Rough Country XJ lift

[herdnerd]

That is normal with a Low pinion Axle. Unfortunately Jeep thought it was a good Idea to swap to the LP axle in the 00-01 models!

All of the XJ rear axles are low pinion. The high pinion/low pinion you are referring to is in the front. While there may be issues with angles up front, the rear will most likely be the problem.

A transfer case drop may address the symptoms of the problem, but doesn't cure the problem itself.

 

[IllianaXJ]

As noted above, as long as you get a lift with full leaf packs, it should work fine for a budget rig. Blocks and add-a-leafs have no place on a 4x4 vehicle that is used the way we do. Yes, I realize some manufacturers use blocks from the factory, but when doing a lift, spend the extra money and get the full packs. Personally, I run Rubicon Express on my XJ and love it, but I have heard that RC has gotten much better in the quality department.

As far as the SYE/no SYE issue goes, it varies on every single Jeep. 84-96 can be lifted higher without needing an SYE, but the 97+ has a tendency to get vibrations with anything over 2". Early XJs can get away with a longer slip yoke from a YJ and a t'case drop, but it is better in the long run to do a SYE. They're really not that hard to do.

 

[SixLug]

^and a quick note on every XJ being different...I hear all the time that 97+ XJs can need a SYE sooner than a previous year, but I have a 98 with arnd 3.5" of lift and no vibration on the stock slip yoke.

 

[Root Moose]

Transfer case drops are a kludge at best.

Instead of doing a transfer case drop consider dropping an inch off your lift height.

 

[GTABurnout]

SYE's are funny, people fight like hell to avoid doing them, hell I did. But now that I have mine done I can't see why anyone would want to not spen the $200 for the piece of mind and the lack or any vibe.

I would have spent double kn ow hom much more I like my cherokee post SYE.

 

[winkosmosis]

Why 3"? I went with 2" Old Man Emu springs instead of 3".

Here is why:

1) Avoid having to install an SYE-- it costs a lot more than $200 once you add labor.
2) Better front control arm angle. With any lift, the control arms drop, and the tires actually get PUSHED over bumps, transmitting more stress to the unibody. The less angle the better.
3) Lower CG

Fits 31" tires, and I think it looks good with the lower stance and stock steel wheels (vs tires sticking out)

 

[herdnerd]

Why 3"? I went with 2" Old Man Emu springs instead of 3".

Here is why:

1) Avoid having to install an SYE-- it costs a lot more than $200 once you add labor.
2) Better front control arm angle. With any lift, the control arms drop, and the tires actually get PUSHED over bumps, transmitting more stress to the unibody. The less angle the better.
3) Lower CG

Fits 31" tires, and I think it looks good with the lower stance and stock steel wheels (vs tires sticking out)

Did you do any trimming to get the 31's to fit? Does it rub at all?

 

[winkosmosis]

Did you do any trimming to get the 31's to fit? Does it rub at all?

I didn't do any trimming, but I must confess that I haven't offroaded in the past 8 months that I've had the XJ. There's nowhere to offroad anywhere close to Houston. One of these days I'll take out the rear sway bar and test flex on some object.

Usually folks cut slots into the fenders, and bend back the lip. Then you can either leave off the flares or reattach them further up.

I did put put two washers behind each steering stop to prevent the wider tires from rubbing on stock backspacing (they're hex head screws on the knuckles that hit the axle)

 

[GTABurnout]

If your cherokee has any type of flex you will end up eating up those bolts that hold the fender flairs off...

poser flex shot with full swaybars (to limit the damage) still ended up with damage.

 

[winkosmosis]

GTA, are those the 31x10.5" tires? What's the backspacing of those wheels? Probably 4.5" right? It's possible that there would be no rubbing with the stock backspacing, though I wouldn't bet on that.

 

[winkosmosis]

In any case, I like the idea of 2" lift and 31" tires with trimming. The bottom should be armored up anyway

 

[Big Daddy Chia]

I have the rubicon express 3.5 icnch lift with full packs. I had to do an sye. Here is what it looks like. Lvel then poser shot. ON 31 10.50

Poser with sway bars not attached

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

Less is more. I like it :costumed-smiley-007

 

[mac]

On my 97:
* I ran the RC 3" lift (full leaf) and it was better than stock for articulation and NO SYE

* I'm currently running the RC 4.5 kit with everything. I did do a SYE on my t-case before I added the kit, just to get it done in case a wanted to run a bigger lift later on.

My .02 on RC, good for the money, they only thing a can rant about is the shocks they come with in the kits. Not the best, but I know this and will eventually add better ones.

mac

 

[Purple People Eater]

31" tires, without trimming, will rub your fenders/flares. My passenger side front one was so abused, it never wanted to go back on again.