Lifting my XJ

[Stowe]

Hello everyone,
New member here and i'm pretty excited about maybe getting to know some of you. I have limited knowledge on rock crawling modifications so bear with me here. I own a '98 Jeep Cherokee that is currently lifted 2" and running on 30" Pro Comp mud terrains.
I'm looking to go bigger this summer and am planning a trip to moab this October. Ideally i would love to be sitting at 4.5"-6" of lift on 33's but the price tag is holding me back. I'm looking at the Rubicon Express 4.5" Super-Flex kit with rear leaf pack http://www.rubiconexpress.com/SuspensionSystems/Product.aspx?part=RE6130. Its a little high for my price range but i like that its pretty much got everything i need (except maybe a slip-yoke eliminator). I also like RE because they make good strong lifts.
Like i said my knowledge is pretty limited about all this but i know some people who know a lot about jeeps and i get the concept. If you start going into detail about gear ratios you'll lose me fast though .
I'm open for suggestions for pretty much anything. Maybe a better lift for my buck, or if anyone has some used wheels and tires for sale.

 

[mbryson]

I really liked that kit for my XJ. I didn't have quite that kit, but ultimately bought all the same components for it. I haven't had an XJ for 5 years now, though. I'm sure things could have changed.

 

[bradm]

Hello everyone,
New member here and i'm pretty excited about maybe getting to know some of you. I have limited knowledge on rock crawling modifications so bear with me here. I own a '98 Jeep Cherokee that is currently lifted 2" and running on 30" Pro Comp mud terrains.
I'm looking to go bigger this summer and am planning a trip to moab this October. Ideally i would love to be sitting at 4.5"-6" of lift on 33's but the price tag is holding me back. I'm looking at the Rubicon Express 4.5" Super-Flex kit with rear leaf pack http://www.rubiconexpress.com/SuspensionSystems/Product.aspx?part=RE6130. Its a little high for my price range but i like that its pretty much got everything i need (except maybe a slip-yoke eliminator). I also like RE because they make good strong lifts.
Like i said my knowledge is pretty limited about all this but i know some people who know a lot about jeeps and i get the concept. If you start going into detail about gear ratios you'll lose me fast though .
I'm open for suggestions for pretty much anything. Maybe a better lift for my buck, or if anyone has some used wheels and tires for sale.

Don't know of any used wheels and tires for sale, sorry. But I do know firsthand that RE makes a great bolt on kit for the XJ. My first kit was their 3". I know you said not to talk gear ratios, but if you're jumping up to 33" tires, you will definitely notice a decrease in power and mileage with the stock gears. If you can live with that until you can save up for a gear swap then it won't be an issue. Just know that if you work it too hard for too long on those stock gears, your tranny will hate you.

You mentioned the SYE, and I would strongly recommend it. With only 4.5" of lift, you should be able to run an XJ front driveshaft in the rear, to save money on a custom shaft. Those aren't too hard to come by.

For a ton of great info/reviews/writeups/feedback that deal specifically with the XJ, check out www.naxja.org. There is a local chapter with lots of peeps willing to provide input and help, and you'll find a boatload of great info over there as well.

Good luck, and happy wheelin'.

 

[Zombie]

Howdy neighbor.

Glad you made it over.

 

[LT.]

Gear ratio changes are as easy as they can get. Remember back in jr. high when you worked on ratios? More specifically is over of = X over 100?

It should look something like this stock gear ratio times the new tire size, then divide that by the stock tire size and you should have your new ratio. Say for instance you had a 3.73 ratio and you were wanting to step up to the 33" tire 3.73X33=123.09. Now divide your old tire size, say 29" into 123.09. So it should look like this 123.09/29=4.2444. We could round this off to either a 4.10 ratio, for better highway driving, or about a 4.30 ratio for better 4 wheeling. I hope this makes sense to you.

LT.

 

[Floydargue]

RE has good bang for your buck. I went with a beefier kit, but I didn’t really need to. I am yet to hear of people having issues with their track bars or control arms failing from RE. A suggestion I would have is to look for something with or incorporate drop brackets for the control arms. Getting them more level will help out ride quality and flex. It is not necessary, but I think it helps a lot. Long arm ride for the poor man’s price!
SYE definitely advisable, but I know people that have put off doing it for years on 6+” of lift without it causing any real problem. So that is to say: you can run it without one, but it is sure a lot better not to for peace of mind if for nothing else. The slip design is far inferior to solid yokes regardless of my friend’s or anyone’s success.

Hello everyone,
New member here and i'm pretty excited about maybe getting to know some of you. I have limited knowledge on rock crawling modifications so bear with me here. I own a '98 Jeep Cherokee that is currently lifted 2" and running on 30" Pro Comp mud terrains.
I'm looking to go bigger this summer and am planning a trip to moab this October. Ideally i would love to be sitting at 4.5"-6" of lift on 33's but the price tag is holding me back. I'm looking at the Rubicon Express 4.5" Super-Flex kit with rear leaf pack http://www.rubiconexpress.com/SuspensionSystems/Product.aspx?part=RE6130. Its a little high for my price range but i like that its pretty much got everything i need (except maybe a slip-yoke eliminator). I also like RE because they make good strong lifts.
Like i said my knowledge is pretty limited about all this but i know some people who know a lot about jeeps and i get the concept. If you start going into detail about gear ratios you'll lose me fast though .
I'm open for suggestions for pretty much anything. Maybe a better lift for my buck, or if anyone has some used wheels and tires for sale.

 

[Floydargue]

BTW, watch KSL.com for tires and wheels. There are cheap local sets going through there pretty steadily.

 

[Stowe]

Thanks for all the info guys.
And in reference to the gear ratios, so apparently that is how i find out the ratios that i need. What about when it comes time to changing it all up? Are they sold as such? Do i find out the gear ratio i need and buy those or how does that work? I probably sound pretty stupid but this has been the main thing that i have had difficulty grasping

 

[Zombie]

Start by finding your stock ratio. Then you can use a chart like this:

Thats a decent start, but always ask around and try to find someone with the gears you are running. It shouldn't be too hard around here.

 

[kmboren]

I have a rockkrawler 3 link long arm with a rubicon coils and springs and love it. Make sure to strenthen your sterring box brace and track bar. Unibody break in those locations with out support when you lift and wheel them. Just a head up. Good luck.

 

[mbryson]

I have a rockkrawler 3 link long arm with a rubicon coils and springs and love it. Make sure to strenthen your sterring box brace and track bar. Unibody break in those locations with out support when you lift and wheel them. Just a head up. Good luck.

The steering box area was the ONE place I didn't have issues for some reason? It was on my "to be check/tightened list" every trail morning, though. No "mandatory" bracing or anything on my pile of rig. (I treated it like a Nova or a Camaro gets treated at a dragstrip.....disposable)

 

[bradm]

Thanks for all the info guys.
And in reference to the gear ratios, so apparently that is how i find out the ratios that i need. What about when it comes time to changing it all up? Are they sold as such? Do i find out the gear ratio i need and buy those or how does that work? I probably sound pretty stupid but this has been the main thing that i have had difficulty grasping

Since you have a '98, your front axle will be a high pinion Dana 30. In the rear you'll most likely have the Chrysler 8.25 axle, unless you have ABS, then it's a Dana 35. When it comes time to regear, you will need this info to order the correct gears for your axles. When you order new gears you'll be replacing the ring & pinion, and it's usually a good idea to get a new master install kit as well.

Not knowing your exact current setup I'm speculating here, but I'd bet your stock gears are 3:55's. Stepping up to 33" tires, you'll want to go down to 4:56 gears or even 4.88's. I currently run 33" tires and 4:56 and it's a great combo for daily driving and wheeling.

If you really want to get a feel for how 33's and 4:56 gears run, I'd be happy to let you drive mine around to see what it's like. Let me know, I'm in Bountiful. By the way, did you check out www.naxja.org yet? Great cherokee site.

 

[XJEEPER]

Hello everyone,
New member here and i'm pretty excited about maybe getting to know some of you. I have limited knowledge on rock crawling modifications so bear with me here. I own a '98 Jeep Cherokee that is currently lifted 2" and running on 30" Pro Comp mud terrains.
I'm looking to go bigger this summer and am planning a trip to moab this October. Ideally i would love to be sitting at 4.5"-6" of lift on 33's but the price tag is holding me back. I'm looking at the Rubicon Express 4.5" Super-Flex kit with rear leaf pack http://www.rubiconexpress.com/SuspensionSystems/Product.aspx?part=RE6130. Its a little high for my price range but i like that its pretty much got everything i need (except maybe a slip-yoke eliminator). I also like RE because they make good strong lifts.
Like i said my knowledge is pretty limited about all this but i know some people who know a lot about jeeps and i get the concept. If you start going into detail about gear ratios you'll lose me fast though .
I'm open for suggestions for pretty much anything. Maybe a better lift for my buck, or if anyone has some used wheels and tires for sale.

First suggestion: Take your Jeep out and wheel it with 2" and 30's. Try to hold back the shock when you realize that you can run 80% of the trails in Moab with your XJ, in that form. Learn how to drive your rig before you throw several thousand dollars at it.

Then you can decide if you need to go higher, and how high. Remember, with an XJ, the first 3-4" will run you about $100 per inch of lift, plus tires. Every inch after that will cost about $1000 per inch, factoring in gearing, lockers, bigger tires, SYE, required steering mods, etc.

On the topic of gearing, charts lie.....unless they factor in added weight of body armor, bumper, sliders, full size spare, roof racks, added rolling resistance from larger tires/wheels, increase drag coefficient by lifting rig higher in the air, etc. 33's, 6" of lift and 4:88's with an auto tranny is a perfect combo for my daily driven 2000.