please tell me about lifts....

Bullet · **Posted:** Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:08 pm

My best friend is looking to lift her 97 TJ in February. We are thinking of tackling this project ourselves, but neither of us know squat about lifting wranglers...can ya'all chime in and tell us about all the different types of lifts and such...she does moderate offroading, nothing at all extreme.

chefdab · **Posted:** Fri Aug 11, 2006 11:28 pm

From what I've learned since I got my LJ, if you don't want to run a very large tire maybe you can get by with a budget boost and maybe a body lift. These are usually the setups people use to run up to a 32" tire. Budget boosts are the spacer kits with longer shocks and bumpstops. They usually range from around $2-250. To run a 33" tire you will need 3-4 inches of lift. You can get various lifts of this size however, once this height is achieved, you will probably get vibrations in the rear driveshaft. To eliminate these vibes, you can either do a transfer case drop or a motor mount lift. Either one or sometimes both are needed to get the driveline angles back to acceptable tolerances. The other more expensive option is to get a slip yoke eliminator and CV driveshaft. You will definitely need the SYE if you go larger than 3 or 4 inches though. These type of lifts are referred to as short arm lifts and they use the factory control arm mounts. They can range in price from around $800 to near $2000. Up to this point, the lifts mentioned are pretty much bolt on with maybe only a little drilling required. The last and most expensive and complex are long arm lifts. They are for lifts over 5 inches. They require cutting of the control arm mounts and welding on new ones in a new location. The advantage of a long arm suspension is that it will return things back to almost factory ride quality because the new arms are closer to the factory angle. And it gives you much better flex off-road. Most people with this much lift usually run a 35 to 37" tire.
These are just my observations so far so if anybody knows more from experience, feel free to chime in.

05kjrenny · **Posted:** Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:03 pm

rubicon express budget boost and jks 1.25 body lift , 1 inch motor mount lift and 33s are no problem and you will not have to do any drive shaft or axle mods, quick disconnects and you got a very nice setup for under 500 bucks if you do it all yourself!!

we just installed the re budget boost and rustys engine and radiator skid in just under 4 hours tops!!

Bullet · **Posted:** Sat Aug 12, 2006 6:30 pm

05kjrenny wrote:

rubicon express budget boost and jks 1.25 body lift , 1 inch motor mount lift and 33s are no problem and you will not have to do any drive shaft or axle mods, quick disconnects and you got a very nice setup for under 500 bucks if you do it all yourself!!

we just installed the re budget boost and rustys engine and radiator skid in just under 4 hours tops!!

How much lift do you actually get, I believe she is looking for 2", nothing at all extreme.

05kjrenny · **Posted:** Sun Aug 13, 2006 3:56 pm

re bb gets around 2 inches add the 1.25 bl and your at 3 inches
rro bb gets a true 2 inches
4wheelcustoms has 2 1/4 inch spacers with re shocks for about same price as re bb

WV(0)IIIIIII(0) · **Posted:** Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:07 am

First thing your friend needs to do is consider what they are shooting for, ground clearence, tire size ... If they are only looking for ground clearence go with the belly-up option. It is basicly a body lift that also puts the x-fer between the frame rails.

I have been looking for the past 2 months and came up with a belly-up and a rubicon express 3.5" short arm lift because anything above that yopu would want to go to the long arm lift because of road handling. With the belly-up and the lift I will be able to set some 33s under it and still have ground clearence.

jason thompson · **Posted:** Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:49 pm

here is what I know ,and I have lifted a few TJ's
first I would never go budget boost ,spacers, for the money you will just end up replacing it latter with a bigger lift
It has been my experance with every lift "you get what you pay for" if you want to eat steak you need to pay for steak dont think you can pay for a hot dog and get steak

This is what I have on my TJ
2.5" skyjacker springs held level with a 3/4" spacerin the rear
I threw out the crappy poly joint LCA's and got some rustys LCA's (DO NOT GET ANY LIFT WITH POLY JOINTS!!!!!!!!)
I have the Nth degree mobility tummy tucker with a SEY and a fron drive shaft from an XJ fitted for the rear
running 30's I have the same break over as the same TJ running 3.5" of lift and 33's with a tcase drop
I have a ton of other junk but only very minor things as they relate to lift
MY future plas for lift are to remove the 3/4" spacer fromthe rear and install the Nth degree rear spring movers and add 1" of spacer up front and then level the rear as needed that will make way for 33's I will extend the bumpstops and relocate the shocks for a good bit more drop
then if in a few years the TJ is still kicking I will go with the 4" Nth degree mobility long arm kit but that kit is big $$$$$$$

As far as can you do it your self I would say that if you did a simple short arm kit 2.5"-4" and followed the instructions then yes
if you go with a 2.5" kit then no T case drop any thing more then you will need to go with an SYE or a T case drop
I would recomend the SYE cause with a T case drop you will give up that in ground clearance and loose some of the lift that you just put on but to do the SYE I would bring it to a machanic cause that thing is not easy from what I hear I have nevered tryed to do one but I dont think I want to

longarm · **Posted:** Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:22 pm

I would go with the 4" Old Man Emu lift. It's a short arm but fully upgradeable. I hav ethe 3.5 RE SF w/ OME Shocks and Steering Stab. and LOVE the way it rides. The biggest thing that I miss about it is my MOAB rims that were stock. I traded them away as it was cheaper to buy tires for a 15" rim.

SunDvl · **Posted:** Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:20 pm

I wouldn't go with a spacer lift, even if you only want a few inches. You could find a small lift with longer springs and shocks and not have to replace the control arms. This way you would gain better articulation, not to mention it wouldn't be anymore work than a spacer lift. Don't forget front disco's, as they make a big difference on the wranglers.

jason thompson · **Posted:** Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:34 pm

longarm wrote:

I would go with the 4" Old Man Emu lift. It's a short arm but fully upgradeable. I hav ethe 3.5 RE SF w/ OME Shocks and Steering Stab. and LOVE the way it rides. The biggest thing that I miss about it is my MOAB rims that were stock. I traded them away as it was cheaper to buy tires for a 15" rim.

OME lift is not 4" closer to 2"
there shocks are great though

please tell me about lifts....

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