Rusty's 4.5 inch lift for 87 XJ

Hey, I was wondering if there is anybody out there that has put the 4.5 inch lift on from Rusty's. I've been looking at the 6 inch tomken but you have to get a SYE and new driveline and thats getting expensive. I saw Rusty's and I liked it. I wanted to know if anybody has had any driveline vibrations from this kit or if they had to purchase anything extra to install the lift? Thanks for any info
Jeff

I've been running Rusty's 4.5" lift for a few years now. It's worked great for me but I've got a '99 so I had vibe issues. He sells a great crossmember that drops the t-case 1" without giving up any clearance (as compared to the stock skid). I'm running a SYE kit and still don't have the vibes totally worked out. You could up the 4.5" kit to 6" by adding 2" spacers up front and extended shackles in the rear. I think the kit comes with everything you'll need.

-Stretch

Thanks stretch. What all did your kit come with? Did it come with front upper control arms along with the lower ones, any shims or anything else? Also did it come with rear shackles or did the leaf springs give the full 4.5 inches of lift?

I did a bit of a custom setup. I'm running 4.5" coils up front with the stock isolator. I've got 3.5" HD springs in the rear with the 6" shackles that net 1.5" lift for a total of about 5" in the back. Since I didn't order a full kit I just got things in pieces. Rusty's kits should come with everything you need. For a 4.5" kit that should be front coils, rear leaves or add-a-leaf, new u-bolts, extended brake lines. You may want to consider axle shims and the 1" t-case drop crossmember as well as an adjustable front trac-bar and HD mount. If you're going to throw larger tires on there it's worth the price of a steering box brace. Off the top of my head, that's about it. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks-Stretch

Hey LostCreek21,
I've installed quite a few of that kit (I'm a big fan of his front coils) -- Consider upgrading to JKS discos and new brake lines (longer=better - steel braid) the XJ's brakes are NOT over-adequate by any means, and Rusty's "brake-line extension kit" is only a good-low-buck work-around at best (no offense, it does get you to where things are safe, but I like "better" as a critera for stuff like brakes; you know you're gonna be adding tire diameter!).

Also, Rusty's HD Trackbar (from the 6" kit - like Stretch said!) with the frame mount will last MUCH longer and is only a few $$ more (the end and mount are the only $ difference) -- a good upgrade to get away from a common point of failure (even for stock XJs) - plus if you go up later, you'll be more than ready.

At 4.5" you will need to think about your driveshaft (more so with an automatic than a manual) -- you will be adding more vertical distance between the diff and the t-case output (say about 4.5") -- Nomatter how you look at it it'll be a "taller" triangle so the shaft will need to be longer (a 35" shaft if flat at stock will need to grow by about 1/3" for 4.5" lift) -- the tough thing is that the shaft length will be affected by your particular OEM characteristics, your net lift, and what kind of rotation you put into the axle (shims) or t-case (drop) so it's not something that you can hands-down disregard. Also, the opreating angle on your OEM slip-yoke is pretty inadequate (if you're gonna end-up drooping the rear much - as a result of longer shocks) - that can be addressed with the YJ's slip-yoke -- it'll offer more operating angle ( kinda like this pic ) and help a bit with the length. Not to scare you off of anything there, but getting the driveline right is important; definitely something to consider in all this.

I can say that in your vintage, the auto has a much shorter drive-shaft than a manual, so if you have an auto, then you'll probably have a little more work to do -- as a general rule a set of 3* shims (depending on AAL or leaf design), the YJ's Slip-Yoke, and about 1/8" of shim behind the LCAs' upper mount (depending on replacement LCA length) should get things covered for ya.

I'd offer a hand if Oregon wasn't such a commute!

Do any of you know if the Rusty's 4.5 inch lift comes with front upper control arms?

http://www.rustysoffroad.com

Nope -- lists only Lowers -- the 6" kit has upper arms.

I'm looking at the cheaper 4.5 inch lift from rusty's that has the add-a-leaf and the rear shackles instead of full rear leaf springs because i don't have a lot of money (still in High School). Is there anything bad or good that I should know of about this setup rather than the other one? Thanks

The AAL's won's offer as much compression travel (they increase the spring rate and are relatively stiff) nothing horrible, just they way they work.

Shackles will rotate your pinion upwards a few degrees -- sometimes this is what you're looking for; other times not - without an SYE typically, you'll be looking to keep the pinion down more, so some shimming at the spring perches will be necessary.