What lift should i buy?

[Dchurchill91]

I bought my xj a few weeks ago and ive added a skyjacker steering stabilizer, ac delete and moog sway bar links...It has a rough country 2 inch spacer kit installed and its a kidney eater..this jeep will be used for highway driving and winter driving..with light trailing and bogging in the summer...im a poor college kid and I was curious what I should buy...I want a road friendly 4 inch lift...any advice is appreciated (01 xj auto)

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i109/rick_james2005888/1620529_10152828547424301_3275672903599434139_n.jp g

[4.3LXJ]

Dave, an XJ is not naturally rough riding enough to require a kidney belt. The stock spring rates are about as light as you can get and still have an SUV. I think maybe your shocks are the wrong type. So, when choosing a lift, and there are too many to mention, the type of shocks you get are important to the quality of ride you get. What you want is a shock that compresses easily and is stiff on the rebound. This makes a suspension that absorbs bumps and does not bounce. Believe it or not, the bounce can be as bad as the impact. Also you need to make sure your suspension bushings are all intact. Bad bushings can make it appear to ride rough too. Do you live near a 4 Wheel Parts store by any chance. If you do, you can play with several brands of shocks to see what I mean.

[Dchurchill91]

Dave, an XJ is not naturally rough riding enough to require a kidney belt. The stock spring rates are about as light as you can get and still have an SUV. I think maybe your shocks are the wrong type. So, when choosing a lift, and there are too many to mention, the type of shocks you get are important to the quality of ride you get. What you want is a shock that compresses easily and is stiff on the rebound. This makes a suspension that absorbs bumps and does not bounce. Believe it or not, the bounce can be as bad as the impact. Also you need to make sure your suspension bushings are all intact. Bad bushings can make it appear to ride rough too. Do you live near a 4 Wheel Parts store by any chance. If you do, you can play with several brands of shocks to see what I mean.

I live in Michigan and theres a diversified by me but all of their stuff Is kinda over priced.. my truck is basically spotless and everything is in really good condition...my rebound is good...when I hit minor bumps it jogs me around. I just figured if I lost the spacers and got a real lift it would be smoother...also..i noticed today when driving up steep incline paved parking lots I hear a crunch sound coming from my front right tire...my guess was the tired looking shocks or the springs on the spacers...

[4.3LXJ]

Chances are that a "real" lift will have a higher spring rate. Most of them do and they ride a little rougher to gain more stability with a lifted stance. Loosing the spacers will not change the ride. I was only suggesting going to a "store" and playing with different shocks to see the difference. Road shocks are different than off road shocks. For instance, I run Monroe shocks with progressive valving that ride nice. In contrast, Fox shocks sound cool but ride like hell because they are really a performance road shock. I would check those bushings for the source of noise

[Dchurchill91]

Chances are that a "real" lift will have a higher spring rate. Most of them do and they ride a little rougher to gain more stability with a lifted stance. Loosing the spacers will not change the ride. I was only suggesting going to a "store" and playing with different shocks to see the difference. Road shocks are different than off road shocks. For instance, I run Monroe shocks with progressive valving that ride nice. In contrast, Fox shocks sound cool but ride like hell because they are really a performance road shock. I would check those bushings for the source of noise

alright ill look into it, the shocks I get wont really change the ride height will they?

[4.3LXJ]

No, it will remain the same

[Dchurchill91]

would this kit be a good swap from the 2 inch spacer rough country kit?

http://www.quadratec.com/products/76017_8120_07.htm

[4.3LXJ]

Skyjacker stuff generally runs stiff. I have two sets of their coils and they are both stiff

[slvmart]

I'm sure you've already caught on to this. But the more you lift the more $ you better have.

Personally, I would say to stay with about 3.5" lift and 31" tires. You're fuel econ will drop quite a bit but you won't have to change gearing, beef up your brakes, or change drive shafts unless you do a SYE. OME is said to have one of the best riding lift kits. I have one on mine with a 2" spacer up front. However, you go IMO, a rear spring pack should ride better than a Add a Leaf.

I found the OME lift kit, used on a different Forum, that no longer exists. With a good set of 31" Mud tires, I bought it all for about $700.

I suppose what I am suggesting is decide what you want and how much you can spend. And look on Craigslist and Forums for used equipment. Of course, that assumes you aren't in a big hurry. I'm not often that patient.

[Dchurchill91]

Hmm okay, well I'll start watching Craigslist lol

[TSquared42]

I was going to get this Tuff Country 3.5 (http://www.carid.com/1987-jeep-cherokee-suspension-systems/item-13616180.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiA-PGiBRDRz4jH9o39yZwBEiQAWCBZNXkGlUlXRCVSbaAD4gbx0Bw VqmNey3SVinOTJvpwJkUaAnWx8P8HAQ) lift in the spring

Not to expensive and like the others pointed out you wont have to (might want to in the future) replace a host of other stuff.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing :patriot:

[xj-jake]

First off your jeep is stupid clean and I love it. Second, bear in mind that when you start to hit that 4" mark of lift you may need to be installing either a SYE or a T-case drop. Not to mention an adjustable track bar. I've had really good luck with Iron Rock Offroad. Call Zack and tell him what you're looking for they're always ready to help and they are extremely easy to deal with.

http://ironrockoffroad.com/

[autotech98]

E bay usually has some good deals on lift kits. I agree with the full leaf...costs more but if your gonna wheel alot full leaf is the way to go. Personally im gonna go with a 3 inch and 32's i got kids so i cant go too high .....yet

[Dchurchill91]

would I need a t case drop if I only did a 3.5 lift?

[4.3LXJ]

On an 01, probably. They are sensitive to lifting. But I would put it together and see if it has driveline vibrations before adding it.

[slvmart]

I did and reworked the std. trans case linkage so it's not tied to the body.