4" Lift Component Guidance

[SouthernTJ2000]

Okay y'all. I need some guidance here. Little background info. I'm a greenhorn to the Jeep platform, a novice wheeler, and plenty experienced on wrenching. I picked up a '00 (4.0 5spd) with a 4" RC suspension lift, it does have front sway bar disconnects, and I'm running 33x12.5/15 MT. Like with any and all used vehicles I purchase, I'm going over it with a fine tooth comb. The current suspension, while not completely shot, is clearly on its way to the trash pile. The rear seems to be in rougher shape than the front. I plan to piece together a new 4" kit over the next 4-8 weeks and install it myself as I go. I've already picked up a set of Bilstein 5100', rear sway bar bushings and end links. The Jeep will see mostly pavement pounding, however I will wheel it any and every chance I get, lets call it 6 - 12 times a year for now. As I'm a novice wheeler, and this is a new platform to me, my wheeling for the foreseeable future will be mostly 1-2 "stars/diamond/lvl" with possibly some 3 thrown in from time to time. I will not be hitting 4 & 5 stuff anytime soon....or so I say. I'd like to stay under $1000 at the end of the day, however do realize you have to pay to play. I do not need, nor want a "comp" ready rig at this time, and do not need the "coolest" stuff either. I want functional and dependable. With all of this being said, what brand(s) would y'all suggest I look at? What brands should I stay away from? I was looking at the Core 4x4 Cruise series of components, however was reading mixed reviews. I definitely like the price point. Thanks for any and all suggestions/help/guidance.

PS - I did a search, however my search keywords typically suck, or what I found was 4+ years old.

 

[Foxhound67]

So for $1000 or less, the Zone Offroad 4.25" kit is fairly well regarded. Most people here that go for high quality will go Savvy or Currie, but you're wayyy over a grand at that point.

 

[P man]

Okay y'all. I need some guidance here. Little background info. I'm a greenhorn to the Jeep platform, a novice wheeler, and plenty experienced on wrenching. I picked up a '00 (4.0 5spd) with a 4" RC suspension lift and I'm running 33x12.5/15 MT. Like with any and all used vehicles I purchase, I'm going over it with a fine tooth comb. The current suspension, while not completely shot, is clearly on its way to the trash pile. The rear seems to be in rougher shape than the front. I plan to piece together a new 4" kit over the next 4-8 weeks and install it myself as I go. I've already picked up a set of Bilstein 5100', rear sway bar bushings and end links. The Jeep will see mostly pavement pounding, however I will wheel it any and every chance I get, lets call it 6 - 12 times a year for now. As I'm a novice wheeler, and this is a new platform to me, my wheeling for the foreseeable future will be mostly 1-2 "stars/diamond/lvl" with possibly some 3 thrown in from time to time. I will not be hitting 4 & 5 stuff anytime soon....or so I say. I'd like to stay under $1000 at the end of the day, however do realize you have to pay to play. I do not need, nor want a "comp" ready rig at this time, and do not need the "coolest" stuff either. I want functional and dependable. With all of this being said, what brand(s) would y'all suggest I look at? What brands should I stay away from? I was looking at the Core 4x4 Cruise series of components, however was reading mixed reviews. I definitely like the price point. Thanks for any and all suggestions/help/guidance.

PS - I did a search, however my search keywords typically suck, or what I found was 4+ years old.

Good questions that I will give my opinion on and others will jump in and disagree.

Keep your current springs for now unless they sag.

Make sure the shocks have correct up/down travel for your application.

Buy disconnects for the front sway bar.

Leave the rear sway bar alone.

Pay attention to tire pressure.

You don't need a dropped pitman arm.

Buy a front adjustable track bar.

Pay attention to bump stops.

Instead of searching on this site use Google instead and also go through all of the how tos here.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

X2 exactly to P Man's above comments. Regarding Core control arms they are actually pretty fair quality. However if it's remotely $$$ possible I'd bump up one level from the Cruise to the Camp level. The reason being their Cruise control arms have rubber bushings at both ends and that combination doesn't flex very well at all on very uneven terrain. Control arms with rubber bushings at both ends are known to actually tear their mounts out of their welds and that happened to me at least once and maybe twice in 1998 or 1999. And the trails I was doing then were not that tough. Core's next-step up Camp level control arms do have a rubber bushing at one end but it has a far more flexible flex joint at the other end that would eliminate that possibility.

Enjoy wrenching on your new TJ!!!

 

[SouthernTJ2000]

Good questions that I will give my opinion on and others will jump in and disagree.

Keep your current springs for now unless they sag. - Current springs seem to be in good shape

Make sure the shocks have correct up/down travel for your application. - The 5100' I bought are for a 4" lift. I did my homework on the part numbers.

Buy disconnects for the front sway bar. - It already has that. I updated my post.

Leave the rear sway bar alone. - Only reason I'm changing the bushings and end links is they are blown. I can move the end links by hand, as the bushings are pretty much gone. I have the same issues with the bushings on the upper rear control arms. One side the bushings are gone, and all other bushings (on the rear control arms) are rotted and have pretty bad deformation.

Pay attention to tire pressure. - On 33's I should be at 28-30psi for DD, correct?

You don't need a dropped pitman arm. - Off to google, I have no clue what that is.

Buy a front adjustable track bar. - More google searching for me.

Pay attention to bump stops. - 10-4

Instead of searching on this site use Google instead and also go through all of the how tos here. - 10-4

Awesome, thank you sir. See my responses above. Keep schooling me up please. I need all the help/knowledge I can get.

 

[SouthernTJ2000]

X2 exactly to P Man's above comments. Regarding Core control arms they are actually pretty fair quality. However if it's remotely $$$ possible I'd bump up one level from the Cruise to the Camp level. The reason being their Cruise control arms have rubber bushings at both ends and that combination doesn't flex very well at all on very uneven terrain. Control arms with rubber bushings at both ends are known to actually tear their mounts out of their welds and that happened to me at least once and maybe twice in 1998 or 1999. And the trails I was doing then were not that tough. Core's next-step up Camp level control arms do have a rubber bushing at one end but it has a far more flexible flex joint at the other end that would eliminate that possibility.

Enjoy wrenching on your new TJ!!!

So what type of bushings should I be looking for when it comes to control arms? I've always read mixed things between rubber and polyurethane. Than again all my reading previously was for sports/muscle car applications.

 

[cpwolf]

I second that you should use google, I put TJ Forum then whatever I'm looking, and have better search results. Not criticizing, it may be me not searching correctly on this site.

 

[cpwolf]

Not sure how far you're going, but in Tomball it's going to be mostly mudding, ha, or maybe beach. But they're talking about Control arms that have Johnny Joints, there are more posts than you can imagine on that, and the Johnny Joint Control arms let way more flex etc.

 

[P man]

So what type of bushings should I be looking for when it comes to control arms? I've always read mixed things between rubber and polyurethane. Than again all my reading previously was for sports/muscle car applications.

Honestly, you could spend days on just control arms and still be unsure what to buy. I would leave control arms off the table for now if what you have is working. I would rather see you do that than spend money on arms you shouldn't have bought.

 

[SouthernTJ2000]

Not sure how far you're going, but in Tomball it's going to be mostly mudding, ha, or maybe beach. But they're talking about Control arms that have Johnny Joints, there are more posts than you can imagine on that, and the Johnny Joint Control arms let way more flex etc.

Yeah, no good spots around me. I haven't been to Extreme or Creekside in probably 7+ years, however I heard they're basically SxS parks now. I tried General Sam's once back in '17ish, never again. I've been out to Barnwell in my '01 Pathfinder and loved it. I plan to hit some of the other quality parks around Texas. My buddy really wants me to head up to some park in South OK that he use to go to all the time when he lived in Joshua. I just don't know if I'm ready to make that haul in the Jeep. I need more seat time to feel comfortable in making that haul and having confidence in the Jeep making it. I'll do some research on Johnny Joints. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[P man]

I second that you should use google, I put TJ Forum then whatever I'm looking, and have better search results. Not criticizing, it may be me not searching correctly on this site.

I agree with you 100 percent..even Chris will tell you to use Google.

 

[PNW_LJ]

I second that you should use google, I put TJ Forum then whatever I'm looking, and have better search results. Not criticizing, it may be me not searching correctly on this site.

Likewise. Google is just a better search engine.

I do the same for other areas of interest, but I follow it with "Reddit". We've gotten to the point where most info sites are filled with wordy AI-written or SEO-overoptimized articles that don't provide the info I need. 99% of the time I want to read a real person's thoughts on the matter at hand, and Reddit provides that.

 

[SouthernTJ2000]

Honestly, you could spend days on just control arms and still be unsure what to buy. I would leave control arms off the table for now if what you have is working. I would rather see you do that than spend money on arms you shouldn't have bought.

So my issue is, the bushings in all the control arms are either damn near completely gone, or dry rotted and have deformation. I was going to replace just the bushings. However my research lead me to believe the RC arms aren't servable and it would be more of a PITA then its worth. So figured I'd just start fresh.

 

[cpwolf]

Yeah, no good spots around me. I haven't been to Extreme or Creekside in probably 7+ years, however I heard they're basically SxS parks now. I tried General Sam's once back in '17ish, never again. I've been out to Barnwell in my '01 Pathfinder and loved it. I plan to hit some of the other quality parks around Texas. My buddy really wants me to head up to some park in South OK that he use to go to all the time when he lived in Joshua. I just don't know if I'm ready to make that haul in the Jeep. I need more seat time to feel comfortable in making that haul and having confidence in the Jeep making it. I'll do some research on Johnny Joints. Thanks for the heads up.

Look at Hidden Falls just outside Marble Falls. Great park, they have air up stations for free, great camping, and if you shoot they also have a sporting clays range there (not in the middle of the trails, although that would add some adventure to it for sure, ha). Lots of trails with bypasses, so you can run the sections that need lockers etc, and bypass if you don't.

With 4", I'd follow the other suggestions.

https://www.hiddenfallsadventurepark.com/

 

[SouthernTJ2000]

Look at Hidden Falls just outside Marble Falls. Great park, they have air up stations for free, great camping, and if you shoot they also have a sporting clays range there (not in the middle of the trails, although that would add some adventure to it for sure, ha). Lots of trails with bypasses, so you can run the sections that need lockers etc, and bypass if you don't.

With 4", I'd follow the other suggestions.

https://www.hiddenfallsadventurepark.com/

We actually have a trip planned there for the first weekend in May. Campsites were reserved and paid for about a month ago. I'm stoked. Original plan was to take the Pathfinder, now I'm torn on what I want to take...lol.

 

[cpwolf]

So my issue is, the bushings in all the control arms are either damn near completely gone, or dry rotted and have deformation. I was going to replace just the bushings. However my research lead me to believe the RC arms aren't servable and it would be more of a PITA then its worth. So figured I'd just start fresh.

That being the case, then start to studying, ha. Most around here would say buy once , cry once. You can get Savvy with Johnny Joints like I did, or Currie Rock Jock very mcuh the same, or even Core 4x4 or others, but JJ's are very good. As Jerry suggested, you can bring down the cost on Core by going JJ on just one end. Shop around etc.

There are others, and sometimes it becomes an argument ,ha but those are the ones I hear about most, and my experience with Savvy Double Adjustable arms with JJ's, they are very good.

 

[cpwolf]

We actually have a trip planned there for the first weekend in May. Campsites were reserved and paid for about a month ago. I'm stoked. Original plan was to take the Pathfinder, now I'm torn on what I want to take...lol.

First weekend in May, weather will be amazing, top down, hmmmmm, well, I'm a Jeep guy, so I couldn't imagine not being in the wind and sun, ha.

By the way, I grew up close to you when Tomball was still mostly Farms and Compaq, ha. I graduated Klein Forest HS in 1990, way back, ha. I go see my mom, and Tomball isn't what I knew back then, ha.

 

[SouthernTJ2000]

First weekend in May, weather will be amazing, top down, hmmmmm, well, I'm a Jeep guy, so I couldn't imagine not being in the wind and sun, ha.

By the way, I grew up close to you when Tomball was still mostly Farms and Compaq, ha. I graduated Klein Forest HS in 1990, way back, ha. I go see my mom, and Tomball isn't what I knew back then, ha.

I graduated form Cy-Creek in '96. Yeah, Tomball/Cypress/Spring has blown up over the past 15-20 years. Its crazy. Now with 99 out here, its expanding even further. Soon Waller will be taken over as well.

 

[Sean B]

Awesome, thank you sir. See my responses above. Keep schooling me up please. I need all the help/knowledge I can get.

I’m in the middle of a similar project. Our jeep had the full Rough Country 4 inch lift. I’m replacing all of it. Couple areas I found to look out for. Their lift I believe comes with a drop pitman arm, ours had that and I went back to stock to work with rock jock track bar.

The rough country track bar bracket can do a number on your frame if wheeled at all. They have you drill 2, 15/16 th holes in frame for sleeves and they happen to line up with factory holes top and bottom. Mine had some cracking due to the stress and the lack of material with the huge holes and I ended up having to weld some plates in the area for a repair. I would investigate the soundness of that front track bar bracket and get it off if possible. Likely you will have to address the two huge holes in the frame that are under it. I don’t see it holding up with any moderate use.

Also their rear track bar bracket on the axel is not the best. Mine was loose and tweaked the bracket pretty good.

Honestly the RC arms seemed like the high point of the setup in my opinion.

 

[SouthernTJ2000]

I’m in the middle of a similar project. Our jeep had the full Rough Country 4 inch lift. I’m replacing all of it. Couple areas I found to look out for. Their lift I believe comes with a drop pitman arm, ours had that and I went back to stock to work with rock jock track bar.

The rough country track bar bracket can do a number on your frame if wheeled at all. They have you drill 2, 15/16 th holes in frame for sleeves and they happen to line up with factory holes top and bottom. Mine had some cracking due to the stress and the lack of material with the huge holes and I ended up having to weld some plates in the area for a repair. I would investigate the soundness of that front track bar bracket and get it off if possible. Likely you will have to address the two huge holes in the frame that are under it. I don’t see it holding up with any moderate use.

Also their rear track bar bracket on the axel is not the best. Mine was loose and tweaked the bracket pretty good.

Honestly the RC arms seemed like the high point of the setup in my opinion.

Thanks for the heads up.