Jeep Cherokee XJ - Fat Bob's Garage 2" Budget Boost

In the summer of 2013, I purchased a '98 Jeep Cherokee (XJ) to replace my old '01 Nissan Sentra. The Sentra was a great little car, but it gave me a bit of trouble while driving up some of the old US Forest Service (USFS) roads leading up to certain hikes. With better ground clearance, the Jeep makes it easier to reach hikes that were more difficult to access in the past. I enjoyed driving my little Sentra, but the XJ gives me more capability to explore the vast wilderness across the Pacific Northwest!

The Budget Boost

A completely stock XJ could probably handle any USFS road in the state of Washington, but I want mine to be a bit more prepared to handle more rugged terrain. In order to comfortably fit 30" or 31" tires on the stock wheels without trimming the fenders, the Jeep requires a slight lift of about a 2" in the front and back. Taking into account my budget and time constraints, I decided on a simple spacer and shackle lift kit as a cost-effective solution. Eventually, I hope to replace the stock leaf springs with Medium Duty Leaf Spring Packs from Quadratec.

As for the budget boost of choice, I went with a 2" Spacer and Shackle Budget Boost from Fat Bob's garage. It's a basic lift kit with 2" polyurethane spring spacers for the front and an adjustable 1.5" - 2" extended shackle for the rear. It isn't exactly top-of-the-line off-road quality, but it should hold up for the trails I plan to ride on.

Installation Prep

Here are the tools I used to do the complete install:

• Socket Wrench
• Adjustable Crescent Wrench
• Long Breaker Bar
• PB Blaster
• Anti-Seize
• Rubber Mallet
• Strut Compressor
• 2.25-ton Jack
• 3-ton Jack Stands

The strut compressor can be rented from pretty much any auto parts store. Just call in and see if they have one available. It's about a $60 deposit, but you get it all back as soon as you return the part.

Every day for three weeks prior to the install, I soaked every bolt with PB Blaster (especially the rear shackle bolts). I highly recommend doing this to make the entire removal process as smooth as possible. I sprayed it on in the morning before work and once more at the end of the day. Probably overkill, but I didn't want to bust any bolts!

Install the Front Spring Spacers

There are several methods for the front coil spacer install, but jacking up one side at a time seemed the most straightforward to me. For each side:

1. While the Jeep is on the ground loosen the lug nuts on the wheel.
2. Place the jack underneath the axle tube, jack up the wheel, then completely remove it.
   
3. Put a jack stand on the frame, right behind the control arm joint. Then, lower the vehicle to rest on it. Be sure to use a piece of wood between the jack stand and the frame! This prevents the stand from denting the unibody.
4. Disconnect the sway bar link by removing the upper nut and bushings. You'll need to do this on both sides! With a rubber mallet, knock the sway bar upwards and move the link aside.
5. Undo the spring retainer bolt, and remove the retainer clip.
6. Undo the lower shock bolts. You'll need a crescent wrench to hold the bolt in place. Then, you can stick a socket underneath to twist out the nut. With the shock a bit out of the way, there is more room to remove the spring.
   
7. Jack up the axle to compress the spring. While it is compressed, attach the strut compressors. Make sure the compressors are completely opposite each other. Any slippage will cause it to (explosively) uncompress. This happened to me twice and it sounded like a gun going off. Any limbs in the way would probably get blown off!
   
8. Slowly lower the axle. As the axle drops, the strut compressors will tightly hold the spring. When the axle is all the way down, the spring should just fall right out. It might need some help getting out, but do this with extreme caution! It slipped on me twice and sounded like a gun went off under the Jeep. Once removed, put it somewhere far from your work area!
   
9. The coil spacers are made with polyurethane. Firmly push the spacer over the shaft and bumpstop, it should tightly hug the shaft. You can try to muscle it up all the way, but a rubber mallet makes the job much easier. Pound it all the way to the top of the shaft.
   
10. With the coil spacer in place, the compressed spring slips back on the same way it came out. Again, proceed with caution! When doing this, make sure the bottom of the spring is lined up correctly, allowing the retainer clip to hold the bottom rung in place.
11. Jack the axle all the way back up until the strut compresses hang loosely on the edges of the spring. At this point, you can remove the strut compressors.
    
12. Lower the axle all the way back down. Reattach the spring retainer clip and bolt. Reattach the lower shock bolts. Finally, reattach the wheel and lugs. Congratulations, the first side is done!

For both sides, it took me a little over 3 hours. Most of the time was spent learning about all the different parts and making sure I didn't break a limb working with the strut compressors. After lowering the front and tightening everything, I took a lunch break!

Install the Rear Leaf Extended Shackles

For the rear shackles, you can jack up the entire back end of the Jeep rather than doing one side at a time. Here is what I did:

1. Chock the front tires to prevent the vehicle from moving while the rear is jacked up.
2. While the Jeep is on the ground loosen the lug nuts on both rear wheels.
3. Place the jack underneath the pumpkin (differential) and jack the vehicle up.
4. Put jack stands underneath the frame, close to the front of where leaf springs connect to the body. Then, lower the vehicle to rest on them. Just like before, use a piece of wood between the jack stand and the frame to prevent denting the body.
5. Completely remove both wheels.
   
6. Using the breaker bar, begin removing the lower bolt of the stock shackles. This will require plenty of strength and plenty of patience. Using a socket or crescent wrench on the opposite side of the bolt to hold the nut in place. Apply heavy, but gradual force to turn the bolt. Go back and forth, occasionally spraying PB Blaster to further loosen the bonds. Take your time. Once the bolt is rotating smoothly, switch from the breaker bar to a socket wrench to make the rest of the turns faster.
   
7. With the bottom bolt removed, the same process can be used for the top bolt. For the top, there is no opposing nut. Instead, the nut is welded inside the frame. It is very important to apply gradual force here! If the welded nut breaks off, you're in for some major pain! Again, go back and forth, spraying PB Blaster in between turns. It will not be completely smooth. Occasionally, the bolt will make a popping noise. Fear not, it's probably just the rusty bolt twisting about.
   
8. Now that both bolts are off, the shackle should just come right out. Yank downwards on the leaf spring to free up some room below the shackle and slide it off.
   
9. Support the axle underneath the pumpkin with the jack to remove the nuts holding the lower shock. You may need to adjust the jack to find the right height so the shocks easily slip out.
10. Once the lower shock nuts are removed, pull outwards to disconnect the shock. A little PB Blaster and a rubber mallet might help.
    
11. With the shocks disconnected, slowly drop the axle as low as it can go without breaking any lines. This will provide enough room for the new extended shackles to hang. I rested the axle on two additional jack stands on the lowest setting, just as a precaution.
12. Attach the new shackle the reverse way the old shackle came out. It's as simple as that! Apply a fair amount of anti-seize to make the process easier in the future. Attach the upper bolt first, then the lower bolt. You may need to use the jack to adjust the height of the leaf springs to match up the ends with the lower part of the shackle.
    
13. Reattach the lower shocks and tighten the nuts. Again, use the jack to adjust the height of the axle.
14. Finally, reattach the wheel and lugs. Congratulations, your budget boost is fully installed!

The rear took me about 4 hours. Most of the time was spent muscling the bolts and correctly adjusting the height of the axle. If I hadn't PB Blasted them weeks before the install, who knows how long it would have taken!?

Enjoying the Boost

So far, the Jeep rides exactly the same. It's recommended to get an alignment done after messing with the suspension, so that is next on the list. According to some of the posts in this JeepForum thread, 31" tires should fit just fine with the new boost. Unfortunately, my rear leaf springs are sagging a bit. So, I'll probably have to get a long Add-A-Leaf (AAL) kit or replace them altogether.

Here are some before/after shots:



I hope your install does as smoothly as mine! Comments? Questions? Corrections? Leave a message below!