xj lift

dyer91

dyer91

Active Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2006
Location
Greensboro
my dad and i r debating on a lift kit for his 89 cherokee(hes going to run 33s) and i think we have narrowed it down to the re 4.5 super flex kit or the rustys 4.5 kit with the long arm upgrade. from what i have found there is about $300 differance between the two(the rustys la being more). question is, is the long arm uprgade worth the $. what steering mods r needed? is it just a dropped pitman arm or does it need a high steer kit? anybody with direct experience with either of these kits...likes/dislikes? or r there other kits in the ball park that we need to be looking at. thanks for any input.
 
IMO those are both good kits. if it were me i would go ahead and spend the extra for the long arm kit. better handling on road and off road....better flex etc etc. and if he ever wants to go bigger for any reason the long arms are already there...
and i dont really think you need a high steer kit for 4.5"
 
But--Long arms....OR shit products and even shittier customer service and shipping. I'd rather go with stock links than deal with them again. And fwiw, I have the full on rusty's 8" long arm xj lift. As well as their taillight housings.
 
braxton what kind of problems have u had out of the rustys kit? i was told not to get the rough country kit because the links use solid bushings and with regular extreme flexing u r going to damage the mounts on the unibody.
 
i had the rustys 4.5 kit. it sits slightly higher than my friend's RE 4.5. no long arms, but, still a very flexy kit. i havent had any parts break on my lift. just axles.
 
I am currently clearing 33's on 3.5in of lift, embrace the sawzall. I have an explorer lift and have had little to no sag in 5 years or so. Works good offroad, works good onroad, eh, it is all going ot be a presonal preference
 
dlbrando said:
I am currently clearing 33's on 3.5in of lift, embrace the sawzall. I have an explorer lift and have had little to no sag in 5 years or so. Works good offroad, works good onroad, eh, it is all going ot be a presonal preference
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thats what i was going to say...decided whether or not you are trimming. on an 89 XJ i would venture to say you are going to trim. if so you can get away with the RE 3.5" lift and trimmed fenders and have plenty of clearance. One i've done on may XJs is order the RE 4.5" Superflex kit that come with everything and get the RE 3.5" coils instead of the 4.5" coils and don't run the rear extended shackle. you will come out cheaper this way in the long run.

Long arms are great but you will loose clearance if you are not running at least 35s.
 
You're moving the link mounting point back quite a bit. Unless (and even if) the link has a bend in it for clearance, it's going to be lower. It has to be, otherwise it would hit the "frame" during uptravel.
 
dyer91 said:
how would u decrease ground clearance with the long arms? it seems like they would provide a little better clearance.
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unless you run a TNT Setup or something custom your long arms are much lower hanging than the short arms. i had drop brackets on my last XJ and long arms were still lower than those.

don't get me wrong long arms are great, just make sure they are beef because if you wheel you will drag them...

IMHO - so many people buy long arms for the "cool" factor, when properly set up short arms work great.
 
woodkrawler said:
.....
don't get me wrong long arms are great, just make sure they are beef because if you wheel you will drag them...
IMHO - so many people buy long arms for the "cool" factor, when properly set up short arms work great.[/QUOTE]


That's why I gots mine... but..some how I've still yet to drag them over any rocks... or curbs... or speedbumps for that matter...
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[/QUOTE]That's why I gots mine... but..some how I've still yet to drag them over any rocks... or curbs... or speedbumps for that matter...[/QUOTE]

last time i checked your are curved like the TNT setup - i was only comparing the non-bent long arms like RE, Rustys, Claytons, Full Traction....
 
you could always do a RE longarm kit, i think they make a 5" longarm kit that is pretty complete, the give you things like extended track bars which, you don't even have to use track bars anyway. But they throw in crossmember pieces and other useful things. It worth the $$ if you want to go 5". You may be able to squeeze 35's, but if you want to go any bigger, you will most def have to trim fenders.
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1995 YJ 4.0 5-speed
RE 4.5" superflex sus lift
35" Maxxis Bighorns
4.10 front (locked), 8.8 rear (locked)
skidplates
custom rock rails
custom bumpers front/rear
trimmed fenders
______________
Have a good time all the time - Viv Savage
 
if you dont use a trac bar on a xj it wont steer or drive
did you mean sway bars?
oh IMO the long arm check out tnt they are xj experts
and there equip is the beef
Clayton is good as well
 
CLAYTONS

Best LA kit available, without a doubt. A little pricey compared to rustys but absolutely worth it. I have several friends running Clayton's long arms and have heard nothing but praise.
 
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