How to Lift a Cherokee XJ: The Right Setup, in the Right Order

Decide on your tire size first — the lift follows from that

The lift is not the goal. The tire size is the goal. You lift the XJ to fit a specific tire size — not to "have lift." Before you order a kit, decide what tires you want to run and work backward.

The XJ has a short wheelbase and relatively small wheel wells, so there are real limits. Here's the practical clearance guide:

Stock (no lift): 29–30-inch tires. The factory 215/75R15 is 27.7 inches. A 30-inch tire fits with minor trimming of the plastic fender liner.

2-inch lift: 30–31.5-inch tires. Fits 31×10.5R15 and 235/75R15 without rubbing under most conditions. Minimal modification required.

3-inch lift: 31–33-inch tires. The sweet spot. Fits 31×10.5s cleanly and 33×10.5s with minor fender trimming. This is where most XJ builds live permanently.

4.5-inch lift: 33–35-inch tires. Requires a slip-yoke eliminator and longer rear driveshaft, stronger axles, caster correction, and usually body lifts or fender cuts for 35s. More money, more complexity, fewer people who actually complete it cleanly on the first try.

If you're new to this vehicle, plan for a 3-inch lift and 31–33-inch tires and live with that for a year. You will learn more about what you actually need before committing to a more complex build.

The budget boost: what it is and when it makes sense

The "budget boost" is the cheapest way to get 2–2.5 inches of lift: cut the factory front coil springs to remove a coil (raises the front ~1.5–2") and add lift shackles or an add-a-leaf in the rear. Total cost: $50–150 in parts and an afternoon of work.

It works. Plenty of XJs run a budget boost for years. The tradeoffs: the ride gets stiffer (cut springs don't absorb bumps the way designed-height springs do), the front geometry changes in ways that weren't engineered, and you're still running the factory shocks at a height they weren't designed for. For someone who just wants 31s on a rig they're going to wheel casually, it's a legitimate choice. For someone building toward a capable trail rig, spending $300 on a proper 3-inch kit is worth the extra money.

What a proper 3-inch short-arm kit includes

A complete, properly specified 3-inch short-arm kit for the XJ includes:

Front: New coil springs rated for the additional ride height, matching shocks (extended to handle the new travel range), caster correction bushings or cam bolts (critical — see below), and a longer front track bar or provisions for one.

Rear: New leaf springs or an add-a-leaf pack designed for the lift height, extended shackles if required, matching rear shocks, and extended brake lines if the kit lifts the axle beyond the factory lines' range.

What's not in a kit: an adjustable track bar, ball joints, tie rod ends, an alignment. Budget those separately. A proper lift installation requires a 4-wheel alignment afterward — don't skip it.

Caster correction: the thing people skip and regret

When you lift the front of an XJ, the front axle rotates forward and your caster angle decreases. Caster is what makes the steering self-center after a turn and keeps the front end tracking straight on the highway. With reduced caster, the XJ will wander, require constant correction, and be more susceptible to death wobble.

On a 2-inch lift, the caster change is marginal. On a 3-inch lift, it's significant. The fix is caster correction: either cam bolts in the control arm mounts (cheaper, adjustable), replacement offset bushings in the lower control arms, or replacement control arms with the geometry built in. Good kits include this hardware. If yours doesn't, buy cam bolts separately. An alignment shop will use them to dial in the correct caster angle — typically 4–5 degrees positive on a 3-inch lift.

The front track bar: don't skip this

The front track bar keeps your axle centered under the vehicle. When you lift the front of the XJ, the geometry of the stock-length track bar pulls the axle to the driver's side — you'll notice the steering wheel sits off-center and the vehicle pulls. An adjustable track bar, set to the correct length for your lift height, fixes this. It also reduces death wobble susceptibility by restoring correct geometry.

A basic adjustable track bar for the XJ runs $80–180 (Moog, Rough Country). Heavy-duty options with rod ends instead of rubber bushings (Currie, JKS, TeraFlex) run $150–300 and are worth it if you wheel seriously. Install it at the same time as the lift and set the length to center the axle — there's a good visual check: the steering wheel should sit centered and the vehicle should track straight with no input.

Kit quality tiers and what they mean in practice

Budget ($150–300): Rough Country, Skyjacker budget line, generic kits. These work and have put thousands of XJs on 33s. The springs may not be well-tuned for the XJ's specific geometry, the shocks are usually basic twin-tube units, and the hardware quality varies. Good for a rig that will mostly see street and light trails.

Mid-range ($300–600): Rock Krawler 3-inch, IRO 3-inch, Rough Country X-Series, BDS 3.5-inch. Better spring rates, better valved shocks, more complete hardware packages. The ride is noticeably better and the geometry work is more considered. This is where most XJ builds should start.

Premium ($600–1,000+): Clayton Off-Road, RE (Rubicon Express), IRO long-arm kits. Long-arm geometry, better articulation, more durable hardware. Worth it if you know you're going to wheel the rig hard and you have a clear picture of the final build. Overkill if you're not sure what you want yet.

What you don't need on the first build

Slip-yoke eliminator (SYE) + longer rear driveshaft: Required at 3.5–4.5 inches or more. At 3 inches, the factory driveshaft geometry is within acceptable range for most setups. Wait until you actually experience vibration before spending $300–500 on a SYE and shaft.

Body lift: A body lift raises the body off the frame to fit larger tires without changing suspension geometry. It's a way to get 1–2 more inches of tire clearance cheaply. On a first build, fix the suspension geometry correctly rather than layering a body lift on top.

Long-arm conversion on the first build: Long-arm kits improve articulation and on-trail performance significantly — but they also cost $800–2,000, require significant installation work, and assume you've already identified that short-arm geometry is limiting you. Buy a good short-arm kit, wheel it, and let experience tell you what to build toward.

The order of operations

1. Inspect before you lift. Check ball joints, tie rod ends, wheel bearings, and the track bar before spending money on lift components. A worn suspension is a dangerous suspension — and a bad ball joint will cause problems regardless of what height you're riding at. Replace anything that needs replacing first.

2. Lift and tires together. Buy the kit and the tires at the same time, or at least plan them together. A 3-inch kit installed on stock-size tires looks odd and doesn't give you the clearance you paid for.

3. Adjustable track bar with the install. Not after. Installing the lift without the track bar and then driving it for months on a misaligned axle wears your tires unevenly and stresses your steering components.

4. Alignment immediately after. Budget $80–130 for a 4-wheel alignment. The XJ has adjustable caster and the shop will use the cam bolts to dial it in. Skipping this wastes tires and causes handling problems.

5. Re-gear if you go to 33s. On stock 3.55 gears, 33-inch tires are noticeably sluggish — the transmission hunts on the highway and off-road crawl suffers. Plan for 4.56:1 gears if you go to 33s and plan to keep them. Use Trail Manual's gear ratio calculator to see the RPM impact before you decide.