Calgary Jeep Association
4x4 Related Groups => Tech Talk => Topic started by: anjoxj98 on March 27, 2012, 01:37:09 PM
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Hi my name is Angel , i have a 98 Xj , 2 doors , manual
i want to lift my baby 4.5" and i need some help because is my first project :D , the kit that i wanna buy comes with
Front: Lifted coil springs, lower tubular control arms, solid tubular transfer case drop kit, sway-bar links and brake line relocation brackets.
Rear: Add-a-leaf springs and lifted shackles.
Shocks: Includes (4) RC N2.0 series shocks.
but i want to know if i have to change something else like the driveshafts? , because my budget is 900$ :-\
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Transfer case drop will help you run the stock drive shafts for a while.
What brand of lift are you looking at?
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is Rough country , the total price , including shipping is 890$
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I would go full rear leaves. Add a leaf on a fourteen year old spring? You will have leaf spring problems anywhere from one day to a year down the road. Are you getting your kit from north shore offroad in Surrey? They are a stocking rough country dealer. talk to them first.
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I would go full rear leaves. Add a leaf on a fourteen year old spring? You will have leaf spring problems anywhere from one day to a year down the road. Are you getting your kit from north shore offroad in Surrey? They are a stocking rough country dealer. talk to them first.
Will at NSOR is awesome, bought my first lift from him and shipping was dirt cheap and FAST.
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yes the kit comes with full rear leaves ...
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but my question is , if i buy the 4.5 " , what parts i have to change ?
a friend told me that i have to change the pit-man arms , sway bars and track-bars.. if that is true i will spend like $1500 just in the lift kit
because my first option was 3" or 3.5" , where i don't have to change those things
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The kit you mentioned listed "Add a leafs" Those are not full rear springs. At 4.5" you will need a new adjustable trackbar, or you get a drop bracket for the stock one, or even modify the existing bracket. Remove the rear sway bar and throw it in the trash. The kit you chose comes with extended links for the front sway bar. No problem there. Driveshafts should be ok.
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this is the kit that Im talking about
http://www.lowriders.ca/633N2-1984-2001-XJ-Cherokee-4-5-Inch-w-Rear-Leafs-p/rc633n2.htm
wagoneerXj , how much it gonna cost me those kits that you r talking about ? i mean if u have any idea , because my budget is not that good :P
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Will at NSOR is awesome, bought my first lift from him and shipping was dirt cheap and FAST.
Will doesn't work there anymore BTW.
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So, to be clear, does the kit come with full leaf-springs or just an add-a-leaf spring?
As for your other questions, it all depends on your 'cost vs performance' argument. If you're looking to do it on the cheap, you don't have to purchase anything extra:
In a perfect world, you want your trackbar and drag-link to run parallel with each other, otherwise on-road handling and comfort will start to suffer (things like bumpsteer, wandering under braking, etc). Once you lift a cherokee, these two components will sometimes be out of line with each other, so there are ways to get them back to being parallel.
The drop pitman arm is one option. The pitman arm bolts to the steering box and the top end of the drag-link. A longer pitman arm will drop the top end of the drag-link to a lower position which can bring it more into line with the trackbar. Personally I would go ahead with the lift first, and check after to see if a drop pitman arm is necessary in your case. If it is, a pitman arm from a Jeep Grand Cherokee (ZJ) 93-98 can be used for a 1" drop.
The trackbar centre's the front axle underneath the Jeep. Lifting the cherokee without doing anything to the trackbar will result in the front axle being off-centre, sticking out more to the driver's side. This isn't a huuuge problem but it can cause the notorious 'death wobble' problem. There is a simple fix for this without having to drop a couple hundred on an adjustable-length trackbar, and that is to drill a new mounting hole on the axle end, about 3/4" more towards the driver's side from the stock bolt mounting location. There are a few write-ups on the internet, just google em.
As for sway bar, you don't need to change it at all. What DOES become necessary is longer sway-bar links, which you stated was included in the kit, so you'll be fine there.
Personally I ran a 6" lift in my old cherokee, had the trackbar bolt re-drilled on the axle end (started getting death wobble and this fixed it), removed my rear swaybar completely (its not necessary, but the front one certainly is for driving around town), stuck with my stock pitman arm, didn't need a transfer case drop of any kind (make sure your driveshaft u-joints are good, and your pinion angles are set properly with axle shims if necessary), and even ran fine with stock length front sway-bar links (although they did sit pretty close to the coil springs though).
And this was my daily driver, it felt fine driving it around town, no driveline vibes, and when I got my first wobble I re-drilled the trackbar bolt location and that fixed it.
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Judging from the link the kit you've selected comes with full rear leaf packs, excellent :)
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so to be clear and i sorry i am a little bit nervous because is my first project :P
well the ony thing that i have to fix is the track bar or buy a longer one , same thing which the pitman arm or use a zj 93 98 pitman arm
and maybe change the U-joints front the driveshafts because they should have like 14 years old
thank for ur help :D
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Yes the trackbar will need to be fixed, either drill a new hole to re-mount the original trackbar or buy an adjustable trackbar.
Pitman arm either keep the original one as-is or a ZJ one can be bought for cheap at a junkyard if needed.
And definitely check all driveshaft and axleshaft u-joints to make sure they are in good shape.
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I had a 4.5" before I ripped it out and went 6.5". Stock driveshaft is fine in the 4.5". Not at all in the 6.5" :-X
I'd highly suggest you don't go Add-a-leaf. Spring for the new leafs. It will save you a lot of hassle down the road. The kit you selected doesn't come with full rear leaf packs. What they show in the picture is the upgrade optoin, but what you get is Add-a-Leaf. Compare it to the manufaturer website and you will see. Here is a little comparrision I did for you.
Low riders (http://www.lowriders.ca/633N2-1984-2001-XJ-Cherokee-4-5-Inch-w-Rear-Leafs-p/rc633n2.htm)680.05 (the one you are looking at) including shipping
=TOTAL $715.00
Rough Country - Same kit you are looking at (http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_4.html)
Price: $499.95 - dropped to $459.95(same kit) Option: Also available with new rear leaf springs. +$221
= TOTAL $808.20 USD with new springs (including shipping)
=TOTAL $559.10 USD with add-a-leaf (including shipping)
Rough Country - w/ new leafs and other goodies (http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_4x.html)
Price - 829.95 (new leafs)
=TOTAL= $988.8 USD (a little over your budget but worth saving up if you have a little patience)
If you are stuck on Rough Country (they are usually the cheapest out there) and have a little patience, maybe wait and see if Jay at Chanda will be doing a bulk order if he deals with RC?
You don't "need" all the stuff your friend told you but a little upgrade here and there doesn't hurt as the guys here have listed why and what to do. The kit you are looking at includes everything you will "need".
BTW: Not a fan of North Shore personally.
x2 on throw away the rear track bar.
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Hi my name is Angel , i have a 98 Xj , 2 doors , manual
i want to lift my baby 4.5" and i need some help because is my first project :D , my budget is 900$ :-\
why do you want to lift it? sagged springs? bigger tires?
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why do you want to lift it? sagged springs? bigger tires?
Bingo! First question that should be asked. Why why why? What do you want to do with your jeep?
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Yeah! Your gas mileage is going to go down the drain in a quick hurry if you lift it.
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:o why not lift it? ???
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, maybe wait and see if Jay at Chanda will be doing a bulk order if he deals with RC?
Bingo give me a call at the shop I have an order on the go right now you may want in on ;D
Jay@Chanda 403-287-3350
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I think Immortal is just being a smart arse with gas mileage comment ... cause he thinks he's funny.
hps and ornamental do bring up a good question tho. The why really does help with making decisions about the how. Knowing what the Jeep will be used for will help people to give advice. There's ways to do XJ lifts for cheap cheap (bastard spring packs, f150 coils etc) that will make it ride like a dump truck.... but it will be lifted and look the part. Then there's the other end of the spectrum where you can spend some big bucks and have a lift that will flex like a mo-fo offroad and ride like a Caddy on road (well maybe not a Caddy but you get the point). Knowing what it will be used for and how much it will be driven will really help figure out the best path to follow. At the end of the day... the owner has to be happy with their build.
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well i want to do some expeditions i will say a little bit of everything , because i don't like , for example just go and climb rocks . i don't know .... go camping ,.. actually i have some friends and we have an small group , Its call HORIZONTES 4x4 , we have a little bit of everything, Wranglers , Rubicon, Toyota FJ80 , hillux surf , land rover.......
Also thanks for the advices they have been helpful for me , after i finish my project I gonna Share some pictures with you guys
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If you really wanna save some money, I have parts left from my old lift (4" or 4.5" that I don't need anymore. It's the kit I had in my Jeep in my display picture) I believe it was a mix of Iron Rock and Rough Country.
I just had stock control arms, but you can always upgrade those if you really want to. Someone here might have some kicking around. You might need to change the breaklines but they are only like 20 bucks?
Anyway, here's what I have available:
2 coils
2 leafs
2 rear shackles (beefy ones that came with my Iron Rock but I didn't need them)
shocks for the front and rear (rear ones are brand new Rancharo 5550 or something like that)
If you are interested let me know. $300 bucks.
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That's a good deal!