Howdy

[JTHarrison86]

I have a 1998 XJ 4WD(of course). Has a 3" RC lift which was a terrible waste of money but at least I can rock 31"s. Spray painted it Rustoleum army green, also a huge waste of money. Just finished cutting the front flares off Saturday and looking to do the rears soon. Hopefully I can get some pics uploaded a little later. Got one in my album though if anyone cares to see it.

[prerunner1982]

Welcome from Oklahoma...

What part of the Army green paint job was a waste of money? I like it.

[JTHarrison86]

I love olive green but the Rustoleum brand is absolutely terrible. The nozzle gets clogged because it has some texture in it and the cans are never consistently the same texture. My plan is to one day repaint the top half either caterpillar yellow or a different olive green and rhino liner the bottom half.

Also trying to decide whether to go with 32"s or lift it a little more and do 33"s. I really don't want it to become a dog but I'm tired of hitting my head when I get in it.

[Mudderoy]

Don't feel too bad about the 3" lift, everyone lifts at least twice! lol

[JTHarrison86]

Actually this is the second lift. The first lift was a 2" front and back.

My biggest concern is I don't know whether or not I'm gonna need a slip home eliminator and new driveshaft. With the 3", I was having some driveline noise and vibration at first but it slowly went away. Haven't done the transfer case drop but I have the parts to do it. I'm wondering if I do the transfer case drop if that is gonna let me do another 1.5" of lift without having driveline issues.

[4.3LXJ]

Actually this is the second lift. The first lift was a 2" front and back.

My biggest concern is I don't know whether or not I'm gonna need a slip home eliminator and new driveshaft. With the 3", I was having some driveline noise and vibration at first but it slowly went away. Haven't done the transfer case drop but I have the parts to do it. I'm wondering if I do the transfer case drop if that is gonna let me do another 1.5" of lift without having driveline issues.

Probably not on a 98. Pre 96 you could. The issue is the slip yoke goes too far out on the shaft and wobbles

[JTHarrison86]

So do you absolutely have to have a new driveshaft when you install a slip yoke eliminator?

[4.3LXJ]

Yes. The type of driveline changes from a single cardan to double cardan as well as the type of slip yoke that is used. That is kind of the point of the whole thing.

[JTHarrison86]

Wasn't sure.

[JTHarrison86]

Really starting to think cutting the rear fenders and slapping some 33"s on there is gonna be the way to go.

[bluedragon436]

I will say I ran my 98 with roughly 7.5" of lift w/33's... and I only did a TC drop.. never had any issues out of it, granted I never got a chance to do any real wheeling prior to having to let it go due to divorce.. but for street driving and some flexing @ local Jeep club's land.. I never had any issues with vibrations or anything.. But I will say after doing an SYE on my 97 build.. its well worth the money if you got it to spare, and you plan on doing some real wheeling.. You should be able to get away with doing an SYE and a stock front DS in the rear and be good with that, until you can afford an aftermarket setup or need to go to an aftermarket setup..

[JTHarrison86]

Well, what I tell myself is I don't want to half butt do anything and I want my rig to be right. But for all of my intentions to go do "real" wheeling, I never go because this is my daily driver and I'm scared to tear it up or get it stuck.

[4.3LXJ]

As far as getting stuck is concerned, wheel with a buddy and make sure you have good recovery points on both rigs and a good strap minimum. An XJ is a very capable platform and you can wheel them lots of places without the ultimate list of improvements

[JTHarrison86]

What made you decide to put a Chevrolet 4.3 in your Cherokee?

[4.3LXJ]

That is a story. I had a 2.8L chevy V6 that was the optional engine in 86. It was a CA only carbureted engine that had computer controlled electronic parts. I couldn't get parts for the carb, so decided to bolt another Chevy V6 into it. One thing led to another and had to have the tranny too and on it went. What turned out to be a simple swap got complicated due to CA smog laws

[JTHarrison86]

I didn't realize Jeep ever offered a Chevrolet motor. Strange. So does the 4.3 do as good or better in there than the 4.0?

[4.3LXJ]

It has a different torque curve. Not as much bottom end and more top end and better milage. But the tranny has an increased stall rpm which helps compensate