lifting a cherokee

[TECH_MAN]

Hey there, i drive a 1988 jeep cherokee laredo 2 door, 4.0l and i want to lift it, the kit i want is a rustys 4.5 inch kit with rear spring packs, my question is do i really need spring packs, or will add a leafs do the job? also all of you cherokee owners, i was told that i needed a new rear drive shaft, if i went higher than 2.5, is that true, and if it is couldnt i just put a limiting strap on it to keep it from going to far?, also how important is a slip yoke eliminator? and one last thing, would it be worth it to get revolver shackels for the back? thanx guys and gals


TECH_MAN

[speaceman]

I can't comment on the cherokee specific issues but I can tell you that most all of us that lifted beyond 2-3 inches, whether tj, cj, zj, or whatever ended up with a SYE.

That's pretty much the way you end up having to go to deal with the pinion and driveshaft angles.

[Timzjatl]

Revolver shackles are a no-no
While they increase droop, the spring is no longer putting down force on the axle, hence you don't have any real traction when the axle droops that far. They do great on an RTI ramp, but that doesn't translate to anything on the trail


As for the rear spring packs, you're much better off going with them rather than the AAL.... The ride will be much better, and it's likely that your 1988 stock rear springs are shot any how

Hope that helps some
Tim

[Ary'01XJ]

Stay away from Rusty if you don't like throwing money away. Every rusty's product I've owned has ended up being replaced, usually by an RE product. The RE kits are very complete and their build quality is excellent. Customer service and prices direct from RE leave a lot to be desired, but if you go through a dealer both of those problems become a non-issue.

Also, stay away from revolvers, they're notorious for causing handling problems.

Lastly, an SYE is debated as optional by some, but once you analyze the effect of the added runout on the T-case bearings, you'll realize it's a necessity on anything over 2-3"

BTW, check out www.naxja.org/forum for all the XJ experts. HTH

Ary

[kid4lyf]

Your mention of a limiting strap indicates that you may not understand why you need a new driveshaft. The reason you will need a new driveshaft isn't because of length(new, larger amount of droop causing the slip yoke to run out of length). It's because you'll need to go to a CV style driveshaft to eliminate drivetrain vibrations that will come with the steeper pinion-to-driveshaft-to-Tcase angles. A limiting strap won't help you there.