Ok, finally going to lift her... this is what I want to do..

[Comanche Joe]

So after having my new toy for about 6 months, and all I have done is cosmetic work, I am deciding to finally lift her.

 

I want to do it the "el cheapo" way at first. Now before all of you die hards roll your eyes at me (which you have every right to do!) please read on...

 

First things first. I only paid $300 for her ('87 LWB 4x4 6cyl Auto), so i'm not sure i'm ready to dump a ton of money into it.

 

Now, let me explain why exactly I want to raise her. I am not an off road enthusiast. Well, not yet at least. Only reason I got my beloved Comanche is because i wanted a pickup to cart my street bike around in, and I found this one on craigslist. I wasnt even looking for a Comanche, but i'm sure glad I did!

 

Anyway, since I am not an off roader, there is only a few reasons I want to go higher. I would like to run at least 33" tires. I live in the northeast, and I think this would be ideal for snowy conditions (even though it only happens a few times a year), and I would like to take it out on the beach. The other reason is looks. I know its a stupid reason, but cmon guys, I'm sure you all agree how much nicer these beautys look with larger tires!!!

 

I drive the truck just around town, or on the parkway / turnpike for distances no longer than 100 miles at a time. I'd like to think she can make a trip to NC, but I havent tested it yet.

 

So what do you guys suggest? I don't know much about lift kits, but I have been looking into doing a SOA setup for the rear. What could I do for the front???

 

I'd like to know the most inexpensive way to raise it while still keeping it safe for driving on the highway.

 

Any input is appreciated!!!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Joe

 

PS> anyone gettin rid of any 33"+ tires????

[Comanche Joe]

<~~~ moron

 

good job Joe.... way to pay attention....

 

You guys think maybe I should look at the thread a few rows down????

[Rokhound]

So you want to build a mall crawler for the most part. So your best bet is go SOA in the rear witch will give you about 4.5 to 5.5 of lift (is this right guys) and then lift the front to match the rear. If you do this you’re going to need-- I would say UCA and LCA longer shocks and brake lines. Also your going to need an adjustable track bars. I am running 33x12.5 on mine with spring over but there was a guy who just lifted his and he is still SUA so with this all said do a quick search and there is a lot of info on here. I am new to the whole world as well but every thing I just told you was learned here. So welcome to the Club and good luck. Here is a link to my build and the other guy I mention but this is just 2 trucks that run 33's there are guy that run larger. Just go thru some on the MJ projects you will find all the or most of the info there and in the tech and if you don’t find what you want then ask that is one thing that is great about this forum for the most part you are not going to get flamed for asking a question that has been asked before.

 

http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/view ... sc&start=0

 

http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2205

[CEThomas]

Joe,

 

By chance is the trip to NC to ride the Dragon :D

 

Charles

[Bacon]

buy a 3" lift, they're a lot cheaper than the the spring over kits. install it, then buy a set of TJ flares, cut your fenders to fit them and put 'em on. this will give you more than enough room to fit 33's, will keep your center of gravity low for stability at speeds (and keep it low enough to put your bike in.

 

Once you start lifting a truck, the higher you go will bring you a lot more headaches. keep it low (3" vs 5.5") and throw on a set of big flares. i have this setup and am running 35s, so 33's will no prob

[500 MJ]

Aha, You can use your stock trac bar easily, just redrill the hole on the axle over farther. Problem with this is that you can only drill in once so get the lift you want and make sure you are happy with it before you do. I lucked out. When I originally lifted mine 3.5" I drilled too far over so the axle wasnt centered. Once I lifted it 2 more inches it was right dead center!

 

I am still SUA but I am running the full 4.5" lift pack from Rusty's in the rear. It ran me like $360... SOA is cheaper and when you throw together some bastard packs from various leaf packs from a JY, you could get some lift from them too. Pete is the master at bastard pack building...

 

For the front, I have the lift coils but have also put in some hommade spacers on top of the springs.

 

You will have to get different shocks. I still have the stock brake lines in front and the rear I replaced last year anyway so I made them longer...

 

I am also still running stock UCA's and have some stock length, but Aftermarket LCA's. This summer I am making a longarm kit for it though because the tires rub on the fenders when you turn.

 

33's look nice, but make sure you want to put forth the effort to have them before you start. For a Mall wheeler, there are lots of shortcuts you can take if you know how and have acess to fabbing things up...

[feerocknok]

Aha, You can use your stock trac bar easily, just redrill the hole on the axle over farther. Problem with this is that you can only drill in once so get the lift you want and make sure you are happy with it before you do. I lucked out. When I originally lifted mine 3.5" I drilled too far over so the axle wasnt centered. Once I lifted it 2 more inches it was right dead center!

I am at 5" of lift, and was worried over the little amount of metal left near my hole, so I welded up some flat bar in place to be more comfortable.

In the end, I wound up with an adjustable track bar.

I am also still running stock UCA's and have some stock length, but Aftermarket LCA's. This summer I am making a longarm kit for it though because the tires rub on the fenders when you turn.

And I as well am only running aftermarket lowers, but the caster change causes my lowers to hit the shock mount, which is my flex limiter, and ironically I'm making longarms this summer as well...

This is all too creepy.

[Pete M]

33s are overrated. 31s will look great with 0 to 3" of lift and you won't have to regear or buy new axles. If you stick with stock rims, I suggest using WJ lower control arms.

 

 

My stock height MJ:

 

[Duner]

No such animal (cheap lift) or at least on this forum. It's all relative and once you start lifting it just keeps climbing. Mine started at 3 - 3.5" suddenly jumped to 6" when I found a D44 rear axle and went SOA. I have adjustable upper and lower control arms for now but will probably move to a long arm by the time everything is finished. 33" look good but I'm not sure the cost is justified compared to the 31's stick to the 3" lift if want to reduce your costs and use the TJ flares for clearance.

 

By the way if want a set of TJ flares let me know, I'll send them to you if you pay for the shipping costs.

[500 MJ]

Yah Kassidy, I have the same prob with the shock mounts...

[feerocknok]

Yah Kassidy, I have the same prob with the shock mounts...

I considered grinding em a bit so the arm clears, but just need another excuse for long arms.

[carnuck]

Best way for a cheap lift: Buy used 4.5" to 6" front coils, and Rough Country adjustable trac bar (current Ebay item # 170091559565 ) then make shock extensions out of 3" of 1/4" waterpipe (thread the inside to fit the top of the front shock), and use exhaust studs on top to allow for extra length. Get new front brake hoses for corresponding year YJ (a couple extra inches longer than XJ/MJ ones)

That pretty much takes care of the front. For the rear, get shock plates to sandwich between the axle and spring, plus new spring pads to weld on top of your current axle. Use a level to match the new spring pads to the old ones on the bottom before welding (unless you get a SYE for the tcase and double cardan or CV driveshaft. Then you point the axle directly at the tcase yoke)

Move the springs to the top and grind just enough off the old centering pin nut to fit into the center hole of the new spring pads. New Ubolts and centering pins would be better (longer headed pins to align through the shock plate into the axle are best), but if they are rustfree, you can get away with reusing the old ones for a bit.

I modified the rear level sensor bracket (took off the level sensor) and moved the rear brake hose to it, and disconnected the extra line to the front. (eventually mine'll get an XJ or adjustable proportioning valve)

So far, so good. With 33/9.50/15 tires I can stop quite well as long as I don't lock up the wheels when empty on wet or icy streets. I accredit that to putting AMC Eagle rear wheel cylinders in place of the MJ ones. (slightly larger bore, but I'm almost always hauling a load of something besides the canopy)