3" Suspension Lift Kits?

I'm still trying to decide on the lift? Will I need brake lines for a 3 inch lift? How will 31's look with a 3 inch lift? Does anybody have pictures? Whats the difference between hydro and nitro shocks? These are the three kits I've been looking at. What do y'all think? Or any other suggestions? Also, how is the ride? And how does the front match the rear on these? Thanks!

http://roughcountry.com/jeep_mj_3.html

http://motionoffroad.com/catalog/index. ... ts_id=1525

http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchant.m ... sus_xj_kit

Your truck should sit perfect with 31s and a 3" lift. Remember, you generally get what you pay for with a lift.

Those three kits are very basic at an entry level. I do not have experience with those kits, but their inherent design with the AALs and only lift coils up front, will yeild in a rough riding truck that probably has front geometry issues and fatigue the remaining stock parts quickly. I would pick the cheapest of the three so you have less invested in the lift when replacement time comes around.

In my opinion, anything more than a 1-2" budget boost should include:

- sway bar discos

- adjustable track bar

- adjustable control arms

- brake lines

- bump stops

Take a look at Hell Creek for a lift. Tom is a member here at CC and will give you a discount (see sticky in classifieds). He sells a fairly complete kit that includes new leaf packs paired with RC front end components.

I got the Hell Creek Kit that Brett mentioned. Mine just came with full leafs in the back, coils in the front and shocks all around. While I don't have many miles on mine, I haven't seen a need for an adjustable track bar, longer brake lines or adjustable control arms. Granted, I'm sure there is a benefit to all those, but I don't wheel my truck and I've been happy with the performance I've seen. When I get my truck back together after paint and put some more miles on it, I may reconsider. The lift height is perfect in the back, but I think I could stand for just a hair more in the front.

This should give you an idea of the lift height (3" lift with 31x10.50 tires):

Your truck should sit perfect with 31s and a 3" lift. Remember, you generally get what you pay for with a lift.

 

Those three kits are very basic at an entry level. I do not have experience with those kits, but their inherent design with the AALs and only lift coils up front, will yeild in a rough riding truck that probably has front geometry issues and fatigue the remaining stock parts quickly. I would pick the cheapest of the three so you have less invested in the lift when replacement time comes around.

 

In my opinion, anything more than a 1-2" budget boost should include:

- sway bar discos

- adjustable track bar

- adjustable control arms

- brake lines

- bump stops

 

Take a look at Hell Creek for a lift. Tom is a member here at CC and will give you a discount (see sticky in classifieds). He sells a fairly complete kit that includes new leaf packs paired with RC front end components.

What lift would contain these things? I'm not sure how to adjust anyway and I'm wanting to keep the ride pretty close to what I have. Is there a kit that contains all these things? I have no no mechanical knowledge in suspension. I will be having it installed. I need all the necesary hardware in the kit. I thought about a budget boost ,but I heard its better to just replace springs in an older truck because coils will end up sagging in time because of the old springs. I'm not in too much of a hurry but need a lot of help. Shcakles and spacers just don't seem like enough to please me.

I got the Hell Creek Kit that Brett mentioned. Mine just came with full leafs in the back, coils in the front and shocks all around. While I don't have many miles on mine, I haven't seen a need for an adjustable track bar, longer brake lines or adjustable control arms. Granted, I'm sure there is a benefit to all those, but I don't wheel my truck and I've been happy with the performance I've seen. When I get my truck back together after paint and put some more miles on it, I may reconsider. The lift height is perfect in the back, but I think I could stand for just a hair more in the front.

 

This should give you an idea of the lift height (3" lift with 31x10.50 tires):

Great looking truck. I'm trying to get that look but just a bit more level. Maybe an inch spacer in the front would look just right added to that kit. I'm just not sure how suspension all works. It's my daily driver and i'm 16 so I don't want a thousand bucks into it. Thanks guys

Although the adjustable stuff is dandy, conventional wisdom is that it is not required until you get to 4-4.5" of lift.

I had terribile experience with Rough Country and their products. Even their defenders admit that it takes them several tries to get an order right, and their customer service, IMHO, is horrible.

Hell Creek's service was dandy :clapping:

Great looking truck. I'm trying to get that look but just a bit more level. Maybe an inch spacer in the front would look just right added to that kit. I'm just not sure how suspension all works. It's my daily driver and i'm 16 so I don't want a thousand bucks into it. Thanks guys

Take a look at the Comanche of the Month for June viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30517

It should give you an idea of what a little more lift in the front would look like.

If you looking for a 3" suspension kit (Not body lol) then this is all you need Front coils, rear short add-a-leaf, & Hydro Shocks. I'm not sure at the length of the shocks but I'm sure somebody can help out with that if you really want to know. RC and hellcreek both offer the same kit and that is who I would use. And you CAN do it your self just get a friend to do it with you and take your time. You will save alot of $ and learn a bunch if you just try thats all it takes. We are all here for you if you have any ?'s to get you though it.

Brandon

Ive posted them before but here's my 88 with abnout 3.5" of lift on 31s.

Details are in my "My Style" build thread :wrench:

What lift would contain these things? I'm not sure how to adjust anyway and I'm wanting to keep the ride pretty close to what I have. Is there a kit that contains all these things? I have no no mechanical knowledge in suspension. I will be having it installed. I need all the necesary hardware in the kit. I thought about a budget boost ,but I heard its better to just replace springs in an older truck because coils will end up sagging in time because of the old springs. I'm not in too much of a hurry but need a lot of help. Shcakles and spacers just don't seem like enough to please me.

I don't think there is a 'perfect' kit out there. Personally, I would piece together a kit with as many used parts as possible. As you see, there is a wide variety of lift options out there that may or may not work for somebody. It really boils down to what you plan on using the truck for. I would suggest researching lift kits and their components until that is all you can think. Also crawl around your rig to get an idea of what all of the parts are/do.

Although the adjustable stuff is dandy, conventional wisdom is that it is not required until you get to 4-4.5" of lift.

I know the newer TJ and our MJ's have slight differences with control arm mounting, but I know I would have never been happy with the placement of the front axle using the factory control arms on my TJ. Getting the axle centered in the wheel well, pinion angle and caster dialed in would have been impossible even when cranking on the cam bolts. Maybe the MJ/XJ shim set up can get everything lined up closer, I am not sure. Not to mention the addition twist applied to the factory control arms, due to increased droop, (longer shocks included with most kits will yield this) can cause them to break.

I purchased the motion offroad kit and ran it for a year. It was ok, but not great. I was not happy with the overall quality of the kit. In my opinion, it is not strong enough if you are doing moderate or harder wheeling. My trackbar broke and the threaded design of the control arms was weak, in my opinion.

Personally, I would recommend putting together your own 4.5" kit. 31s or 33s will look and fit fine with 4.5" If I had it all to do over again, I would have bought the following .... and most likely paid about the same as a 3" kit.

SOA in rear using stock leafs and shackles $50 for new spring perches and shock mounts

Used 4.5" coil springs $75

Used heavy duty adj. trackbar $100

Used, but quality long arm kit $500

New Shocks $200

Brake lines $75

Steering kit like Currie or JCR $300

That totals $1,300, but its a complete kit that will be very stout. The long arms and upgraded steering will give you enough adjustments to guarantee a smooth, wobble-free ride. If you are going to run rocks, you will be a whole lot happier with something along these lines than a 3" kit with short arms.

My 3" kit basically fell apart after a year of wheeling. I ended up replacing everything from that kit with the items I listed above. The kit ended up being a complete waste of money.

Here is how it looked with 3" kit and brand new 31s.

4.5" with the same 31s was a great set-up:

The same 4.5" with 33s rubbed a bit ... nothing some trimming couldn't fix.

Although the adjustable stuff is dandy, conventional wisdom is that it is not required until you get to 4-4.5" of lift.

 

I had terribile experience with Rough Country and their products. Even their defenders admit that it takes them several tries to get an order right, and their customer service, IMHO, is horrible.

 

Hell Creek's service was dandy :clapping:

I have a 3" RC lift on my truck...... and yes they will mess your order up for sure. the lift I got was for a xj... I know they are like a mirror image, but the aal for the xj is longer than the mj aal and the rear shocks have the mounting pin for the xj jammed into them. when I called them about it they told me that they are the same kits to which I said then why is there a price difference he then said well hold on a second then put me on hold for like 10 minutes. when he finaly came back he informed me that all I need to do is pull the hardware out of the rear shocks and they will be fine.. as for the aal he admitted he sent me the wrong one so he sent me a different one.......... a week later I get it you can hardly call them an aal they look like blocks :doh: don't buy rough country lifts..... I will keep mine on till I get the time to do a SOA lift and bump it to 6"+ :thumbsup: also a track bar is required for a 3" lift trust me if you don't replace it you will within a year when you get the death wobble. Also it might be a good idea to replace your break lines with yj lines in the front.

I really appreciate all of the input guys. I need a whole lot of help. This is a big decision for me. I'm scared to drop a grand in suspension with a 170K on the motor. It always keeps me worrying. Good ole MJ :D I need to know where to get every part I need. also how do you know how much to lift when you know your truck can't turn bigger tires? It's a hard decision.

I'm kind of in the same boat as kawaboy except I'm building a MJ for my 17 year old son as a DD.

I'm torn between the HellCreek 3" full leaf packs (+/- $300) or the 3" AAL's ($75)

Can some one give me some "long term" feedback on the AAL's? How have they held up?

I will be installing a 29 spline 8.25 from the XJ into the truck(flipped perches of course)

I have the front covered with left over parts from our crashed XJ, the front will be OME/RE hybrid 3"

Sorry for the hijack kawaboy but I thought the feedback may help you as well.

No problem, I'm wondering if it's enought to buy just lift springs, adjustable track bar, add-a-leaf, and brake lines? Or do I need more adjustable things and drop brackets and all those things? I'm thinking 3.5" Rubicon Express coils. Hell Creek Add-a-leaf. Brake line Extensions. And Rubicon Express Adj. Track Bar. Will this be enough to get the lift I want with a like ride and no death wobble? I'm wondering if a budget boost would best suit me, but it doesn't get me up where I want to be. Thanks guys.

No need for drop brackets.

Don't forget shocks and bumpstops! With that setup you will probably have a stiffer ride but it should drive straight if your stock control arm bushings are good shape.

What is the purpose of the lift? What will you be using the truck for?

If you plan on wheeling it at all, be sure to get some swaybar disconnects.

What are the bump stops for? I light wheel the truck. I like to play. But it's my daily driver. And rough roads to the deer lease. Some flex and hill climbing. What is the swaybar disconnect?

Bumpstops limit the amount of up travel in your suspension. When we lift our trucks we can fit taller tires under it because the axle is further from the chassis. But what happens when the suspension is compressed and the axle pushed up as far as it could when stock with those tall tires? You eat fenders and often times damage the tire when it rubs seams along the wheel well. Front bump stops resemble hockey pucks (some actually use pucks) placed on the lower spring mount of the axle. I would recommend bumpstops for anyting bigger than a 30" tire.

Swaybar disconnects for just that, they remove the swaybar from the suspension when off road. The swaybar is designed to keep the axle parallel to the body, good on road but will greatly reduce articulation (flex) off road. I have also found they make the ride smoother on slow, rough, roads.

If I just went with 2" spacers in the front and 1" shackles in the back, would I need to do anything? Also, what can I do to get more flex. Can you do swaybar disco on just a budget boost? Is it worth it? Can I get pics of a budget boost? Thanks, John

bump

For the long term I would stay away from AAL's as they will start to sag over time. I've had one on an XJ and it lost about an inch of lift over the course of about a year. It also seemed to negatvely affect the flex of the rear spring pack.

If I just went with 2" spacers in the front and 1" shackles in the back, would I need to do anything? Also, what can I do to get more flex. Can you do swaybar disco on just a budget boost? Is it worth it? Can I get pics of a budget boost? Thanks, John

You will also need shocks and an alignment 8)

Yes, you can use swaybar discos with a budget lift. The discos, in addition to longer shocks, will improve your front axles articulation (flex). You may need brake lines, YJ lines would probably work perfect for a budget lift.

If you are only planning on light wheeling, and mostly DD duty, a budget boost might be the most bang for your buck.

Get some 1.5" to 2" springs (V8 Grand Cherokee coils and a small spacer is cheap and easy, or used Old Man Emu 2" springs)

Get a used set of MJ leafs, cut the ends off the main leaf, and insert it under the main leaf in your pack - extended shackles if you need more ... or maybe just the shackles

Get some used sway bar discos

Leave the control arms, steering, brake lines, track bar, shocks, bumpstops, and gears alone .... if you end getting vibes or having issues, then you can start upgrading all those parts.

With a 1.5 - 2" lift, you can easily run 30s and be quite capable for easy wheeling. You could even trim the fenders and fit 31s or 32s if you want, but then the stock gears might bother you.

I always think its better to do a very inexpensive budget boost to get your feet wet .... or spend the time and money to do a good quality 4.5"+ lift. The in-the-middle stuff seems to get expensive and not hold up well .... causes more trouble than its worth.

W.ould this give me 2" in front and .75 in back and bolt right up? Or will it be different because its for a Cherokee? Thanks!

bump