Old Man EMU 3" Suspension Lift for 1998 XJ Jeep Cherokee
Some people like to refer to the XJ Cherokee body Jeep produced from 1984 - 2001 as a station wagon or "grocery getter". Others are starting to realize the trail ready vehicle and daily driver that can be purchased for much less than a TJ or YJ of similar vintage. Stock it is a good vehicle. If you have read any of the other posts here on find4x4.com, we tend to like to make things a bit better...
Might I recommend the Old Man Emu 3" full suspension lift and shocks. After acquiring a replacement 1998 2dr Cherokee Sport, 5spd in 2006, a lift was of utmost importance... As I mentioned above, the Cherokee is a solid trail performer from the factory. However, with smaller wheel wells than a Wrangler and unibody construction (rather than body on frame) fitting larger tires requires some work.
After much looking around, reading online, and calling vendors, the choice was made. A 3" full suspension OME kit would be the ticket. Having experience with other OME products (you can read about even on this site) we already knew the quality in product and in ride we could expect. It also was nice to find out that this set up, would allow clearance for 31" tires, not require a t-case drop or any other modifications and would still allow for every day driving.
The kit includes new rear leaf spring packs, front coil springs, and 4 new shocks. OME offers support and assistance in making sure we got the right kit was great and much appreciated. The items were shipped within a week or so and were then installed by our local Tire Source in North Canton, Ohio. An alignment, some 31" BF Goodrich All Terrain KO's and it was a whole new machine, looks and all. The best part was that the ride, actually improved with the lift over stock.
The lift has been installed for 2.5 years and 20,000 miles so far and no problems. Lots of freeway and around town driving combined. While OME is not the cheapest kit out there, you do get what you pay for. The fit was great, the quality of parts is great and to get an improved ride along with better looks and off road performance is just hard to come by in a suspension lift.
If you have a Cherokee and have or are thinking about lifting but wanting to keep a daily driver, let us know. We'd love to hear your story. Now if we could just come up with a cool wave like those Wrangler guys....Hmmm.....
