Anything I should be concerned about with this lift?

[reelbusy]

Hi new here! Picked up an 03 with 74 k miles. Super clean (was hard finding a manual). Thing has zero rust looks like was mostly garaged in south florida maybe for weekend rides only based on the milage and history. Last owner mostly just in town stuff. Here's the thing i know nothing about lifts but am reading....

I judged the lift strictly by the wrangler duratracs (not rt so i assume they're a few years based on mileage) are about 40% worn, and it's the most even wear on any car i've ever had (which was mostly trucks) which i took as a good sign. And that service history is pretty complete except for small gaps here and there).

I take it by some reading past few days this is a pretty standard lift setup. It's about 2-2.5 lift (from measuring the front spring compared to stock). No real idenfitication i could find, some redditors thought the springs looked like rancho or rubicon express progressive.

Ride wise, shug, beats me rides like a jeep i guess, feel smooth considering the tires on the road, , not too bad to control, maybe some bump steer but nothing that's caused me alarm. I still have to check and grease any grease points all the ball joints look ok to me (and showed up in service history) but i'll inspect when i go deeper into maintenance since i've only had it a week.

THanks for any help.

 

[KennethS]

Check the tire pressure to make sure they’re not at 40psi. I run around 26 psi on my 11.5x32s.

 

[reelbusy]

Check the tire pressure to make sure they’re not at 40psi. I run around 26 psi on my 11.5x32s.

thanks for that. i just googled it and see what you're saying. I checked they're at 35psi. May account for some of the stiff ride which I noticed but doesn't really bother me but yeah i'll definitely test that from what i'm reading.

 

[TheBoogieman]

May account for some of the stiff ride which

Shocks too (those look like RC).

 

[Chris]

thanks for that. i just googled it and see what you're saying. I checked they're at 35psi. May account for some of the stiff ride which I noticed but doesn't really bother me but yeah i'll definitely test that from what i'm reading.

Yep, your tires should be around 26 psi. 35 psi is going to give you a very stuff ride.

In addition, I would measure the amount of exposed shock shaft at ride height to see how much is showing. That will tell us what your travel bias is on your shocks as well, which is very important.

 

[reelbusy]

Yep, your tires should be around 26 psi. 35 psi is going to give you a very stuff ride.

In addition, I would measure the amount of exposed shock shaft at ride height to see how much is showing. That will tell us what your travel bias is on your shocks as well, which is very important.

thanks gives me something to read on. I measure 5 inches which google says 4-6 for this size lift. I'm going to dial the tires back this weekend.

 

[Chris]

thanks gives me something to read on. I measure 5 inches which google says 4-6 for this size lift. I'm going to dial the tires back this weekend.

I don’t know exactly which part number that shock is but with 5 inches of shock shaft exposed I’m guessing that you’ve got a shock travel bias that’s very wrong. At ride height the exposed shock shaft should be right at about 50% of the total length. Given that yours is showing 5 inches. I’m going to guess that you have a lot of up travel but not very much down travel. That’s going to translate to ride quality.

That would mean when you hit a bump the shock has plenty of room in regard to up travel, but when the axle travels downward, then it’s going to bottom out the shock itself, which is going to translate into a very rough ride.

This isn’t surprising and it’s a very common mistake people make. People order shocks without cycling their suspension first to determine the actual correct length of shock they need.

 

[reelbusy]

I don’t know exactly which part number that shock is but with 5 inches of shock shaft exposed I’m guessing that you’ve got a shock travel bias that’s very wrong. At ride height the exposed shock shaft should be right at about 50% of the total length. Given that yours is showing 5 inches. I’m going to guess that you have a lot of up travel but not very much down travel. That’s going to translate to ride quality.

That would mean when you hit a bump the shock has plenty of room in regard to up travel, but when the axle travels downward, then it’s going to bottom out the shock itself, which is going to translate into a very rough ride.

This isn’t surprising and it’s a very common mistake people make. People order shocks without cycling their suspension first to determine the actual correct length of shock they need.

thanks i'll look to see if i can find a shock number.Good info to know as i'm sure at some point i'll refresh some things based on what i find out about it..probably when it's tire time

 

[reelbusy]

spent 1/2 the day on a radiator for one of my kids acadia sheeeeshhh can they bury it more shoot me. But managed to get the jeep in the garage

rear shocks say 658707 , front says 658711

Tried to determine some stuff from google ai bug t don't trust it, points to RC N2.0 and N3 but i don't understand how to decode the shock numbers

Thanks for any insight on that.

 

[speeding_infraction]

Ill check the shocks on my jeep after work and compare PNs if you don't figure it out by then, I have rough country shocks unfortunately as well, for a 4" lift.

 

[RS Hill]

Just a couple things to check on if you’ve bought a Jeep that someone else has lifted.

If it wanders a little, measure the axle measurement from a point on the frame to a similar mark on the tire tread side to side front and rear. Hard to tell but looks to have stock track bars. It could probably use adjustable track bars.

Also I can see the front upper control arms are stock. I see the rear lower control arms are aftermarket. Might be worth checking pinion angles after the lift.

My be worth checking torque specifications in the track arms, control arms and other components for loose hardware and if they torqued the hardware while the Jeep was in the air not on the ground which will put the bushings in a bind causing it to wander and damage the bushings.

Theses all things I found after buying a Jeep which was a home lift by someone who tried but didn’t do a good job.

 

[reelbusy]

Thanks for the replies. All good info, bit to digest but i intend to know this vehicle front to back so i'll have to do
some reading on suspensions and other things.

Got side tracked after my kids radiator repair the high pressure hvac hose blew.

 

[reelbusy]

Just a couple things to check on if you’ve bought a Jeep that someone else has lifted.

If it wanders a little, measure the axle measurement from a point on the frame to a similar mark on the tire tread side to side front and rear. Hard to tell but looks to have stock track bars. It could probably use adjustable track bars.

Also I can see the front upper control arms are stock. I see the rear lower control arms are aftermarket. Might be worth checking pinion angles after the lift.

My be worth checking torque specifications in the track arms, control arms and other components for loose hardware and if they torqued the hardware while the Jeep was in the air not on the ground which will put the bushings in a bind causing it to wander and damage the bushings.

Theses all things I found after buying a Jeep which was a home lift by someone who tried but didn’t do a good job.

yeah i'll have to observe how it's driving a bit more once i get the tires aired down , i don't recall the steering really wandering but was really just enjoying the fun of a manual after ages lol so it all felt fun. Did not feel to wander or be too loose really, have had some beater trucks like that like driving a boat. Good info on the components i gotta reread up on those i was wondering what was original and not from parts of these lifts. I plan on greasing everything and will check those torques. Company for 2 weeks so won't be deep diving until they leave

I do all my own stuff but haven't aside from repairs haven't had much of a car interest. Hurricane helene flooded my truck, insurance paid me out handsomely, i saw the price and frankly the over engineering and tech dependence of new and used trucks and just decided you know what screw that i'm gonna get something fun tired of that crap.