Lifting My Jeep

I got a question thats open for anyone to answer and please use your opinion. I am an 18 year old kid that has been into offroading jeeps for about a year now and am geting pretty decent at it, i have run a 97 jeep cherokee stock for a year and have only had it stuck once and it was a really good stuck too. but what i want to know is what anyone thinks about me getting it lifted. im plannig about 6.5"s of lift and a winch and everything. the only problem i have 98,000 miles on the bad boy and am wondering what your opinion is on it. should i lift it or not? thank you for reading this.
Nick

im plannig about 6.5"s of lift and a winch and everything.

The Cherokee is an on road/off road vehicle like the Wrangler. Unlike the Wrangler it has a unibodied design and this means it doesn't really have a frame. You can lift it a few inches with the right lift kit and the right shocks (Bilstein makes goods ones for this). I don't think it has a lot to do with the miles that's on it other than it might be a little hard on some suspension and drive train parts that are already worn if you lift it 6.5 inches. That's a lot of lift.

I think you need to examine what you want to accomplish by lifting it. Do you need more ground clearance? Do you want it to allow for larger tires? Do you think it looks better? If it is worth it to you, do your research first and if you decide to proceed, don't hack it up or cut on it.
The unibody is not very forgiving and I would never lift it unless either I or whoever is going to do the job has done it to a Cherokee sucessfully before. I've seen a lot of them lifted and when done right they look bitchin. But I would not go into this task with blinders on.
tb

I have a 91 XJ with 184+k on it I just recently put a rough country 3 inch lift on it. To put a 6 in lift on an XJ "done right" will cost you a couple thousand bucks. I would recomend a smaller lift, there is a lot less involved with the installation and up keep. I was spazed with my lift which enabled me to run 32 inch tires. If you have the money to do a complete lift including drive line gears and everything else go for it. Personally I would start with three inches and go with that until I had a bigger budget and my off road driving skills were improved. JCWhitney has three inch lift kits for 120 bucks. Perk you can install your self. I can email you a picture if you would like to see what 3 inches looks like :2cents:

6.5" of lift really raises your center of gravity. Plus, you'll need a ton of new stuff (drive shafts etc). I have 3.5" on my ZJ and it really made a difference. I went with the Tuff Country and added a Rubicon adjustable track bar. Drives like it did from the dealer, but I can fit the bigger tires, better articulation, better clearence and oh, it looks GOOD!

my best friends 17 yo daughter has a 1997 with a 6" lift, with the swing out rear tire carrier, rock guards ect...looks and runs awsome, but alot of money and you will NEVER come close to getting your money back if you sell it. My 93 has over 176k and I have the lift kit 2", 31 tires in my garage waiting to put on so mile mean nothing with these things, just make sure you know what your getting into, also make sure the guy installing the kit does too!

I agree, 3" lift on my 93 is great, did it myself at 70K. All Rough Country parts. Curently at 110K everything runs great.
I did not spring for the bigger tires yet (BFG 30x9.5 R15), so the acceleration is great as I did not have the money to change the gearing. I will be installing the BFG 31x10.5 QR15 when these wear out, and if the acceleration suffers too much, I might change the gearing.

I used a full length rear helper spring. This distributes the load along the entire length of the spring so no one part of the spring is stressed too high.

A great mod is to install a Detroit Locker in the rear, and since lockers are not recomended for the front, a limited slip might be a good choice, since they have no effect during normal driving. You might never need that winch you want, except to help your friends when they get stuck.

Check out this article http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techarticles/3243/index4.html

If you don't already have one, the SelecTrac transfer case is my choice because you can drive in Full time 4x4 in the rain or light snow.

Off road, either TC will work well

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid156/pc8b35ead87a2a6850b7d4295b627528d/f53d7c38.jpg Check out this link, this is my Jeep with a three inch lift with 32 inch tires

To tell ya thetruth i have all the money i need to get the lift kit done and all and am going to have a jeep dealership do it. So thats not my big issue its the whole thing that people tell me it has to many miles on it and that as soon as i get t done im going to sell it. If i get it im going with a 6.5" Rusty's Offroad lift and the whole nine yards i figure i am going to have about another 8 grand in it or so plus i might either rebuild or swap the engine. Thanx for your replys especially the one with the '95 XJ cause thats what i worry about the most is the mileage.

Good luck with the lift I hope it turns out good for you Just be carefull aways but even more when you are just getting used to the lift. One of the guys in my club had a six inch lift got hit in the rear tire and it rolled right over. That is a risk with any SUV but more so with a higher COG. Post some pic's when you get it done. I want to some day do the same to me when I have a million bucks laying around :smokin:

i wish i had a mill laying around i would have like twenty likfetd jeeps and my mustang would be done. And dont worry i will post as many pics as you people want from before and after and some of it in use.

I just thought of something why dont we just make this an open post for pics were people can give and get ideas for the XJs. How bout it they can be stock or lifted.

How about this...

ditch the idea of 6 or 7" of lift. And stay away from Rusty's junk all together. Go with a mild 3-4" lift, trim a bit, and go 32" (give or take an inch, depending on your willingness to cut the fenders) bfg MT's or the like, whatever your brand preference may be. Keep the stock driveshafts, brakelines, and t-case slip yolk. Use that money to install a locker in the rear end. Youve either got a d35 or chrysler 8.25. Both will hold up fine with a locker and 32's. Get front and rear tow points first and foremost, a tow strap, some tools, and a Chilton's or Hayne's service manual. Good things to have on hand are small spares like u-joints, fluids, fan belts, and other items that are prone to breakage. Eventually acquire a bumper and winch, or if you can afford it now, go ahead and go with a warn m8000 (best value for your application) and a bumper that suits your liking. Pick up a pair of FRS radios, and/or a decent CB radio, so you can communicate with your trail buddies. An axe and a shovel are invaluable tools to get you unstuck should you become so. Keep a fullsize spare, and with all the aforementioned items, you should have one pretty darn capable jeep that will likely go anywhere you could want to take it.
Remember that if you choose to have a dealership do all the labor, not only are you facing probably double the cost, you wont be gaining any working knowledge of how to fix/repair/modify your own cherokee. An XJ suspension is quite simple, and requires only a mild selection of hand tools, and basic mechanical knowledge. Its good to have a buddy around for an extra set of hands while working on your rig. While drivetrain work like gears and lockers are best left to pro's, suspension and steering work can be done in your driveway with a friend while saving tons of cash. Dedicate a solid weekend to lifting it, and you should have no problem accomplishing the task.

And as far as my disagreeing with the need to lift it so high.... take it from me. I'm running about 10/11" of lift. Went from 2 to 3.5 to 6 to 8 to now. All the headaches start at above 4" of lift.

Im not going to say that I doubt what you say or are against what you say but you are the first person who has told me not to go big with a lift every guy i have talked to with a XJ and over 4"s of lift has said that they love it and havent had problems with it. so thanx for the advice and I will keep it in mind.

Keep in mind with any lift kit, your jeep will be more unstable, cant take turns fast, bigger tires mean more gas usage pluse mag wheels will weigh more.