Offroad-Express

Hey my mate has an xj cherokee that he wants to lift on a budget. Already has a set of 33"'s for it but its standard at the moment and they cant be fitted. Ive been trying to get info for him today and it seems that you need to do alot to get the 33's in under the gaurds. We wanted to lift around four inches but even the four inch kits recommend 31"s i know that we can cut the gaurds and that is no problem. Who knows an affordable lift kit around 3.5" to 4" lift? full set including shocks. I was also told that they run into problems with their driveshaft too. Any info would be appreciated

3 inch grinder?cheap at mitre 10 at the mo?spend the money springs & shocks and will handle soooo much better

have you jacked a jeep before?

i popped my old one up 3 inches. its on tm at the mo.(again) with 8inch rims and 31's on it needed a trim on the rear of the bottom front guard. tis is with the front sway bar discoed, could have done with more trimming!!!





Fully stretched they JUST snuck under the rear guards before hitting the bumpstop. It had 2 inch spring lift, and i added 1inch spacers. just had to make a transfer drop spacer and took out any driveline vibe.



33's will need the 4 inch min and at least another inch of cutting. Saw one a while back that had the guards trimmed and Wrangler flares put on it, different but not entirely out of place.

If youre going to go further than the three inches there, youll need front and rear trailing arms replaced, adjustable pannard etc... there wont be a cheap way to do it.

Maybe Borg can help a bit more????

Unless you want to do a lot of trimming you will need to lift it at least 5" to clear 33's. So you are starting to talk big money. There are several guys in the Nelson area running that sort of lift on XJ's. They use kits imported from the US.

If you look on the NAXJA website you will find some guys who cut the fenders out as much as possible to try and minimize the lift, but the rear wheel arches proximity to the rear door limits things.

Good luck

I have a friend in Taupo who put 8" rims with 33" tyres on his XJ with no lift.

he selectively cut away parts of the inner guard to ge tthem to fit.

very tidy job and only rub very slightly at full articulation.

It can be done with the cheap grinder easily

skid wrote:I have a friend in Taupo who put 8" rims with 33" tyres on his XJ with no lift.

he selectively cut away parts of the inner guard to ge tthem to fit.

very tidy job and only rub very slightly at full articulation.

It can be done with the cheap grinder easily

Ya reckon? Didchya look at my pics? Thats 3 inch lift with 31's on 8inch rims. has he got some piccys he could pop up for us?

xj wrote:

skid wrote:I have a friend in Taupo who put 8" rims with 33" tyres on his XJ with no lift.

he selectively cut away parts of the inner guard to ge tthem to fit.

very tidy job and only rub very slightly at full articulation.

It can be done with the cheap grinder easily

Ya reckon? Didchya look at my pics? Thats 3 inch lift with 31's on 8inch rims. has he got some piccys he could pop up for us?

I'm sure the title says CHEROKEE.

XJ you've taken too many knocks to the head, ya reading is suffering

yup, your right it says Cherokee allright. And my pics are of a..........a........... well hotdiggity...... a cherokee

you cant just cut the inner guard on the rear, if the inner goes so does the outer. Look at the pic of mine with the rear tyre tucked in there..... youd have to cut an inch and a half right around ust to get half inch clearance, which would cut into the back of the rear door. the front guards, with the three inch lift and 31's on 8inch needed about 10mm trimmed off the back bottom corner to just turn. And that was on the flat.
stock height with 33's....... Sorry mate, i just cant picture it.
Then again, people still telling me i cant have a 4-5 inch lift on the Wrangler without installing a SYE..... yet i do.....

here ya go mudhunt, courtesy of http://www.Pirate4x4.com
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=617740

skid wrote:

xj wrote:

skid wrote:I have a friend in Taupo who put 8" rims with 33" tyres on his XJ with no lift.

he selectively cut away parts of the inner guard to ge tthem to fit.

very tidy job and only rub very slightly at full articulation.

It can be done with the cheap grinder easily

Ya reckon? Didchya look at my pics? Thats 3 inch lift with 31's on 8inch rims. has he got some piccys he could pop up for us?

I'm sure the title says CHEROKEE.

XJ you've taken too many knocks to the head, ya reading is suffering

33" on a Cherokee (i.e. XJ) with just minor cutting of the fenders??? Americans must be really dumb to have not thought of that and developed lift kits for them! Are you sure you are not mixing Wranglers (TJs) with Cherokees (XJs)? My understanding is that you will need a solid 5" or 6" lift and some cutting to fit 33" tyres on a Cherokee.

OK, so you guys think I'm telling fibs.

next time you are in Taupo, go to McPhail Grahame Motors and ask for Kevin and take a look at his jeep. His son has done the same to his jeep too, I kid you not.

I wouldn't lie to you guys.

Skiddy is quite correct, I went wheeling with Kevin and Alastair in January and they are running 33s on their XJs. I guess it's the difference between getting out there and web wheeling. They had a lot of little tricks that don't cost much on their wagons like using bolts throught the rim to stop the bead sliding inwards and still being able to run tubeless. I didn't think it would work but they were doing it.

The cutting was more the outer guard than the inner and the flares had to be repositioned higher and there is some suspension lift with springs and longer shackles but it's all a work in progress.

Skiddy, not saying your telling fibs... Ive lifted two and just dont see how it can be done without lifting. It's boggling my mind.

skid wrote:I have a friend in Taupo who put 8" rims with 33" tyres on his XJ with no lift.

Lifted or not????

vitara888 wrote:...... and there is some suspension lift with springs and longer shackles but it's all a work in progress.

Bah, either way I'd be more than interested in stopping by and seeing how its been done. Are they able to post up some pics? Do you guys have any pics???

xj wrote:Skiddy, not saying your telling fibs... Ive lifted two and just dont see how it can be done without lifting. It's boggling my mind.

skid wrote:I have a friend in Taupo who put 8" rims with 33" tyres on his XJ with no lift.

Lifted or not????

vitara888 wrote:...... and there is some suspension lift with springs and longer shackles but it's all a work in progress.

Bah, either way I'd be more than interested in stopping by and seeing how its been done. Are they able to post up some pics? Do you guys have any pics???

its the old case of maybe a few fibs coming out.

they told me that they fit the 33s with no mods other than a bit of cutting, but it seems they have told others that there has been a few suspension enhancements. When I see the wagons sitting there, they don't look lifted, but if they've told other people they have altered the suspension, then maybe they have.

they still look standard height to me

maybe they gotta stop at the roach cuz!!!!

xj wrote:maybe they gotta stop at the roach cuz!!!!

bwaaaaahahahahaha

Moving along.....

Ive got a set of ZJ rear coils (i think theyre the rear ones anyway) that will pop right into the front of a XJ and give 2 inches straight away. thyre sitting in my garage collecting dust.

Theres a fella on TM doing "lowering blocks" for leafs.... chuck em on the top of the axle and under the leaf and up ya go, he also does the u-bolts to go with them. Then i suppose its cutting time..............................

im still not really clear on this so what is an ideal setup to get 33s on

Ideal, or cheapest? Cheapest, block it up a couple of inches and pull out the jigsaw and go to town on the guards. Ideal, import a 4inch long arm kit from the states.

not cheapest ideal , ok then so ill look at 4" long arm kits from the states

http://www.jeeperz-creeperz.com/lift-wr ... -4961.html

http://www.rcjeepliftkits.com/products/ ... t_kit.html

http://www.rockymountainsusp.com/jeep_XJ.htm#Rubicon

http://www.extremegearoffroad.com/store ... ctid=16301

theres allsorts of kits out there aye.... the last one posted there provides a 4 inch kit to fit 31inch tyres....????? Still a slightly confusing state where theres different suppliers providing the same height kits, yet stating different tyre sizes???

Good luck

Some inspiration for you....
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50204

i put 32"simex on mine by just cutin the gaurds so i belev u skid

my xj got a 4inch lift a rusty kit and i am stoked with it i thrash my xj harder than my rally truck and and never damaged a thing and it can swing 33 all i had to do was take inner gaurds out and bash in a seem on the firewall and wasnt a problem just rember you really should change your diff ratios to get the most out of the 33 mod not much point doing it half arsed