What's needed for upgrading from 3" lift to 6.5"?

Predatorxj

Predatorxj

New member
Hey guys I have a Rough Country 3" add-a-leaf kit that came with coils, shocks, sway bar relocation brackets,lower control arms, and add-a-leafs. I have added 2" blocks and spacers, 2" T-case drop kit, extended front and rear brake lines, and adjustable track bar. I'm wanting to go up to a 6.5" lift for reasonably cheap. I'm getting 4.5" coils with my 2" spacers, and 4.5" leafs with 2" shackles. I do minor weekend wheeling (drives through the woods nothing major) I was wondering if I'm going to need different control arms upper and lower, or anything else. Thanks in advance!
 
I would invest in a set of long arms if I were you just since your planning on going that high. I'm at 5.5 inches of lift on my XJ right now and I'm running IronRock off-road adjustable upper and lower short arms and it is almost too much lift for them. If I could do it all over, I would have just saved the money I spent on adjustable short arms and gone long arm. You also might want to look into a SYE kit for your T-case and a cv driveshaft. Hope this helps! Good luck on compiling parts!
 
I thought about fabricating my own long arms. SYE is definitely on the todo list. Thanks for the advice!
 
Hopefully I can add a little here and maybe save you a headache or two.. IMO, 6.5" of lift for your planned wheeling isn't really needed for numerous reasons. Since you mentioned the budget, I've learned the higher you want to go - the higher the budget goes.
The taller the leaf springs, the harsher they tend to ride. It will push the OEM steering design and driveline angles to the max.
I've owned XJ's for twenty years and had many different suspension configurations. I've been at 5.5" running 35" tires for 10 years now, and this rig has walked right up Sledgehammer in JV without an ounce of problems - but honestly, an XJ with 4-4.5" and 33's can do some amazing things, including your planned weekend wheeling and save your budget, remain very comfortable and reliable on the street too.

Maybe ditch the RC coils for something slightly taller or add a small spacer if you like their performance. I'd ditch the add a leaf and block. Generally they ride poorly and the blocks promote axle wrap, which will fatigue the OEM springs even faster. A full replacement pack is a better idea. As I mentioned about budget - Deaver Spring or National Spring make some of the best, are not cheap, but you get what you pay for. I'm still running the same Nationals 10 years later.

Sorry to ramble, hope some of this is useful to you... :)
 
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