Lift Kits...

[Jeepers Creepers]

I'm toying with the idea of a 2 inch lift of the Jeep.

With a 2004 Jeep Cherokee, is it just springs or do i need to change shocks as well? Anyone done it and how does it affect handling?
I just wanna get its guts off the centre of the sand tracks... nothing radical, as Mrs. Jeepers drives it around a lot.

The reason for the question, is the only 4wd we've owned before the Jeep, was an old Nissan shortie way back when....
The old 3 speed manaul, no syncheo on first jobbie. Was a top old truck too.

I don't to be fed a pile of crap from a suspension shop on whats needed only to find i didn't need it, if you know what i mean.

[britts]

Always springs and shocks or the shocks will be to short and not work to their full capabilities ,


Cheers Matt

[dazzler]

As Britts says do all.  Which model Cherokee do you have?

I would source the dampers out of the US - save $$

[Jeepers Creepers]

Just the standard Cherokee thing, nothing too flash. There not a big 4WD.

Good idea about getting them from the states direct.

[adz1604]

Have a look on ausjeepoffroad everything you will want to know about jeeps is on there

[Jeepers Creepers]

Thanks.

[adz1604]

Or you could give murchinson products - crdstu suspension a call
Not affiliated at all but have heard good things about them

[Roo]

Jeepers, If your existing shocks are still in good nick and still doing the job then measure their length before spending up on new ones. you may find most popular 2" lift kits use shocks that are still standard length.
In your case, you want to get the guts up a little higher, even with a lift the diffs are still the same height as before. To get the pumpkins up higher you need to up your tyre size. 1 inch bigger tyres gets you a half inch lift but it will have other effects on gearing you need to be aware of.
Def check ou the Aus jeep forums.

[efjay]

fatbobs in  the usa have some great stuff for us jeepers.  You can get em on ebay through seller hammerhead4x4.  They are great if you have a question or 2 as well.

[GeeTee]

yeah do some homework regarding damper/shock length - jack up the body (evenly with jacks both sides) and see how many inches of jacking it takes to get the wheels off the ground; it's often the dampers that limit travel and some 4WDs have no more than 3 inches suspension droop until the dampers run out of stroke ... to short to accomodate a 2-inch spring lift with standard dampers
HTH

[Jeepers Creepers]

thanks folks, I'll delve deeper into it

[gronk]

yeah do some homework regarding damper/shock length - jack up the body (evenly with jacks both sides) and see how many inches of jacking it takes to get the wheels off the ground; it's often the dampers that limit travel and some 4WDs have no more than 3 inches suspension droop until the dampers run out of stroke ... to short to accomodate a 2-inch spring lift with standard dampers
HTH

Yep, you are right....but...sometimes with a stiffer extended spring, the droop won't be much more than with the standard springs, so the original shocks will be fine..

Only sure way to know is after putting in the new springs ( with shocks disconnected ), jack it up until the springs are just at the point of being loose in their cradles......and see if the shocks extend to their mounting points....and if not....measure the distance, then that is the extra length of shock you need.......keeping in mind that if an extended shock is too long, then the spring may become dislodged out of its cradle on full droop.....which you don't want..

So.......its not as straightforward as it seems sometimes !!

[dazzler]

4wds dont really need shocks.     

[GeeTee]

Yep, you are right....but...sometimes with a stiffer extended spring, the droop won't be much more than with the standard springs, so the original shocks will be fine..

Only sure way to know is after putting in the new springs ( with shocks disconnected ), jack it up until the springs are just at the point of being loose in their cradles......and see if the shocks extend to their mounting points....and if not....measure the distance, then that is the extra length of shock you need.......keeping in mind that if an extended shock is too long, then the spring may become dislodged out of its cradle on full droop.....which you don't want..

So.......its not as straightforward as it seems sometimes !!

I always try to use a long soft spring when setting up/lifting a tourer so the spring is always captive even with longer dampers

Dazzler.. you are a $martar$e

[KingBilly]

Jeep Cherokee .... handling

Is that an oxymoron 

[fishfinder]

its 8 years old change the shocks regardless

[Redcherokee]

The Sunshine Coast Jeepers would be your local experts.  There were a fair few of them at Jamboree and they seem like a good bunch.

Bound to be a few people who have been there and done that. And don't be suprised if they do use crd Stu.

http://www.sunshinecoastjeepclub.com/content.php

[nbd73]

Jeepers, what's your budget and how long do you want to keep the vehicle? I had ARB put one of their OME suspension kits on my 02 GC and it was the best mod I did to that vehicle by far. Transformed the driving characteristics, gave a 45mm lift to the body & maintained/improved the original ride quality which was already very good. I am not an expert on suspension, but this was advised as being a "complete"system tuned to the vehicle and for once the product lived up to and exceeded the hype.
The catch: $1900 you can't spend on other goodies

[Jeepers Creepers]

We'll keep it for the next 10 years or so, but i don't wanna spend anymore than i have to.

However, as Roo pointed out, my pumpkin will still be dragging in the sand with a lift kit or not. DOH.
Its our main car/good car, as our other car is the XF Falcon work van, so i still want it to be nice to drive.

The buses on Fraser really leave some deep ruts, so the guts skids the sand a bit from time to time, so me being me, thought a 2 inch lift would be the go.

To get the diffs up, I'd need 4 inch bigger tyres to get the 2 inches, but I'd have to cut the mudguards off for that.

You see my dilemma

[nbd73]

JC, had similar issue with the GC. For some reason Jeep fit smaller tyres (in terms of overall diameter) compared to say a pajero. It's either put up with the diffs dragging a bit or major surgery as you described. And that will cost too. The GC had 235/65 17's  which gave ~ 369mm from centre of axle to ground.  How does that compare to what you've git? If similar then a lift kit is all you should need.
Alternatively you could drive faster, but that's not exactly safe or acceptable behaviour these days!!
Good luck with whatever you do.
PS good move cancelling your Fraser trip - raining on the bay down our way this morning. Really, you should have known it was gonna rain - the cricket started yesterday so it was only ever a matter of time!!

[Jeepers Creepers]

Its funny, i really don't mind that it rains, as the mowing side of life needs the rain badly. I'm mowing dust and sand and its costing me a fortune in blades at the moment.

BUT IT HASN'T RAINED HERE YET, NOT 1 F+*#ING DROP OF RAIN

[createit]

Hi Jeepers,  Stu Murchison from Murchison Products is located close to you near Brisbane and is the go to guy for lifts and mods to jeeps in Australia.  After taking my stock 2008 jeep Cherokee on to Fraser and feeling like I bulldozed a lot of the tracks as the ruts were too big from the busses.  I did a two inch lift from Murchison Products which was springs and shocks - king springs and arb shocks.  Also changed the tyres to give the diff a bit of clearance without going overboard.  Good news is that 2 more trips onto Fraser and I no longer drag the body even when I towed the Jayco Dove outback on back in June.  With the new springs and shocks it also drives and handles corrigations better than stock.  Negative however with the combination of lift and tyres was an increase in fuel consumption of about 1l per 100km compared to before.   Will be the best move you ever make if you are keeping it for another 10 years.