Lifting an XJ - with pics

[graewulf]

something is binding up?

Well, the lift finally arrived last week for my friends XJ. So, yesterday was the big day, his XJ was goign to finally grow up. He got the RE budget boost. After getting it installed, i would say that it is definitely worth it. We started out by doing the front end. It went pretty smooth.. Just disconnected the factory shocks, jacked it up nice & high, took the tires off. The springs came out without much trouble. Putting them back in with the 2" spacers was another matter. Since we didn't have a spring compressor, we used pry bars and managed to get it back in. For the second one we decided to turn the Hi-lift into a spring compressor and use zip ties to hold it compressed. It worked...

The Jackmate came in handy.

Before Pic

After Pic

Then the fun began, we removed the rear leaf packs, inserted the Add-a-leaf (recommend a grinder to remove the bands if necessary), and got them ready to reinstall.

Then came the removal of the rear shocks. Of course something had to go wrong, this was it.. 3 of the 4 upper shock bolts snapped off when we tried to remove them, so 3 hours and 2 taps later (EZ outs couldn't budge them, snapped one tap off in the hole), we were ready to reinstall the rear springs and shocks. All said & done, almost 10 hours later (should have been done in about 5) we had a lifted XJ...

Before

Front Done

All Done

Now for the fun stuff...

Before

After

And now for some stats:

Measured - Before - After
Tire to Flare Front (articulated) - 12" - 15"
Tire to Flare Rear (articulated) - 7" - 10"
Front shocks (full drop no tires) - 22" - 23.75"
Rear shocks (full drop no tires) - 19.5" - 22"
RTI score (calculated based on measurements, only approximate) - 545 - 717

He gained at least 6" of articulation when off camber, and maybe more - the front brake lines need to be relocated lower, since they stretch to the max (probably are limiting the front travel at the moment). This lift is worth it for the $200 invested. We can't wait t get it offroad and see what i will do. I'll be ordering one for my ZJ hopefully by summer.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Those little budget boosts work really well, especially for the price.

Is his front axle off-center much?

 

[White]

White & Stinkcheeseman broken arm

How do you do a rti score ?

 

[dingus]

looks good!

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Drive up an RTI ramp, measure your distance up the ramp, divide by the wheelbase and multiply by 1000. Ramps are commonly 23* or 30*.

 

[White]

and stop just before the rear wheel comes off the ground right ?

 

[mingez]

I hope the lift kicks butt!!! Keep us up to date.

 

[graewulf]

White - http://www.offroaders.com/info/tech-corner/rti.htm - Easy way to do a rough RTI score at home.... without the ramp. and yes on the rear wheel.

Bounty - actually, not noticeable, but his alignment was out before the lift - it was hard to steer.. after, it steers like normal, i think we actually corrected the alignment (or at least put it back closer to spec by lifting it)

 

[KaosKidd]

Greets All... I'm the Happy owner of this lifted Jeep we are talkin about.
The preformance gain is noticable, as the new shocks replaced older, OME ones with over 120K miles on them. The steering is about dead nuts, but because the alignment was out before the lift, I'll not be able to tell how much the alienment changed.
The ride is great, and, excluding some 'extra' work due to broken shock bolts, the installation went as planed. NOTE: Pre-soak all the shock bolts (Upper & lowers) and the Ubolts with penatrating oil several times, several days prior to the lifting day. Also, plan on getting and replacing the front break flex lines. (Better safe then sorry on this one... it's that close to the max travel on the break lines.). Thanks Greawulf for the super writeup....

 

[graewulf]

Hey.. nice to see you actualy posting here...

 

[PASmokeater]

Looks GREAT guys...I can't wait to see her in action....btw....when are y'all commin' down again ?

 

[graewulf]

PAsmokeater: no time soon, i'm afraid.... can't afford the time off....

Hopefully we can get some good action shots soon.

 

[TwistedCU]

Nice job fellas, and welcome to the board KaosKid. We hope to see more pics of the Cherokee and Grae's GC in action!!!

I woulf definately get an alignment check, a little adjustment could really save some tire tread!

 

[KaosKidd]

Thumbs up on the Ride. The alignment check came back with the toe being out .10 on both the left and right sides. The rear alignment was dead nuts. I was fearful of high speed driving with the lift, but there's only a slight sway at hight speeds when a crosswind is present, otherwise nothing. You can feel the CG was moved up when turning.

Thanks fr the welcome TwistedCopper.

Hay PaSmokeater, LTNS dude... Told ya I was gonna do it! Nice hearin from you again....

I'm hopin go get some action shots some time soon...