Yet another newbie with a lift question!

KJ Justice · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:54 am

Hello all!

I'm R.J. from Washington state. I became a new member a few days ago and have been biding my time waiting to post this. I've done searches on this, but, haven't found exactly what I'm looking for, so, here goes....

I've got an '05 stock Libby and have plans on a lift as the first big mod. I'd like your opinions on a few different ones. I'm looking at three:

2-inch Tuff Country ($432 for lift kit & labor)
2.5-inch Rocky Road Outfitters budget lift (around $200 for lift)
3-inch Rough Country ($359 for kit)

I've seen pictures of both the RRO and RC kits on a Libby, but, not the TC. (I like to have an idea of what it will look like before I buy it.) I've also read from folks on these boards that both the RRO is a lousy lift and the Liberty isn't suited well for a lift bigger than 2.5 inches.

So, what help can you "Libby lovers" give to a first time Liberty owner? I'm eager to hear from you, so, a big "thank you" in advance for your time on this.

Dje Ryu · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:06 am

Since you say you've seen the complaints about the RRO budget lift, i won't re-post the pics but, you can avoid the added costs of any of these lifts, just by using Rusty's full suspension lift for about $465. That's what I paid for it, with shipping. Tools, I rented from local tool shops for free. The work isn't that hard to do. Just read the walk-throughs on here and jeepkj.com.

Rush345 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:32 am

Welcome to the club. I'm a rookie myself in Denver, Colorado You will never want to meet a nicer bunch of people then these guys at lost. Jut giving my 2 cents worth. I'm an avid voyer of Hotrod TV, EXTREME 4x4, and Truck, I recently raised the question of Air Ride suspension. G4rated this is the mod that wilol make Mama scream that if yuou get this IO get the kitchen REDO . But we all have dreams.

Hello,

We build a specific kit for this vehicle for about 1798.00usd. This kit will include:

Yuri Pham

Aim Industries/Chassistech/Airbagit.com

480.668.5448 phone

480.423.3539 fax

It will be 1915.00 total with shipping. Let me know when you are ready.

ProjektKJ · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 2:49 am

k dude i was totally in the same place like a month ago..

now a lift is out of the picture this summer because i decided to cut the b/s and do it right the first time.. those are all OTT lifts and to be honest from what ive read, heard, and decided, you will in the long run waste your time, money and make your jeep sad..

really the safest hassle free lifts are full suspension lifts..

anddddddd to your dismay. they cost more money.

go with a rusty's or similar lift.. rusty's is the cheapest. but the ride and lift and longevity of your lift will be so soooo much better to just get a full suspension lift. basically from what ive read on here, everyone that has a OTT lift goes to a full suspension lift maybe a year or so at the most after getting one.. so just my 2 cents, but i bet youll hear the same thing again about this

wildrussian · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:38 am

Quote:

ProjektKJ

k dude i was totally in the same place like a month ago..

now a lift is out of the picture this summer because i decided to cut the b/s and do it right the first time.. those are all OTT lifts and to be honest from what ive read, heard, and decided, you will in the long run waste your time, money and make your jeep sad..

really the safest hassle free lifts are full suspension lifts..

anddddddd to you dismay. they cost more money.

go with a rusty's or similar lift.. rusty's is the cheapest. but the ride and lift and longevity of your lift will be so soooo much better to just get a full suspension lift. basically from what ive read on here, everyone that has a OTT lift goes to a full suspension lift maybe a year or so at the most after getting one.. so just my 2 cents, but i bet youll hear the same thing again about this

He is right! I was thinking about getting one of the cheaper lifts myself but after talking to all the guys on here I wised up and decided to go with full suspension lift. I have to wait a while longer to save up but I think in the long run it will turn out to be a better choice. Good luck with your decision!

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:32 am

Yes all the lifts mentioned above will give you problems plus you can lift with better stuff and have a better ride for 400 to 500 Save up the money if you do not have it now or do like I did buy in stages/ finding things on sale etc. Trust us when we try and tell you what the best route is. I have been on here since August 2004 and have heard stories about all that you have mentioned. Also if you go into any 4X4 shops and they tell you these kits are great RUN AWAY :wink:

KJ Justice · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:54 pm

Thanks for the tips and advice, folks!

I guess I'll hold out a little longer and check into the full suspension lifts. Mind you, I don't plan on going rockcrawling or drive through 6-feet deep mud with my KJ (at least, not until it's paid for!

), I just like to have a little extra lift for mild to moderate trails and not have to worry about ripping anything up underneath. Plus, who doesn't enjoy a little attention from people when you're rockin' down the highway in a lifted Jeep Liberty? :twisted:

Appreciate the help, everybody! :wink:

Universeman · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:51 pm

I put together a 2.5”-3” lift for my CRD for around $200. What I've done was a 3/4" poly spacer from Rusty's, a clevis lift with 2" conduit nuts and my most recent mod was a slight OTT lift by putting 2 1/2" washers per stud, 16 total for both sides which gave me about the same amount of lift as the Rusty’s strut plate but it only cost me $2.50 in parts, so that’s my front lift my CV angles are not extreme and my upper A-arm just barely contacts at full drop. The rear is just a set of HD OME springs and an extra set of spring isolators.

I know everyone says save your money and hold out for a real lift however I think this really is the best of both worlds because the most expensive part of my lift was the rear springs which I can use when I upgrade later. Anyway my .02

The clevis lift and poly spacer

My CV angle at full drop, the left CV is shorter on a CRD then the gasser

Off road in action

Jeger · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 2:13 pm

Also remember that a CRD will always have less extreme CV shaft angles than an equally lifted gasser. We can get away with a little more lift because our front diff sits lower in the cradle

Just something to be aware of when evaluating a lift.

KJ Justice · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 2:14 pm

Interesting mod there with the washers, U-Man. $2.50 in parts isn't too bad, I suppose.

Like I said before, I'm not looking for anything too extreme to start off with. That's why I was checking on more affordable lifts for now. Then, as time and income allows down the road, maybe I can step up to the full suspension lift. Also, since I live in an area that doesn't have off-road shops on every corner, I'm kinda limited to what suspension lift experience the ones that are here have. My only other option is traveling 3 hours to Seattle to spend several more hours getting my Jeep lifted.

(I hate living in this area.)

I just took a peek at the Rusty's kits (spacer and full coil), and they look pretty decent as well. I was surprised at how nice the "budget" spacer lift looked on a Liberty! From the pictures available, it appeared that Libby owners with that lift were still having a good time out in the rocks and mud. I guess I'll put Rusty's on the list too.

Jeger · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 2:33 pm

For about 300 dollars (maybe a little less?) you could buy a complete set of OME springs which would get you about 1.5" of lift maybe a bit more. Throw in some spacers for the rear and a clevis lift in the front you you would get 2" easy. This of course would be using stock shocks front and rear. It would be best to go ahead and at least upgrade the front shocks....you could do it later if you dont mind tearing it apart, or paying to have it tore apart again. Either way you will have a good base lift to add on to later.

Universeman · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 4:53 pm

The big issue with installing a lift on these things is access to a really good spring compressor and a torque wrench. I did all the work my self but I'm in the military and have access to the base auto hobby shop which has a real spring compressor. I tried to use one of those rinkydink screw down compressors that you can rent from a local parts store but it was totaly inadaquate. All you have to do is remove the front strut assemblys your self and take them to a local repair shop to install/assemble the spacer into the strut, cant imagine that they would charge much. All I can say is Jeep did a great job on making this thing easy to work on it took me about 2 hours to install the washers, so don't hesitate to ask specific questions but I wouldent pay to install a lift on a Liberty unless your totally not mechanical but then if that were the case you wouldent be here in the first place :wink:

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 5:32 pm

Yes its really not that hard to do a lift if you have some knowledge of tools and are willing to listen to suggestions, dont take it to a shop until you have asked for help on here. At least here in Ohio, if you ask for help you usually get it !

Universeman · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2007 5:35 pm

A couple more things, what I'm trying to point here is that I put together a lift that gives the most bang for the buck with the least amount of compromises, yes longer springs and better shocks would be nice and these shops are going to try and sell you as much stuff as possible that’s how they stay in business which is great I'm all for capitalism, problem is I wanted a lift now because I don’t know when I'll have the money for a Frankenlift and Al's A-arms and all that, I added up my wish list and it came to almost $7000. But for now I couldn’t be happier with my lift and I owe it to this forum for helping me figure it out and I love the fact that I spent $44.50 including shipping (on the front lift) and a few hours sweating in my garage to have it work as well as it does, so well in fact that most likely I’ll wait several years before upgrading my springs and shocks and my next big purchase will be Al’s A-arms.

Second, in regards to the CV angle situation the gas KJ has the longer shaft (on the left side) and so even though the diff sits an inch higher the left shaft is quite a bit longer, and correct me if I’m wrong but I think the CV is subjected to a more severe angle at full lock then it is at full drop. On the ground my CV angles are slightly down(as opposed to up stock) and I haven’t had any CV issues caused by the lift, and I don’t think a gas KJ would either IMO.

KJ Justice · **Posted:** Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:13 pm

Thanks to all who posted with their advice. I'm thinking I might just do a "budget" lift for now, then upgrade to a full-blown rock ready lift down the road. That'll give me time to get the feel of a lift on it and better assess what I want in a suspension lift.

As for doing it myself? No thanks. I'm not too mechanically inclined, besides, I have heart problems that prevent me from working on vehicles. I'd rather pay a pro to do it and know that it'll be done right. Less worry, less problems.

Thanks again, everybody! :wink:

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:17 pm

Just remember some budget lifts actually ride a little rougher than a full suspension lift so you cant compare the two always. Good luck if I lived closer I would help you out on the lift!

KJ Justice · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2007 2:54 pm

Thanks for the offer, tom! (Probably cost more for the plane ticket than it would the lift, though!

)

I used to have a '92 Dodge Dakota that I put a 3-inch body lift on, so, I'm familiar with that type of ride. I'm sure the Liberty's a whole different loaf of bread, however. At least a budget lift will help get my (and the Libby's) feet wet in learning the little oddities that it might have while off-road. Then, when I'm comfortable with it, and can afford it, I can step up to a more solid lift.

bigmd · **Joined:** Sat Aug 26, 2006 10:51 am **Posts:** 169

KJ JUSTICE,i am in a similar situation.i too was going to do a spacer lift.after reading all the negative posts ,ive decided not to.since my truck has 52000 miles on it,i figure shocks and struts will need to be replaced anyway.i have decided on OME medium springs front and rear,RUSTYS rear shocks ,and RANCHO non - adjustable struts.maybe RUSTYS front strut plates to even averything out.the OME lift should be good for bout 1.5 inches of lift..check out RUSTYS for the springs.i dont want more then 2 inches.

spoonplugger1 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:44 am

KJ Justice,
You're also not in the boonies either as far as shops go. Les Schwab has been in the lift business for many years and I believe carry Rough Country and Old Man Emu Liberty lifts. The Rough Country lift isn't to bad a lift as it adds a clevis lift to the front much like the washers you seen in the pics. The rear is a spring lift and doesn't do to bad either. The OME lift is lower but, nicer handling on or off road.
Watch yourself off road with your condition, getting stuck or getting out of a tight spot can be taxing so only go with others, which is great advise to anyone.
Going out to Joyce and doing a little playing are we?

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:46 pm

ooooo Rough Country lifts no way I would run one of those seen too much torn up but to each his own

Yet another newbie with a lift question!

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