Reposted in Tech per Clint's request
It was also asked where to find me and All J Products. You can find us at:
www.boulderbars.com or
www.alljproducts.com or 909-370-4800
A few things to keep in mind about lifting KJ's. When you swap out the front struts with a complete new replacement unit, it no longer becomes "lowered" or "prelowered" KJ. The stock springs are what decides that. Once the stock strut assembley is in the trash, you ARE ALL at the same starting point.
KJ's ALL VARY in the ride hight depertment. Some have saggy springs, some have stiffer springs. This is why you get KJ's sitting at all different ride heights from the factory. If you add a Daystar or other spacer lift, you are dependent on the condition of the factory springs. We have had KJ's come into the shop with such soft springs that they got over 4" of lift when lifted with a new front strut set. They didn't really get 4", they are just 2.5" over stock, and they were sagging 1.5" below stock. And that 2.5" over stock is about the most mysterious actual measurment I have ever seen.
Example: Frankenlift. It is called a 2.5" lift. That's pretty close to what it measures. If you get a little less or a little more, that would depend on where your stock KJ sat stock. From the factory, there are about 15 different factory front KJ springs to choose from. They are all ordered by vin number. Confusing to say the least. All J has a pretty good handle on which springs will stiffen up the KJ and which ones are too soft. But in the long run, if you are going to lift the KJ compare yours to another stock KJ to see where you sit. If your KJ is up where it should be, than a spacer lift will work for you. A cheaper way to go. If your KJ is a low rider from saggy springs, and sits way low, or bottoms out a lot stock, then don't do a spacer lift, go for the full spring lift.
Then decide on your tire size. Some of the spring lift don't give the full 2.5" so you may not be able to run as large of a tire.
I hope this helps you with some basic info. The biggest headache I get is all the "pre-lowered" and "lowered" calls. The only difference is the springs, and when you do the lift right, those are gone anyways. I have my opinion on the best lifts to use depending on your needs.
Another thing, if you are opening the front struts up to add ANY lift, change out the factory struts and throw in some upgraded struts. Your KJ will love you for it. I won't make any recomendations on brands. If you want a recommendation, give me a call, or ask on the board. Most of the KJ owners on this board can't be wrong.
And for reference, we have lifted over 200 KJ's with Clint's help in the last 2 years at the shop. We have a pretty good handle on what works for a KJ. Also we have KJ's with over 70,000 miles lifted, in and out on a regular basis for testing and research. I would venture to say that with Clint's help, we have lifted more actual KJ's than anyone else in the country!
Also on tires: 245x75r16 tires fit the best out of all the sizes on a lifted KJ. And it's about 50% than NEEDS to pound out the pinch weld behind the front tires. It depends on your type of wheeling. It also depends on the actual tire diameter.
YES! You can run 265's on a KJ, but make sure whatever lift you pick is at the max height. Also plan on trimming about 50% of your inner front fenderwells, the air dam, and the pinchweld behind the tires. This will leave the washer bottle exposed, so some undercoating or a sheetmetal shield over it works okay. When we trim out the front, we undercoat the areas trimmed to preserve the life of the KJ. Removing the plastic inner fenders completely also works, but may not be enough protection in snow county, or where they salt the roads.
And then on most lifted KJ's the tires will rub the front sway bar at full steering lock. Fact of life! No fix for this yet by anyone. The only exception would be different offset rims, but that can lead to other issues. Rubicon wheels work well to solve this in most cases.
I hope this helps you with the basics you need to lift your KJ correctly. BTW, on the the LOST KJ Moab 2004 Run, everyone there had first had experience with all the different lifts represented. It was night and day between the brands. I won't tell you which to buy, but you can guess which one I know works the best. Check out what most of the LOST KJ WEST KJ's are using and go from there.
CRD Liberty lifting info: At this time (July 2005) we are only recommending the Daystar 2.5" lift for the front of a CRD. Jeeps uses a VERY stiff front factory spring to handle the weight. NONE of the aftermarket springs yet are heavy enough to do the job properly. We probably lifted one of the first CRD's in the country and found out the hard way that even the Frankenlift doesn't work on a CRD, it's just too heavy. I know Old Man Emu will probably be the one's to have springs soon, but for now it's a Daystar 2.5" lift, Rancho strut, and stock front springs. Diesel Dave from AZ is running this set up and as far as I know is very happy with it. Dave's CRD was out for the KJ Moab 2005 run. I hope he can comment more on how it's doing. Also we did use the Skyjacker rear springs and Ranchos on the back, and those were great on the CRD. And Dave did drive from AZ to CA to have us work on his CRD
And BTW, I know the info on the Frankenlift isn't on the site yet. I'm working on getting that info taken care of. My webdesigner has been busy with other projects lately
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