1996 Jeep Cherokee XJ 3 inch Rough Country Lift Kit Install

The XJ is finally getting some new suspension. Let's put this Rough Country spring kit in it!
#jeepxj #jeep #xj #xjcherokee #jeepcherokeexj #jeepcherokee #4x4 #cherokeexj #roughcountry #liftkit
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[@Str8sixfan]

Honestly, Rough Country has come a long way since the early 2000s. They're a quality outfit now. Always love stance adjustments!

[@HFG]

It's made a huge difference. Now the smallest holes in the road don't bottom out the suspension. The ride quality is pretty good, too. 👊🏼👊🏼

[@myles2go.]

very cool jeep. I love that you converted it from 2wd to 4wd. I did a similar lift to mine with junkyard springs from a s10 and a thunderbird on my channel.

[@HFG]

Sweet! I'll have to check it out!! 👊🏼👊🏼

[@VinoRatRodbuilds]

Right on! Awesome job brother! 😁👍

[@HFG]

👊🏼👊🏼

[@ZekeMaster85]

Cool vid, hopefully that rear settles out over time. Looking forward to a follow up Video!

[@HFG]

I hope so too. Hopefully I can hit some trails with it soon.

[@KeatonDee]

Good times. I remember installing basically this same lift in my XJ back in high school in my parents driveway. Threw some proper bump stops in, 33s, and a rear locker and drove the hell out of that thing. Wish I never sold it.

[@HFG]

Now's the time to buy one again. Prices are climbing. Get you a sweet XJ :)

[@Vickyvee97]

I was thankful that I got my Rusty's 3.5 rear springs before the pandemic hurt the supply line and prices.

[@HFG]

100% RC doesn't even sell the full leaf kit anymore. At least the last time I checked they didn't. Only helper springs.

[@projectbumblejeep4190]

I did the 3" Zone Off Road lift. One thing I found that even Zone was unaware of was the track bar. I went with the Rough Country sleeve adjustable track bar. Ran me about 125$. Came with new mounting bracket and hardware. Without the adjustable track bar, a 3" lift will move the front axle over about 3/4" to the left. I didn't notice the shift until about 3 months later. Hope it helps. God bless and stay well.

[@HFG]

That's good info. I'll have to take a look and see if my axle is shifted. Maybe I'll need to order that track bar kit 👍🏼👍🏼 Thanks for watching

[@frankiejsmith6398]

Mine has a tweak somebody jumped mine with r.c kit

[@VenomTT]

Mine looked the same way and the rear settled down. I didn't see the front sway bar drop bracket which I thought the 3" came with. Nice job.

[@HFG]

Thanks! The rear has settled some but it's still lower in the front. This kit didn't come with the swar bar drop. 🤷🏽‍♂️ Or at least I didn't get one with it. Now it has a little vibration in the drive line I have to figure out. Maybe u-joints

[@TurlosGarage]

That’s a nice XJ! Ready for bigger tires now and some off road fun.

[@HFG]

Thanks! I just got these tires!! 😭😭

[@Destroyer1320]

Heads up I am not getting notified of your video uploads. I am catching up now, Great video Brother!!!

[@HFG]

Damn!! I don't know what could be wrong. I'm glad you liked the video!! Hopefully YT fixes the issue

[@cablenowadays6586]

There a few thing i would add. I run a 3” lift and 33s for a low COG build. You’re going to want a track bar and bracket and some adjustable control arms upper and lower to set caster. Also i would recommended the holstein 5100s and do barpin eliminators because i’ve broke those front and rear even with limiting straps and proper bump stops. But overall this kit will do you perfectly fine even in serious off roading. With this exact kit i did hells revenge and 31s and a broken shaft up front. Basically did it in rwd only and a poor man’s locker.

[@HFG]

Thanks for the info!! I appreciate it 👍🏼 I got some new adjustable upper and lower arms from a sponsor but I haven't installed them yet. I'll look into the other upgrades once I finish up a few other projects. Great info. Thanks a lot 👊🏼👊🏼

[@IronHorseGarage]

Right on amigo!!

[@CCAutoWorks]

Very nice my buddy just put the same kit on his

[@HFG]

Awesome!! Seems to work ok 👊🏼👊🏼

[@mychannel6718]

I have a rough country lift in my Silverado and it rides great. I am having a 3.5” rough country installed in my 2000 jeep XJ next week. I think rough country is great!

[@HFG]

Nice!! I have no complaints so far 👍🏼👍🏼

[@mychannel6718]

@@HFG awesome! Rough country has definitely come a long way. Glad everything is good so far for your lift. Great video!

[@19moods]

What size tires on ur xj?

[@MortskeRepair]

" I'm not really an off-roader person. I just like mall crawling"

[@HFG]

Haha! The "Country" model was a Mall Crawler:)

[@henryescat1104]

I was like why are u changing all the original stuff.. but now I see the original crap is dinky compaired to the new parts.. UPGRADE! NICE!

[@HFG]

The old springs were so worn out that just pulling into my driveway would bottom out the Jeep lol

[@omarmuniz4059]

Excellent!!!

[@HFG]

👊🏼👊🏼 Thanks!

[@marvicty]

For just regular weekenders, Rough Country is just fine. Most of us are not rock crawling and just need a rig to get us to the fishin' hole. One thing you should address is the shackle angle. The factory shackle placement is complete garbage. I went with a adjustable shackle bracket, it made a HUGE difference

[@HFG]

Thanks for the info! That's exactly my situation. I'm not trying to do extreme stuff. One bummer is that the front is lower than the rear, which this was supposed to fix. I'll check out some shackles 👍🏼👍🏼 Thanks

[@ericbehring8250]

Front twin steering stabilizer will help.. heavy duty control arms and steering arm.. it will ride like a Cadillac

[@HFG]

I got some new adjustable control arms but I've been too busy to install them. I'll be sure to get an upgraded steering stabilizer 👊🏼👊🏼

[@toofusnook]

Those wedges on the rear springs are supposed to aim the pinion down (not up) to match the increased angle on the forward end of the driveshaft. I know it seems counterintuitive, but you only straighten that pinion to shaft angle when you use a SYE. Your lift might look high in the back because the rear springs might be on backwards. TLDR: a lift increases the angle from the transfer case to the driveshaft, so you need to also INCREASE the angle from the pinion to driveshaft.

[@HFG]

Huh. I've installed several lifts and I could have sworn that the previous instructions all showed the shims facing this direction. Hmm... Well, maybe I'll double check and switch them around but I think I'd rather be beaten to death with a cactus than take those springs out again. It'll probably be easier this time though.

[@toofusnook]

@@HFG matching the tcase/shaft angle and pinion/shaft angle will cancel out irregularities in rotation before they reach the pinion. There’s much better explanations available (than mine) on YT. Let me know if you’d like me to dig them up. Fwiw, i JUST added 6 degree shims to my 4” lifted 99 for this reason. It required new u-bolts and pin bolts, but I used the opportunity to add custom bumpstop plates.

[@HFG]

​@@toofusnookit's all good. I went with the smallest lift specifically to reduce drive line geometry issues. I'll take a closer look at it after Power Tour.

[@mikewilson7132]

i have that kit on my xj with 33 12.5 17 tires ride is very good

[@HFG]

👍🏼👍🏼 Thanks for the feedback. I'm pretty happy with these too. I kinda wish I would have gotten the 3in fronts though.

[@run2thefight]

I’m a real alpha male who loves your videos. I learn something and your entertaining 😊

[@HFG]

Thanks! I appreciate it 👊🏼👊🏼

[@keithreilly386]

Watch it with those compressors I had one come apart once in the bowl shot about 6 inches into the ground right next to my foot

[@HFG]

For sure. I hate those things. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@MA-nx5vt]

Thanks for the video. I'm trying to figure out what lift to put on my '97 XJ, looks like I'll pass on the RC. Mine's in a Country too, but its a 4x4.

[@HFG]

Rusty's is supposed to make a good kit. I've had OME before and it was great, too. I have to say, the RC kit has settled down nicely and has a pretty smooth ride. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@MA-nx5vt]

@@HFG I've heard OME was great. I had a RE 4.5" on my ZJ that rode like crap. Good to hear the RC is breaking in nicely. Any info on the Zone stuff?

[@HFG]

@@MA-nx5vt I've heard people say that the Zone kits are about the same as RC with a worse warranty. I've never used that brand before though. I don't know what the spring rates are between them all but it always comes down to you get what you pay for 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@projectbumblejeep4190]

Also, Zone Offroad had me disconnect the lower control arms from the axle.

[@HFG]

Ahh. Gotcha. The RC instructions were pretty bad. I think they have one set of instructions that cover all of their lifts lol

[@nicksargent91]

I am considering buying this lift. Did the rear even out with the front over time? I was thinking about putting .75 inch spacers in the front to even it out

[@HFG]

The rear did settle down but the front is a little lower still. My kit was a 3in rear and 2in front "leveling kit" I believe. If I had to buy it again I'd just get the full 3in kit. I've heard bad things about their Add-A-Leaf kit, so get the full rear spring packs if you can. Although I do have a slight drive line vibration now that wasn't there before. It is probably the kit exacerbating a problem that was there before. I built most of the Jeep out of scrap parts, in case you haven't watched the full build playlist. 👍🏼

[@henryescat1104]

The upgrade makes the tires look a little small.. But I don't know how much bigger you could fit on there..

[@HFG]

Yeah they do look kinda small on there now. The new springs will settle and it will lower a little over time. I just got these used tires and wheels so I'll figure something out when these are worn out.

[@henryescat1104]

What are you doing to do with THOSE BIG GIANT ASS WHEELS? That's what I can't wait to see!

[@HFG]

@@henryescat1104 That's a pretty wild story. I'm not sure I can show that on the channel due to privacy issues with the owner. We'll see 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@danieljohnson8437]

Printing press,wrench.

[@hayzersolar]

if your xj is a 96 how did you get that steering wheel. those came on the earlier xj models. i have a 96 and a 95 both dodnt have the wheel. i love the look of them but dont know how to put on in my 96.

[@HFG]

The previous owner must have swapped the column out. Probably to eliminate the SKIM. The VIN is a 96 but I've changed so much on it that only the body is a 96 now.

[@hayzersolar]

@@HFG thank you I really want that steering wheel I hate the one that I have

[@HFG]

@@hayzersolar if you watch the first video in the XJ playlist you'll see what a mess that truck started out as. I do have some of the newer columns that were in the Jeep.

[@HFG]

@@hayzersolar but I don't think it's too hard to change out to the old style

[@MuscleCarSolutions]

Raw materials have SKY ROCKETED in price. You got a hell of a deal. Its only going to go way up in price.

[@HFG]

For sure! That's one of the reasons why I pulled the trigger now, and I'm glad I did. 👊🏼👊🏼

[@MuscleCarSolutions]

@@HFG yup. Sometime this year that kit will double in price. Inflation is only getting worse and the world is getting harder to access. Crazy times.

[@HFG]

@@MuscleCarSolutions Crazy times indeed. Hopefully things settle down soon cause this is ridiculous.

[@henryescat1104]

I like the BACK UP.. LOOK..

[@HFG]

Almost took out the Avalanche 😆😆

[@TurlosGarage]

It’s a Jeep thing

[@HFG]

😆😆

[@jonesy3002]

How is this kit holding up after a year of use ?

[@HFG]

It has gotten better with age and use. It's settled down and feels better. It's stiff but not too stiff. Just about right for what it is. Last I checked RC doesn't sell the full leaf kits like this anymore. They only have the add-a-leaf kits.

[@robertoferrari5397]

..worksISH...we use those terms at work all the time...is it intolerance?...it's goodISH....ps..i need a work light like that one.

[@HFG]

👍🏼👍🏼 I reviewed the light in pretty sure. Check through my videos and there might still be a valid discount code for it

[@TheJoePhoto]

I'm running the 3" Rough Country add a leaf kit on my '99 XJ.. I'm not pleased with the ride.. Ride is Rough.. It's fine when I have my XJ loaded with the Family.. I'm thinking of going back to Stock Suspension.. Not a Fan.. smh..

[@HFG]

Sorry I missed this comment. Shockingly my ride is quite a bit better than stock with my kit. Maybe it's the full leaf packs 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@keithreilly386]

Model T wrench

[@HFG]

Oh, wow. That's pretty cool. I had no idea. Thanks!

[@omarmuniz4059]

??

[@HFG]

??

[@danhambrick6331]

Congratulations buddy...You just wasted $600…..😂😂😂😂

[@HFG]

At least it can be driven now without the axles slamming into the body. 👍🏼

[@danhambrick6331]

For now......

[@HFG]

@@danhambrick6331 😂😂 Man, if you have some experience... I'd love to hear it. I bought what I could afford for a $200 junk pile Jeep.

[@TuttleCreative]

Not constructive input to go along with that statement ?????

[@guardianesdls9756]

Excellent!!!

[@HFG]

👊🏼👊🏼 Thanks. Works pretty good