JohnQ Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 What is the best 3 inch lift kit I can get to clear 31 inch Goodyear MTR's? Will I need to do any driveline mods with a 3 inch kit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 The best kit (whatever it may be) will new coils, new lower control arms, long MJ-specific AALs for the rear in addition to the brake lines, sway bar fix and trac bar fix (those can vary as to how they acomplish them). Plenty of kits won't have all of those. The only thing that typically won't be included is shocks and that's because the manufacturers recognize that many people have differing preferences. XJ kits will generally come with t-case lowering blocks, but MJs won't need that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 I've got a skyjacker kit that I bought used for cheap. it's a full length AAl in the rear and 3" coild up front. It had a trackbar relocation bracket, but I drilled a new hole in the axle side of the mount. It didn't account for the swaybar, so I used some JKS discos. It also didn't account for the brake lines, so I used YJ front brake lines. I can't tell you what the rear brake line is, the guy at the parts store grabbed it and told me that's what he had on his MJ :) it was 2-3" longer. One from a dakota pickup truck will work in the rear, but they didn't have that one in stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 New stock brake lines,(pick a make) are only marginally cheaper then a custom made SS line. just a heads up. Same thing goes for shocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 are the SS lines DOT approved? I'm not a big believer in the SS lines for some reason, they're still rubber on the inside right? I guess I just like the rubber ones for some reason. Convince me otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnQ Posted June 8, 2006 Author Share Posted June 8, 2006 The best kit (whatever it may be) will new coils, new lower control arms, long MJ-specific AALs for the rear in addition to the brake lines, sway bar fix and trac bar fix (those can vary as to how they acomplish them). Plenty of kits won't have all of those. The only thing that typically won't be included is shocks and that's because the manufacturers recognize that many people have differing preferences. XJ kits will generally come with t-case lowering blocks, but MJs won't need that. Are MJ shocks the same as an XJ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Up front yes. In back, no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Hey, Just joined the forum. Been on Jeepforum and JeepsUnlimited. name there is 97_4popper. Question: What do you folks think of the 3" lift for MJ's that is always on Ebay? http://cgi.ebay.com/86-91-MJ-Jeep-Coman ... dZViewItem I had been considering that for the sons truck. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinnaevd Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 I've heard nothing but bad things from Rough Country...Apparently they are all over themap for whether or not the kits hold up, And i've heard a lot of people say they don't give the lift advertised, or the back sits lower then the front. Now I have also been informed that they have changed there product recently, but I'd wait for more opinions. You can also find them cheaper then 335, I've seen them for 270...just can't emember where. I will try to get back to you on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bounty Hunter Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 I've seen decent satisfaction with Rough Country lifts myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 I've seen decent satisfaction with Rough Country lifts myself. I haven't heard much. The only ones I have heard bad about was Rusty's, but; I have no experience with any of them. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 More imprtant than finding good/bad opinions about products, is delving deeper to learn why the owner liked/disliked the product. Was the part quality up to par? Did the owner not like the ride quality? Did the lift not do what the owner wanted? And what was it that he owner wanted in the first place? did they do hard-core trails? Or just tool around town? Some people don't like the stiffer ride of some kits, while other owners didn't even notice. Opinions vary wildly in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Agreed. Ride doesn't matter to me. My son wants his truck lifted. Mostly for looks. You know how kids are. He's 17. He doesn't care about ride either. He does very little light off roading. Mostly just driving around town, etc. What I want to make sure of is that I get what I need and it all fits and isn't poor quality that won't last or is unsafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 The only issues I've heard of with rough country are springs that were stiffer than the owner wanted. The kit on ebay seems to have every item you'd need to do the lift properly. I'd bet that if someone else is selling the kit cheaper, it probably doesn't have shocks included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jage Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 More imprtant than finding good/bad opinions about products, is delving deeper to learn why the owner liked/disliked the product. Was the part quality up to par? About Rusty's: NO - fitment issues, wrong size bushing, easily bent or damaged - all parts were broken, bent or replaced within a year. most on the first time out. Some never fit. Others were never sent. Did the owner not like the ride quality? About Rusty's: The ride quality was unknown because I had to change the 2nd set of rear springs after the first time out and the front springs after the 3rd (driver's side sagging 2") Did the lift not do what the owner wanted? About Rusty's: As originally delivered the lift didn't have the right bushing in one leaf. The skid plates never fit (chop and weld!) I can't speak to the parts that were never sent. And what I wanted was to fit 32" tires and the 6" lift did not do that. It turns out that is because I had the 3" lift parts at the 6" price. I was told to cut my fenders to make it fit before I got replacement pieces (which were also crapola) And what was it that he owner wanted in the first place? About Rusty's: To fit 32" tires and trail ride at the Badlands and Haspen. did they do hard-core trails? About Rusty's: Eventually the stuff that was modified did hard trails, however there wasn't much Rusty's left by the time I started doing the tougher stuff. The lower control arms held up until a rock dented one and I think the rear shackles are O.K. Or just tool around town? About Rusty's: Yeah that too, but Rusty's "sway bar disconnects" were just lowers and later was told I was supposed to cut and drill my stock mounts (that's some hard *ss metal for a hand drill). So the sway bar wound up disco'd until I replaced them with RE discos - so not much 'round town driving. Some people don't like the stiffer ride of some kits, while other owners didn't even notice. Opinions vary wildly in that regard. About Rusty's: Well the rear springs wound up having a dump truck leaf about 2" thick to prevent wrap (they wrapped around the ends anyway) so they were pretty stiff. The front coils allowed for pretty good articulation in the front, until one of them stopped and coming back all the way from being compressed. And I'm super glad you didn't ask about their customer service! :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinnaevd Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 LOL!!! I think someone has a love affair with rusty's.....lol I hear great things about ride quality on comanche's specifically for rough country. If he's not offroading it much, I would have to say its a great deal. But I will just tell you what i HEARD, not what I know, and that they (around here) have been known to not last very long offroading. But its still a hell of a deal for the price IMHO. I was gonna go with it myself, but want something bigger and long arm. Supposidly easy to install if you know how, hard to get instructions?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 ;) I'm thinkin' of staying away from Rusty's. :D Sounds like the rough country isn't bad though. thanks for the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComancheNut Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 My Comanche has a Rusty's 5.5" lift kit and I have been completely satisfied with it. (5.5" taller front springs, lower control arms, spring over conversion in the rear, Rough Country shocks & sway bar disconnects, Rusty's adjustable track bar, ZJ solid tie rod, 31's with slight rubbing up front in full flex.) When we had a small problem with a brake line bracket a fax to Rusty's when their office was closed prompted Rusty to call us right back. He had a different bracket made for us and shipped it right out. I'm in a 4x4 club that wheels in Colorado's beautiful Rocky Mountains so my Comanche with it's Rusty's 5.5" lift has seen a lot of action on moderate to hard trails, (usually hauling all the gear). I've never had a problem with any Rusty's parts and my family has since bought Rusty's parts for two other Jeeps. Rusty's even offers a Comanche 5" lift rear leaf spring now so you could get 5" of lift without doing the SOA conversion. With the SOA it's 10.5" of lift so you know what I am saving up for! :brows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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