i say 3 inch! i had a 3 inch and it ran beautiful. i added another 1.5 inches of lift and opened up a whole world of problems. death wobble = $50 drop pitman arm $40 dollar steering stabilizer. axle is 2 inches to the right= $130 new track bar. brake lines too short= $85. longer control arms= $150.... 3 inch ran good enough and was just right for my needs. but the 4.5 dose look cooler. definitely not worth it tho!

 

i cant figure out why no one else has said it but; buy a 3" from rustys, full pack or AAL depends on which you can afford i recomend a full pack. If you want more after youve had the 3 for a while buy the 1.5" shackles rusty's sells. Either that or buy the 4.5" from rustys with the 3" leaf and 1.5" shackle for 40$ more the fiirst time and try it without the shackles first if you decide you want more install the shackles

 

not sure if youre talking to me but i am runig cragar v.5 withs 3.75 backspacing and pro comp a/t 32x11.50" tires.

 

I've got a 3" and it is indeed nice. However, just because you had these issues and had to pay the prices you did doesn't mean it'll be the same for everyone.

The main thing that screamed at me was your $85 price tag for longer brake lines. That is waaaay too much, it can be done much cheaper.

Some people don't wanna do the work over and over. If there is a chance of needing a bigger lift, just do it and get it done the first time.

But in the end, to each his/her own.

 

yeah but it would save him some coin in shipping and handling and he would get to try out both a 3 and a 4.5 so why not do it?

 

im decideing this as we speak.

My major concern wasthe same as above, with 4.5 will be more likely to need SYE, transfer case drop, etc etc.....

Whereas the 3is less likely..but where its xmas and money is going to gifts, money is tight, but I agree doing it once will save, but I'm worried that if I spend the extra money for the 4.5 it won't just be 100-200, it'll be more like $600 more for all the added stuff like I mentioned, then I'll have to park it and wait till next year for $$$ sooo I'm torn...

BTW i have a 2000 XJ 4.0 classic, I would like to order it on monday, but i'm torn

 

Everything I've read says the newer body style is less tolerant of lift than the old. I can see how you would save time doing the 4.5 1st, but I really don't see where you're going to save money. The cost for lift shackles and spacers will probably be less than the difference of the taller lift, and doing a SYE/driveshafts now or later will still cost the same. You've got to decide if you can hold out long enough to save up for everything you need. I was at a place where I had to have no tires immediately and although I could not afford a full lift, I didn't want stock tires. It made good financial sense for me to do 2" first, and then make the jump to 3.5" a later when I had saved up to do it right.