[Kyle]

How To Install A Lift On An XJ​

Hey guys, when I decided to do my lift I also decided that I should make a “How To” write up for installing a lift. I don’t think that I have ever seen something like this before and I figured it would be a good edition to my “Every XJ Lift” thread. Once again it probably won’t be perfect the first time so please correct any errors that I may have to make this write up as good as possible. Thanks for your time, Enjoy!!!​

~ ~ ~​

Well to start off I have included a couple of pics of what my rig started off looking like so we could get a good comparison to its end results.
Before

Front Height (From Center Wheel)

Rear Height (From Center Wheel)

As you can see I had a lot of sagging in the back which I was more then happy to get rid of.


The Front
We started off with the front of the Jeep because it was deemed the “harder” of the two, so why not get it done first.
1. We jacked up the jeep and used two jack stands under both sides of the unibody.

2. Remove the tires and put two additional jackstands on there lowest settings on either side of the front tube.

3. We went to the removing the previous swaybar so we could get as much droop as we could out of the axle. But right in the beginning we encountered a bolt breaking:brickwall but we didn’t really need the full length because of the gen2 disconnects, they don’t use the full bolt, infact they give you an extra (which we decided not to use and save for a rainy day)

After that I thought of the great idea of just cutting the bolt to get the sway bar off instead of breaking it again. So we used an angle grinder to just cut the bolt off on the closest side to the nut and it worked like a charm.
*Important* if you decide to do this be very careful for your tie rod because it is very close.

 

[Kyle]

Pic of the old sway bar/bolts after they have been cut up.

4. We used a Dremel grinder tool to smooth out the ends of the cut/broken bolts to make sure that the sway bar end link would screw in there just right.

5. Dismantle your steering, there are two castle nuts/cotter pins holding it up, one at the drag link and one at the trac bar. Remove both, then using a pickle fork take the bolt out of the holes.

6. You need to unscrew the lower shock mount bolts, and the upper shock mount bolt to remove the shocks.
Removing the Lower shock mount bolts

When they are removed

7. Now that your shocks are removed your front end should look something like this.

8. Its time for the LCA’s, first you need to remove the stock LCA’s then you need to replace it with the new ones. In my case I got the RE Superflex LCA’s which have a Johnny joint in the front and a rubber bushing the in rear. MAKE SURE that the rubber side goes towards the back of the car.
*TIP* if you are having trouble lining up the holes and the axle needs to be pushed away from the car then you can use your jeep jack to put in between the LCA mount and the axle tube itself for leverage.
Something like this, sorry about the darkness but if you look hard you can see what we did.

9. You need to install the LCA’s like so

10. Put a jack right by where you have your jackstand on the tube closest to you so you can remove the jack and lower the jack enough so you can remove the coil spring. Once the tension is off of the coil then you can remove the coil retainer and then fully remove the coil spring.
*Note* when you lower the axle tube enough to remove the coil spring watch your breakline to ensure that you don’t over extend it.

 

[Kyle]

11. Then your going to need to drill a hole where your Bumpstops are going to go, once drilled and tapped put the bumpstop inside of the coil then slip the coil on and screw in the bumpstop while the coil is still on.
*Note* I did this all without a spring compressor.

12. That is how you complete the front and you repeat the same instructions for the other side. Here is the finished product.
Driver Side

Passenger Side

All of the front done

The Back
1. Put jack stands on the unibody near the back, then take the tires off and put jackstands on there lowest setting on either side of the axle tube.

2. Take the rear swaybar off by taking the bolts off of the undercarriage itself and on top of the u-bolts.

3. Its time to remove the rear break line and replace it with the new one that RE provides, first you need to remove the left/right rear breaklines from the center T-Module.

4. Unscrew the t-module from the top air hose

5. At the top of the rear breakline you will need to remove a plate that is holding the breakline on, once the plate is removed then the breakline comes out easily. Follow the same instructions to install the new breakline that RE provides.

6. Remove the shocks, there is two upper screws holding the top up and one at the lower shock mount.
*Note* Be careful with rear lower shock mount because they are known for breaking.

7. Put the jack under the pumpkin, lift, then remove the jackstands, then lower so there is no tension from the rear leafs.

 

[Kyle]

8. Remove the u bolts, they will be replaced with new ones that RE sends you.

9. Remove the front and rear leaf mounts in order to get the leaf springs off.
Front

Rear

We encountered a couple of problems here.
One, We had to bend that lip you see in this picture in order to get the bolt out, but it bent right back.

Two, the rear bolts were facing my hitch and the bolt was too long to pull out so the options were to remove the hitch or remove the shackle. We decided on the removal of the shackle.

10. Remove the rear leafs (pretty self explanatory)

11. Drill a 5/8 hole on the spring perch because the RE center pins are bigger then the OEM ones.

12. Install the rear leafs, Put the front leaf mount on first, then hand tighten the U-Bolts, then do the rear leaf bolt. We thought this would end up being the easiest and it wasn’t that bad.
Somewhat finished

13. Install the rear shocks, not very difficult just put them on the same way you took them off:thumbsup:

14. Put tires back on and make sure that every bolt is tight, then triple check your work. BE SURE TO BLEED THE BREAKLINES BEFORE DRIVING.

15. Congratulations your done!!!

 

[AustinXJ]

When you decide you are going ahead and lifting your Jeep I would say for at least a week before you do the actual work soak down every bolt, nut and stray cat under the Jeep that you will be removing with PB Blaster, or a good penetrating oil. It will help out plenty.

The rear upper shock mounts will break.(90% of the time) There are many writeups on how to fix this with BPE's or you can use an air hammer to punch out the bolts and fish some new ones thru from inside the mount.

Keep in mind that after you install the lift you will need to get an alignment done so don't forget to factor that into your budget.

Good writeup Kyle, how do you like the RE kit?

 

[Jabo]

When you decide you are going ahead and lifting your Jeep I would say for at least a week before you do the actual work soak down every bolt, nut and stray cat under the Jeep that you will be removing with PB Blaster, or a good penetrating oil. It will help out plenty.

The rear upper shock mounts will break.(90% of the time) There are many writeups on how to fix this with BPE's or you can use an air hammer to punch out the bolts and fish some new ones thru from inside the mount.

Keep in mind that after you install the lift you will need to get an alignment done so don't forget to factor that into your budget.

Good writeup Kyle, how do you like the RE kit?

x 2

 

[Kyle]

I love my RE lift, its been a bit over a year now and it still rides like the day I put it on. Absolutely no sagging, recommended to anybody.

 

[nighthawkxj]

looks good, now its time to ditch that abs and go with some disc brakes on all 4 corners.

 

[Kyle]

looks good, now its time to ditch that abs and go with some disc brakes on all 4 corners.

d44 is coming first.

 

[rarreola]

will be nice some after lift measurements pics

 

[Kyle]

I netted 4.25 inches all around.

 

[jeepster99]

im looking to install the RE 3.5 Super ride on my 99 cherokee classic did you have to lower the transfer case or add a SYE. I just want to know what im getting into. thanks

 

[Kyle]

im looking to install the RE 3.5 Super ride on my 99 cherokee classic did you have to lower the transfer case or add a SYE. I just want to know what im getting into. thanks

Yes I had to do a TCase drop and I have a full SYE ready to be put in.

 

[Tranic]

I just did the 3.5" Super Flex lift on my 98XJ (also did the adjustable trackbar). I have some pretty bad driveline vibes now. I was going to put in a t-case drop kit but i noticed an issue that others in my area have not come across. Instead of 2 bolts per-side of the cross member, there is one bolt and one stud. This causes an issue since the stud is not long enough to accomedate the spacer block. Has anyone else figured this out, is it simple enough to back the stud out (inside the unibody frame rail) and will a bolt work in its place?

 

[96sport]

Yes, you can replace the stud with a bolt, just make sure that it is atleast a grade 5 bolt. Just heat the stud up with a torch, clamp on some vice grips and back the stud out.

 

[Tranic]

Yes, you can replace the stud with a bolt, just make sure that it is atleast a grade 5 bolt. Just heat the stud up with a torch, clamp on some vice grips and back the stud out.

Thats great news. I was afraid it was a bolt facing downward. Thanks for the info.