XJ owners -- What Lift?

[78mitsu]

A friend of mine just bought a 2000 XJ slightly wrecked, nothing too serious. He's interested in lifting it 4-5 inches, basically he doesn't want to have to buy the slip yoke eliminator kit I have a dana 300 I'm trying to talk him into putting in.

I'm interested in what lift you bought, what the determining factors were in buying it, how well you feel it flexes and how the streetability is, if it was a bolt in lift or required frame mods. it will be a DD. Also, any BAD experiences you've had with a particular lift, the more detail the better.

 

[AINT SKEERED]

A SYE will probably be required on a 2000 with 4-5 inches of lift. I know my 99's u-joints didnt like a 2" lift at all.

 

[mbryson]

A SYE will probably be required on a 2000 with 4-5 inches of lift. I know my 99's u-joints didnt like a 2" lift at all.

Yeah, pretty much what he said.


The 300 is the opposite side drop (passenger). By the time you get the swap kit and a few other things you're close to the price of the Atlas....... I'd just use the credit card for the Atlas and be done with things.

 

[78mitsu]

That's right I forgot the xj was dsd. scratch the 300 I guess.

 

[mbryson]

....and I'm not up on what the coolest lift is for a Cherokee nowadays, but I really liked the spring rate of the RE 4.5. Get the adjustable arms, set the wheelbase to 101" and trim what needs to be trimmed.

Swap the gears (don't bother with the D35--hopefully it's got a 29 spline 8.25 or you can find an XJ D44) to 4.11 and wheel it. 35" tires aren't worth it on an XJ, IMHO, as the 33" will get you just as far on the trail.

 

[Badger]

the best kit out there right now is TNT Customs.

its a bit pricey but you get a lot for the price.a nice bullet prove skid plate crossmember.they use RE coils and rear leafs but i have never been a fan of RE springs.

here is an install of it

 

[jcanderson33jp]

My brother has a 2000 xj and he went with the 6 in RE longarm kit and hasn't had nay problems with it. he did put a slip yoke eliminator in it and is running 35 inch tires. it is increadable how well it works. if i was going to do it, i would spend a little money and do the long arm kit. you would be supprised how well it flexes.

 

[Ken]

Save the money and get the sye it's worth it. Badger has a bomb lift there!!!

 

[DOSS]

If he is trying to be cheap and just wants to go 4.5 inches get some 2.5 rear leafs, 1.5 extended shackles (nice flex I think). do a Hack and Tap SYE (if he has the NP242 otherwise just do the SYE). he can get away with a short arm kit up front but I would say long arm for a DD (wish I had one). Front end I am running 3 inch extra of spring and polly spacers to make up the differance (nice flex again).. Trim the fenders, throw on some 33s... go to some 4:11s get rid of the D35...thats just me though.. Have fun

 

[XJEEPER]

Lots of options.....does your friend have any money? He can glob together a bunch of mis-matched parts and do a budget lift on the cheap and deal with the choppy ride and replace stuff as he goes or get some good parts that will last and provide the best combo of street ride and trail flex. The XJ is a pretty capable rig out of the box, doesn't take much to make it 4+ trail worthy.
If you have a NVG231 t-case it will hold up regular trail use, but not lots of skinny pedal abuse. I wheeled a 100,000 mile 89 XJ with a 231 T-case for 10 years, slapped a new chain in for grins when I did the Currie SYE at about 150K mi. and it was trouble-free when I sold it with 203,000 miles on it.

I've tried lots of lift combo stuff over the years, but RE makes one of the best all-around packages for the buck. If you want to lift it once and be happy with your dual-purpose rig, go with the TNT kit. You'll get the sweet street ride that long arms provide without the negative ground clearance issues that the RE, Clayton, Full Travel, etc long arm setups have. ( I personally like the TNT arm kit, RE coils, Deaver leaf pack, Bilstien shock setup...but it's gonna be more $$)

Oh, install rocker sliders BEFORE you bash them in.

Don't lift it more than you need to run 33's, 6" is plenty and with some mild trimming, 35's can be made to fit......but 33's are plenty and will keep your D30 happier too. 2000's have a low-pinion D30 which is poo, but a pre-98 HP 30 could easily be swapped in before you re-gear......speaking of regear, don't waste your money on 4:11's, no less than 4:56's with 33's and consider 4:88's.

For XJ related Tech, the is no better place to gain an education than www.NAXJA.org membership helps support the Blue Ribbon Coalition, USA-ALL and we're members of U4WDA and U4 too.
Good luck and hope to see you on the trail.....

 

[greenjeep]

My wife has a '98 XJ with an RE 4.5' short arm kit, coil spacers and extended shackles giving her 6' total she runs 33s and has done 4.5 rated trails with open diffs. We'll be swapping in some 4.56s or even 4.88s, don't waste your time and money with 4.10s. Not that I recomend it but, hers does NOT have a SYE and we've never had any problems with it. She drives hers eveyday.

That's my suggestion.

 

[mbryson]

I REALLY hated the 4.88/35" MT/R combo at highway speeds. Thought I should have went for 4.56, for whatever that's worth. I didn't think the 35" tires were worth the trouble on the XJ esp. with the stock axles (D30/D44).

 

[Milner]

I saw that TNT kit in Moab....I like it a lot!! It is VERY similar to what I put together on my wifes XJ. I tried many rear leaf combo's, I was happiest with the RE's. Liked them better then the Nationals and others. RE ZJ coils in frt seemed best too. I hate squishy coils....the Tera's were way too soft for me. When we sold it, it had Tera ZJ coils, but if I kept it, I would have gone back to RE coils....

 

[ewander]

I saw that TNT kit in Moab....I like it a lot!! It is VERY similar to what I put together on my wifes XJ. I tried many rear leaf combo's, I was happiest with the RE's. Liked them better then the Nationals and others. RE ZJ coils in frt seemed best too. I hate squishy coils....the Tera's were way too soft for me.

I recently helped my friend put the TNT long arm kit on with some RE 4.5" coils and 2" spacers on (verdeXJ). It works really well and rides great. If you go with the TNT or RE kit you won't be dissappointed......