A Beginners Guide to Lifting Your Jeep Wrangler TJ
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
I'm planning on going with this setup. Find any issues or things you'd have done differently?
Is there anything specific I should be looking at for bump stops?
My first mods to my stock '02 over 5 years ago were a RC 4" LA suspension Lift, SYE, disconnects, rear CV drive shaft, steering stabilizer, high clearance skid plate, and 33x12.50R15 on stock rims.
Has not seen a lot of trails yet.
But i am curious what else i can do to maximize what i currently have installed above? chromoly front/4.56's/some sort of locker or LSD setup/currie correctlync is already in the works.
Thanks everyone.
Has not seen a lot of trails yet.
But i am curious what else i can do to maximize what i currently have installed above? chromoly front/4.56's/some sort of locker or LSD setup/currie correctlync is already in the works.
Thanks everyone.
My first Jeep, waited 35 yrs, and read through all the great info on here so thanks! Went with the 2" pro comp springs, the 39/41x Rancho shocks ( bump stop ext, steering stab and rear track bar loc as well) and put on new 31x10.5 General Grabbers. New top too, stock zippers were all trash. Did the fronts myself but the rear ended up being too much for me to handle so I brought it to a place to finish it up.
emphasis mine. I haven't looked into this much, but what sort of fender modifications let people run 35s with a 4" lift?
I have 3" of bump stop in my front end due to shock length, and I have MCE fenders, so I'm kinda curious whether that's enough, or if it would require highlines and/or cutting in the rear as well. I plan for an eventual body lift, but not until I get into an LJ first, and I'd rather not have a hard link in timing connecting the next Jeep and the next set of tires if I can avoid it.
OP
To run 35s with a 4" lift you'd really just be smart and add a 1.25" body lift. The one recipe that works very, very well for 35s is a 4" suspension lift, 1.25" body lift, and stock fenders with something like the MCE fender flares (or stock flares). Blaine builds them like this for a reason.
Highline fenders are not necessary whatsoever for 35s and a 4" lift. If you want a recipe for 35s that is proven to work many times over, add the body lift and call it a day. With the MCE fenders you're already setup.
the body lift is the plan, I just don't want to do it to this TJ knowing I'm going be replacing it and was just thinking if I happen to need new tires before I've replaced it with an LJ, I'd rather buy 35s if it wouldn't completely screw things up without the BL.
If things go to plan I shouldn't have to make that call because I'll have the LJ before these tires wear out. But my wife and I don't always agree on the best ways to spend our money, so...
OP
Before I bought my current TJ and Blaine was going to build my last TJ for me, he and I had a phone conversation. I asked him if I should swap out the stock fenders for something like GenRight fenders or similar to run the 35s. He told me no, don't do it. He mentioned that if setup properly, the tires will stuff perfectly into the stock fenders, and the fender flares are designed to flex. Of course since you have the MCE fender flares, that eliminates the possibility of damaging or cracking a stock fender.
Basically what I took away from that conversation with him was that there was no reason whatsoever to go with tube fenders for 35s and a 4" suspension lift + 1.25" body lift.
The only reason I have the GenRights on my current TJ is of course because it came with them. However, had it not, I would have just kept the stock fenders.
I got the MCE's 100% for looks. I just love that flat fender look of the old MBs. I'm not sure I'll do them on the next one though because as you said, it's not really needed for clearance and I'm not sure they give enough of the MB look to justify themselves on that basis. With the roll cage, the modern door opening, the squared rear fender arch, and the wide stance just it just isn't going to get there. If I do it at all it'll only be after the 35s and BL are on.
OP
That makes sense! I've basically come to the conclusion that while people can argue all day long about how to build a TJ to run 35s, there is one recipe that is guaranteed to work, tried and tested a million times over, and takes a lot of the guess work out of it. That would be the setup that Blaine builds, and obviously many others including myself, @jjvw, @Midnight LJR, @Alex01, and so many others have replicated.
Obviously there is always going to be someone who wants to do a 2" lift and highline fenders to run 35s, thinking that a LCoG build is going to work better somehow, but those people are misguided and simply haven't done enough research. So rather than reinvent the wheel, I just stick to something that has been proven by many to be an ideal setup for 35s.
Wow, great read on the lifts and answers a ton of questions. I have a 2006 65t anniversary TJ that is unmolested with the exception of 31x10.5 tires. We just got my daughter a 98 TJ with the same size tires and it has a 2.5” lift on (springs and shocks only). I love the way it sits and am thinking about lifting mine as well and like to do things right, so I appreciate the post. When it comes to tires, would you recommend changing the gears with 31” tires?
If you have 3.07 gears or 3.73 with an auto transmission I'd regear it. If 3.73 and 6 speed I'd leave it.
But I also drive my Jeep primarily between 7300 and 10000' elevation, so I probably need the revs more than you do.
The best advice I could give is just do it, but with the understanding you might want to regear afterward. If you do, then it's not a surprise, and if you don't, then the surprise is that you saved $2500.
Vivalamigra
New Member
Two years after buying my first jeep, a nearly stock 2005 TJ, and joining this forum, I want to say thanks for this thread. It was very informative. I followed about 90% of it as a basis for my jeep build.
It cost me a ton of money In parts, but..... I was warned!
I’ve learned a bit and feel I’m now qualified to add my two cents to some other threads here. Other than re-gearing, and blowing some money for some dude to ”set up” the jeep incorrectly, I’ve done all of the work myself, with a little help from my friends. So my pain will be your gain.
There are some quirky things depending on the model year we own, so I’ll definitely chime in later on some of the stuff specific to 2005-2006.
My upgrades so far:
Currie 4” lift, which included a new front track bar and the Antirock sway
Currie rear track bar (not included with lift, but I couldn’t make the stock track bar work)
Currie shock relocation brackets for rear axle (not included with lift kit, but you need them)
Currie correctlync steering. (also not included with lift, but necessary)
Fox shocks.
Smittybilt XRC front and rear bumpers. XRC front bumper is approved for flat-towing. (grinding required to accommodate Antirock sway bar. It’s not bad though. Also had to cut a notch on the gas tank for the rear bumper.)
35” tires and I bought some pro-comp15x8 wheels. 5 each.
teraflex extreme short SYE
teraflex 2 low kit (this upgrade I personally do not recommend. It works but I think it tends to pop out of gear. Also harder to find gears. Really wish I hadn’t done it. Too easy to knock it into 2 low from 4 low. Not cool)
Adams driveshaft
Dana 44 rear, pulled from an LJ
Savvy transfer case shift cable (this may have helped my popping out of gear issue, but the jury is still out)
5.13 gears installed professionally. Revolution gears. (I have the 42RLE tranny. 5.13 is almost perfect. 5.38 would be better, but no can do with the dana 30 front)
Eaton e-locker up front.
Vanco big brake kit w/ black magic pads for front. BM pads and new rotors in the back, plus new parking brake shoes.
Odyssey battery (i learned the hard way on the trail why you need a good AGM battery)
Some blingy stuff:
Bartact seat covers up front (I think they were the first thing I bought. They are really nice)
Bartact grab handles
Quadratech floor mats (also a nice fit)
Demco SBS for flat towing
rugged ridge 3rd brake light ring.
Some important tools. some i had, some I had to buy or borrow:
big-ass jack stands
Low profile tranny Jack from harbor freight (good for transfer case, belly pan, bumpers, fuel tank)
13mm 12 point socket for removing unit bearings. Gotta have one. most 1/2“ 12 point sockets won’t quite fit. Too tight, so don’t count on using a 1/2” socket, just get a 13mm. I had one in 3/8” drive, but I felt I was gonna bust something, so I borrowed a 1/2” drive socket. get one in 1/2” drive before you attempt it. The bolts are pretty tight especially if they’ve never been broken loose.
36mm impact socket for front hub nut.
two Three foot pieces of aluminum angle stock for setting toe. (make sure they are straight! I found 2 pieces that were straight, out of a dozen, at Lowe’s)
One more thing. Don’t buy a gas steering damper. Use the stock one, or you will have a constant pull despite good alignment. Trust me. That’s why I ended up paying some dude to “set up“ my jeep. He tried putting an off-set ball joint in to change the caster. Didn’t work. After paying the guy 700 bucks, I fixed my pull by re-installing the OEM damper.
I‘ll edit and add a bit more to these lists later. That’s all I can think of for now.
It cost me a ton of money In parts, but..... I was warned!
I’ve learned a bit and feel I’m now qualified to add my two cents to some other threads here. Other than re-gearing, and blowing some money for some dude to ”set up” the jeep incorrectly, I’ve done all of the work myself, with a little help from my friends. So my pain will be your gain.
There are some quirky things depending on the model year we own, so I’ll definitely chime in later on some of the stuff specific to 2005-2006.
My upgrades so far:
Currie 4” lift, which included a new front track bar and the Antirock sway
Currie rear track bar (not included with lift, but I couldn’t make the stock track bar work)
Currie shock relocation brackets for rear axle (not included with lift kit, but you need them)
Currie correctlync steering. (also not included with lift, but necessary)
Fox shocks.
Smittybilt XRC front and rear bumpers. XRC front bumper is approved for flat-towing. (grinding required to accommodate Antirock sway bar. It’s not bad though. Also had to cut a notch on the gas tank for the rear bumper.)
35” tires and I bought some pro-comp15x8 wheels. 5 each.
teraflex extreme short SYE
teraflex 2 low kit (this upgrade I personally do not recommend. It works but I think it tends to pop out of gear. Also harder to find gears. Really wish I hadn’t done it. Too easy to knock it into 2 low from 4 low. Not cool)
Adams driveshaft
Dana 44 rear, pulled from an LJ
Savvy transfer case shift cable (this may have helped my popping out of gear issue, but the jury is still out)
5.13 gears installed professionally. Revolution gears. (I have the 42RLE tranny. 5.13 is almost perfect. 5.38 would be better, but no can do with the dana 30 front)
Eaton e-locker up front.
Vanco big brake kit w/ black magic pads for front. BM pads and new rotors in the back, plus new parking brake shoes.
Odyssey battery (i learned the hard way on the trail why you need a good AGM battery)
Some blingy stuff:
Bartact seat covers up front (I think they were the first thing I bought. They are really nice)
Bartact grab handles
Quadratech floor mats (also a nice fit)
Demco SBS for flat towing
rugged ridge 3rd brake light ring.
Some important tools. some i had, some I had to buy or borrow:
big-ass jack stands
Low profile tranny Jack from harbor freight (good for transfer case, belly pan, bumpers, fuel tank)
13mm 12 point socket for removing unit bearings. Gotta have one. most 1/2“ 12 point sockets won’t quite fit. Too tight, so don’t count on using a 1/2” socket, just get a 13mm. I had one in 3/8” drive, but I felt I was gonna bust something, so I borrowed a 1/2” drive socket. get one in 1/2” drive before you attempt it. The bolts are pretty tight especially if they’ve never been broken loose.
36mm impact socket for front hub nut.
two Three foot pieces of aluminum angle stock for setting toe. (make sure they are straight! I found 2 pieces that were straight, out of a dozen, at Lowe’s)
One more thing. Don’t buy a gas steering damper. Use the stock one, or you will have a constant pull despite good alignment. Trust me. That’s why I ended up paying some dude to “set up“ my jeep. He tried putting an off-set ball joint in to change the caster. Didn’t work. After paying the guy 700 bucks, I fixed my pull by re-installing the OEM damper.
I‘ll edit and add a bit more to these lists later. That’s all I can think of for now.
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Can you help my understanding on drive line angles? A lift pushes the axles down away from the TC and everything else bolted to the frame, right? So I understand why lowering the TC or adding SYE/DCDS is sometimes needed. But what does the TC drop do to the connection between the transmission and the TC? How does a MML help? Seems like now you've raised the engine and dropped the axles and twisted everything else in between. Finally, where does a body lift come into this (just for making room for a tummy tuck?)? Thanks for answering my many questions.
Okay so imagine you’ve drawn a straight line from the front of the engine to the rear axle. What you are shooting for is as straight a line as possible. When you lift a Jeep that same line from rear axle to transfer case no longer intersects the engine. It shoots up above the engine. So doing a motor mount lift helps place the engine in line with the rear diff and transfer case. In summary you are tilting the driveline down towards the rear axle (by lifting engine and dropping transfer case) in order to compensate for the lift. Drawing a line on paper will help and I will post some pics to show in a min. Please answer one question so I can properly draw the picture. Do you have an SYE in the rear?
No, but I do have an LJ and I know that helps reduce the severity of the angles.
It does. That usually means you need less TC drop to fix the angle. If you choose to do a MML and a BL (they are paired together almost always) that takes the place of a inch or two transfer case drop. So depending on the lift height you’re shooting for you can get away with a MML and not lower your TC.
This is really helpful. I was trying to imagine moving the whole drivetrain up or down together, but now I realize it's more like trying to pivot it while keeping it in the same (ish) original line. I'm going for about 2.5" suspension lift and about 1" body lift. My LJ already has 33s and a sad 2" BB. I want to give the tires a little more room to play, but not looking to do anything huge. This will be my DD and occasional trail ride.