A Beginners Guide to Lifting Your Jeep Wrangler TJ

So, just out of curiosity, if I install a 3.5-4in lift now and didnt wheel until I replaced the driveshafts, is that going to cause damage right away or is okay to take these steps in stages?

-Jeep Newbie
1997 Sahara
4.0 w/ 5 speed
120k miles

No, it won’t cause any issue with the driveshaft as long as you lower the transfer case or install a SYE and CV driveshaft.
 
So, just out of curiosity, if I install a 3.5-4in lift now and didnt wheel until I replaced the driveshafts, is that going to cause damage right away or is okay to take these steps in stages?

-Jeep Newbie
1997 Sahara
4.0 w/ 5 speed
120k miles

It's the vibrations that cause damage, so you will need to eliminate them. As @Chris stated above, SYE and CV driveshaft or lower the TC skid until the vibrations disappear.
 
It's the vibrations that cause damage, so you will need to eliminate them. As @Chris stated above, SYE and CV driveshaft or lower the TC skid until the vibrations disappear.
Worth adding as well is that a 1” MML will help with the driveshaft angle and likely require a lot less transfer case drop.
 
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Has anyone added better shocks to the Skyjacker 4" lift? The ride does not bother me too much but I know it could be much better, My wife had a JKU Rubicon with Teraflex lift and Fox reservoir shocks and it was pretty awesome. Just wondering what shocks work well with the Skyjacker lift. Thanks!
 
Can't comment for every setup, but most like Fox Shocks with a heavier Jeep, like a JKU. For our lighter TJ's, a shock like the Rancho 5000X runs well. The Fox (and this is subjective), is too harsh for most TJ owners. Rancho 5000X found here. I think the $50 rebate is still available. They will work well with your Teraflex lift.

https://www.xf_vendor_spam_manageme...Rancho-Shocks-TJ-LJ/Rancho-5000X-Shocks-TJ-LJ
 
Has anyone added better shocks to the Skyjacker 4" lift? The ride does not bother me too much but I know it could be much better, My wife had a JKU Rubicon with Teraflex lift and Fox reservoir shocks and it was pretty awesome. Just wondering what shocks work well with the Skyjacker lift. Thanks!

If you want the smoothest ride you will get on a TJ, it's going to be the Rancho RS5000X or RS9000 shocks.

So far I've run OME Nitrochargers, Bilstein 5100s, Fox 2.0s, and Rancho RS5000X shocks. The Ranchos blow the others away in terms of ride quality. There's not even a question about it.

Those Fox shocks will ride good on a JKU, because it's much larger and heavier. They ride very poorly on a TJ though in my opinion, as they are much too stuff.
 
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Any recommendations on a 1-1.25 in body lift kit? There’s so many I’m not sure what the best option is. I have a 2.5 in lift on my 04 TJ and want to run 33’s. Also if someone could explain bump stop to me. What is it. How is it installed(pix would help) and how do I determine how much I need?
 
Any recommendations on a 1-1.25 in body lift kit? There’s so many I’m not sure what the best option is. I have a 2.5 in lift on my 04 TJ and want to run 33’s. Also if someone could explain bump stop to me. What is it. How is it installed(pix would help) and how do I determine how much I need?

Honestly, they're just pucks to lift the body, so you really can't go wrong with any brand.

A few common ones that people often run are:

JKS 1.25" body lift
Rough Country 1.25" body lift
Daystar 1" body lift

You can't go wrong with any of those.
 
Any recommendations on a 1-1.25 in body lift kit? There’s so many I’m not sure what the best option is. I have a 2.5 in lift on my 04 TJ and want to run 33’s. Also if someone could explain bump stop to me. What is it. How is it installed(pix would help) and how do I determine how much I need?
Bump stops are on the inside of the spring. They keep the spring from being collapsed all the way. The factory foam bump stops are on the top spring perch, and contact the bottom perch if the axle moves all the way up. Longer springs require bump stop spacers of some sort, in order to not destroy your shock absorbers, and keep your tires from messing up your fenders, basically.
bumps-2.jpg
 
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Also if someone could explain bump stop to me. What is it. How is it installed(pix would help) and how do I determine how much I need?

Read this, it's very, very informative:
How to set your bump stop on a Jeep Wrangler TJ

In a nutshell though, your bump stops are what keeps your wheel / tire from hitting your fender, as well as other components (i.e. track bars, steering, etc.) from bottom out or hitting each other.

Think of it this way... If you put a 4" lift on your TJ with larder 33" tires and don't bother to add more bump stop, you're going to crush your fenders the first time you try to flex it off-road, and you're likely going to crush other components as well, such as track bars hitting the diff cover, etc.
 
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Maybe someone could give a little advice for what I'm looking to do. Down the road I look to eventually upgrade everything to be able to support a 35" tire. (Yes, brakes, gears, CV, etc.) If I'm properly comprehending everything I've read, I shouldn't have issues while running a 3.5"-4" lift with Metalcloak overline front+rear fenders. I've owned a zone combo lift on my old 2000 sport but would rather take a higher quality route this time around. I don't do any serious rock crawling or mud bogging; I only do the occasional weekend trips and would eventually love to trailer it to the western portions of the US. My Jeep ('06 Rubicon) will be my daily driver for another half a year or so until I am able to purchase a more MPG friendly vehicle.

Since I'm not doing any serious off-roading I figured a Rubicon Express 3.5" super-flex would be a decent route. There's two options for those: One that sits at ~$950 without any control arms or shocks, and one that is $1500 with control arms but lacks shocks.

My other thought is since the more expensive RE kit is already $1500, I might as well save for the Metalcloak 3.5" Duroflex Suspension. That one is ~$2000 minus the shocks.

I guess I'm real crossed on if saving my money to purchase a high-end kit would be worth it over purchasing a mid-tier kit w/ excellent shocks. Has anyone gone either route and regret their decision? Really just looking for some advice. Since this is my new Jeep, and is nearly all stock at this point, I'd like to build it right and build it to last. At the same time I don't want to overbuild it and never see the benefit of the high-end lift kits.
 
Maybe someone could give a little advice for what I'm looking to do. Down the road I look to eventually upgrade everything to be able to support a 35" tire. (Yes, brakes, gears, CV, etc.) If I'm properly comprehending everything I've read, I shouldn't have issues while running a 3.5"-4" lift with Metalcloak overline front+rear fenders. I've owned a zone combo lift on my old 2000 sport but would rather take a higher quality route this time around. I don't do any serious rock crawling or mud bogging; I only do the occasional weekend trips and would eventually love to trailer it to the western portions of the US. My Jeep ('06 Rubicon) will be my daily driver for another half a year or so until I am able to purchase a more MPG friendly vehicle.

Since I'm not doing any serious off-roading I figured a Rubicon Express 3.5" super-flex would be a decent route. There's two options for those: One that sits at ~$950 without any control arms or shocks, and one that is $1500 with control arms but lacks shocks.

My other thought is since the more expensive RE kit is already $1500, I might as well save for the Metalcloak 3.5" Duroflex Suspension. That one is ~$2000 minus the shocks.

I guess I'm real crossed on if saving my money to purchase a high-end kit would be worth it over purchasing a mid-tier kit w/ excellent shocks. Has anyone gone either route and regret their decision? Really just looking for some advice. Since this is my new Jeep, and is nearly all stock at this point, I'd like to build it right and build it to last. At the same time I don't want to overbuild it and never see the benefit of the high-end lift kits.

I don't recommend lift "kits" much anymore. I suggest piecing it together yourself. The RE kits are okay, but nothing more than that. I'd still be more inclined to use a control arm with a nice joint such as a Johnny Joint (i.e. Currie, Savvy, Rokmen, etc.) or the Duroflex joint (Metalcloak).

In addition, most of the shocks that come with lift kits are garbage. I've run almost every shock there is on my TJ, and the Rancho RS5000X is by far the best, no joke.

So if it was me, I'd piece something together. The only "kits" I suggest would be high end ones such as Currie, Metalcloak, etc. But if you don't want to spend that sort of money, I'd piece a lift together personally.
 
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Maybe someone could give a little advice for what I'm looking to do. Down the road I look to eventually upgrade everything to be able to support a 35" tire. (Yes, brakes, gears, CV, etc.) If I'm properly comprehending everything I've read, I shouldn't have issues while running a 3.5"-4" lift with Metalcloak overline front+rear fenders. I've owned a zone combo lift on my old 2000 sport but would rather take a higher quality route this time around. I don't do any serious rock crawling or mud bogging; I only do the occasional weekend trips and would eventually love to trailer it to the western portions of the US. My Jeep ('06 Rubicon) will be my daily driver for another half a year or so until I am able to purchase a more MPG friendly vehicle.

Since I'm not doing any serious off-roading I figured a Rubicon Express 3.5" super-flex would be a decent route. There's two options for those: One that sits at ~$950 without any control arms or shocks, and one that is $1500 with control arms but lacks shocks.

My other thought is since the more expensive RE kit is already $1500, I might as well save for the Metalcloak 3.5" Duroflex Suspension. That one is ~$2000 minus the shocks.

I guess I'm real crossed on if saving my money to purchase a high-end kit would be worth it over purchasing a mid-tier kit w/ excellent shocks. Has anyone gone either route and regret their decision? Really just looking for some advice. Since this is my new Jeep, and is nearly all stock at this point, I'd like to build it right and build it to last. At the same time I don't want to overbuild it and never see the benefit of the high-end lift kits.

Are you going to make the jump straight to 35's, or do it gradually over time?
 
I don't recommend lift "kits" much anymore. I suggest piecing it together yourself. The RE kits are okay, but nothing more than that. I'd still be more inclined to use a control arm with a nice joint such as a Johnny Joint (i.e. Currie, Savvy, Rokmen, etc.) or the Duroflex joint (Metalcloak).

In addition, most of the shocks that come with lift kits are garbage. I've run almost every shock there is on my TJ, and the Rancho RS5000X is by far the best, no joke.

So if it was me, I'd piece something together. The only "kits" I suggest would be high end ones such as Currie, Metalcloak, etc. But if you don't want to spend that sort of money, I'd piece a lift together personally.

Appreciate the feedback. I saw your post about the Ranchos on another thread and actually plan to run those eventually! If I were to purchase the Metalcloak 3.5" lift over piecing together a 3.5" at roughly $1200-$1500, would I notice any major differences. If I don't do any extreme wheeling am I going to see the benefit of MC over a pieced together kit? I'm inclined to just wait a few more months, save money and go with a more expensive option, but my access to a lift + garage may go away in that time. I'd need to obviously factor in labor costs of someone installing if I do lose access.


Are you going to make the jump straight to 35's, or do it gradually over time?

I think a smarter route for me would be to move to 33s first, then gradually over a year or so make the transition to 35s. I'd prefer to not upgrade my suspension a second time for 35s but to just get my suspension done right the first time.
 
Appreciate the feedback. I saw your post about the Ranchos on another thread and actually plan to run those eventually! If I were to purchase the Metalcloak 3.5" lift over piecing together a 3.5" at roughly $1200-$1500, would I notice any major differences. If I don't do any extreme wheeling am I going to see the benefit of MC over a pieced together kit? I'm inclined to just wait a few more months, save money and go with a more expensive option, but my access to a lift + garage may go away in that time. I'd need to obviously factor in labor costs of someone installing if I do lose access.

The Metalcloak lift will last longer than let's say an RE lift. The bushings used in that kit are going to be much higher quality than the ones that are used in something like a RE, Zone, Rough Country lift, etc.

In terms of ride quality though, that's mostly dictated by your shocks to be honest.

It also pays to have adjustable control arms. I'd always avoid buying lifts with the fixed length control arms personally. The higher end RE lifts have adjustable control arms though, so at that point I think it just comes down to bushings. In which case, if you're not doing anything serious off-road that requires maximum articulation, you're probably fine with any bushing at that point!
 
I think a smarter route for me would be to move to 33s first, then gradually over a year or so make the transition to 35s. I'd prefer to not upgrade my suspension a second time for 35s but to just get my suspension done right the first time.

I think that is a smart way to go. You may even find out that 33's will get you 99% of the places you want to go and get you the look you desire.

My advise would be to piece together the items you need. Spend the coin on a good quality set of adjustable control arms, like Currie/Savvy or Metal Cloak. Those will carry over into your future plans, so you'll only need to buy them once. 3" springs and a 1" body lift/MML will give you the clearance for 33's paired with the proper shocks for said lift. If you do indeed decide to get MC's Overline fenders, then you'll already be set up for running 35's(sans a brake upgrade). You'll also want to think about a re-gear at some point as well.
 
Maybe someone could give a little advice for what I'm looking to do. Down the road I look to eventually upgrade everything to be able to support a 35" tire. (Yes, brakes, gears, CV, etc.) If I'm properly comprehending everything I've read, I shouldn't have issues while running a 3.5"-4" lift with Metalcloak overline front+rear fenders. I've owned a zone combo lift on my old 2000 sport but would rather take a higher quality route this time around. I don't do any serious rock crawling or mud bogging; I only do the occasional weekend trips and would eventually love to trailer it to the western portions of the US. My Jeep ('06 Rubicon) will be my daily driver for another half a year or so until I am able to purchase a more MPG friendly vehicle.

Since I'm not doing any serious off-roading I figured a Rubicon Express 3.5" super-flex would be a decent route. There's two options for those: One that sits at ~$950 without any control arms or shocks, and one that is $1500 with control arms but lacks shocks.

My other thought is since the more expensive RE kit is already $1500, I might as well save for the Metalcloak 3.5" Duroflex Suspension. That one is ~$2000 minus the shocks.

I guess I'm real crossed on if saving my money to purchase a high-end kit would be worth it over purchasing a mid-tier kit w/ excellent shocks. Has anyone gone either route and regret their decision? Really just looking for some advice. Since this is my new Jeep, and is nearly all stock at this point, I'd like to build it right and build it to last. At the same time I don't want to overbuild it and never see the benefit of the high-end lift kits.


If you’re not doing any serious off roading, then you are already over building this this Jeep by adding MC fenders, gears, brakes, and steering to run 35s.

That being said, I totally understand where you are coming from and I completely overbuilt mine because I wanted the best quality that I could get. I don’t regret my decision at all, because I know that my Jeep can handle whatever I can throw at it. Additionally, in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t cost all that much more.

A word of caution on the MC springs. They are designed for very heavy Jeeps and will net about 5” on a light TJ. I used the Currie 4” springs, and with the Rocksport long travel shocks I can use all of the extended length (I believe second longest to MC) of those springs.
 
The Metalcloak lift will last longer than let's say an RE lift. The bushings used in that kit are going to be much higher quality than the ones that are used in something like a RE, Zone, Rough Country lift, etc.

In terms of ride quality though, that's mostly dictated by your shocks to be honest.

It also pays to have adjustable control arms. I'd always avoid buying lifts with the fixed length control arms personally. The higher end RE lifts have adjustable control arms though, so at that point I think it just comes down to bushings. In which case, if you're not doing anything serious off-road that requires maximum articulation, you're probably fine with any bushing at that point!

Thanks again! I'll take all that in account.

I think that is a smart way to go. You may even find out that 33's will get you 99% of the places you want to go and get you the look you desire.

My advise would be to piece together the items you need. Spend the coin on a good quality set of adjustable control arms, like Currie/Savvy or Metal Cloak. Those will carry over into your future plans, so you'll only need to buy them once. 3" springs and a 1" body lift/MML will give you the clearance for 33's paired with the proper shocks for said lift. If you do indeed decide to get MC's Overline fenders, then you'll already be set up for running 35's(sans a brake upgrade). You'll also want to think about a re-gear at some point as well.

Ya I'm sure 33s would be perfectly okay with that I do. That's what I had on my last rig. Since I recently graduated from college I still have the mindset of getting big tires and having the Jeep look big. Heh. Maybe it'll fade by the time I actually go to upgrade to 35s. And since I now have a rubicon I'm thinking why not 35s?

If you’re not doing any serious off roading, then you are already over building this this Jeep by adding MC fenders, gears, brakes, and steering to run 35s.

That being said, I totally understand where you are coming from and I completely overbuilt mine because I wanted the best quality that I could get. I don’t regret my decision at all, because I know that my Jeep can handle whatever I can throw at it. Additionally, in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t cost all that much more.

A word of caution on the MC springs. They are designed for very heavy Jeeps and will net about 5” on a light TJ. I used the Currie 4” springs, and with the Rocksport long travel shocks I can use all of the extended length (I believe second longest to MC) of those springs.

I really enjoy the look of the MC fenders. Especially when the fender portion is painted to match body color. That's what I plan on doing. Vanco brakes would be an excellent upgrade even if I just plan to run 33s, they'll be a huge upgrade over stock. The rest, yea. I need to decide if it's worth it. Like you said, I'd also like to know my Jeep to handle most things I throw at it. And hey, maybe I do start doing more intense wheeling as this Rubicon will be my full time toy in about 6 months to a year. You never know.

And thanks for the heads up about the MC springs.