Lift Question

[88pioneer]

I was planning on doing a nice 4.5 to 5 inch lift on my 88 but not sure if money will be there. I still want to lift it an was looking at 3 inches. Other then bigger shocks an springs, would i need to put longer brake lines, any longer/stronger steering parts?

[ncgamedog]

I would like to add to this by asking: How nessisary are adjustable control arms for 3"? I would like to do uppers and lowers but can't see sinking $1000 into a 3" lift...I do want a nice ride and a quality end result though, just don't want to waste money if its not needed. Hope this isnt a hyjack...just trying to help us both out.

[Pete M]

adjustable arms are probably overkill. for 3" I'd probably do solid lowers and skip on uppers.

[LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW]

I don't see adjustable's as a waste of money at 3" of lift. The majority of time people do not stay at 3" of lift and end up going higher down the road. So with a set of adjustable's your fine, you just adjust them to a longer length. With a fixed length arm you would than be required to purchase a new set of arms if you ever went higher. The price difference between a set of fix and a set of adjustable's is not much; spend the extra few bucks now to save you more $$$ later.

[navigator]

I read about a lot of folks running 3 inches on stock control arms. You could try stock and see how bad it sucks for you and then decide. I could probably live with it because we just beat around in the woods and do an occasional dump/lumber run, I hope this is never my DD :-).

 

I want to do a 3 inch lift myself and know for me I wouldn't ever go over 3 inches just because of the cost. I expect what I will likely do is a 2 inch spacer and maybe a chevy drop shackle and leave it alone.

 

Would I like a 6 inch SOA with 33's? oh yeah but I can't see myself spending $1000+ on a lift, $1000+ to regear the 3.07 and ~$1000 on tires(5), too many larger priorities.

[MrSimon]

Since there are three different people in this thread talking about their set-up, I'll give my canned answer:

 

It depends!!!!!

 

Your budget and what you want to do with your truck are HUGE variables in how you lift it.

 

You can spend $250 and get an acceptable 3" lift. Get used 3" springs, used fixed lowers, build a bastard pack, and pick up some junk yard brake lines. You will be lifted, and it will work. It won't ride or flex all that great, and your geometry will be off .... but you can slap some 31s (33s with trimming) on there and hit the woods.

 

Or, you can spend $2,000 and have a 3" lift that rides like a Cadillac and flexes like crazy.

[ncgamedog]

well, for me... This is my DD and I want it to ride good and flex decent, But I sure don't want to spend 2k. I'm thinking:

$179= rough country adjustable lowers

$150ish= adjustable track bar

$100= 3" fronts

$400= Hell creek 3" rears (w/ shipping)

$100= brake lines

???= SB disco,s

$300-500= used 31's

$150= 3:55 d30 I still need.

________________________

 

$1379 minimum and thats not including the discos and other misc

 

dude that sucks for a 3" lift.

[MrSimon]

Thats why I think its better to go SOA and run 33s. The cost savings of doing the SOA vs. new leafs allows you to get a 5" lift for the same price.

[ncgamedog]

Thats why I think its better to go SOA and run 33s. The cost savings of doing the SOA vs. new leafs allows you to get a 5" lift for the same price.

 

well thats what I was thinking too, at first. But after you add in better steering for the more lift, SYE, re-gear front and rear, and for 5" I am not going to run short arms, so there is the cost of long arms or custom 3-4 link... I have built enough rigs to know, its always a slippery slope. I just have to draw the line somewhere. It also gets back to the fact that I don't want this for a hardcore wheeler. If I was building it for that my choice would not be a uni-body platform to start with... I just want a decent performing, reliable, comfortable camping/dd/mild wheeler. I just sold this to put some money in the bank:

[mvusse]

SYE is not needed for SOA conversion on an MJ, I still run stock steering at 6.25" front lift and 33x12.50s, as well as (adjustable) short arms. Does it ride like a cadillac? No, but it still rides smoother than my stock XJ with stiff shocks. Flex is limited by shocks. I can pick any one wheel up 36+" before another one lifts. Gotta be careful doing that, though, because despite the wide tires, low backspacing and spacers in the rear it gets tippy when flexed that high.

[Pete M]

have you thought about the 3" kit that hellcreek carries and building onto that? there's nothing wrong with solid arms.

[ncgamedog]

Oh yeah, I am def running their rear springs. I have a friend here that is a rough country dealer and want to see what his price is on the front stuff first. It may not really save me alot going through him, in which case I'll just get it all from them. The rear springs alone would be like $400 shipped. I talked to a real cool guy at rough country tonight. And after talking to him, here is what I'm thinking:

3" coils

4-shocks

adjustable lowers

stock uppers

stock track bar

stock modded sway bar links

hell creek rears

so, essentially the 3" kit w/ the adjustable lowers added on (only $75 upgrade over fixed)

I might see if hell creek can just add the adjustable lowers to their kit.

[Pete M]

I would get a longer track bar. otherwise your axle will be off to the side by a bit.

[ncgamedog]

do you like the rough country, or do you have one you recommend?

[Pete M]

Nothing wrong with the rough country stuff. They are a decent middle of the road kit. Rubicon Express is pretty much the top o' the heap though if you're looking for a comparison.

[ncgamedog]

only thing is, their site says for 4",6", and 8"...would it be too long? RE says 3.5+ which I heard their stuff runs tall too.

[MrSimon]

Don't forget that control arm drop brackets are an inexpensive way to make 5" of lift ride like stock ... you don't need long arms.

 

I originally put a 3" kit and 31s on my truck. It didn't look lifted in my opinion ... it just looked the way a truck should look coming from the factory .... which is fine .... if thats what you want.

 

I re-did my lift to get 5" (SOA, CA DBs, and kept the 31s) and I love the way it looks, rides, and handles off-road.

 

If I had it to do over again, I would have saved a LOT of money by skipping the "3 inch kit stage" that so many people fall into.

[ncgamedog]

How about the Rock Krawler products? I found a used set of their adjustable uppers for cheap?

[mvusse]

I run those and am happy with them.

[ComancheKid45]

I'm still planning to follow Taz's plan with the Hell Creek rear springs and a RE 3.5 kit up front.

 

Anyone run Teraflex Revolver shackles on their MJ?

[88mjmanche]

so for a 3 inch lift you can do zj v8 coils and 1 3/4-2 inch spacers. that will add up to like 3 inchs or so. And for the rear a cherokee add a leaf and 1 inch bigger shackels will add up to 3- 3 1/4 ishhh. and use wj lower control arms in the front. i did just this and it works perfect. cost me about $200 all together. you can get it cheeper because i bought all mine brand new. :D just go to a local junk yard. hope this helps. :thumbsup:

[ComancheKid45]

Have any pics?

[ncgamedog]

which would you rather have??

 

Rusty's for $280/ set

 

OR

 

Rough Country for $350/set

[mvusse]

I have the Rough Country ones, and have been happy with them. Also, I wouldn't buy from Rusty's; too many horror stories about quality and customer service.