question about a hitch....and a lift/wheel combo

vintageroy13 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:10 am

so i am new to the whole jeep thing. i am used to lowering cars and making them go fast not lifting them and making them go slow. but i am a car guy at heart and love it. so the question is...i bought a used 2006 kj 25th anniversary with 35k on the ticker for the wife and it does not have a tow package and we need one for the camping season. first off uhaul has just the hitch for $125 and someone told me that i can get wiring from napa for like 20 bucks---is this true---hidden hitch has the hitch for $150 and the wiring harness for 45 bucks---would this be a better way to go or not. all opinions matter, trust me you know way more then me. the second question i had was----i am planning to lift the kj 2.5" in october and putting on new rubber. i was looking at either the skyjacker kit, the rough country kit, or the rustys kit. i will also play with the clevis and spacers to make it sit level. wondering if any of these are actually better then the others. also with the 2.5" lift i read that i could fit a 265/75 r 16 is the the best fit or the biggest fit....or should i go with a 245/75 r 16. i also have the stock rims---will these work or would i have o get a spacer? i know all about backspacing---i have a 2006 nissan altima lowered on 20's and that was a nightmare figureing out without rubbing tire all day. also once i lift it does anyone make a programmer that will reset the speedo and odometer so that they read right....anyway i might sould like an idiot but like i said i kinda am so anything that you can provide me with would be great.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:59 am

I can't help about the lift.
But for your trailer wiring if you'll need the seven pin round connector (brakes and power) your better off getting the mopar wiring harness. You may also need the supplemental harness if you don't have a EVIC. The reason is if you have the EVIC you'll have the necessary wires running to the rear. Jeep uses relays in their trailer wiring harness that isolates the trailer from your vehicle's wiring and they are part of the mopar harness. They are located in the rear quarter panel. Mopar cables make a clean install. I have a hidden hitch from etrailer.com There are two schools of thinking about hitch recivers. One is to get a long one that sticks out to clear the spare. The second is to turn the spare tire mount upside down. This raises the spare upward and tilts the bottom side in a little. The door glass still clears the stock size tire and there's nothing to bump your shiens on :roll:

Here's a old thread with lots of links.
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... hp?t=33499

Joe

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Fri Jul 10, 2009 8:58 am

This dealership (see link) sells the OEM parts at a discount.
http://jparts.com/index.php?cPath=23&os ... d8cd44934e
For your Libby, the wiring harness (if it lacks the overhead EVIC) requires two sections, one from the battery relay into the dash, and then on towards the right rear... the second from the right rear to the hitch wiring plug mount. These guys also have the OEM hitch receiver, which is what I ended up getting... price was close enough, and they do shipping deals over x-amount of $. If nothing else, the catalog will give you some ideas to work with.

jamangus · **Posted:** Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:15 am

i would not go with 265's if you plan on towing anything heavy, especially if you live in mountainous region.

SweepnChoke · **Posted:** Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:19 am

Quote:

i am planning to lift the kj 2.5" in october and putting on new rubber. i was looking at either the skyjacker kit, the rough country kit, or the rustys kit. i will also play with the clevis and spacers to make it sit level. wondering if any of these are actually better then the others. also with the 2.5" lift i read that i could fit a 265/75 r 16 is the the best fit or the biggest fit....or should i go with a 245/75 r 16. i also have the stock rims---will these work or would i have o get a spacer?

For starters I would go with the OME coils and rancho shocks/struts for you lift instead of the kits listed above. (OME 790 front coils, OME 948 rear coils, Rancho 17505 front struts, Rancho 17004 rear shocks) Many people can help you source the parts you are going to want.

245/75/R16 - you will want to pound back the pinch weld at the back of the front wheel wells. Then with the stock 5.5" BS rims you will have rub on the sway bar at full turn. If you use spider trax 1.25" spacers then the rub on the sway bar will no longer be an issue, however you will now have some rub on the front outside edge of the wheel well (right around the fog light hatch). This can be resolved with a heat gun, or trimming the area away.

265/75/R16 are going to give you significant rubbing issues even with the modifications listed above for the 245/75/R16's. I don't know of anyone running 265/75/R16 that don't have an aftermarket front bumper like the ARB that removes the lower 1/3 of the front wheel wells, or haven't trimmed away large portions of the front wheel well to prevent rubbing. And unless you regear to 4:10 you will reduce your MPG and Power which will be especially noticeable when towing.

vintageroy13 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:27 am

first off what is EVIC?
second off if i piece together a lift like stated above will a 245/75r16 fit with no rubbing issues and without modification to wheel wells and pinch welds?
thanks again

Guest · **Posted:** Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:02 am

ThunderbirdJunkie has not touched his pinchwelds and has minimal swaybar rubbing on the last 50k miles running on 245/75-16s.

Jus FYI

vintageroy13 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:29 am

yeah i am looking at going with a general grabber AT2 in a 245/75r16 with a pieced together lift. just still need to know what EVIC is.

vintageroy13 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:54 am

so i just googled evic and found out that it is the electronic vehicle information center. and not i do not have it. so i will need both sets of wires, second i am looking at prices to piece together a lift and wonder if i dont plan on doing to much offroading is a daystar lift alright cause i dont want to go broke doing this? also about the programmer? any ideas

daspes · **Posted:** Sat Jul 11, 2009 11:51 am

vintageroy13 wrote:

so i just googled evic and found out that it is the electronic vehicle information center. and not i do not have it. so i will need both sets of wires, second i am looking at prices to piece together a lift and wonder if i dont plan on doing to much offroading is a daystar lift alright cause i dont want to go broke doing this? also about the programmer? any ideas

For the wiring harness: If you need a 7 pin, then you'll need the both sets. 4 pin, then you just need the rear one.

For the lift: There are several options, Frankenlift, OME which is proven, BDS has the same spring rates as OME so it should be good also. I recomend staying away from Rocky Road, and Rusty's. The problem with your spacer lift is that your suspension is 3 years old now, and believe it or not has sagged considerably. the only way to get a full lift is to replace the springs. if you put 2.5" spacers in a suspension that has drooped an 1" you'll only net 1.5" of lift.

For the tires: There are some differences with the trimming required between the 01-04 and 05-07 KJ's. with 245's you may need to trim the lower portion of the front bumper and pound the pinch weld. You wont know for sure, until everything is mounted and you cycle the suspension. With 265's you will have to trim a good portion of the front liner, and hit the pinch weld, and probably relocate the washer bottle too. You'll want to run a wheel that has about 4-4.5" BS to minimize rubbing.

There isn't a programmer that will correct the speedo for tire/gear changes that I know of. The dealer can input the new sizes for you. My KJ is dead on though with 265's and 3.73's.

Since I'm right down the street from you (OH isn't that big, so I have to be right down the street from you

) let me know if you want to get together to look at my KJ and talk about your options in person.

HoosierJeeper · **Joined:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 8:23 am **Posts:** 1218

EVIC-

Electronic Vehicle Information Center.

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:38 pm

HoosierJeeper wrote:

EVIC

That's the fancy overhead thing that let's you play with your Jeep when you should be driving!
Seriously, the wiring setup is simple, but a pain if you're challenged at doing this stuff (everything challenges me). The normal install runs from hitch to right rear taillight area. The additional items: run wiring from under dash to relay box under hood (next to battery), and from under hood to right rear taillight.
It's not that difficult.

vintageroy13 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 14, 2009 4:41 am

hey daspes any help you could give me would be great. i am pretty sure that you live like 1 minute away from me unless they are sneaking lifted silver kj's into oak harbor without anyone knowing. i live in victory park. anyway i would definitly like your input. i am pretty handy and my buddy has been offroading and building trucks for years but we have never touched a jeep. so dont be surprised to get a message from me in two months wanting help.

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:28 am

wiring kit from etrailer.com, much simpler and better, plug in at the rear taillight unless you need trailer brakes - uhaul hitches are as good as any

LIFT
use OME 927s unless you have a CRD or are going to be running a heavy bumper and winch, then you can use OME 790s
Rear use OME 948s
Rancho shocks listed above do a good job.
245-75-16s do a great job without getting into cutting more, and needing to regear with 265-75-16s you need to regear to 4.10s

Rustys spring rates are the same as stock, will sag a lot over a short period of time
Rocky Road full spring kit is alright using OME springs, shocks are not the best and their customer service is in the toilet
Skyjacker full spring are rated the same as stock, give you lift for a short time but like Rustys will sag quickly. Thier kits which they made in the very beginning were great then they changed the spring rate to about 125 lbs less messing up a good lift
Any kit which uses your existing springs is a comprimise and you will end up doing it over to a full spring in a year or less.

vintageroy13 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 23, 2009 5:26 pm

so i ended up going with the uhaul hitch. everything went fine after i cleaned out the welded nuts. until i got 5 out of the 6 bolts in and realized that the last one doesnt line up at all. it is the passenger side closest to the front of the car (the one that is under the exhaust pipe. i only plan on towing at most 2500 lbs. and it is rated to 3500. and i currently only tow a 800 lb jetski. does anyone think that it is a problem if i only leave the 5 on there. any opinions would help.

vintageroy13 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:53 am

bump.....seriously guys i know that you think i am retarded but i build import tuners not suv's so any advice you could give me would be great---and if you want to call me a moron to my face at least i will know you read what i wrote...oh and i started to piece together my lift----the rancho 17004's are in the mail.

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:48 am

not thinking you are retarded at all , you just are coming from a different background, I can imagine if I was to try and build a import tuner now ( after playing with 4WDs for 35 years ) I would ask a ton of questions as well.

Good luck and keep the questions rolling on :wink:

LibertyRenegade · **Posted:** Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:24 am

ThunderbirdJunkie wrote:

ThunderbirdJunkie has not touched his pinchwelds and has minimal swaybar rubbing on the last 50k miles running on 245/75-16s.

Jus FYI

Are your rims OEM? Because I am looking at getting a franky but I am just wondering will I have to fork out for new rims.

Also spacers. Are there any issue with those buggers in the winter? I really don't want to use them.

Blue KJ in PA · **Posted:** Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:37 am

vintageroy13 wrote:

so i ended up going with the uhaul hitch. everything went fine after i cleaned out the welded nuts. until i got 5 out of the 6 bolts in and realized that the last one doesnt line up at all. it is the passenger side closest to the front of the car (the one that is under the exhaust pipe. i only plan on towing at most 2500 lbs. and it is rated to 3500. and i currently only tow a 800 lb jetski. does anyone think that it is a problem if i only leave the 5 on there. any opinions would help.

Did you tighten bolts as you went or did you get all 6 started before you began to tighten them down? Maybe if you loose all 5 you'll be able to get enough movement to get the last one to start.

vintageroy13 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:20 am

So I started piecing together the lift and have the rancho 17004's in the garage and am about to order the rancho 17505's. Next month are the ome springs. So what I am asking is this; I looked at the pictures of the frankenlift and saw that they put in daystar spacers.... Do I need to do this and do I also need bumpstops if I don't plan on doing any serious offroading just weekend wheeling on a little bit of mud. Any other thongs I might need to look into

question about a hitch....and a lift/wheel combo

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