guess this is another lift thread, but I have a few questions, and am hoping for some answers.

I am looking to lift my 1993 XJ to run 33s (on 15" rims). How much lift would I need to achieve this without having to trim my fenders? Can anyone recommend a good, complete, kit for hopefully under $500? I'm ok with running smaller tires, but I have a set of 33s that I can get a good price on.

What I am looking to do: This is currently my daily while my other car is having the engine rebuilt by tours truly. Eventually this will be an winter only driver as well as a moderate off-roader. I would like to have a little more clearance for some of the rougher southern Colorado trails.

About the Jeep: This is a 1993 XJ with 224k miles, 4 door, AX15, NP231, mostly stock. I believe the front is a D30, and the rear is a D35, 3.73 gearing? not 100% sure. I do believe this has the upcountry package as it has all the factory skid plates.

What I'd like to do/ not do: I do believe a lot of the suspension components are getting close to needing replacement (most look factory original), and I would rather upgrade to the proper components for a lift, than put stock components on and replace them again when I get around to a lift. My target lift is a suspension lift of 3" more or less. I'm OK with an add-a-leaf setup, but am looking for a complete kit.

About me: I have been working on cars for almost a decade now, but I've never worked on any 4wd off road capable vehicles. Lifting is completely new to me. My previous daily was an '83 944, where lowering was the goal..

Thanks for the help!

Trim the fenders, you'll need at least 4.5" otherwise and you won't find a kit for $500!

I will have to look into trimming the fenders then. I do not want to go up to 4.5" of lift as that is where it starts to really mess with steering geometries and that is expensive to correct from what I've found. Additionally that raises the center of mass (as does a 3" lift naturally) and decreases stability...

Any good 2-3" suspension lift kits I can look into assuming I will trim the fenders?

What are you going to do about changing the axle gear ratios for 33"s ?

If you are on a budget, I suggest about 3 inches of lift, either new, gently used, or homebrewed, and 31x10.5 tires. If you are a careful shopper you probably can stay under $500 for the lift, keep the stock axle gears, and keep the stock rims. At 3 inches you can probably avoid having to install a Slip Yoke Eliminator, at 4 inches of lift you really need an SYE.

Skid pates were an option by themselves and could be purchased from the Dealership or junkyard.

Sometime cheap stuff isn't as cheap as it seems.

Stick with 31s max. You're going to need to regear at 33s. Based on what you're saying you want to rig to do I'd keep the lift minimal if any. $500 isnt really enough to get a proper lift. You can do a few things like ACOS and shackle relocation boxes to net some more clearance without messing up to much. With that you could also replace the track bar with a double shear, and in some quick disconnects and a solid tie rod. Refresh some other suspension and steering components and call it good. I'm not 100% but I believe the upcountry wasnt a option until 97. Few things to check rear away bar should be deleted and also there would be a sticker in the glovebox for a LSD. If you dont have those than it's not a upcountry. If not than I'd spend that lift money on a traction device, lunchbox or a limited slip.

Heres a good write up on a fender trim that still maintains a factory type look.
http://www.yuccaman.com/jeep/trim.html

As he's got a 5 speed and he's in Colorado, I'd recommend regearing even at 31's since he has the 3.07's.... at least if he ever wants to use 5th gear. When I put 4.10's in my 94 5spd on 31's it really woke it up.

I agree Colorado elevations will make it more of a turd than normal.

But if 33s are a must its doable with 307s yes 5th gear is never used

I had 33s and went with 4.10s and realized having overdrive again was really really cool.

I got 33 tires and 4.1 gearing, and it is a bit of a dog, with very low rpms, so myXJ must down shift early to maintain speed on the highway when even gradual up hills are encountered. 4.56 would be a better gear choice, and I am a sea level. I believe 4.56 gear with 33" tires will get the rpms back to stockish values. Hp decreases at higher altitudes, making the gear issue even worse

Thank you all for the advice!

I am going to hold off on any lifts for now. The reason for the low budget, is the ultimate plan is to swap in a set of D44s (4.10) off my wife's JK Rubicon when that gets upgraded to D60s. I think it'll be better to just replace worn components for now and focus on building the JK first.

I have never driven an XJ at sea level, but the acceleration isn't too bad on stock gearing with the stock wheels, could see 33s making it a bit worse. I will check for the glovebox sticker, but not sure this rig has a LSD in it. I think the wheels turned in opposite directions when jacked up, but I can't remember.

I think I'll be swapping the T-case from a 231 to a 242 for now too. I have been thinking about getting a nicer XJ and just using this one as a test bed for all sorts of mods. This one is a bit rough unfortunately. Looks like one of the POs got into a couple fender benders judging by all the dents up front and in back.

Black1990jeep said:

I got 33 tires and 4.1 gearing, and it is a bit of a dog, with very low rpms, so myXJ must down shift early to maintain speed on the highway when even gradual up hills are encountered. 4.56 would be a better gear choice, and I am a sea level. I believe 4.56 gear with 33" tires will get the rpms back to stockish values. Hp decreases at higher altitudes, making the gear issue even worse

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4.56 would be better with 33s of course, but if you don't want to pay for gear setup and can't do it yourself you can still get 4.10 gears. I found a 4cyl tj front axle and a 4.10 8.8 from an explorer. It was a nice setup for the $500 or so I had into it. I've since learned more gear setup and will probably just do 4.56 or 4.88 with 33-34" tires this time around. We'll see how my engine feels after the rebuild. A stock 4.0 at altitude with 33s would be much better served with 4.56, but 4.10 is a big leap forward from 3.07.

KarmaKannon said:

4.56 would be better with 33s of course, but if you don't want to pay for gear setup and can't do it yourself you can still get 4.10 gears. I found a 4cyl tj front axle and a 4.10 8.8 from an explorer. It was a nice setup for the $500 or so I had into it. I've since learned more gear setup and will probably just do 4.56 or 4.88 with 33-34" tires this time around. We'll see how my engine feels after the rebuild. A stock 4.0 at altitude with 33s would be much better served with 4.56, but 4.10 is a big leap forward from 3.07.

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I'm currently running 32"s with 4.56 gears and its a great combo.

When I bought my 01 (in Colorado) the PO had swapped in axles from an automatic, with 3.55 gears. The tires at the time were in the 30-31" range and with stock bumpers and not much added weight it drove nicely. Buying a set of axles from an auto and throwing them in would be a fairly inexpensive improvement for now.

IslanderOffRoad said:

I'm currently running 32"s with 4.56 gears and its a great combo.

When I bought my 01 (in Colorado) the PO had swapped in axles from an automatic, with 3.55 gears. The tires at the time were in the 30-31" range and with stock bumpers and not much added weight it drove nicely. Buying a set of axles from an auto and throwing them in would be a fairly inexpensive improvement for now.

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One of the local yards does have a '96 XJ with 3.55 axles. I was thinking about getting those, but it'll depend on how much they want for them. I don't want to spend a lot of money on axles when they will just be replaced with the D44s with 4.10 gears off the JK.

SV-BDN said:

One of the local yards does have a '96 XJ with 3.55 axles. I was thinking about getting those, but it'll depend on how much they want for them. I don't want to spend a lot of money on axles when they will just be replaced with the D44s with 4.10 gears off the JK.

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If you're even considering swapping axles get 98-99 XJ axles. Bigger u joints and 29 spline 8.25, rest is a moot point IMHO.