GP2001 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Hey guys, I am sure some will bash for me wanting to go the cheap route, but I am getting this as a secondary winter vehicle, and just want to play a little bit for a low cost if I can. I don't plan on doing any intense offroading at all, just playing on some mud trails and in the snow. I was thinking of doing a 2-3" lift, but was wondering what is the cheapest way to do it without making it crappy? What would you recommend? Also, would 30" tires fit the stock wheel well OK? I found a set of 5 rim/tire combo from a Jeep Wrangler with good tread for $150, and I think that would be a nice upgrade from the stock tiny tires. I am thinking those and a small lift will make it look pretty nice :D Would 30" be too large for the stock gear ratio? (Its a 5 spd) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 30s will fit just fine on a stock rim and will be ok with the stock gearing. If you want to stay cheap, don't go higher than 2". at 3" you start to need more parts. a 1.75" spacer up front and a AAL in the rear and you should be good to go for now. Advisable upgrades include new shocks and brakelines. and don't forget that any change in elevation will change your front end alignment. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP2001 Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 30s will fit just fine on a stock rim and will be ok with the stock gearing. If you want to stay cheap, don't go higher than 2". at 3" you start to need more parts. a 1.75" spacer up front and a AAL in the rear and you should be good to go for now. Advisable upgrades include new shocks and brakelines. and don't forget that any change in elevation will change your front end alignment. :thumbsup: Thank you very much, glad to hear that the 30" tires will be good with a stock setup, I am going to try to grab them if I can, seems like a great deal and nice addition. Where is the best place to order parts from? Also, this is probably a very dumb question, but I am new to trucks, so what is AAL for the rear? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 AAL stands for Add A Leaf. Essentially it's a long leaf that you insert into the pack to help push the truck up. They aren't the best way to go, but they are fairly inexpensive. Since Comanches frequently sit higher in the back, you could even skip the AAL and get a longer rear shackle. You get 1" of lift for every 2" that the shackle is longer than the stock one, so you can only get so much out of them. Look into the drop shackles for Chevy trucks. They are longer than the MJ stuff. Neither of these routes are the best way to lift, but they are a cheap way to get a small boost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineymike Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Go spring over in the rear{not comlicated but does require welding}F150 springs in front{mite require cutting 1 or2 coils to achive desired hight}Grand cherokee V8 springs also work but produce less lift,Good luck have fun! :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Hey guys, I am sure some will bash for me wanting to go the cheap route, but I am getting this as a secondary winter vehicle, and just want to play a little bit for a low cost if I can. I don't plan on doing any intense offroading at all, just playing on some mud trails and in the snow. I was thinking of doing a 2-3" lift, but was wondering what is the cheapest way to do it without making it crappy? What would you recommend? Also, would 30" tires fit the stock wheel well OK? I found a set of 5 rim/tire combo from a Jeep Wrangler with good tread for $150, and I think that would be a nice upgrade from the stock tiny tires. I am thinking those and a small lift will make it look pretty nice :D Would 30" be too large for the stock gear ratio? (Its a 5 spd) You can run up to 31x10.50-15 tires on stock Jeep rims with no lift. The cheapest way to lift is to go for a 2" budget boost. Use 2" (or 1-3/4", depending on source) spacers in the front, and get a Rancho full-length AAL in the rear. Hellcreek (on this forum) may have a similar AAL and, if they do, I would encourage getting it from them. Don't try to go higher than 2" on the cheap, or you'll just create problems. Personally, if I were going to run 30s I would not lift it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Go spring over in the rear{not comlicated but does require welding}F150 springs in front{mite require cutting 1 or2 coils to achive desired hight}Grand cherokee V8 springs also work but produce less lift,Good luck have fun! :yes: Spring over in the rear gives ~5.5" lift, and looks best with 6.5" up front. At that height you need track bar, upper and lower control arms, brake hoses, shocks, and at least 31" tires to make it look right. You're looking at ~1000 or more plus tires. He was looking at cheap to go with 30" tires. I agree with the budget booster. 1.75" coil spacers up front, AAL or longer shackle in the rear if anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88mjmanche Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 this is the lift that i bought works perfect :yes: http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?partID=6973 gota get it for your axle though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
October_V Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I am shopping for a cheap/decent lift for mine. What do yu guys think of this set up? http://www.jcwhitney.com/COMFORT-RIDE_S ... 005823;0;0 I ask because I am still getting my learn on before I turn a wrench. I want to keep from having to do brakes, steering, drive line angle voo-doo and everything else that follows after you hang 4+ inch springs under a truck and think you can drive it right away. ......Been there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 the words "cheap" and "lift" should NEVER be used in combination. less expenisive, sure. but "cheap" usually results in "redneckery" resulting in more problems than you started with. a budget boost is the least expensive...spacers and shackles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP2001 Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 the words "cheap" and "lift" should NEVER be used in combination. less expenisive, sure. but "cheap" usually results in "redneckery" resulting in more problems than you started with. a budget boost is the least expensive...spacers and shackles. \What are you talking about? I was planning on jacking the truck up, then just jamming a piece of wood in there to hold it up higher. Is that rednecky?? :hmm: Less expensive is what I meant, and for the price of spacers and shackles, thats still pretty cheap IMO. Also note, I did say cheapest way without making it crappy :D If I am going to do something poorly I would rather not do it at all, I just wanted to find out if there were acceptable but inexpensive ways to mildly lift a manche for my purposes (like spacers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camjeep3 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 when i bought my truck it had 3inch spacers in front(stock shocks-not good) and nothing in the back it looked fine with 31s look at my build thread. i wouldnt advise that large of a spacer. although with proper shocks that setup wouldnt have been terrible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 poly bushings have a bad tendency to squeak. make sure the shackles you get have a grease fitting so you can keep 'em quiet. :D I bet I can find 2" jeep spacers and Chevy drop shackles on ebay for half that kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 chevy shackles for $55 shipped (double check with someone here that's running them that these are the right model, but I'm 95% certain they are) http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw ... 06.c0.m283 Jeep front 2" spacers for $40 shipped http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw ... m270.l1313 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperWade2 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 chevy shackles for $42 shipped (double check with someone here that's running them that these are the right model, but I'm 95% certain they are)http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-Drop-L ... ccessories Jeep front 2" spacers for $40 shipped http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-Gra ... 518e927891 Pete, don't know what the difference is, but the drop shackles I got said for a 1988-2006 In fact here is the exact set I got from this seller... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... &viewitem= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I am shopping for a cheap/decent lift for mine. What do yu guys think of this set up? http://www.jcwhitney.com/COMFORT-RIDE_S ... 005823;0;0 I ask because I am still getting my learn on before I turn a wrench. I want to keep from having to do brakes, steering, drive line angle voo-doo and everything else that follows after you hang 4+ inch springs under a truck and think you can drive it right away. ......Been there. 1. Extended shackles kill leaf springs. 2. I'll bet a Big Mac that the kit is actually a Cherokee kit, and the "extended" shackles aren't any longer thah stock MJ shackles. 3. $169 for two coil spacers and a pair of shackles? Who are they kidding? That's all you need out of that "kit." You can do a budget boost for half that. Buy the coil spacers wherever you can find the best price -- they're all the same. Get a Rancho XJ/MJ AAL or, if Heel Creek here on the CC has a 1-1/2" to 2" AAL for a similar price, get that. (The Rancho used to sell for $50 ... it's probably up to around $65 now) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirteatr717 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 chevy shackles for $42 shipped (double check with someone here that's running them that these are the right model, but I'm 95% certain they are) Jeep front 2" spacers for $40 shipped U ARE THE MAN!!!!!!! :bowdown: now i just need to do my research and spend some mula :roll: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 there have gotta be tons of used ones out there that would be even cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 How do extended shackles kill leaf springs? I just don't see the physics behind that statement. Longer shackles do mess with the pinion angle, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 How do extended shackles kill leaf springs? I just don't see the physics behind that statement. They allow the springs to move through a greater range than they were designed for. This causes the steel to pass beyond the elastic limit (which is the range within which it can move and recover completely) and go beyond the yield point -- which results in permanent deformation ("sag"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComancheKid45 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Ill let ya know how the ZJ springs and XJ AALs work on my truck after this weekends install. I'm figuring on 2"-2.5" when I'm done This is ontop of a MO 1.5" BB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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