XJ lift 2" or 4"?

[Rattlesnakedaddy]

Hey guys,

I am going to be lifting my 87 2-door XJ when the spring thaw comes. The lift I have is a used Rocky Road Outfiters "Trailblaser" 4" lift. It consists of an OME medium duty 2" lift boosted with RRO's extended shackles in the rear (there should also be 1/2" spacer, but I don't have those), and 2" poly spacers for the front. It also came with a 1" T-case drop (home brewed), extended rear brake line, and a RRO adjustable track bar.

I don't want to go too tall with the lift, so my current plan is to run just the OME lift, with 31's, adjusted bump stops, and some fender trimming. I'm not sure if I will need the track bar or not with this.

does this sound feasable, or should I just go with the full 4" lift?

Any thought or opinions on this are appreciated,

[J.T.Woody]

Go for the 4" now. If you do the 2" now, you'll be tearing it apart sooner or later to install the 4" anyway. ;D

It's called "inchitis".

Besides, with a 2" lift, I thought you couldn't run anything much larger than a 30" tire on an XJ anyway...?

[XfaCtoR]

deff 4..youll barly notics 2

[bluerocket]

89YJayT said:

Go for the 4" now. If you do the 2" now, you'll be tearing it apart sooner or later to install the 4" anyway. ;D

It's called "inchitis".

Besides, with a 2" lift, I thought you couldn't run anything much larger than a 30" tire on an XJ anyway...?

Yeah 2" and 30's rub a little, I run 3" and 31's with no sway bars they eat your fenders for breakfast.

[Rattlesnakedaddy]

Thanks for the info,

My only personal experience with a lifted XJ is a friends '88 in Atlanta. He's running a 3" Skyjacker, w/ 33" Swampers on Soft 8's (not sure of backspacing), and bushwacker flares. The combo is nice. He had felt 4" was too much for 31's. I'm pretty sure the wheeling down there is a bit different so I thought Id ask people up here.

I know of some who have run 30" on stock XJ's with stock wheels, but they start to rub the LCA's at full lock. There are even rumors of 31's on stock, but the bumpstops have to be moved so low that I think it is more for street/ mild off roading.

I know it doesn't sound like much to you guys, but 4" with only 31's sounded pretty tall to me. I've never lifted a vehicle before, so I'm going on visual pics and the experience of others.

Thanks again,

Erich

[bluexj]

Every xj seems to be differnt. Some people fit 31s on 2in lift. Some claim to be stock on 31s. There is even some on jeep fourum running 34s on a 4in lift. Yea alot of trimmig. I am running 30s stock on stock rims. Rub is only at full lock or fexling the s*** out of it offroad. The only down side to going 4in is you may need a SYE. (slip yoke elminator) Becuase your xj is older you may be ok with the transfercase. But got 4 you wont regret. I am going 3 this summer but I already plan after I get out of college in in 08 to bump up to 5 or so in of lift.

Chris

[jeepgod]

xj's suspensions sag at different rates so some guys get away with larger tire sizes.

i would say go with the 4" do it once right, and be done w/ it.

i have done the "lift a little more" thing over and over and over. you soend so much more money and waste time doing this.
just my .02 and with $24,000.98 more you could buy a used rubicon

[Rattlesnakedaddy]

Thanks again for all the replies,

Well, since all I need for the 4" are some 1/2" blocks and new u-bolts, I can go for it. I don't mind upgrading to a SYE in the future if necessary. I'd love to run 33's, but it has the d35, so I think 31's will be fine on it. Still need some armor for it too.

Some info on the XJ:

It is only a local DD in the winter, so I don't have to worry too much about keeping it road "comfortable". I have reciently pulled the carpet and padding out, and am getting ready for Herculiner on the inside. the stock suspension (original to the vehicle) is sitting about 1.5" lower than stock in the rear, which is why I picked up the lift first and not armor.

My thoughts on the Jeep are to move into some Steel wheels with less backspacing, and upgrade the driveline, put on some lockers, and re-gear. I'd like to upgrade to a d44, but that will have to wait a bit. I don't have much in the way of fab skills, but am willing to try.

I just got hit with a motor rebuild for one of my Motorcycles (my other passion is for vintage British and German MC's), so the lift is about all I can do until about May. After that, I want to hit some trails and see where to go from there.

Erich- RDS

[RockTech4X4]

I would look into a NEW 3" to 4". There are alot of good brands out there and if money is the issue....there are many varying prices out there too. The only thing I will say about going used is that if the springs are already sagged, you will not know it until they are installed and that would suck to get them on there only to find they are sagged real bad.

The best bang for the buck is probably the BDS system and with the lifetime warrenty....how can you go wrong.

-Rock