johnr Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 so I'm wanting to lift my stock truck, its an 87 2.5 4wd short bet sport truck. and after reading pages of options on what to do and what not to do and everyones thoughts on all of hte choises out there i am a bit dizzy. i should note that i have no past exerience with lifting a truck. anyhow i have seen the Hell Creek web sight and the 4.5" rear springs have cought my eye. i like the fact that it remains an sua set up. i see there was lots of intrest in the springs but is anyone out there using there springs? as far as the front end parts. dose anyone have a favorit mfg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Hell Creek springs are awesome!I have their MT Springs in the rear and gained a net lift of 4 or so inches.. (keep in mind 23 year old springs)as for the front i have V8 1998 ZJ variable rate coils, and will be getting 1 to 2 inch lift puck.. (to help level it out)I have Pics on Blue's build Thread {edit: 4 inches in comparison from sagging to new, actual lift over stock for my SWB was about 1.5 inches over stock. updated 2-23-15} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 When I went though the lift kit part of the build I did the cheaper Of the two And went with the Rough country 4.5" lift and not the hellscreek. What rough country dose not tell you that if your leaf pack is worn out like mine was you won't get ANY lift from there kit. So in the end I had to either go SOA which ment I could have gotten to Much lift, or go with the hellcreek 4.5" leaf pack. So went with the hellcreek pack and I am very happy I went that route. With the hellcreek springs I can put double or triple the amount of weight in the bed. But if I would have gone with the hellscreek lift in the 1st place I would have saved my self alot of trouble and more importantly $. Tom from hellcreek is very helpfull and there springs are very beefy. So if you can don't cheep out, get the good stuff from hellscreek. You will be very glad you did so. Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfieMJ Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I went with Rusty's rear springs . I didn't know about hell's Creek at the time but will say they look better than mine . I'm not too disappointed though . I got more like 5.5 outta them . I have 4.5 TJ coils in the front and will be adding 1" more to level the truck when I get the control arm drop brackets . I run RE super flex adjustable uppers , and IRO HD adjustable lowers . I have a HD Clayton's track bar and bracket to be installed as well as a ZJ pitman arm , but for now this is how it sits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00DakotaR/T Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I went with Rusty's rear springs . I didn't know about hell's Creek at the time but will say they look better than mine . I'm not too disappointed though . I got more like 5.5 outta them . I have 4.5 TJ coils in the front and will be adding 1" more to level the truck when I get the control arm drop brackets . I run RE super flex adjustable uppers , and IRO HD adjustable lowers . I have a HD Clayton's track bar and bracket to be installed as well as a ZJ pitman arm , but for now this is how it sits that looks real nice, what size of tires are those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnr Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 ok so got a chance last weekend to take the truck out for the fist time with erie shores jeeps and 4x4 club. we went to wellsville ohio. there was about 20 jeeps in all. my comanche(the only one in the group. infact i think i may have infected a few guys with comanche fever) with its stock sspention looked like a low rider in compareson to all of the others. anyhow the stock suspention preformed suprisingly well. so I'm thinking of down gradeing my lift hight just a bit. i am looking at the 3" hybird lift from Motion offroad. for a 3" kit it looks very complete but i was wondering if any of you out there has an opinion on Motion off road. it all looks good but kind of pricey concidering it dose not include the shocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Image Not Found I'm staying at stock height myself. Mine is a DD and work truck. Need to get around these mountains in the ice and snow. Along with steep gravel driveways, particularly pulling a trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnr Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 very nice truck. i don't plan on beating this one up every weekend. but i would like to know its capable for a every so often trip into the woods. it will be a DD in the summer but its locked away thru the salt sesson on ohio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnr Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 so i am going to go with a 3" lift but was wondering if this small amout of lift would need a SYE or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Comanche are not Cherokees and will not need SYEs or t-case drops or anything of that nature. we have a much longer wheelbase and thus a much longer rear driveshaft and so our d-shaft angles aren't a severe as we go up. what are you doing for gears? I see you have a 2.5/4spd and so your gears are probably the sock 3.55. finding axles with 4.10s in them should probably be on your to-do list if you're going to bigger tires. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnr Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 Comanche are not Cherokees and will not need SYEs or t-case drops or anything of that nature. we have a much longer wheelbase and thus a much longer rear driveshaft and so our d-shaft angles aren't a severe as we go up. what are you doing for gears? I see you have a 2.5/4spd and so your gears are probably the sock 3.55. finding axles with 4.10s in them should probably be on your to-do list if you're going to bigger tires. :thumbsup: hey i saw your tuck in the cherokee biuld book pretty cool . thanks for the info i was realy thinking i would not need one but was not sure. as for the gears your right on 3.55. as far as tires i was thinking of 31" do you think this will be a problem for these gears? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 it'll drive, but it won't win any races. you can do the lift first and the axles second, but I would prefer to gather all my parts as I can, then do it all at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnr Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 in a perfect world where i was patient but I'm thinking i can't wait :nuts: . might take to long to find the axles. one more question though. having only a 4 speed with no overdrive and running 4:10 gears what could i expect my rpm's to be at 65? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I have the Hell Creek 3" lift kit. I'm very happy with it. I wouldn't mind having just a little more lift in the front, but for what I use it for, its great. Hell Creek manufactures their own leaf springs, but the coil springs for the front are Rough Country. I think a 3.5" coil spring would probably work pretty well with their 3" rear springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 in a perfect world where i was patient but I'm thinking i can't wait :nuts: . might take to long to find the axles. one more question though. having only a 4 speed with no overdrive and running 4.10 gears what could i expect my rpm's to be at 65? not that bad with 31" tires. the 5spd version of your trans swaps right in too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 in a perfect world where i was patient but I'm thinking i can't wait :nuts: . might take to long to find the axles. one more question though. having only a 4 speed with no overdrive and running 4.10 gears what could i expect my rpm's to be at 65? I think I have the same truck you do, 87 2.5. Ive swapped to 4:10 gears and have yet to put in the 5 speed. Engine RPM is increased in 4th gear, but after looking at one of the tire size and gear calculators on the site here somewhere, I found that if I kept the 4 speed with the 4:10 gears, and went with 31 or 32 inch tires, I would be VERY close, especially with 32 inch tires, to factory top speed RPMs. A fifth gear in that situation would be all but worthless, especially with the 2.5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnr Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 I have the Hell Creek 3" lift kit. I'm very happy with it. I wouldn't mind having just a little more lift in the front, but for what I use it for, its great. Hell Creek manufactures their own leaf springs, but the coil springs for the front are Rough Country. I think a 3.5" coil spring would probably work pretty well with their 3" rear springs. nice truck, what size tires are those? as far as lift i have ordered the 3" leaf pack from hell creek. unfortunatly i just missed his last run of springs so i will have to wait until he has enough orders placed to run another heat. for the front half i have been looking at Rustys off road parts. his 3" kit less the aal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 my hell creek Metric ton leafs with moog 97 ZJ V8 lariale rate coils and 1 3/4 inch spacer in front.. running 31x10.5R15 tires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepdoggydogB Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I also really like my HellCreek MT 3 inch rear springs; I used the Rubicon Express 3.5 springs out front for a fairly level truck. Too bad RE is gone now, I used the JKS adjustable trackbar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boots Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 There still here... just new owner or something like that. http://www.rubiconexpress.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnr Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 Comanche are not Cherokees and will not need SYEs or t-case drops or anything of that nature. we have a much longer wheelbase and thus a much longer rear driveshaft and so our d-shaft angles aren't a severe as we go up. what are you doing for gears? I see you have a 2.5/4spd and so your gears are probably the sock 3.55. finding axles with 4.10s in them should probably be on your to-do list if you're going to bigger tires. :thumbsup: so about gears and swaping out axles. i know it is not for the beginer but why not just change gears in the axles. i have seen a lot of posts about the d35 axle thats in the rear. just how bad is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 swapping gear sets generally costs around 3-500 bucks when the pros do it (per axle!). it's not as simple as just bolting the parts in. the gear pattern must be set and that involves assembling the whole thing with an educated guess on how much shim to use, then checking the gear pattern where they mesh together, then you decide what changes must be made, then disassemble the whole thing, move shims, then reassemble all over again to check the pattern. it'll likely take a bunch of tries and if you do it wrong the gears will be too sloppy and make noise, or be too tight and burn up, etc. the general consensus is that it's a chore better left to the pros (or avoided all together by buying axles with better gears in them already). Partly because of the voodoo involved, partly because of the insane amount of effort to check if you did it right (you won't hear any noise until it's under your truck), and partly because the costs incurred if it's not right (destroying your gears or bearings). as to the Dana 35, it gets a bad rep only because it can fail from you looking at it wrong. I blew one up with 30" tires and street driving. but there are LOTS of them out there and some guys wheel on them pretty hard. keep the tires reasonable or keep it open and you should be fine. :thumbsup: but always prepare for the worst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnr Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 is there one part more than others that blow up on d35s or is it anyones guess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 anything could fail. usually it's axle shafts. mine started spitting out ring gear teeth. can also bend the housing into a smile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnr Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 so for being prepared i shoud bring along a couple of axles some gear oil and some RTV. but i was just wondering about the smile thing. i have seen renforcement brackets for the front axle. would it be possable to do something like that for the rear? spitting ring gear teeth kind of makes me think that perhaps the tubes where bent slightly and finaly they just gave out. I'm sure you know better than i but just thinking out loud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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