 |  | | Pre-Lift
| Post-Lift
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One day while kicking through a pile of parts in the garage I decided to look
for parts that could be used for lifting our XJ. The 1989 XJ out back was the
"low rider" in the family and in need of a serious suspension tune-up. Soon we
had a complete suspension system in hand that "should" lift the vehicle a full
six inches. Time to start turning wrenches and making some daylight under the
XJ. Front suspension:
A set of TeraFlex front suspension coils originally destined for a Grand Cherokee
(ZJ) 3.5" lift would be used to give us a full 5" of lift up front. Our calculations
were correct and we gained a full 5" from the aforementioned coils - the extra
inch would come from a set of TeraFlex 1.25" poly spacers that work for TJ's,
XJ's, and ZJ's. The TeraFlex coils are 200lb/in straight rate coils and were
exactly what we were looking for - a tad stiffer than stock but not enough to
rattle your bones! Rear suspension:
Warn/Black Diamond add-a-leafs were used in conjunction with Superlift 3" angled
blocks. This combination would yield 5.5" in the rear to level out things perfectly.
The Warn/Black Diamond leafs were chosen because they are some of the longest
add-a-leafs in the industry. Three inch blocks are not normally a great choice
for severe off-roading and we have plans to eventually change over to a whole
new rear spring pack but we will not do so until things break. After months
off hardcore off-road use, abuse, and misuse, we are starting to wonder if the
rear set-up will ever fail us - it is holding up quite well. Shock absorbers:
Considering that this vehicle would have the front and read anti-sway bars removed
at ALL times we were looking for shocks that had much higher compression/rebound
damping. The TrailMaster SSV's that we used were picked using the following
criteria. Stiff damping, correct compressed/extended length for 6" of lift,
and ease of mounting - read just bolt them in! Front lower control
arms:
Stock! That is right - a full 6" suspension lift using stock lower control arms.
How did we do it you ask? Well, prior to lifting the vehicle we calculated that
the front wheels would only drop a few inches before the lower control arms
made contact with the spring seat/shock mount that is welded to the front axle.
If we lifted a full six inches and did not change the lower control arms the
lift would be useless or.....we could just cut off anything that was blocking
the lower control arms travel. Goodbye rear two inches of spring seat/shock
mount! Yes, we just cut off that rear lip of that bracket that the lower control
arms make contact with under extreme articulation. The lift kit in
general was a "hackers" dream come true. Pick up parts laying around - start
installing them - cut off anything that slowed you down. Brake line extensions
are necessary along with new, longer, vacuum lines that run to the front axle
disconnect. New rear driveshaft is required also. With the stock one installed
after the lift we could not go over 3 MPH before the transfer case slip yoke
assembly would start slapping the underside of the vehicle due to the fact that
only about 1/4" was engaged.  There are many ways
to lift your Cherokee and this is only one of them. If I were to list the changes
I would like to make to the suspension system in the future I would start off
with new lower control arms designed for a 6" lift. Even though we got back
to factory specs with 7 degrees of caster up front this is still not the right
way to handle the lift up front. We simply wanted to see if it could be done.
The next change
would be in the rear - a new, complete set of rear leaf springs built for 4-6"
of lift. One and two inch blocks are common and safe for most everyone - three
inch blocks start to get you thinking about axle wrap, etc. They are still working
for us though. If this vehicle
were to be driven by a "normal" person who drives on the road (not in the ditches)
and will be keeping their front anti-sway bar connected for on-road use (a VERY
good idea) I would look for another set of shocks. The shocks I selected were
for extreme off-roading...period. They don't feel all that well on-road but
off-road they are great. No reason to change
the front end at all - feels great.
Here is a list of the part numbers I used:
- TeraFlex front
springs - SF3Z
- TeraFlex 1.25"
poly spacers - SSTXZ
- Warn/Black Diamond
A-A-L - 705205
- TrailMaster
SSV shocks - 72510 (front) & 72710 (rear)
Note: Rubber bushing
in bottom part of front Trailmaster shock will have to be switched with a replacement
bushing the same as your stock shock. Auto parts stores normally have an assortment
of shock bushings available - take your stock bushing with you. The suspension
flexes quite well and has not disappointed me in any way. This XJ sees quite
a bit of heavy duty off-roading in the form of "well if you won't try it I will"
so it has been tested again, and again. Now I guess it is time for some larger
tires, steeper gears, bigger engine, etc., etc. Special thanks
to JR for all the help during the install/initial testing.
Kit was installed at:
Grand Cherokee Connection
2514 Bird Drive
Erie, PA 16510
814-898-8381
814-898-5104 (fax)
info@cherokeeconnection.com
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