tenwolvz

I have a 95 grande Cherokee that has 31's on it now. But i am planning on putting a lift on it in January and i was going to put 33's on it but now I am considering 35's. It is a 6 cyl 4.0 engine and It is my daily driver and I am not going to be rock climbing or doing to much real extreme off roading just mudding and having fun. well for now at least. So I am looking for advice on what kind of lift i should get to make it great off road and on. Any advice is appreciated thanks.

Jordan1996 ZJ

if you got the money for it i would get a 5.5 long arm kit check out IronRockOffroad.com or rustys, might need some heavy duty axles for those 35's too, really depends on how much you want to spend

bryweb

Generally you open a whole new can of worms when you go from running 33's to 35's.

Like the previous poster said one big issue are the Axles, the Dana 30 in front and especially if you have a Dana 35 in back are not up to the task of 35's

Gearing starts to become an issue once you get to 35's

Driveshaft angles start to become an issue - so you start needing SYE "Slip Yoke Eliminator" and different driveshafts.

Unless you are really committed to running 35's I would look at going with 33's.

With that said if you do want 35's you need 5-6" of lift, which I think then pretty much moves you from using Short "Control" Arms to Long "Control" Arms (the tubes that go from the frame to axles) which moves your lift prices from starting at $400 to starting at $1500 - plus the cost of tires really jump up, then you tend to be chasing down driveline vibrations, steering issues, etc.

I had a TJ with 35's and didn't particularly like it, now I either want to go smaller to be more stable (like 33's) or bigger to be able to get more nuts in the deep mud (like 42's) but first I need to decide what platform to build on this time. I just bought (2) WJs and so far I am not liking them, I did not like the Wrangler when mudding as you have no locked storage, I hated soft top windows, and usually wheeled with no top and FILLED the inside with mud, I miss my XJ the most (I have had CJ5 CJ7 YJ XJ TJ WJ and an old Wagoneer)

Bryan

djlarroc

you will need 4.5" of lift at least, and major trimming. long arms preferably. gearing, sye. beefed up steering (35s will kill your gear box).. will wear down your brakes alot faster.

i had a 94 zj on 4.5" front and rear long arms and 35s. did everything i told you.

i sold it. hated driving it on the street.

Bmkerner

If you wanting to fit 35" your probably gonna need a 6.5" long arm kit. And if you have a 4.0L u probably have a D35 rear and a D30 front and those arent gonna be able to handle 35's. You would need at least D44's. Ive got a D44 rear and a d35 front and im only runnning 33's So unless your looking to spend like $4,500, i would just stick to 33's

MUDRUNNER AZ

A d30 will hold up to 35's i still run 36's on one without chromo axles and i wheel hard. depending on the OP type of driving it can work or even be upgraded as things wear or do in fact break. either you fat fingered or you dont know whats under your frontend you do not have a d35 front. I had a 94 5.2 v8 grand and it had the d35 with disc brakes and i ran 33 ssr radial swampers and wheeled it moderately and did not have any issues at all. There are all kinds of combos that can be done long arm is by far a better way to go but if you look through youtube vids and even on this site there are a lot of short arm lifts that do just fine and you can upgrade as money and time allow.

djlarroc

agreed. my zj still had the cv axles on the d30, and a d35 in back. granted, both axles had detroits which replaced the carrier and made them stronger, but i wheeled the jeep pretty hard and never broke anything.

still, for 35s, be prepared to invest a lot of coin.

MUDRUNNER AZ

That can be very true as JEEP does stand for "Just Empty Every Pocket". But if the OP does do short arm i would recommend all adjustable arms if it has coils all the way around so the tires can be centered in the wheel well. I dont remember which years had it but i have seen a couple that had leafs in the rear like the xj but not many.

bryweb

Keep in mind those stating the D30 will hold up.... XJ and ZJ's both have HP (High Pinion) Dana 30's I believe (with a few exceptions), and the HP's are about 20-30% stronger than the WJ Low Pinions from what I understand.

I wheeled my 35's on my TJ on LP D30 and it held up.... but it is pushing the limit !!!!! even on a HP its pushing the limit.

Over the years I have pushed many cars to do more than they should, like driving a hammering rod knock Chevy 500 miles home, or an Audi with no clutch 300+ miles home, but just because you have or can does not mean you should.

But I also understand that it may help to let the person know you have gotten away with it so they may be OK trying.

Bryan

MUDRUNNER AZ

Most ZJ have the lp like the TJ my 98 does and its the same RP for it as well as the TJ but my Xj does have the HP. The TJ has 35's and LP30 with 456's and detroit truetracs front and rear so not locked but does anything i want it to do and has been fine. Anything can be broken if you are hard enough on it.

djlarroc

all (stock) zjs came w/a LP 30 and coils all around.

MUDRUNNER AZ

Neg on coils all around on grands i have worked on 2 that had leafs and were bone stock.

djlarroc

never ever heard of that before. i know the 93s (first year) came w/a manual tranny or the AW4 auto like the xj, but not w/leafs.

Please post up info on this.

This is from wiki:

Suspension
The Quadra-Coil suspension was standard and featured a solid axle multi-link coil spring design. By allowing the locating arms to positively control axle positions the handling attributes were improved. The rear suspension has 4 trailing arms with two coil springs per side. Like its XJ counterpart, the Quadra-Link front suspension was carried over.
An available "Up Country" package was offered. The suspension package included heavier duty German made gas charged shocks installed upside down, taller coil springs and longer bump stops. Ground clearance was increased by one inch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Grand_Cherokee

SeriousOffroad

To the O.P.
Have checked out the Vendor Forum yet?

MUDRUNNER AZ

Yes thats what i always thought too. One of the 2 is still around town here i think i can check it again. could be something made in mexico did not check its origin. Did not mean to get off track.