Suspension upgrade questions

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Chris32win

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Joined
Oct 8, 2018
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39
Location
Boise, ID
Hey guys! I got my first Jeep this last fall and am looking to get some stuff done to it with spring/tax returns upon us. I’m new to jeeps and am learning to wrench with it as well so any patience is appreciated.

I’ve got a 2000 se with the 2.5 (slow I know) and 153k miles at the moment. I use it primarily to buzz around town and take my kids to school. I also use it to run down some dirt roads to go camping/fishing. So rutted roads, washboards, forest roads, etc. I have no plans to do any serious stuff beyond that.

The Jeep came with what appears to be a 2 inch spacer lift and 32x11.5 R15’s on it. I don’t know the history on the suspension beyond that. My question is I’m wondering if these appear to be stock shocks or not. I’ve read that even with a spacer lift it’s good to get a bit longer shock to go with it. I don’t see any markings and I can’t tell if these were upgraded or not with the spacer lift.

I have done a bit of research and it looks like the Rancho shocks are the suggested set for our tjs and the OME springs are suggested as well. I’d like to keep it at or around 2 or 2.5 inches of lift. Based on if these are still stock shocks, Should I plan to upgrade just the shocks or springs too? Furthermore what length would I need on those non adjustable Ranchos? Would I rub if I looked into sway bar disconnects?

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I don't think I can answer everything for you, but I recently put some of the OME springs and Rancho rs5000x shocks on my TJ and I have been loving it so far. I have not done any off road yet so I can't say how that performance is, but my on road performance is better.

These are the Rancho shocks I'm using with my ~2.5 inch lift
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01963N4ZY/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Though I have read that rancho's can run long, so could be incorrect in suggesting these for what you have. These are the non adjustable Ranchos. I believe the 9000s are the adjustable ones, which I have no experience with.

You can measure your spring lengths to see if there's any noticable sag. The front should be 12 inches, and rear should be 8 inches, counting the small isolator (I think it's around 0.5 inch).
 
Thanks for that. If I did go with springs, those OME ones seem like a good choice. Glad to hear that worked well for you. Did you have to make any other adjustments to trackbar or anything? I measured the fronts briefly and didn’t notice any sag. I’ll get out there tomorrow and measure more intently front and back
 
Chris, there is nothing wrong with the 2.5 and it can be made to work real well on road. Off-road IMHO it isn't any different than the 4.0. I never had any issues keeping up with any of my buddies in V-8 CJ's or 4.0 TJ/YJ's.
It came stock with 4.10 gears in the alxes so with the 32" tires you would want to regear it to a minimum of 4.56 and if you think you might go to 33" tires then 4.88 gears. I ran for a few years with 4.88 gears and 33" tires and drove 100 miles twice a week to go to work and then come home. There are other things that can help but gearing is the BIG thing.
http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.htmlUse this gear calculator to see what different gearing will do for your RPM's. You didn't say which transmission you have but if it is a 5 speed manual then it is a AX-5 and if an automatic it is a TF904. In the drop down menu he has all the common transmissions listed. You have a NP231 transfer case. Then add your gear ratio and tire size and in the charts below it shows you your crawl ratio and then RPM's at different speeds and other information. It is a really good tool to figure out what will be better in selecting your gearing.

One other note is don't be scared to rev that little engine some. 3-4,000 rpm's isn't going to hurt it. Can climbing some of the hills around Boise you'll have to drop a gear or two. Good luck and have fun.
 
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Chris32win said:
Thanks for that. If I did go with springs, those OME ones seem like a good choice. Glad to hear that worked well for you. Did you have to make any other adjustments to trackbar or anything? I measured the fronts briefly and didn’t notice any sag. I’ll get out there tomorrow and measure more intently front and back
Click to expand...

From what I've read, a rear track bar relocation bracket is needed. I haven't done that on mine yet, or checked for interference and binding. But as far as axles being offset, both axles are pushed to the side maybe 1/4-1/2 of an inch. Not very noticeable but it's there if you look for it.

If you haven't seen this thread yet, definitely give it a read through. There's a ton of information within it. https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/a-beginners-guide-to-lifting-your-jeep-wrangler-tj.733/
 
Dan Barcelon said:
From what I've read, a rear track bar relocation bracket is needed. I haven't done that on mine yet, or checked for interference and binding. But as far as axles being offset, both axles are pushed to the side maybe 1/4-1/2 of an inch. Not very noticeable but it's there if you look for it.

If you haven't seen this thread yet, definitely give it a read through. There's a ton of information within it. https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/a-beginners-guide-to-lifting-your-jeep-wrangler-tj.733/
Click to expand...


Thanks Dan. I did get a chance to look that over. I was leaning more towards purchasing springs and shocks separately kind of like you did rather than going with a kit. I appreciate your feedback and thanks for letting me know about the rear track bar relocation kit. Will look into that. Do you know about any specific kits that are recommended for that?
 
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Wildman said:
Chris, there is nothing wrong with the 2.5 and it can be made to work real well on road. Off-road IMHO it isn't any different than the 4.0. I never had any issues keeping up with any of my buddies in V-8 CJ's or 4.0 TJ/YJ's.
It came stock with 4.10 gears in the alxes so with the 32" tires you would want to regear it to a minimum of 4.56 and if you think you might go to 33" tires then 4.88 gears. I ran for a few years with 4.88 gears and 33" tires and drove 100 miles twice a week to go to work and then come home. There are other things that can help but gearing is the BIG thing.
http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.htmlUse this gear calculator to see what different gearing will do for your RPM's. You didn't say which transmission you have but if it is a 5 speed manual then it is a AX-5 and if an automatic it is a TF904. In the drop down menu he has all the common transmissions listed. You have a NP231 transfer case. Then add your gear ratio and tire size and in the charts below it shows you your crawl ratio and then RPM's at different speeds and other information. It is a really good tool to figure out what will be better in selecting your gearing.

One other note is don't be scared to rev that little engine some. 3-4,000 rpm's isn't going to hurt it. Can climbing some of the hills around Boise you'll have to drop a gear or two. Good luck and have fun.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your reply. I agree, I've been having fun with the 2.5l honestly. no its not powerful and yes it could probably benefit from re-gearing just like you said, but its been enjoyable. I'm just having fun in a jeep! I'll keep re-gearing on the mind but am not sure I can swing it in the short term. is there a brand that's suggested when purchasing new gears? Thats typically done by a shop and costs around 1k? Thanks again for responding. I love the insight from other owners.
 
A few people have posted that they spent about $2K for a regear. If you are going to do gears you should also look at adding some type of traction aid ie a locker or limited slip. Which ever you pick is more based on the type of wheeling you are going to do and your future plans. From what you have said if you were to add a traction aid I would suggest TruTrac's. It is a gear driven limited slip so it doesn't require any additive to the axle and doesn't wear out. With your winters it is a livable system on snow and ice. Some don't like LS on snow and ice while many do and have found it helps.

Just enjoy it for now. I drove with the stock 4.10 gears and 33" tires for about a year before I could afford to regear it. I was lucky in that I was a mechanic and could do the gears myself.
 
Thanks for the info. Yeah I'm enjoying it for now. its not "great" on the highway but most of my driving around here is 55 or under and it does just fine for that. I have a truck that the family fits in better for any longer trips that take me out of the valley. Its pretty flat out here so it does just fine for my uses right now. I'm getting antsy to get the top.
 
Look into H&R springs, the shocks of your choice (RS5000x or 5100's) a 1" body lift and go for it. If the budget allows go for a regear to 4.88 or 5.13. A further improvement would be Trutracs and alloy axle shafts. That setup will get you a lot further than you'd ever expect, and not kill the pocket book. Spendy but not horrible. That's if you have the manual transmission. 32x11.50's are about perfect with that setup.
 
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I've been doing a bit more research on various options including what you guys have talked about. This is from CodaMan's Jeep. I think I'm trying to go a similar direction. Does anyone have any feedback on something like this or suggest doing any parts of this different or adding anything additional? Would I have any issue running sway bar disconnects with something like this setup? I admit I'm not terribly informed on what kind of setup you have to have or what you have to account for if you disconnect the front sway bar.

  1. Pro Comp 2" Springs (Front) — EXP55297
  2. Pro Comp 2" Springs (Rear) — EXP55298
  3. Rancho RS5000X Shocks (2 Front) — RS55239
  4. Rancho RS5000X Shocks (2 Rear) — RS55241
  5. OME Rear Track Bar Reloaction Bracket — ARB FKWTJ02
  6. Daystar.75" Spacers — KJ09108BK (note: only used above front springs for leveling)
  7. Rock Krawler Bump Stop Extensions (Front and Rear) --RKSRK05611 (note: Comes with 6 1" extensions. Glue or bolt 1 to each spring bucket at the bottom of the front springs; I used this RTV Adhesive and it worked great. Then bolt 1 above each bump stop cup on rear springs)
 
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Hockey pucks work pretty good, and are cheaper.
83058

Your front axle will be off center a little, maybe 0.5" or so. Won't hurt nothing unless you're OCD and it bugs you. Otherwise, you'll need an adjustable TB.
 
bobthetj03 said:
Hockey pucks work pretty good, and are cheaper.
View attachment 83058
Your front axle will be off center a little, maybe 0.5" or so. Won't hurt nothing unless you're OCD and it bugs you. Otherwise, you'll need an adjustable TB.
Click to expand...


Oh nice. as you can tell I'm new to this stuff but super excited to be learning. Can you tell me more about those and where to acquire them? Are these just for the bottom? would I need 2 like that for the kind of lift I'd be running?
 
Chris32win said:
Oh nice. as you can tell I'm new to this stuff but super excited to be learning. Can you tell me more about those and where to acquire them? Are these just for the bottom? would I need 2 like that for the kind of lift I'd be running?
Click to expand...

For the front, you want them on the bottom perch pad. I drilled/tapped a hole to mount them and just drilled a hole thru the puck. I've heard of folks using RTV and gluing them on. For the rear, you can use them or thick washers and a longer bolt for the upper cup. Once you pull the springs/shocks, cycling the suspension will tell you how much bump you'll need. For 32's you shouldn't need more than 2" of additional bump to keep the tires out of the fenders. Wheel back spacing will play into the equation to keep the tire from hitting at full lock.
 
Thats awesome info, thank you very much. I did some research on the forums after you posted that and found an article about how to cycle the suspension and setting the bumpstops etc. I'm learning a ton which has been cool. looking forward to getting my little fixed up here.
 
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Can you guys help me with control arms? They are stock and I wasn’t planning on any adjustable ones or anything since my current and planned lift will be small. However the bushings or whatever the rubber bits are in there look real cracked and weathered on the lower control arms. Uppers front and back look “better” than the lowers. Should this be a concern to address soon or is this not a big deal. If it is, what do you guys suggest?

The first two are front lowers and the last two are the rears for an example:

83168831698317083171
 
Pretty common for a 19 year old vehicle. The Clevite bushings will weather over time and use. You could replace them with some Crown or Moog replacement arms with fresh bushings fairly cheap.
 
Fair enough. So something I can take care of fairly cheaply but not a major or uncommon issue. Perfect. I’ll keep that on the list but will get to it as I can. Would that cause the creak/squeak when I back down my driveway curb at an angle or step on my side step to get in the Jeep? Haven’t looked around for what that squeak/creak is yet. Maybe it’s my springs?
 
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