I didn't really know where to put this so here we go,

I live in the Kansas City Area(Overland Park) And was curious if anyone around here would be able to install one and would give me a estimate. Its a 1988 XJ Limited . Throw me a e-mail at TheMagicalJew@bfgservers.com

Thanks!

Julian

WELCOME Julian...

Im not sure we have anyone near there...but maybe someone knows somebody...:)

Goodluck with the Lift...Tell us a little bit more about your Jeep

Tam :)

I received it for my 15th birthday , my parents bought it 3 weeks before i was born. I have put in a 1000 dollar sound system ( I Love Music =) and now sold a couple of my stocks and decided i wanted to get into trailing, will post a couple more pics later:wave:

Hey Julian, welcome to MJR. Interesting username. Lifts arnt all that hard to install. You can do it with basic hand tools and some jack stands. Its just basically take off the old, put on the new. I'm not sure if there are any members in or near Kansas City, but maybe someone will chime in. Worst case senerio, you can always try it yourself . . . its not that bad. :8

I Saw a couple of kits on ebay and was wondering how they put up to the test? im on a budget of about 3-400 dollars, but the less we spend the more i will have to get the 31's sooner,


Thanks again
Jew

hey Julian i have an XJ also and have looked at those lifts on ebay...they seem a little sketchy, so i would feel much better buying one from an actual store. What size lift do you wanna run?

3.5 -4 inch lift , and maybe if i could sell the tires taht are on there and get some 31's?
ill take pics lata

cool! im planning on getting a 4.5" and prob get 31's or 32's

since you guys dont seem like you recommend ebay, what is a decent website with free shipping or decent shipping prices

try http://www.kboffroad.com and mention MyJeepRocks.com for a discount.

Lol What do i need for a 3-4 inch lift? what are decent kits? Im not gonna be hardcore trailing yet :)

Ive heard a lot of good things about Rubicon Express, but that is pretty pricy especially for us kids with limited money. Ive heard good and bad things about Rusty's lifts (www.rustysoffroad.com) That is what im thinking of getting, check out the website they have a lot of stuff for a decent price. FOr about 845 w/o shipping you can get a 3 inch AAL with american racing wheels and 31 inch dick cepeks. or one with spring packs for 1000 so check it out. There are a lot of different brands so research as much as you can.

Also, for a 3-4 inch there are alot of differnt ways to get it. you could get a 2 inch Rubicon Express that has 2" coil spacers and AAL's then you could add shackles and coils that are 2 inches higher than stock for about four inches. another site to check out suspension stuff is http://www.rocky-road.com/cherokee.html lots of good stuff there too. Im just throwing out ideas here.

In a 3-4 inch lift you will want the following: coil springs, new rear leaf springs (i would recemend getting whole new packs in the back, AAL's will make the ride a little rough), brake line extensions for the back (although some come without so im guessing 3" doesnt need this) and new shock absorbers.

im pretty sure thats about it...

http://rustysoffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=rustys&Product_Code=300AL&Category_Code=sus_xj_kit

could i do that and put 2 inch spacers on it?

yea you could do that and get shackles for the rear and spacers up front...i edited my post and added more stuff so check that out.

Don't nickel and dime yourself here. Save up your pennies and lift as high as you ever plan to go.

The Missus did quite a bit of research on her XJ build-up and went with the Rubicon Express 5.5" Extreme Duty lift (http://www.rubiconexpress.com/dynamic/mainpage.asp?folderid=185) to stuff 33's under it. If you decide to go bigger than 31's, you will have to junk your old lift.

Read up on Rusty's at JeepForum (http://www.jeepforum.com) and NAXJA (http://www.naxja.org). I would hate to see a young person waste his or her money needlessly in addition to risking getting stuck in this sticks.

Also, don't get add-a-leaf kits. You will only be applying a band-aid to a critical lift component (the rear spring pack) that you already admitted is older than you are. Get new springs.

http://www.myjeeprocks.com/photopost/data/500/101P1190088small.JPG
Poser shot in the driveway

http://www.myjeeprocks.com/photopost/data/500/101P3280013.JPG
Flexing on the Miller Jeep trail last week

you must have gotten an SYE right? and that didnt come with shocks did it? also after it was all said and done how much was it for that lift including shipping and all other costs.

ive been working and have about 3000 bucks to my name (can you belive the government is taxing me!!?! IM ONLY 15...sheesh)

Well 4.5 sounds good, could it be a good idea to buy used parts?

$3K should cover lift, SYE/double cardan driveshaft, shocks, a bit of armor, and maybe even tires/wheels depending on how you go.

My humble suggestion is keep saving and start with some really durable armor. There are a lot of reputable builders out there. My wife got the AJ's super rock rails (http://www.ajsoffroadarmor.com/RockRails/index.htm)(prob a best buy), but AJ is out now on account of thumb osteo. Skid Row (http://www.skidplates.com/skid_plates_84_01_XJ.htm) makes a complete suite of XJ skids except no rocker panels yet. There are other builders (Dukes69 (http://myjeeprocks.com/forums/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=3) (former XJ-wheeler), jim79cj7 (http://myjeeprocks.com/forums/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=4)) on this forum that may be able to offer you a quote.

If you have access to metal shop at school, build up a set of rocker panel guards and gas tank/transfer case/tranny skids. These aren't too hard to build or install yourself. Just make sure the rock rails mount at both the "frame rail" and the pinch seam. Also, make sure they have an extension like the Super Rails, as these will keep your doors off the rocks.

These armor items might not be a bad idea to buy used, but they rarely go on sale as once a driver buys them, they never really wear out or become too small.

That will allow you to save a bit more for the ultimate build-up. In the meantime, you can still wheel yer legacy XJ, without worrying about having to pay the really big bucks (tranny, transfer case, gas tank, rocker panel, door damage).

Lots of websites on how to install this stuff yourself, jeepin.com (http://jeepin.com)(lots of XJ stuff) and stu-offroad.com (http://stu-offroad.com)(more TJ stuff, but still great for drivetrain stuff) come immediately to mind. At $45-65/hour, this is where you might be able to save some serious change. This is also facilitated by access to your school's auto shop so that you won't have to hunt down tools. Enroll in shop and see if you can get the whole class to work on your XJ as a class project (see Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer for more details).

Thanks, im thinking about buying an arc welder soon any suggestions on that? When i do get it i will hopefully fab my own stuff. Unfortunately my school doesnt have an auto shop:mad: (crazy private schools) I was actually thinking about finding a metal working class at the community college. I also have a friend whos uncle does alot of metal work who shoulda have plenty of tools i could use. Also do you know of any websites that have blueprints of some sort for building your own stuff or would i have to measure it all my self?

THanks Jim, any other suggestions will be greatly appriciated

jeepfabrication.com (www.jeepfabrication.com)

Most of this stuff is for Wranglers, but it is a good starting point for ideas.

Lots of hilarious XJ stuff from Billavista on Pirate 4x4.com (http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Tech_Index.htm)

Wheel it stock and learn how it acts on the trails. Spend some money on underbody protection first and lift second. The cash will add up fast so be warned. There is a lot of undisclosed costs in offroading. Bigger is usually better but there comes a time that bigger means a lot of parts changing to accomadate the power and torque to accomodate the bigger parts.

Watch the for sale ads for a used lift to save some money.

Drive around the neighborhood or in your case get your folks to truck you around till you find the house with all the 4x4s in the driveway and the pretty blue glow coming from all the garage windows
when you find said house, go and make friends with the guy operating the welder :D

weapon']Drive around the neighborhood or in your case get your folks to truck you around till you find the house with all the 4x4s in the driveway and the pretty blue glow coming from all the garage windows
when you find said house, go and make friends with the guy operating the welder :D


wow havent seen this thread in a while...

well ive driven around quite a bit and i have seen some nicely built cherokees around my area, now i just gotta make friends with the owners :)