how easy is it to install the suspension lift yourself? im on a budget and so yah,.. i can get a good 4inch suspension lift for $400 dollars and then i want to get a 2inch body. then fit a good set of 35's.

Not hard at all. You just need some basic hand tools and a little know how. Dont forget, at that much lift you'll need a SYE as well, or a super huge t-case drop (but that kinda undoes what you just did). You might not even need a 2 inch BL, a 1 inch should be fine to fit 35's. Let us know how it goes.:8

I installed my 3-inch lift with adjustable uppers,lowers, front and rear track bars in about 40 total man hours.

Just get a couple buddies, 4 jack stands, 1 hydraulic jack and an assortment of sockets and wrenches and your good to go. ;)

Of course my entire project would of gone a bit faster if I had of had some air tools.

On a side note anything higher than a 1-inch body lift is rather ugly in my opinion. Just becareful on them body lifts.

I threw on a 1-inch body lift and a motor mount lift on top of my 3-inch suspension lift and with all the available space between my tire and fender Im sure I could squeeze in a set of 35's.

thanx for the information guys. im gonna go ahead and order that lift. i hope it works out pretty good. i got a question though.. what kind of shocks should i go with? procomp.. rancho? idk..???

Originally posted by kizer
I installed my 3-inch lift with adjustable uppers,lowers, front and rear track bars in about 40 total man hours.

Just get a couple buddies, 4 jack stands, 1 hydraulic jack and an assortment of sockets and wrenches and your good to go. ;)

Of course my entire project would of gone a bit faster if I had of had some air tools.

On a side note anything higher than a 1-inch body lift is rather ugly in my opinion. Just becareful on them body lifts.

I threw on a 1-inch body lift and a motor mount lift on top of my 3-inch suspension lift and with all the available space between my tire and fender Im sure I could squeeze in a set of 35's.

40 manhours??? what were you doing? I did mine withou help in less than 8 hours. TJ lifts are really simple.

Maybe 40 hours including dialing in the control arms and track bars, but thats alot of measuring! igofshn is right, it shouldnt take that long. Just make sure you have everything before you start, or have another vehicle to drive to the hardware store. It always figures that something is missing and your sitting there with a torn apart Jeep, and no way to get anywhere. Let us know how it goes.

alright. i ordered my 4 inch supension lift. w/ out shocks. i figure that i will go with the new rancho 9000x shocks.. depending on my future budget. but neways.. am i going to need an SYE kit? .. the 4inch suspension kit comes with the following:
(4) new coil springs
quick disconnect from anti-sway bar links
transfer case drop shims
emergency brake cable extension
3rd brake light relocation bracket
bump stop extensions
Engineered to relocate suspension and drive-train components for easier alignment, proper drive-line angles and better handling ...
is there anything else i will be needing ? a drop pitman control arm? or.. what.. im kind of new with this stuff. .. the tires i will be getting are 33x12.5 .. but yeah not sure to either go with the bfg m/t or the procomp m/ts .. .. can someone please give me input .. or an opinion on what i should do...

Originally posted by emojeep
alright. i ordered my 4 inch supension lift. w/ out shocks. i figure that i will go with the new rancho 9000x shocks.. depending on my future budget. but neways.. am i going to need an SYE kit? .. the 4inch suspension kit comes with the following:
(4) new coil springs
quick disconnect from anti-sway bar links
transfer case drop shims
emergency brake cable extension
3rd brake light relocation bracket
bump stop extensions
Engineered to relocate suspension and drive-train components for easier alignment, proper drive-line angles and better handling ...
is there anything else i will be needing ? a drop pitman control arm? or.. what.. im kind of new with this stuff. .. the tires i will be getting are 33x12.5 .. but yeah not sure to either go with the bfg m/t or the procomp m/ts .. .. can someone please give me input .. or an opinion on what i should do...

You WILL need an SYE eventually. Check out HERE (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2458369831&category=33733) for a complete 231 T-case with SYE. A t-case drop will work for the time being, but its a band-aid in my opinion. It kinda sucks because you lose some of the clearance you just gained.

I think you'll be safe with a stock pitman arm, unless you have alot of bumpsteer then you might need one. I would look into Track bars, front and rear. I have the Currie ones and I've VERY happy with them. As for tires, if you run in rocks, Goodyear MT/R's, hands down. What suspension kit did you get?

i got the trailmaster suspension kit.. the 4 incher one.. but yes. neways.. im looking for tires.. and yah im 17.. and i dont have much time to do a lot of rock crawling.. i do a lot of 4wheeling.. and trail riding though.. and its fun.. i need tires that will be able to handle the road good and offroad.. but mainly offroad, but still be able to drive on the road, without tearing up the tread. ..im looking for 33's hopefully my 4banger will be enough power to work them tires.. who knows.. what do u guys suggest on my tires? and .. also.. my shocks.. ive been looking at rancho.. pro comps and old man emus

is there anything wrong doing a body lift with suspension lift? .. i wanna feel up there..

Originally posted by emojeep
i got the trailmaster suspension kit.. the 4 incher one.. but yes. neways.. im looking for tires.. and yah im 17.. and i dont have much time to do a lot of rock crawling.. i do a lot of 4wheeling.. and trail riding though.. and its fun.. i need tires that will be able to handle the road good and offroad.. but mainly offroad, but still be able to drive on the road, without tearing up the tread. ..im looking for 33's hopefully my 4banger will be enough power to work them tires.. who knows.. what do u guys suggest on my tires? and .. also.. my shocks.. ive been looking at rancho.. pro comps and old man emus

I have the old man emu's, I like them, but they are a little pricey. I think its really personal preference . . . i.e. shock valving and such. BFG M/T and PC M/T's are a good tire, they are said to have weakish sidewalls, but do just fine.

Originally posted by emojeep
is there anything wrong doing a body lift with suspension lift? .. i wanna feel up there..

No problem with that. I would keep it to a 1 inch BL or a 2inch MAX! One inchers are the most common. I have a 2 inch and dont have any problems on my 98. Again, its a personal preference thing. If I were to do it again, I would put in a 1 inch in place of the 2.

:8

thanx dukes. im going to see how it goes.. but i dont think my suspension lift comes with control arms. where can i get some good ones?

hey does anyone know if 2" Jeep Coil Spring Spacers are any good to use?

Originally posted by emojeep
hey does anyone know if 2" Jeep Coil Spring Spacers are any good to use?

Dude!!! How big do you want this Jeep to be? sounds like your going to have like 8 inches of lift or something. I'd back it down a notch and buy some stuff that'll make it a little streetable . . . control arms, trackbars, Steering upgrades. You can toss as much lift on your rig as you want, but driveability suffers, A lot!


Personally I dont have a problem with spacers, I had some 1-3/4's on my Cherokee with no problems. As for control arms, take a look around an see if you can find some used RE arms, those are the best.
-Chris

lol yah i know thats way too big, but i just want a total of 5-6 inches.. i just got my 4inch suspension.. do u recommend an SYE kit? do i need a new rear driveshaft?

Originally posted by emojeep
lol yah i know thats way too big, but i just want a total of 5-6 inches.. i just got my 4inch suspension.. do u recommend an SYE kit? do i need a new rear driveshaft?

Add a 1 inch body lift to the 4 inch suspension lift and your at 5 inches. Maybe add a 1 inch coil spacer if toy really want 6 inches. For that height I would defenatly get an SYE, and if you do you'll need a new driveshaft. A transfer case drop is another option, BUT you'll probably need a 2-3 inch drop to get rid of the vibes, depending on the control arms you get. Oh, and speaking of control arms, If at all possible, I'd get adjustable uppers and lowers.:D

4" are pretty much the max for suspension lift that uses the conventional control arm brackets. Taller than that such as with additional coil spacers it is recommended to go with a long arm kit.

Originally posted by emojeep
.. i just got my 4inch suspension.. do u recommend an SYE kit? do i need a new rear driveshaft?

I don't know if this helps, but we're doing a 4" lift here in a week or 2. We're forgoing the SYE and using the T-case drop. This is because I want to go to a new T-case/high clearance skid next spring and I can't really justify the extra $700-800 for a SYE/driveshaft/install, if I'm only going to toss it in a year. (Not to mention it would blow the budget for the O.B.A. :D ) In the interim we get a net gain of 3-3.5" at the skid and 1.5" at the diff's. Note: you will have to either drop the T-case or go to a SYE, and all SYE's require new driveshafts.

Originally posted by emojeep
i got the trailmaster suspension kit.. ..im looking for 33's hopefully my 4banger will be enough power to work them tires.. who knows.. what do u guys suggest on my tires?

EmoJeep,
I am currently running 33" BFGs on my 4-Banger TJ. I noticed a pretty big difference when I switched from 235/75R15s to 33x12.5. I basically lost 5th gear on the freeway, unless its down hill and a favorable tail wind. But for around the town and at crawl speeds, which is most of my driving, I haven't really been bothered by the "lack of power". I just keep in mind that its not a race car.
Eventually I plan to regear, but for now.... It'll work.
Oh, yeah I got a trottle body spacer for a bit of help.

Originally posted by king4wd
I can't really justify the extra $700-800 for a SYE/driveshaft/install

Don't know where you got your prices, but you can get a SYE kit for $250 shipped & a TW Driveshaft for $280 shipped. & install for both is easy.

Originally posted by Bumpy
Don't know where you got your prices, but you can get a SYE kit for $250 shipped & a TW Driveshaft for $280 shipped. & install for both is easy.
Those prices were from some of the leading mail-order houses (4wheel parts, 4WD hardware, and Quadratec). That's what I based my prices on. Secondly I don't want to throw away $530 any more than I'd throw away $700:D We've got a plan, a budget and we're sticking to it as best we can. Right now on board air would be more usefull than the temporary loss of 1.5" from the potential clearance. Marvin will still have a net gain of 3.5-4" at the skid after lift&tires. That'll be good enough for now.