My son wants to lift his 99 Jeep Cherokee Sport. I'm not particularly mechanically-minded and so need some expertise from you guys/gals. He wants the lift done so that he can go off-roading. I don't mind this, but I do want it to be safe -- both for off-roading and for the highway.
1) Can this particular model be lifted?
2) If so, should I go body-lift or suspension-lift or some combination of the two?
3) Would his stock wheels work or are new wheels going to be required?
4) Will these modifications put additional stress on the engine/transmission (5-spd manual)?
5) What other modifications/additions would be needed to do this the right way?
6) Any recommended vendors?
Yes, it is lifted quite often. There are a whole variety of XJ aftermarket products.
The XJ is a uni-body so you cannot lift the body off the frame. Suspension lifts only..
The general point of lifting to to use taller tires. Stock XJs can use up to 30 inch tires. You can lift and use stock size tires, it just looks a bit odd.
Yes.
The first thing to do is add skid plates, it doesn't matter what else you may do... if you rip off your oil pan, transfer case or gas tank out in the boonies you are going to have to walk home.
The add tow points in front and tow points or a hitch in back.
Hundreds....
The first thing to do is find a local 4x4 club where the members use a range of vehicles from pure stock to meavily modified and go on a few trail rides.
The clubs usually require tow points.... so they can extract you if needed...
AT or MT tires are certainly helpful but i wouldn't spend a lot of cash until you find what you need or want to do.
A stock XJ with good tires is a very capable vehicle.... for mild off-roading this may be all you need.
Thing about lifting your Jeep....... no lift is ever high enough..... you can keep going until you have long since run out of money.... The JEEP acronym stands for Just Empty Every Pocket.
Normal lifts generally run 2-4 inches, more than that you start running into serious money and potential problems... (= even more money)
PS... The first thing to do is get a Factory Service Manual, you will be using it a lot..... They are available on CD or in a paper version that is the size of a couple phone books... They run about $100 new from the dealership, check eBay for used copies.
We have had our bone stock 88 Cherokee with those aluminum running boards no less, back into the bush so far that ATV'ers wouldn't believe there wasn't another way into that cabin because they spent the 'day' trying to get there only to come across us....
Probably the first thing he should spend money on is a set of tow hooks. These alone might break the bank... You have to remove the bumper brackets and replace them with a beam to install hooks.
I would recommend your son tries out his Jeep first, then decides on what he needs. I have had a 2" lift kit kicking around for years now and haven't bothered to put it on our Cherokee, we just haven't needed it. Maybe I will put it on the next one....
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: N>
Rubicon Express 3.5" Super-Ride lift with full rear leaf packs. Availible at
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or
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With the full rear packs it will ride well. He can run 31" tires big enough for fun, small enough to retain reasonable gas mileage and not break a lot of stuff. 3.5" is tall enough to have some fun, short enough to get him stuck before it gets really expensive. It also looks REALLY good.
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90 XJ with Rubicon 3.5" Lift on 31" Tires. Oh, and what the others said about good tires and skid plates. I reccomend BFG All-Terrain T/A's. Great all-around tire.
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