BOLTS - Bolts on your Cherokee's front suspension and everyplace else are probably going to be good and rusty. Make sure you pre-soak every nut and bolt you have to take off or loosen with something like PB Blaster to lessen the risk of breaking them off. Figure 2 can's of PB Blaster $10.00.

 

SWAY BAR BOLTS - Swaybar bolts, be very very careful when removing these, The bolts are threaded through a square nut that is just tack welded inside the subframe..those small tack welds get weak and WILL break, ask me how I know..if they do guess what..it's time to get out your cutting wheel and cut a rectangular hole out of the side of the frame rail, and re-tack that nut back in place, and weld the hole back up.

 

SWAYBAR BUSHINGS AND SWAY BAR END LINKS - The sway bar bushings will go on the sway bar where it's mounted to the subframe and the sway bar end links connect the sway bar to the axle and keep the body from swaying..or leaning to keep it simple. If these wear out and need replacing $40.00.

 

LOWER CONTROL ARM BOLTS - When removing the bolts from your lower control arms sometimes they just will not come out. Seems the bolt and the rubber bushing have become one. The only thing left to do is cut them out..so make sure you have a SawSaw and plenty of metal cutting blades figure $10 to $15.00 worth of new blades and make sure you order you some replacement control arm bolts beforehand. I think I spent $10.. for 2 of them from RockAuto.com..and don't expect this to be a fast job.

 

STEERING STABILIZER - When ordering your lift kit, don't forget to spend the extra cash and get a new steering stabilizer they are $50.00 to $100.00 depending on how radical you want to go..most Jeep Cherokees don't have them or they are plum wore out..trust me it's worth the extra cash.

 

BRAKE LINE EXTENSIONS - Another thing most people don't mention when getting an average 3" lift is brake line extensions. now you don't have to ..and yes it is extra money about $45 to $55.00 for the front set and about $30.00 for the rear axle but well worth the expense..last thing you want is to finally get your Jeep XJ on the trail, or go off road due to some emergency,  over flex your axles and snap a brake line. Going backward down hill's are no fun when you have to use trees to stop.

 

BUMP STOPS - The Bump stops limit upwards axle movement. They keep the tires from rubbing the fender and/or fender flares, preventing damage to tires and the body also they protect your vehicle’s shocks: without the bump stops, the shocks would limit upward axle travel and, when hitting obstacles at speed, would have to take extreme forces — something they are not designed for. Therefore, when lifting a vehicle, make sure that the bump stops are extended or replaced. Figure $50 to $100 on the high side. 

 

STEERING STOPS- When mounting wider tires, these may rub the lower control arms at full turn. To fix this, the steering stops need to be adjusted. The steering stops are two bolts that limit the steering position of the front axle 

 

Usually, the stops are adjusted by loosening the counter nut and screwing the bolt in or out. However, some Cherokees “feature” spot welds on the bolts to secure the nut. In this case, unscrew the bolt and add washers as you see fit. 

 

Also when adjusting the stops, keep in mind that the driver’s side bolt will keep the passenger’s side wheel from rubbing the control arm, and vice versa.

 

TRANSFER CASE DROP- You may or may not have to drop  your transfer case with a 3" lift because you may or may not get some driveline vibrations, anything more than 3" lift it's a must..but I have always had to and I have lifted 5 Jeep Cherokee's one was my 96 Sport and the other 4 where friends. Now you can buy the transfer case drop kits for like $30.00 or just use thick washers on each corner that cost about $10.00 or a piece of 1" square steel tube on each side of the transfer case between the frame rail and the cross member. I like using the thick washers because you can adjust our drop according to what you need.

 

U-JOINTS - Plan on replacing your U-joints in your front and rear drive shafts. A lift kit will bring out all the weak links in your driveline in the form of vibrations and noise. Also if you have not upgraded to a stronger U-joint ..now is the time. And don't forget your U-joints in your front axles..yep those should be replaced also. Figure $15.00 per Ujoint times 6 Ujoints $90.00 to $100.00. But wait on replacing the two in your rear driveshaft..you may be getting a new driveshaft..haha why you may ask...you'll see.

 

SLIP YOKE ELIMINATOR KIT -  An SYE will provide a better driveshaft angle, eliminate driveline vibrations and reduce the possibility of accidental driveshaft separation. A Slip Yoke Eliminator kit also creates a significantly stronger transfer case which is a good thing. Again some XJ owner's after a 3" lift will not need it, but again I needed it on my XJ after a 3" lift beside it is almost mandatory if you plan on doing any moderate weekend wheeling. Plan on spending around $250 -$300.00 without shipping and another $100.00 - $175.00  to have the work done at a shop if your not mechanically inclined.

 

SPEED O METER GEARS - Now this isn't a big deal, but as people say if it is worth doing, it's worth doing right. With a 31" I don't even think you need to worry about it, but down the road, if you plan on 33" or taller you definitely need to consider it especially if you drive your Jeep XJ every day.

 

 If you change the tire size and/or the rear axle ratio of your Jeep Cherokee, the speedometer will not show the correct speed. You can easily adjust the speedometer by changing its sending unit gear, which takes no more than about 10 minutes. You're looking at around $30.00 if you have a stock or close to stock rear end gear.

 

NEW DRIVE SHAFT -  After installing the Slip Yoke Eliminator Kit your Cherokee needs a new rear drive shaft..HAHA told ya so....with the slip joint located in the center and a CV joint at the transfer case end.

You can either buy a complete replacement driveshaft or have the original shaft modified for the use with the SYE. Additionally, you will need two OEM Jeep parts: a so-called “oil slinger” and a rear bearing seal for the transfer case, because it is impossible to remove these parts during disassembly without destroying them mechanically most of the time.

 

With regards to tools, besides standard stuff like a socket's, wrench's  etc., you will need an M10 12-point wrench nut for one of the case bolts, snap ring pliers, gasket maker, thread lock compound and new fluid for the transfer case to refill the case after the installation is complete. A rough guestimate on a new custom driveshaft is around $350 to $400 and $50.00 for misc parts like fluid or tools.

 

REAR SHOCK BOLTS - Jeep Cherokees are notorious for having the upper rear shock bolts breaking. There is a cross member located up under the jeep that your shock bolts to. Inside that cross member are again 2 square nuts tack welded inside the cross member and those welds like to break. No fear there is an easy fix which I will put a link to my other video on how to fix it. All you have to do is get some new Grade 8 bolts it's a $5.00 Fix. Rear shock bolt fix video link.

 

REAR LEAF SPRING BOLTS - Now there is only one real problem with the rear leaf springs if you're replacing the whole pack, the front bolts of the leaf springs will not come out easily at all unless your lucky and I'm not. I had to take my Cherokee to a local shop and let them do the rear because I just couldn't get them out. $75.00.

 

REAR AXLE SHIMS    - Rear axle shims are pieces of steel or aluminum that are placed between your leaf spring and axle which adjust your  rear axles driveline angle and come in several different degrees of adjustment. Sometimes this angle needs to be adjusted depending on your lift. Also, they can be used to tune out any driveline vibrations. $30 and up.

 

REAR RUST ISSUE - Now when I had my Jeep Cherokee at the shop I also had an issue with my spring shackles being really rusted out and had to have them replace along with a piece of the rear floor replaced on each side.

Cost $200

 

REAR PINION SEAL AND YOKE - The rear pinion seal and yoke are commonly replaced on Jeep Cherokees with over 150,000 miles. My Jeep Cherokee had 244,549 miles on it. The rear Pinion Seal was pretty much non-existent and had to be replaced. You do not want any places where water can get into your rear axle. I also replaced the Yoke as a safety measure.The yoke after shipping was $55.00 and $25.00 for the pinion seal.

 

Now that's about all I can think of when it comes to the main surprises of lifting your Jeep Cherokee. I thought I was good to go at $1500 for wheels, tires and suspension lift but was I was wrong. It was more like $3,000 to have a lifted Jeep Cherokee done right and to have a safe everyday driver for on and off-road. Trust me everything that could have gone wrong did when I lifted my 1996 Jeep Cherokee Sport. Hopefully, you will be luckier than me.