boxyjeep Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 I just got a new-to-me '88 MJ and am debating on what route to take it. It's got a 4.0L, AW4, 4WD, w/ Dana 44 rear (with Trac-Lok) and the "offroad package" that includes a slight lift and skid-plates. After doing some measurements, the rear is about 20" from fender flare to hub center and 8" from axle to frame (which equates to around a 2-3" lift) and the front suspension is about 18" flare-to-hub for around .5 to 1" lift. The truck has no rust, but sat for a very long time in the CA heat and sun, so almost all plastic and rubber parts are totally shot. I've been focusing on fixing a bunch of electrical issues and getting it roadworthy, but the front suspension is totally shot. Almost all of the bushings are near completely gone, the steering is super floaty, and it has terrible death wobble above 25 MPH. The tires are also dry rotted and not safe IMO. I'm debating on whether to go with a rear SOA lift and ~6" front coils with the goal of running 32-33" tires and 4.56 gears, or to keep it mild and just level the front with 3" coils and run some 31's with stock gearing, etc. I'm going to need a new track-bar, drag-link, control arm bushings, so I'm planning on just upgrading all of those, so the cost would be negligible between the 3 or 6" lift options, but I would need to decide between the extended track-bar bracket, drop pitman arm, control arm lengths, etc. depending on what height I go with. I'm thinking if I go SOA, I can save a bit of money by buying JK Rubicon take-off wheels/tires and just getting the 4.5-to-5" adapters, which would set me back around $600 total based on current prices. If I go with 31's, I would get new tires and probably new 15x8" wheels, which would run over $1000. I guess I'm asking what you guys would recommend. Keep it mild or spend slightly more money to get to 6" lift w/ 33's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 6 minutes ago, Chargum85 said: I just got a new-to-me '88 MJ and am debating on what route to take it. It's got a 4.0L, AW4, 4WD, w/ Dana 44 rear (with Trac-Lok) and the "offroad package" that includes a slight lift and skid-plates. After doing some measurements, the rear is about 20" from fender flare to hub center and 8" from axle to frame (which equates to around a 2-3" lift) and the front suspension is about 18" flare-to-hub for around .5 to 1" lift. You are confusing the XJ and the MJ. The front ride height measurements are the same, the rear are not. For a 4WD MJ, the rear ride height measured from the top of the axle to the frame rail at the bump stop is supposed to be 9.2" plus or minus 1/2-inch. This means your rear suspension has sagged about an inch, it's not lifted three inches. If it were mine, I would do a simple add-a-leaf to restore the factory ride height, install 30x9.50 tires, and drive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxyjeep Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 2 hours ago, Eagle said: You are confusing the XJ and the MJ. The front ride height measurements are the same, the rear are not. For a 4WD MJ, the rear ride height measured from the top of the axle to the frame rail at the bump stop is supposed to be 9.2" plus or minus 1/2-inch. This means your rear suspension has sagged about an inch, it's not lifted three inches. If it were mine, I would do a simple add-a-leaf to restore the factory ride height, install 30x9.50 tires, and drive it. Thanks, but I measured from the top of the rear axle to the bottom of the frame as outlined here and got 8". Wouldn't that be around 2" lift? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 31 minutes ago, Chargum85 said: Thanks, but I measured from the top of the rear axle to the bottom of the frame as outlined here and got 8". Wouldn't that be around 2" lift? 2" for an XJ but -1" for a MJ. The stock measurements you found were for an XJ. Stock rear height for an MJ is about 9" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 1 hour ago, Chargum85 said: Thanks, but I measured from the top of the rear axle to the bottom of the frame as outlined here and got 8". Wouldn't that be around 2" lift? You got 8, the specified dimension is 9.2. That's 1.2inches lower than stock. How are you figuring that's 2 inches of lift? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxyjeep Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 Got it now. Didn't realize that image was for XJ. In that case it looks like I'm close to stock height or possibly -1". I'm assuming 2-3" coils would balance things out? If I were to do SOA, what size coils would I need up front for a "level" truck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Coils won't balance anything out. You are 1/2" higher than stock in the front, and 1.2" lower than stock in the rear. You need a 1.5" AAL in the rear to balance it out. That's just about what the Rancho AAL will give you. Last I checked, the Rancho AAL kit sold for around $75. If you go spring over in the rear, you're going to gain around 5.5" to 6", so you;ll need 5" coils to balance it out. Since you can run 31" tires on an MJ with zero lift -- why go through the hassle and expense of lifting it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 if your front visually appears a bit lower than the rear, a pair of spacer pucks will bring the front up to match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 It's a truck, there's supposed to be some rake to it. Otherwise when you put something in the box you'll be looking up at the stars and blinding the world with your headlights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxyjeep Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 You guys are making this even more difficult for me to decide on. Level it with spacers and run 31's, or 6" lift w/ SOA and 33's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 6" of lift can cost a whole lot and make your truck hard to use... as a truck. What do you want out of your truck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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